Spyforce

1971
Spyforce

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 The General Aug 02, 1971

The Japanese army have invaded New Ireland and plantation owners, Erskine and Haber have fled to Australia leaving behind a woman they both love. They are offered/coerced by Australian intelligence, a chance to rescue her, if they first go in and kidnap a German officer who is visiting the island.

EP2 Death Railway Sep 02, 1971

Erskine and Haber are sent to Siam to be deliberately captured so they can obtain a blueprint of the Buma - Siam railway, which is being built by allied prisoners.

EP3 Portuguese Man Of War Aug 16, 1971

German saboteurs are attacking wartime installations. Erskine is sent to track down the saboteurs supply lines in the Portuguese fishing community, while Haber is interned in a prison with some captured Germans to learn their plans.

EP4 The Prisoner Aug 23, 1971

Erskine and Haber break into the notorious Changi Prison in Singapore to rescue a British bacteriologist.

EP5 The Bridge Sep 30, 1971

A plan to blow up the Sydney Harbour Bridge is discover by Erskine and Haber.

EP6 The Trader Sep 06, 1971

Erskine and Haber take refuge at a trading post while evacuating a small party from New Guinea. Suspicion grows that one of the party is in league with the enemy.

EP7 The Escape Sep 13, 1971

Erskine and Haber guard German aeronautics expert Gen. Gustav Hochstraadt against an escape attempt.

EP8 27 Hours Sep 20, 1971

Erskine and Haber take Gen. Hochstraadt on a direct 27 hour flight to Colombo where he is to be handed over to the British.

EP9 The Volunteers - part one Sep 27, 1971

Erskine and Haber lead a daring raid against enemy shipping in Singapore Harbour, however it becomes obvious that one of the group is determined to sabotage the attempt.

EP10 The Volunteers - part two Oct 04, 1971

A saboteur endangers the mission in Singapore Harbour, and Haber is faced with the decision of abandoning Erskine to certain capture, or picking Erskine up and risking the lives of all the others on the mission.

EP11 The Countess Aug 30, 1971

Erskine and Haber make contact with the Countess in Macau, to obtain information on Japanese troop movements.

EP12 The Cripple Oct 18, 1971

Erskine is shot and loses the use of his legs. The doctor suspects the disability is only psychosomatic.

EP13 The Assassin Nov 13, 1971

A top German assassin is sent to Australia to kill General MacArthur. Cato has a devious plan to protect MacArthur - without his approval.

EP14 The Tunku Dec 11, 1971

Erskine and Haber are sent to Malaya to prevent the Tunku of the Selegore area from making a broadcast to his people instructing them to cease resisting the Japanese.

EP15 The Gunner Nov 08, 1971

Haber and Jill Stewart are in New Guinea to sink Japanese shipping in Lae Harbour, and need help from a sole surviving, mentally unbalanced member of a lost artillery unit.

EP16 The Saviour - part one Nov 22, 1971

Erskine, Haber and Lt. French go to New Guinea to bring back a pacifist doctor wanted by the Americans due to his involvement with the atom bomb research.

EP17 The Saviour - part two Dec 18, 1971

Erskine, Haber and Lt. French go to New Guinea to bring back a pacifist doctor wanted by the Americans due to his involvement with the atom bomb research.

EP18 The Samurai Jan 12, 1972

Erskine and Haber are sent to an occupied island to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese Intelligence officer, who models his life on the 11th century Samurai.

EP19 The Bunker Jan 12, 1972

Erskine, Haber and two Japanese soldiers spend Christmas Eve trapped in a bunker under heavy fire from Allied and Japanese artillery.

EP20 Reilley's Army Sep 23, 1971

Erskine and Haber go to New Guinea to bring back Reilley, who has been waging a private war with the japanese thus jeopardising Allied coastwatchers.

EP21 The Courier Mar 08, 1972

Erskine and Lt. French are stranded in the desert by a German agent while escorting a captured Japanese courier from Darwin to Sydney.

EP22 The Doctor Jan 26, 1972

German agents abduct the wife of a doctor in order to force his aid in sabotaging the supply of penicillin to Allied troops.

EP23 The Major Jan 05, 1972

Erskine and Jill Stewart go to Burma to blow up a bridge the Japanese are using to advance north into China. They find a British regiment left behind as a ‘tactical rear guard’.

EP24 The Lovers Jan 01, 0001

Erskine and Haber evacuate a Patrol Officer and two civilians from New Guinea. One of civilians, Haber had former relationship with.

EP25 The Chase Mar 01, 1972

Erskine and Haber are sent to rescue a politicians son from a prison camp, but the Japanese seem all to aware of the plan.

EP26 The Diplomat Feb 09, 1972

A Japanese cabinet minister wants to organise a peace treaty as he is does not think Japan can win the war. Haber, impersonating Col. Cato, is sent to a Japanese island for a meeting with the cabinet minister.

EP27 The District Commissioner Feb 23, 1972

The local District Commissioner stops Erskine from using the radio to organise a retreat as he is obsessed with holding the line.

EP28 The Troupers Mar 15, 1972

A group of entertainers who have visited many of the Allied camps are captured by the Japanese. Erskine and Haber are sent to rescue them before the Japanese can learn the locations of the camps.

EP29 The Encounter Mar 22, 1972

An American deserter is captured by Erskine as Col. Cato suspects he is being using as a scapegoat to cover a more serious war crime.

EP30 The Breakout Nov 13, 1972

hen a number of Australian soldiers are captured, Erskine is sent to New Guinea to break them out of a holding camp before the Japanese can learn of Allied troop movements.

EP31 The Interrogator Jan 19, 1972

Cato and Lt. French are en route to an Intelligence Conference when they are captured by Germans. Cato is subject to an interrogation to obtain details of Allied troop ship movements.

EP32 The Raiders Apr 19, 1972

A Japanese sub has been raiding northern Australia. Haber and explosives expert Owen Davies, an unreliable drunk, are sent to destroy it.

EP33 The Forger Apr 17, 1972

Haber and Parsons are sent to track down a counterfeit ring which appears to be centred in a small Queensland country town.

EP34 The Correspondent Mar 27, 1972

An American news correspondent jeopardised a mission when he reveals details of the operation.

EP35 The Double Agent Dec 04, 1972

Haber takes the place of a captured German agent in order to track down the suppliers of a German sub operating off the coast of Australia.

EP36 The Misfits Jan 29, 1973

Erskine and Haber are sent to rescue a cypher expert from a Japanese prison camp, but a group of misfit soldiers also at the camp cause problems.

EP37 The Mission Dec 02, 1972

Erskine has an attack of malaria which forces him to seek shelter in a mission on a Japanese occupied island. The mission has an uneasy truce with the Japanese, which Erskine's presence shatters completely.

EP38 The Journey Dec 09, 1972

On an escape flight from Burma, Erskine and Haber share a plane with five refugees, one of whom is a secret British agent. It is discovered that someone is radioing the plane's position to the Japanese, and then shortly after one of the passengers is murdered.

EP39 The Decoy Jan 15, 1973

Erskine is sent to a Pacific island to blow up a Japanese fuel dump, as a cover for an Allied attack on a nearby island. Upon arrival he finds British women and their families held captive by the Japanese.

EP40 The Murder Jan 20, 1973

Col. Cato supposedly dies of a heart attack while working at his desk, but Erskine, Haber and French find evidence that he was murdered, and they work to expose the cover-up.

EP41 The Trail Jun 14, 1972

Erskine accompanies two Army nurses to a medical aid station on the Kakoda Trail in New Guinea. When he discovers a Japanese platoon in the region his report is ignored by the General in command of the area, who refuses to allow the post to be evacuated.

EP42 The Rolls That Went To War Feb 02, 1973

Erskine's plane is shot down, and he is washed ashore on an isolated peninsula in Malaya. He is found by a group of Allied agents who crash-landed some months previously and are hiding out in an abandoned mansion. Erskine is wary of the group, but he must depend on them to help destroy a bridge, which is vital to Allied war efforts.
6.8| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 08 August 1971 Ended
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Country: Australia
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Spyforce was an Australian TV series produced from 1971 to 1973, based upon the adventures of Australian Military Intelligence operatives in the South West Pacific during World War II. It was produced by the Nine Network in conjunction with Paramount Pictures. The series centres on the action and adventures of lead actor Jack Thompson's character Erskine, and his main support character, Peter Sumner's Gunthar Haber. It was the first lead role for Jack Thompson. The two are part of an elite unit of special operatives, the Special Intelligence Unit, and their adventures are loosely based upon those of the real Services Reconnaissance Department who often operated behind Japanese-held lines during the war. Unlike most previous war films, Spyforce deliberately steered away from the notion that the United States was solely responsible for Japan's defeat, and highlights the important role Australian forces played in the defeat of the Imperial Japanese Army. Producer Roger Mirams was also careful to avoid stereotypes of the genre, and tired formulas for the battle scenes. The idea appealed to American producers Paramount Pictures, who backed creator Roger Mirams to begin production without having seen a script. He made the pilot episode, "Spy Catcher", which impressed Paramount, and the Nine Network immediately bought the local rights. The first episode aired in Sydney on 8 August 1971, and the rest of Australia on 26 August 1971. It was originally intended to produce 26 episodes, but following the success of the first series, Mirams held talks with both Nine Network and Paramount Pictures, who backed him for a second series. In all 42 episodes were produced. The series was last aired on Australian television in Adelaide on 21 September 1976, but has been re-run several times since.

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ianmcpherson-09805 Currently playing on free to air on Channel 9 I've been re-watching this series and loving it! I'd originally watched this when it was first released but missed many episodes, now as an adult it's better than I remember it was 40 years ago... As others have pointed out it gives an Aussie point of view of the Pacific war, especially on the intelligence/counter intelligence side. Given when it was made I can forgive the lack of special effects etc. I'm giving a 9 out 10 for it's unique 'flavour' A reviewer asked if this is available on DVD - yes it is! Just type: Spyforce: The Complete Series and you'll find any number of sites to buy this from - Enjoy!
kevin-hepworth A superb series, great to see the war was not just won by the Yanks. Superb cast Jack Thompson excellent, Miss Wild was so sexy without even trying. Wish would re run in UK is so different from the normal run of the mill programmes. Gunter ? never quite trusted Any one know if it is to be re run? If so on what channel and when? Keep missing good shows as hard to monitor all the satellite stations Any one also know if " the Club " will be re shown any time soon? Jack Thompson excellent in that and love the Aussy Rules anthem "One Day In September" Would love go to an Aussy Rules game, the Final would be brilliant Would need win the European Lottery to fund that trip. Is Spyforce on DVD ? Have looked with no joy
sydneyswesternsuburbs This 42 episode gem of a television series was about Australian Military Intelligence operatives fighting the Japanese Army during the Second World War. Starring Jack Thompson who has also been in other classic flicks, Ground Zero 1987, Yolongu Boy 2001, Broken Arrow 1996, Breaker Morant 1980, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith 1978 and Mad Dog Morgan 1976.Also starring Peter Sumner who has also been in other classic flicks, Ned Kelly 1970 and The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith with Jack Thompson.Also starring Katy Wild.Also starring Redmond Phillips who was also in another classic flick, Razorback 1984.Also starring Bill Hunter who has also been in other classic flicks, Blue Murder 1995, Every night...Every night 1995, Gallipoli 1981, Backroads 1977, Mad Dog Morgan 1976, Stone 1974 and Ned Kelly 1970.I enjoyed seeing a television series about Australia's involvement in fighting the Japanese Army during WW2 which is often overlooked.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic television series, Combat! 1962-1967, Tour of Duty 1987-1990, The Twilight Zone: The Original Series 1959-1964, The Samurai 1962-1965, Thunderbirds 1965-1966, Captain Scarlett 1967, Joe 90 1968, UFO 1970-1971, Space: 1999 1975-1977, The Simpsons 1989 and ongoing, Twin Peaks 1990-1991, Seinfeld 1990-1998, Star Trek 1966-1969, Police Rescue 1989-1996, Game of Thrones 2011-2017 & 2019, Hell on Wheels 2011-2016, Over There 2005, The Shield 2002-2008, Strike Back 2010-2013 & 2015 & 2017-18, Summer Heights High 2007, Underbelly 2008-2013 (including Land of the Long Green Cloud/Infiltration/Tell Them Lucifer Was Here/The Man Who Got Away), The Walking Dead 2010-2019, Archer 2009-2019, Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms 2012, Killing Time 2010, Sealab 2021 2000-2005, Sons of Anarchy 2008-2014, Spartacus: Blood and Sand 2010, Frisky Dingo 2006-2007, Deadwood 2004-2006, Ja'mie: Private School Girl 2013, Vikings 2013-2018, Fat Tony & Co 2014, Jonah from Tonga 2014, Utopia 2014-2015 & 2017, Banshee 2013-2016, Black Sails 2014-2017, Rome 2005 & 2007,The Knick 2014-2015, The Tudors 2007-2010, Banished 2015, Mr. Robot 2015-2017, Wolf Creek 2016-2017 and Frontline 1994-1997.
wauchopm Spyforce was a strong Australian WW2 spy/action series, with exciting scripts and a good cast. What made it stand out was the two lead characters - Jack Thompson as the archetypal Aussie and Peter Sumner as his German-born partner - who were constantly at odds due to Jack's doubts over Peter's true loyalties. I must admit its been a long time since I saw the show, but my recollection is that although Peter's character was sympathetically developed and complex, there was always a wee bit of doubt about whether MAYBE he really was a double agent.