This episode is like a parody of a James Bond film. You'll never hear so many comically Russian accents in one place. Even Simon Templar puts one on, while pretending to be a KGB agent: to communicate with other Russian agents in English.
All the other clichés about Soviets and the joys of capitalist life are thrown in. It's still great fun of course. Simon Templar still finds time to play the gallant gentleman and Mary Peach, as Colonel Smolenko, is a lot more appealing than Rosa Kleb.
There is also what must be the cheapest special effect ever: the supposedly explosive sheet of letter paper.
Not to mention the Chinese soldiers using English as a lingua franca to talk to the Soviets.
The episode is at least a reflection of the new geopolitical realities of the era in which it was made, with the hostility between the Chinese and Soviet versions of Communism.
All the other clichés about Soviets and the joys of capitalist life are thrown in. It's still great fun of course. Simon Templar still finds time to play the gallant gentleman and Mary Peach, as Colonel Smolenko, is a lot more appealing than Rosa Kleb.
There is also what must be the cheapest special effect ever: the supposedly explosive sheet of letter paper.
Not to mention the Chinese soldiers using English as a lingua franca to talk to the Soviets.
The episode is at least a reflection of the new geopolitical realities of the era in which it was made, with the hostility between the Chinese and Soviet versions of Communism.
