Drafts and previous incarnations of episodes. (Back to the Archive)

• The Last of the Cybernauts...??:

  The first draft of the episode, written before production began on the series. Dated March, 1976, it differs in several respects from the finished product.

• Dead Men Are Dangerous:

  An original, vintage script, this was the copy personally used by Joanna Lumley when rehearsing for this episode. Sadly, it is incomplete due to pages from three scenes having been torn out, likely by Ms. Lumley herself for rehearsal purposes (she has been known to do the same whilst rehearsing for other shows). All of the missing scenes prominently feature Purdey, which supports this explanantion.

  An interesting bit of trivia is that Lumley filmed part of this episode on her birthday, May 1, namely the scenes where Purdey and Gambit have their bout in the gym. Missing material aside, it still provides a fascinating insight into the scripting of the series, and also highlights the differences between the scripted version and the eventual filmed episode. An itemised list of the changes, as well as photos from Lumley's birthday and that day's filming, can be found here.

• The Sleeping Dragon:

  Not a script per se, but most definitely the predecessor to a filmed episode. Written by Brian Clemens as an exclusive for The Daily Mirror, it was published in October, 1976, and is virtually identical in plot and premise to the French-filmed episode K is for Kill, with the Chinese soldiers in this story eventually substituted for Russians. Clearly penned early in the series' development, it features motifs and character notes that were later scrapped, as well as one or two lines that would later be used in other episodes.