Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстағы британ тыңшылары

British WW2 espionage television series
the UK TV series

Wish Me Luck is a British television drama about the exploits of British women undercover agents during the Second World War. The series was made by London Weekend Television for the ITV network between 17 January 1988 and 25 February 1990 and created by Lavinia Warner and Jill Hyem, who had previously produced and written the BBC women prisoner of war series Tenko. The series was filmed on location in England and France. Wish Me Luck is similar to Tenko and the 1970s BBC drama Secret Army, in that it deals with strong female characters coping under extreme conditions in wartime. The organisation for which the series' women agents worked, the Outfit, was based on the real life Special Operations Executive. Season 1 and 2 were based on the exploits of SOE agent Nancy Wake and much of the dialogue was copied from her autobiography The White Mouse. The series also addressed social issues and divisions under wartime conditions. A great deal of attention was also paid to creating the social context of the operatives, the drama of their work, against the backdrop of an intensely detailed local "colour" in both wartime Britain and France. "Wish Me Luck (as You Wave Me Goodbye)" is a song made popular during the Second World War by Gracie Fields.

Series 2 opens in Autumn 1943 with the execution by firing squad of three members of 'The Outfit' in South Western France. Liz is now working alongside Cad and Faith in London, and has the task of contacting the bereaved relatives, including John Ashton's widow, Vivien (Farleigh), while Faith interviews potential young recruit Emily Whitbread (Snowden). Cad receives direct approval from the Prime Minister for the work they are doing, and also gets a visit from Vivien, offering to volunteer herself. Colin has been on a leaders' course, and is to be sent out to head up Area 7. Kit Vanston, for whom Liz clearly still has feelings, is being brought home. Liz helps train the new recruits, but admits to Faith that since hearing Matty has gone back into the field, she is missing being in France herself. Vivien (codename Solange) and Emily (codename Zoe) pass their training and prepare to leave for France with Colin. Emily sleeps with her boyfriend as a final fling. Kit arrives back, after more than a year leading Area 3, and is met by Liz. In Episode 2, Colin, Vivien and Emily parachute into Area 7, and are met by brusque Outfit agent Gordon, codename Gaspard (McGugan) and local resistance leader Josef (William Simons), but Colin fractures his ankle in the drop. Emily quickly settles into her billet, posing as a relative of widowed shopkeeper Marie Ferrier (Gillian Raine), whose son Luc (Anstee) has just gone off to join the Maquis, and her father, Leon (John Boswell). Their neighbour Annette (Carmel McSharry) is revealed to be short of money and seems suspicious of Emily. Vivien's cover is as nanny to her wealthy friend Juliet (Bobbie Brown), who lives in a nearby chateau. Liz and Kit's relationship blooms when she helps him settle back home. He updates her on the news from Area 3: Maurice was captured and tortured to death by the Gestapo after she left. Liz's mother guesses Liz is having an affair and warns her not to risk her marriage; Liz tries to break it off with Kit who asks her to marry him. She refuses. Meanwhile, in France, Emily fears she is pregnant, Vivien seems to have a hidden agenda, and Colin rouses the suspicions of a young milice officer. He later finds her searching his rooms and has to shoot her. Colin is in shock at the beginning of Episode 3. Vivien and Gordon hastily get rid of the milicienne's body. Emily's pregnancy is confirmed, much to Cad's fury, but she decides to have an abortion so as to continue her work. Vivien's secret is revealed: 19 years ago she had a baby in France and released her for adoption; she seeks the help of a priest in trying to trace her but he appears to be a collaborator. Colin is having a breakdown much to the contempt of Gordon, who takes temporary charge and Cad and Faith worry about who can be sent to replace him. Returning home unexpectedly one night, Liz finds Laurence in bed with another woman. He blames her for being a bad wife and mother, which Liz takes to heart, despite her anger that she gave Kit up needlessly to save her marriage; she agrees to Laurence's demand for a divorce and custody of Vicky and volunteers to lead Area 7 herself. Faith summons Kit to talk Liz out of it, but Kit's chauvinist attitude enrages Liz they row and part on bad terms. Colin escapes to Spain on foot as Liz (with a new codename of Collette) sets off for France. Episode 4 see Liz arrive in Area 7 where she immediately sets about tightening security. She briefs Gordon that they must disable a U boat transmitter; they have a resistance contact, Jeanne, working at the base, who arranges for Vivien, under a new identity, to work there as well. Vivien hears from the priest with news of her daughter, Yvette, and disobeys orders to go to Toulouse in search of her. She meets Yvette's adoptive mother but Yvette left home some time ago. Gordon confides his distrust of Vivien to Liz, who finds out about her unauthorised absence and other lapses of security, and takes her to task. Colin has finally got back to England. Cad and Faith visit him in hospital, and then go on to meet their new liaison with the Free French Forces, Paul Daubert. Liz and Gordon finalise their plans to attack the transmitter base unaware that they are walking into a trap: Jeanne has been caught out by the Germans and revealed the raid plans to Sturmbannführer Voller (Donald Gee) of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) to protect her son. In the resulting shoot out, Jeanne shouts a last minute warning and is killed, and Gordon is shot. Liz and Vivien get him out. Josef saves Emily. Episode 5 reveals the aftermath of the failed raid: Vivien and Liz rush the critically injured Gordon to Marie's for makeshift surgery by a doctor friend of Leon's; Annette's suspicions increase; Liz worries who could have betrayed them while showing her increased mettle as leader. The Germans find Emily's transmitter in a barn, and Liz decides she must move to a new safe house, to the dismay of Marie and Leon who have become very attached to her. Vivien finally gets an address for Yvette (Trevyn McDowell) and goes to visit her without revealing who she is; they get on well, but Vivien is shocked to meet Yvette's boyfriend: a German Wehrmacht lieutenant. Cad gets a visit from his son, about to leave on active service, and then agrees with Paul Daubert that they must send an overall co ordinator to France. Kit accepts the job with enthusiasm; he has admitted to Colin his frustration at being inactive. First, however, Cad wants Kit to go to Area 7 to help Liz destroy a vital factory, but warns him not to let his feelings for Liz cloud his judgment. Gordon recovers sufficiently to be sent home hidden in a coffin. Emily lingers too long at Marie's while Leon tries to fix her radio; the Germans raid. Emily escapes but Leon is killed and Marie arrested. She is brought before Voller and faces torture, as Emily and Liz meet to regroup. By Episode 6, the situation is perilous. Liz gets a message to London via Area 6. Vivien lunches with Yvette and finds herself socialising with Voller. Emily, now radio less, and in a new identity, witnesses a badly beaten Marie being forced on a transporter train. She finds Luc in his hideaway to break the news, and also discovers the informer was Annette. Haunted by the sacrifice Marie and Leon have made for her she asks to carry out the reprisal execution of Annette, but finds someone has beaten her to it. Josef tells Liz Vivien has been seen dining out with German officers; Liz orders Emily to message London to request Vivien's immediate removal but unknown to her, Vivien reads the message. Colin has recovered, and Cad tells him Gordon is safe and Liz is doing well. Cad's son is killed in action, and he is grief stricken; Faith has to take the decision to recall Vivien. Kit arrives in Area 7. Initially shocked, Liz is relieved to have back up she can trust but is determined to keep things professional; she has become a clear sighted and capable leader, somewhat to Kit's dismay. Meanwhile, Vivien's continued recklessness catches up with her: Voller has recognised her from a photograph of when she worked at the transmitter base. Vivien confesses to Yvette that she is her mother; Yvette angrily rejects her. As she storms out, Voller and his men arrest them both. The series climax sees Liz, Kit, Emily and Josef finalising their plans to bomb the factory unaware that Vivien is being questioned by Voller, and about to be handed over to the Gestapo. A German officer, while arranging the necessary transport with a local man, Felix, reveals Vivien is to be sent by car to Bordeaux but Felix turns out to be part of the resistance. Luc gets his message and rushes to warn Liz that Vivien has been arrested. Liz immediately decides they must ambush the car, and demands a plane from London to get Vivien and Yvette out. Cad organises the plane, but it can only take one person. Liz and Kit break into the factory and set up a booby trap with a grenade. The factory is spectacularly destroyed and they all escape. Now they must rescue Vivien. During the ambush of the car, Voller accidentally kills Yvette when Vivien lunges at him, and is himself killed by Luc. With only seconds to get away, Vivien hysterically refuses to leave Yvette's body. Vivien is risking all their lives; Liz warns her she will shoot her if she has to and then does. Kit persuades a shaken Liz to take the available place on the plane since the Area 7 unit is finished. Emily prepares to go with Luc into the mountains. Liz and Kit say their goodbyes and Liz flies away.

The third and final series is based on the actions of the Maquis du Vercors and the events in Vassieux en Vercors, though the locations used are given fictional names, such as the village being named Couermont and the plateau "Le Crest". Jane Snowden, Michael J Jackson, Jane Asher, Stuart McGugan and Mark Anstee all reprise their roles, with agents "Dominique" (Catherine Schell) and "Antoine" (Jeremy Nicholas) joining the cast. The series focuses on the build up to a planned uprising by the resistance in Le Crest, led to by Renard (Trevor Peacock), with the belief that supplies will soon arrive from Great Britain. However Nicole (Felicity Montagu), a woman who had befriended Emily in the opening moments of the series is feeding all this information to the Nazis and General Stuckler (Terrence Hardiman) orders the resistance to be quashed and troops are parachuted in, leading to a bloody finale. Other notables appearances in this series are Shirley Henderson who plays a young Jewish girl named Sylvie and Glyn Grain who plays Bonnard, the estranged husband of Dominique.

The complete series of Wish Me Luck is available on DVD in both the UK and USA.