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.
WriterRalph W. Peterson
The General
Aug 2, 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.
Death Railway
Sep 2, 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.
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.
The Prisoner
Aug 23, 1971
Erskine and Haber break into the notorious Changi Prison in Singapore to rescue a British bacteriologist.
The Bridge
Sep 30, 1971
A plan to blow up the Sydney Harbour Bridge is discover by Erskine and Haber.
The Trader
Sep 6, 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.
The Escape
Sep 13, 1971
Erskine and Haber guard German aeronautics expert Gen. Gustav Hochstraadt against an escape attempt.
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.
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.
The Volunteers - part two
Oct 4, 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.
The Countess
Aug 30, 1971
Erskine and Haber make contact with the Countess in Macau, to obtain information on Japanese troop movements.
The Cripple
Oct 18, 1971
Erskine is shot and loses the use of his legs. The doctor suspects the disability is only psychosomatic.
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.
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.
The Gunner
Nov 8, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Courier
Mar 8, 1972
Erskine and Lt. French are stranded in the desert by a German agent while escorting a captured Japanese courier from Darwin to Sydney.
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.
The Major
Jan 5, 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’.
The Lovers
Erskine and Haber evacuate a Patrol Officer and two civilians from New Guinea. One of civilians, Haber had former relationship with.
The Chase
Mar 1, 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.
The Diplomat
Feb 9, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Correspondent
Mar 27, 1972
An American news correspondent jeopardised a mission when he reveals details of the operation.
The Double Agent
Dec 4, 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.
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.
The Mission
Dec 2, 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.
The Journey
Dec 9, 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.
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.
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.
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.
The Rolls That Went To War
Feb 2, 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.
