Reilly Ace of Spies

Around the same time he screen tested to replace Roger Moore as James Bond, a rôle he was less than interested in taking on, Kiwi-born actor Sam Neill achieved his big break in this lavish Euston Films series, created by Troy Kennedy Martin and based on a true story. Neill's face dissolves into the opening titles, a montage of Edwardian scenes over which Reilly's espionage may well have had an influence. The title music, adapted from Dmitri Shostakovich's 1955 composition The Gadfly, was released as a single. Twelve episodes: 05/09/83 to 16/11/83.