Quite simply, ‘Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)’ is one of my all-time favourite TV shows. I have rewatched it multiple times and it always cheers me up. I never tire of it. Favourite episodes include ‘That’s How Murder Snowballs’, ‘But What a Sweet Little Room’, ‘Who Killed Cock Robin?’ and ‘Vendetta For a Dead Man’.
This was a delight to watch as a kid. I liked the Saint. But my two fsvourites were Randall and Hopkirk and The Champions. The fsct that Jeff drove a Vauxhall and occasionally had to borrow Jean's mini added a touch of reality to a supernatural and sometimes daft series. Kenneth Cope had that naive, positive energy and was devoted to Jean inna charming way. The theme tune was great too. Jeff was always getting beatrn up, kudnapped and saved in creative ways by Marty. Great fun.
Yeah, despite the supernatural theme, it was more grounded and "real" than most ITC offerings. Jeff wasn't a superman or even a good scrapper, just a guy whose best friend was a ghost.
I watched it when it first came out & loved it! The original version was the best, but the concept was brilliant, it has to be comedic for obvious reasons!
Actor Freddie Jones appeared in both versions. He's one of those actors that you see in various films and shows over the years as a supporting character actor.
He was in Dune, the David Lynch version. Lynch just passed away. Freddie Jones played the Mentat. He was also a regular in Emmerdale for many years before his death
Hooray! My favourite ITC series (and I’m a huge ITC fan). Thanks for another fun stroll down memory lane - even if it did involve having to step in that dog pat of a reboot. I hope you’ll be doing The Saint (series) sometime soon. And Star Maidens…..
Great video fantastic show. I love the story that Kenneth Cope ( Hopkirk) unknowingly wore his hairpiece backwards in the first episodes. To save money the show was filmed simultaneously with Department S
Same here, this original series and The Champions, also really liked The Avengers. I didn't see hardly anything of Itv serials, as it was a station virtually banned by the starchy parents, so had a lot of catching up to do, when these gems were aired again, from not so long ago and still are! All above had some weird minded baddies, played by those who acted the roles very well, which made it a must to watch the following week! Randall & Hopkirk was excellent, with plenty of detailed sets. Loved the camera trickery/effects and expected it to be a little crude for that time. Even if it was 1 series, 26 in 1 series is a real treat!
The original opening credits as aired in the UK were the Marty Hopkirk "Its only you Jeff" voice over cemetery scene. These were replaced in the mid '70s reruns with the more animated 'streetmap' ones, hence why the later title sequence is perhaps remembered more. I vividly remember the original runs of this, Dept S and The Champions. Keep up the good work.
I remember watching reruns of this under the MY PARTNER THE GHOST title when I was really young. I don't remember anything about it, except for the title, but don't remember any of the episodes' stories. Just remember I like it at the time.
I loved the original 1969 series from the first episode I saw, when a local US station broadcast it as My Partner the Ghost. I was hooked on the concept right away, appreciating the chemistry of the leads, the quirky plots, & the iconic title & episode music by Edwin Astley. This was another stellar review, with your genuinely witty observations & in-depth research matched by gloriously beautiful clips of the show. I always assumed the series had been written especially for Kenneth Cope, so the story of how he was actually cast was eye opening! I tried giving the 1990's reincarnation a go, but felt it was trying too hard to be edgy, though I have become a fan of the newer actors since, & may give it another chance some day. Thanks for covering this beloved old classic, which I feel deserved more than a single season. You always do a Stam Fine job! (Bet you never heard that before, ha ha).
we bought the box set 2nd hand recently - it's going to be part of our non-streaming TV programme schedule. (I remember it as a kid first time around!!!)
In one of those clips I noticed Brian Blessed sitting behind Randall on a passenger aircraft, not shouting, but looking decidedly sinister. I only remember seeing this as a little youngster and can barely remember any of the actual episodes. But it was one of the shows that my siblings would shout across the house to announce it was on and we’d all drop what we were doing, file in and sit down to watch it. So we must have liked it as children.
Thanks for another great video! I made the mistake of watching the start of this one with the auto-generated subtitles on and the whole thing took on a surreal cookery twist with quite a lot of Hob Cooking...
Absolutely baffled how this channel doesn't have more subscribers. Though the fact it seems almost spookily to review shows of my exact demographic - watching these things as BBC2 reruns in the 80's - may have something to do with how much it resonates
Funny that. Same with a lot of the well known series only went for a few years, but we remember them as like 10. Possibly because they made a lot more episodes in a year back them and they were forever on repeat.
Love this show. Everything from the wonderfully spooky theme to the banter between Mike Pratt and Kenneth Copes characters. Being a big fan of Vic & Bob, I also loved the different take on the original. And....Emilia Fox wasn't exactly hard on the eye either.
I loved the original series and have watched the re-runs many times and still enjoyed them. I also really enjoyed the remake with Vic & Bob. It was different enough to grab my attention with some great performances especially Jessica Hynes as the Polish Secretary👍
My opinion is that the the comedy was more subtle in the original series, while the remake was made as a comedy, which is not really surprising given the leads. I also felt that Jeff, as played by Bob Mortimer, was a little bit thick. But that's only my opinion, and I should really give both series another watch.
The original is my favourite as a kid - used to record some episodes to a reel to reel tape recorder straight from the telly. My dad, who worked in the TV, Radio and Records industry, knew Mike, and Mike knew I was a great fan of the show. That's all that mattered to a youngster. He was a lovely chap. You skipped over his song writing, for Tommy Steele! His lad, Guy, is a well respected bassist, working with top-end artists and groups. Did I mention Pink Floyd, for example?
I loved the original series as a child and the rewatching it as an adult I realised some of the outside shots were in (a surprisingly car-less) South Kensington where I had lived as a student. Thanks for covering an under appreciated classic series. 😀👍
I always thought the theme tune to the original series was the most John Barry- like theme tune not actually written by him. Loved the show as a kid (I suspect we all thought how brilliant it would be to be Marty), and still like it now. And much as I enjoyed Reeves and Mortimer's comedy stuff (Big Night Out, The Smell Of, Shooting Stars, etc) I didn't watch their version of the show, as I knew I'd be judging it all the time.
Also…the composer for the original series, Edwin Ashley, was Pete Townshend’s father-in-law and was a big influence on him incorporating symphonic aspects in his music, like on ‘Tommy’. Similar to George Martin’s effect on The Beatles.
Although well aware of this on TV when I was younger, I never watched it. Still, I always enjoy your retrospectives. Full of fun and genuinely creative, I don't think I've said enough about the visual gags you insert. They are they are a well-appreciated spark of creativity.
TBH, I’m only here to see footage from the 2000 remake because I’m a big fan of Vic and Bob. And watching Vic with Tom Baker is like metal being sharpened by metal.
Being a fan of the original, I didn't watch the remake, but now I want to watch it. I've become a huge fan of Bob Mortimer, I worship Tom Baker MBE (as of the New Year Honours List) and I want to see David Tennant, obviously I neither knew nor cared about his appearance in the show...but two Doctors and the Master has to be worth watching. Emilia Fox is always a win, even if she is a cousin of the failed actor, twice humiliated candidate for Mayor of London, and general waste of skin Laurence.
I quite liked the remake and bought the DVD only to discover it was a 4:3 crop, with characters like Jeanie cropped out from the original widescreen broadcast version.
Only saw the remake. I love Vic and Bob. Have done since I was a kid. Remember enjoying their version of Randall and Hopkirk but Bob himself has criticised his acting
Oh hey, thanks for the proper subtitles! I sometimes have auditory processing issues, migraines requiring extreme quiet, and I used to be deaf when I was 4-8 years old until I had some surgeries. (Though I'll point out I noticed "chaste" was rendered as "chased" and I was a bit confused at first.) I somehow had never heard of this, and I thoroughly enjoy other 60s ITC shows. I must admit, even just seeing the clips of the Reeves and Mortimer version was already pissing me off... but the clips from the original show were quite charming!
I loved the remake. The acting was a bit ropey, especially at the beginning, but Vic and Bob did get better. Jeannie, played by Emilia Fox, captured an Emma Peel sexiness with her role. The theme tune, by David Arnold was excellent too and had a real Bondesque feel.
I was first introduced to the original (and best) series when I was 9 yrs old in 1987. My mum would record it on Thursday afternoons on Central. I was hooked. I watched them over and over again. She’d missed a couple of episodes which I didn’t see until 1994 when it was repeated again on BBC2, so it felt a bit like a second series for me.
Great review. I came to the series via the BBC2 repeats in the 1990's, I think they were on Friday nights. Loved the 60's version from the off, not really sure what I loved as I was only 8 or 9 at the time. I remember being quite excited about the remake in 2000 but personally was a bit underwhelmed.
I can date my childhood experiences to shows like this. I was 7 when it started on Granada TV and I loved the show along with The Prisoner, The Dustbin Men, Never Mind The Quality, Liver Birds… etc. There were a lot of US shows too Branded etc but the one that stuck in my mind that nobody else seems to remember was The New People, like Lost a group of people stuck on a pacific island meant to be used for testing atomic bombs!
I have never heard of this show, but it sounds really interesting. It sounds like the Bob Hoskins and Denzel Washington comedy “Heart Condition” done right lol
ITC-produced shows (like this one) were shot on 35mm film and had higher production values all round. They were made with the US market very much in mind.
Living in a border city (Detroit) before cable, we were able to tune into UK programs from the Canadian station CBET, the CBC affiliate inn Windsor, ON. But I don't remember this one.
You were being very kind to Annette Andre, whom i thought was gorgeous btw, when you said "she was ill". Wasn't it a bit more a 'self inflicted' 'illness' thanks to certain....substances? That written i remember the original screenings and watched them, and re-runs, religiously. Fun show that i was always entertained by. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I think the first time I watched the original series was around 1987 when it was repeated by ITV (Tyne Tees) on a weekday afternoon. I was still at school so had to set the video on timer to record it. I remember the 2000 remake being advertised but don't think I watched it. Now the original series seems to be repeated on a loop on Freeview Channel 50, it's just recently moved back to it's 9pm weekday time slot.
I enjoyed both series but they did have their problems. The original didn't have a developing storyline (or, rather, didn't develop Marty's storyline very well). The remake might have been better with Mortimer playing the ghost.
Thank you for putting on this excellent presentation. I did prefer the original - the remake, IMO was OTT and it made too much use of CGI, which spoilt it.
Just watching the reeves and Mortimer version at the moment. There's some good writing and great suporting cast. The leads can't act but it you like r and m you can forgive this. Really need to check out the original. Pratt is the dad of the pink Floyd bass player who has a cameo in the remake. Peace and love.
An excellent episode but in the context of a cult series a comment wouldn't be complete without an annoyingly trivial quibble: in the sequence mentioning the ITC series shot at Elstree there is a glimpse of Man in a Suitcase, one of the few shot at Pinewood. The rule of thumb is generally if Monty Berman was involved it was shot at Elstree, if not, then Pinewood, MGM Borehamwood, Shepperton etc according to the producers whim, budget or availability. In the 1960s there was a lot of US-financed feature film production in the UK so stage space could be in short supply. In the mid - Sixties Elstree built a block of three smaller adjoining stages originally intended for TV production although at the time they never had TV-specific equipment installed and were used just like film stages. For the next decade they mostly housed Monty Berman's productions plus the non-ITC filmed episodes of The Avengers. Those productions would occasionally use other stages on the lot if an especially large set was needed. The Berman series, at least, would occasionally share non-regular sets so that the same re-dressed country house or doctor's office would reappear in either series being shot at the same time. Incidentally, Jeanie's impressive wardrobe probably wouldn't have been half as glamorous if she wasn't given Alexandra Bastedo's Champions cast-offs to wear.
Seems the more solid premise would have the dead detective haunt his *widow*, and then she (despite not being a detective) persuades his living partner to solve his murder.
They took this idea and made an excellent short series out of it called River, which ran on Netflix. When it still created/projected material worth watching.
30:51 Marshall and Snellgrove were inspired by Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as these are the comedic alternative names that they used to give themselves to refer to Randall and Hopkirk.
Loved the original as a kid, not so keen watching it now? With stuff like this and "The Champions" it always bothered me that the heros power's where plot-dependant. When it suits the lazy writer they can do stuff, other times they can't? Also, it's SOOO obvious that Bob Mortimer should have been Hopkirk (not Randall). I can only assume Jim Moir pulled rank?
Quite simply, ‘Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)’ is one of my all-time favourite TV shows. I have rewatched it multiple times and it always cheers me up. I never tire of it. Favourite episodes include ‘That’s How Murder Snowballs’, ‘But What a Sweet Little Room’, ‘Who Killed Cock Robin?’ and ‘Vendetta For a Dead Man’.
This was a delight to watch as a kid. I liked the Saint. But my two fsvourites were Randall and Hopkirk and The Champions. The fsct that Jeff drove a Vauxhall and occasionally had to borrow Jean's mini added a touch of reality to a supernatural and sometimes daft series. Kenneth Cope had that naive, positive energy and was devoted to Jean inna charming way. The theme tune was great too. Jeff was always getting beatrn up, kudnapped and saved in creative ways by Marty. Great fun.
Yeah, despite the supernatural theme, it was more grounded and "real" than most ITC offerings. Jeff wasn't a superman or even a good scrapper, just a guy whose best friend was a ghost.
@neilgodwin6531 The Champions was global but not very in reality. I did like it though. The Prisoner too.
I loved this, bringing back childhood memories, thank you.❤.
Rainy Sunday late afternoons were bliss in the 1970's UK!
Absolutely loved the original. Still resides in my brain to this day. 😂
I loved watching this when it was first shown & would have loved to see another series.
Born in 64 loved this show,
I watched it when it first came out & loved it! The original version was the best, but the concept was brilliant, it has to be comedic for obvious reasons!
Thanks for telling us about this. This is a series that I'd never heard of, but could be interested in.
Actor Freddie Jones appeared in both versions. He's one of those actors that you see in various films and shows over the years as a supporting character actor.
Great actor, very distinctive voice.
He was in Dune, the David Lynch version. Lynch just passed away. Freddie Jones played the Mentat.
He was also a regular in Emmerdale for many years before his death
Toby Jones father.
And he was John Steed in the fun Avenger's episode Who's Who!
I loved the remake, bought the DVDs and rematch it regularly. The music is fabulous and Reeves and Mortimer are a great pair.
Just watching for the guest cast was a lot of fun.
Hooray! My favourite ITC series (and I’m a huge ITC fan). Thanks for another fun stroll down memory lane - even if it did involve having to step in that dog pat of a reboot.
I hope you’ll be doing The Saint (series) sometime soon. And Star Maidens…..
Great video fantastic show. I love the story that Kenneth Cope ( Hopkirk) unknowingly wore his hairpiece backwards in the first episodes. To save money the show was filmed simultaneously with Department S
You mean ITC owned two cameras?
Thrilled someone else is playing ITC White Jaguar Bingo❤
Same here, this original series and The Champions, also really liked The Avengers.
I didn't see hardly anything of Itv serials, as it was a station virtually banned by the starchy parents, so had a lot of catching up to do, when these gems were aired again, from not so long ago and still are!
All above had some weird minded baddies, played by those who acted the roles very well, which made it a must to watch the following week!
Randall & Hopkirk was excellent, with plenty of detailed sets.
Loved the camera trickery/effects and expected it to be a little crude for that time.
Even if it was 1 series, 26 in 1 series is a real treat!
The original opening credits as aired in the UK were the Marty Hopkirk "Its only you Jeff" voice over cemetery scene. These were replaced in the mid '70s reruns with the more animated 'streetmap' ones, hence why the later title sequence is perhaps remembered more. I vividly remember the original runs of this, Dept S and The Champions. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for that, I'd totally forgotten those original credits.
I loved the original and then I loved the remake. Different sides of the same coin.
I remember watching reruns of this under the MY PARTNER THE GHOST title when I was really young. I don't remember anything about it, except for the title, but don't remember any of the episodes' stories. Just remember I like it at the time.
It was called that in America because they didn’t know what “deceased” meant at the time! Probably misheard it as “diseased!”.
I've seen both and I'd happily watch either again. The original was fun, and the remake has Emilia Fox.
Annette always looked fantastic
Aussie of course ❤
I loved the original 1969 series from the first episode I saw, when a local US station broadcast it as My Partner the Ghost. I was hooked on the concept right away, appreciating the chemistry of the leads, the quirky plots, & the iconic title & episode music by Edwin Astley. This was another stellar review, with your genuinely witty observations & in-depth research matched by gloriously beautiful clips of the show. I always assumed the series had been written especially for Kenneth Cope, so the story of how he was actually cast was eye opening! I tried giving the 1990's reincarnation a go, but felt it was trying too hard to be edgy, though I have become a fan of the newer actors since, & may give it another chance some day. Thanks for covering this beloved old classic, which I feel deserved more than a single season. You always do a Stam Fine job! (Bet you never heard that before, ha ha).
I like both versions of this series. Bob criticized his acting in his autobiography but I thought he acquitted himself well. And he was cute 😂
Love how you harpsichorded-up your usual intro music 🙌
👊👻👍
One of the shows from my youth that I enjoyed, I didn’t realise that Kenneth Cope, Marty Hopkirk, only passed away four months ago, September 2024.
we bought the box set 2nd hand recently - it's going to be part of our non-streaming TV programme schedule. (I remember it as a kid first time around!!!)
Recently watched the fantastic blu ray of the series. Hadn’t seen it since it was first broadcast in the uk. Loved it as much as when I was a kid.
I LOVE both, like Captain Scarlet a rare example of remakes being great 👍
I love how you always introduce me to something new
My dad used to wince every time a classic Jag was written of in a repeat of an old show.
I’m in the middle I loved both version, saw saw the OG during the early 90s repeats and watched the remake when it was on.
In one of those clips I noticed Brian Blessed sitting behind Randall on a passenger aircraft, not shouting, but looking decidedly sinister. I only remember seeing this as a little youngster and can barely remember any of the actual episodes. But it was one of the shows that my siblings would shout across the house to announce it was on and we’d all drop what we were doing, file in and sit down to watch it. So we must have liked it as children.
Thanks for another great video! I made the mistake of watching the start of this one with the auto-generated subtitles on and the whole thing took on a surreal cookery twist with quite a lot of Hob Cooking...
Thanks
Cheers!
Absolutely baffled how this channel doesn't have more subscribers. Though the fact it seems almost spookily to review shows of my exact demographic - watching these things as BBC2 reruns in the 80's - may have something to do with how much it resonates
I remember watching this in the 70s in the States. The show was called my partner the ghost.
26 episodes!? I could have sworn this was one of those shows that went on for years!
I know, I thought it was more than one series 😮
Funny that.
Same with a lot of the well known series only went for a few years, but we remember them as like 10.
Possibly because they made a lot more episodes in a year back them and they were forever on repeat.
Love this show. Everything from the wonderfully spooky theme to the banter between Mike Pratt and Kenneth Copes characters. Being a big fan of Vic & Bob, I also loved the different take on the original. And....Emilia Fox wasn't exactly hard on the eye either.
I loved the original series and have watched the re-runs many times and still enjoyed them. I also really enjoyed the remake with Vic & Bob. It was different enough to grab my attention with some great performances especially Jessica Hynes as the Polish Secretary👍
My opinion is that the the comedy was more subtle in the original series, while the remake was made as a comedy, which is not really surprising given the leads. I also felt that Jeff, as played by Bob Mortimer, was a little bit thick. But that's only my opinion, and I should really give both series another watch.
The original is my favourite as a kid - used to record some episodes to a reel to reel tape recorder straight from the telly.
My dad, who worked in the TV, Radio and Records industry, knew Mike, and Mike knew I was a great fan of the show. That's all that mattered to a youngster. He was a lovely chap.
You skipped over his song writing, for Tommy Steele! His lad, Guy, is a well respected bassist, working with top-end artists and groups. Did I mention Pink Floyd, for example?
I loved the original series as a child and the rewatching it as an adult I realised some of the outside shots were in (a surprisingly car-less) South Kensington where I had lived as a student. Thanks for covering an under appreciated classic series. 😀👍
Interestingly… this was my parents favourite show… and they named me after this show.
I always thought the theme tune to the original series was the most John Barry- like theme tune not actually written by him.
Loved the show as a kid (I suspect we all thought how brilliant it would be to be Marty), and still like it now. And much as I enjoyed Reeves and Mortimer's comedy stuff (Big Night Out, The Smell Of, Shooting Stars, etc) I didn't watch their version of the show, as I knew I'd be judging it all the time.
Also…the composer for the original series, Edwin Ashley, was Pete Townshend’s father-in-law and was a big influence on him incorporating symphonic aspects in his music, like on ‘Tommy’. Similar to George Martin’s effect on The Beatles.
I always thought that the "handprint" intro hinted at a darker tone which the series didn't explore.
The original made it to Canada in the seventies and was run, I think, by CBC on Saturday mornings. Loved it, thanks for posting!
Anyone dressed in white was always a spirit. Loved it along with the other contemporary British TV series.
The episode "What A Sweet Little Room" has one of the best pre-title opening scenes in any TV show. I won't spoil what happens if you haven't seen it.
Always creeped me out when I was a kid.
Although well aware of this on TV when I was younger, I never watched it. Still, I always enjoy your retrospectives. Full of fun and genuinely creative, I don't think I've said enough about the visual gags you insert. They are they are a well-appreciated spark of creativity.
TBH, I’m only here to see footage from the 2000 remake because I’m a big fan of Vic and Bob.
And watching Vic with Tom Baker is like metal being sharpened by metal.
I remember most of the ITC stuff from re runs in the early 70s, but Department S passed me by some how.
I do actually enjoy both versions. They are almost completely their own thing.
19:10 - The giant afro saying "It's just not my scene, man." is Nigel Terry (King Arthur in Excalibur)
I always found the theme music scary as a kid 😂
R&H was SO GOOD! Loved watching it with my parents in the 90s when it re-runs. I was very against the remake, though.
In my ITV region is was afternoon repeats during half term in the early 70s.
The original series was good and I loved the remake.
The remake paved the way for Doctor Who's return
The "Ghost hunter" Guy was Foofer Hawart, or however you spell it, From David Lynchs Dune.
R.I.P David Lynch.
Being a fan of the original, I didn't watch the remake, but now I want to watch it. I've become a huge fan of Bob Mortimer, I worship Tom Baker MBE (as of the New Year Honours List) and I want to see David Tennant, obviously I neither knew nor cared about his appearance in the show...but two Doctors and the Master has to be worth watching.
Emilia Fox is always a win, even if she is a cousin of the failed actor, twice humiliated candidate for Mayor of London, and general waste of skin Laurence.
I quite liked the remake and bought the DVD only to discover it was a 4:3 crop, with characters like Jeanie cropped out from the original widescreen broadcast version.
First time I have not seen the thing that Stam Fine reviews 😓
Only saw the remake. I love Vic and Bob. Have done since I was a kid. Remember enjoying their version of Randall and Hopkirk but Bob himself has criticised his acting
I like both
Oh hey, thanks for the proper subtitles! I sometimes have auditory processing issues, migraines requiring extreme quiet, and I used to be deaf when I was 4-8 years old until I had some surgeries.
(Though I'll point out I noticed "chaste" was rendered as "chased" and I was a bit confused at first.)
I somehow had never heard of this, and I thoroughly enjoy other 60s ITC shows. I must admit, even just seeing the clips of the Reeves and Mortimer version was already pissing me off... but the clips from the original show were quite charming!
they're auto generated by UA-cam. I occasionally go in there to fix a few things but there will still be a lot of errors.
grew up watching the original and loved it , at first i was not a fan of the remake but it won me over ..
I loved the remake. The acting was a bit ropey, especially at the beginning, but Vic and Bob did get better. Jeannie, played by Emilia Fox, captured an Emma Peel sexiness with her role. The theme tune, by David Arnold was excellent too and had a real Bondesque feel.
Loved it. Similar to The Ghost and Mrs Muir.
Another forgotten show that I loved!
I was first introduced to the original (and best) series when I was 9 yrs old in 1987. My mum would record it on Thursday afternoons on Central. I was hooked. I watched them over and over again. She’d missed a couple of episodes which I didn’t see until 1994 when it was repeated again on BBC2, so it felt a bit like a second series for me.
The theme was composed by Edwin Astley.
Great review. I came to the series via the BBC2 repeats in the 1990's, I think they were on Friday nights. Loved the 60's version from the off, not really sure what I loved as I was only 8 or 9 at the time.
I remember being quite excited about the remake in 2000 but personally was a bit underwhelmed.
I can date my childhood experiences to shows like this. I was 7 when it started on Granada TV and I loved the show along with The Prisoner, The Dustbin Men, Never Mind The Quality, Liver Birds… etc. There were a lot of US shows too Branded etc but the one that stuck in my mind that nobody else seems to remember was The New People, like Lost a group of people stuck on a pacific island meant to be used for testing atomic bombs!
“Hopkirk Blocked” 😂
The series is on UK TV station Great Action its on every day it has been on broadcast loop for years
Only one season? It seemed like more, must have been all the reruns! 😊
I had to stop the video at the accountants joke because I was laughing so hard! 😂 11:07
Pity the 2000 version doesn’t repeat any anymore in the UK….
I have never heard of this show, but it sounds really interesting. It sounds like the Bob Hoskins and Denzel Washington comedy “Heart Condition” done right lol
Most old school Brit shows look like they have shot with a camcorder without any cinematography whatsoever. But this looks like a legit production.
ITC-produced shows (like this one) were shot on 35mm film and had higher production values all round. They were made with the US market very much in mind.
@@squirehaggard4749 and in colour....despite the fact nobody had colour TVs in the UK until the mid - 70s lol.
Bloody hell,was it really only one series,I was born 67 and I remember it well,must have repeated it .
Living in a border city (Detroit) before cable, we were able to tune into UK programs from the Canadian station CBET, the CBC affiliate inn Windsor, ON. But I don't remember this one.
Works the same way in Canada, including the NFB. You're a successful Canadian artist if the Americans like you.
You were being very kind to Annette Andre, whom i thought was gorgeous btw, when you said "she was ill". Wasn't it a bit more a 'self inflicted' 'illness' thanks to certain....substances? That written i remember the original screenings and watched them, and re-runs, religiously. Fun show that i was always entertained by. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
"Look out Geoff!! He's behind you"
I watched the rerun in the 90s but had no idea it was only one season! Of course, it was one very LOOOOONG season (by UK standards)
I think the first time I watched the original series was around 1987 when it was repeated by ITV (Tyne Tees) on a weekday afternoon. I was still at school so had to set the video on timer to record it. I remember the 2000 remake being advertised but don't think I watched it. Now the original series seems to be repeated on a loop on Freeview Channel 50, it's just recently moved back to it's 9pm weekday time slot.
I enjoyed both series but they did have their problems. The original didn't have a developing storyline (or, rather, didn't develop Marty's storyline very well). The remake might have been better with Mortimer playing the ghost.
JEANIE‼
Thank you for putting on this excellent presentation. I did prefer the original - the remake, IMO was OTT and it made too much use of CGI, which spoilt it.
Jeanie - my first crush. What great taste I had when I was young.
Just watching the reeves and Mortimer version at the moment. There's some good writing and great suporting cast. The leads can't act but it you like r and m you can forgive this. Really need to check out the original. Pratt is the dad of the pink Floyd bass player who has a cameo in the remake.
Peace and love.
Hey Stam, this made me think of the 'Holmes & Yoyo' series - any chance of a video on that ?
seems unlikely, the only official DVDs are from Europe and they don't have English audio on them.
An excellent episode but in the context of a cult series a comment wouldn't be complete without an annoyingly trivial quibble: in the sequence mentioning the ITC series shot at Elstree there is a glimpse of Man in a Suitcase, one of the few shot at Pinewood. The rule of thumb is generally if Monty Berman was involved it was shot at Elstree, if not, then Pinewood, MGM Borehamwood, Shepperton etc according to the producers whim, budget or availability. In the 1960s there was a lot of US-financed feature film production in the UK so stage space could be in short supply. In the mid - Sixties Elstree built a block of three smaller adjoining stages originally intended for TV production although at the time they never had TV-specific equipment installed and were used just like film stages. For the next decade they mostly housed Monty Berman's productions plus the non-ITC filmed episodes of The Avengers. Those productions would occasionally use other stages on the lot if an especially large set was needed. The Berman series, at least, would occasionally share non-regular sets so that the same re-dressed country house or doctor's office would reappear in either series being shot at the same time.
Incidentally, Jeanie's impressive wardrobe probably wouldn't have been half as glamorous if she wasn't given Alexandra Bastedo's Champions cast-offs to wear.
Roger Moore used to joke that if he got his cue wrong and exited the scene through the wrong door, he would end up as a guest star on Department S!!
The original is one of my all time favourite shows. The remake was not for me I'm afraid, I thought it was rubbish.
Seems the more solid premise would have the dead detective haunt his *widow*, and then she (despite not being a detective) persuades his living partner to solve his murder.
They took this idea and made an excellent short series out of it called River, which ran on Netflix.
When it still created/projected material worth watching.
I remember seeing R&Hd but it was about 50 year ago - I should track it down.
Oooh, Brigadier *and* the Master sighted!
...you did that on purpose didn't you?
two masters and a brigadier.
"is that you marty?"
30:51 Marshall and Snellgrove were inspired by Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as these are the comedic alternative names that they used to give themselves to refer to Randall and Hopkirk.
Loved the original as a kid, not so keen watching it now? With stuff like this and "The Champions" it always bothered me that the heros power's where plot-dependant. When it suits the lazy writer they can do stuff, other times they can't? Also, it's SOOO obvious that Bob Mortimer should have been Hopkirk (not Randall). I can only assume Jim Moir pulled rank?