It was fifty years ago this week that one of ITC's most enduring crime dramas Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) arrived on our screens.
Starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, private investigators who won't let a little thing like death get in the way of their business, whilst Annette Andre starred as Marty's widow, Jeanie.
Unlike much of its stablemates at ITC, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) was, by its very nature, fantastical, and yet at the same time much more down-to-earth in its downbeat depiction of the then swinging London. Perhaps it's that slightly more recognisably real world vibe that has ensured it hasn't dated as much as Department S or Jason King say, whilst the fact that Reeves and Mortimer remade it for two series in the early '00s proved that this was a show that the public still had a lot of time for.
And then there's that theme tune. A wonderfully evocative, atmospheric track from ITC composer supremo Edwin Astley. It's the sonic equivalent of a tingle running down your spine.
It was a show I watched a few times but I was about 18 or so at the time, so spent most of my time gallivanting out on the town. Always liked Kenneth Cope and I had a bit of a crush on the widowed secretary who worked for Randall & Hopkirk.
ReplyDeleteI recall being introduced to it when it was repeated on ITV in the afternoons back in the 80s - a time when they actually put something other than antique programmes, DIY makeovers, quiz shows and people having arguments on during daytime TV! I remember finding it fascinating then, kids love the idea of ghosts after all, but it was actually the repeats on BBC2 in the late 90s on Friday evenings (again, another classic of the schedules, they'd put cult TV on during those days of Cool Britannia to set you up before you went out gallivanting) and then the Reeves and Mortimer remake was something that I really fell in love with. Equally my heart went to Emilia Fox as the widow Jeanie in that version.
DeleteSonic tingle down my spine with that one - Perfect description.
ReplyDeleteThanks! For a time in the early 00s it was the tinny yet quite effective ringtone on my nokia 3310!
DeleteLove everything it. I did first see it whilst off school in the eighties, can't remember if it was illness or industrial action but I remember the episode too, it was ALL Work and no Pay. I was very glad to see it repeated in the nineties. Emilia Fox is one of crushes too, though on the whole I prefer the original.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame they don't really repeat any classic tele on the four main channels any more. Anything 'old' is put on the iPlayer I guess, but even then, the output doesn't seem to stretch further than the last ten years. Give me a rpt of Randall and Hopkirk over a repeat of A Question of Sport or Flog It any day!
ReplyDeleteOh I agree wholeheartedly. By the way, I don't know if you've seen this, but as a fellow Hywel Bennett fan, it's worth checking out.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2YM1D_tm78
Ooh ta! I must be a bad fan though because I don't think I'd even heard of this one!
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