Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)
Encyclopedia
Randall & Hopkirk is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television series, produced by Working Title Films
Working Title Films
Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London, UK. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions, including films starring comic actor Rowan Atkinson...

 for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

. It is a remake of the 1960s television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...

and stars Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....

 as Hopkirk (once again in a white suit) and Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer
Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...

 as Randall, Emilia Fox
Emilia Fox
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an award-winning English actress, known for her role as Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. She also appears as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin beginning in the programme's second...

 as Jeannie, and Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...

 as Wyvern.

Background

Two series were made, the first in 1999 (broadcast in 2000) and the second in 2001. The entire first series was written and produced by Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...

, who also directed some episodes. The second series employed some other writers, including Gareth Roberts
Gareth Roberts (writer)
Gareth John Pritchard Roberts is a British television screenwriter and novelist, best known for his work related to the science-fiction television series Doctor Who...

, Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....

 and Jeremy Dyson
Jeremy Dyson
Jeremy Dyson is an English screenwriter and, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, a participant in The League of Gentlemen.-Early life:...

.

Many episodes also included storylines that paid homage to the original show, as well as other 1960s shows - especially those made by ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...

, the original show's production company. In the fifth episode of series one, a clip of Mike Pratt (who had died before the new series was produced), from the original series episode "The Smile Behind the Veil", was included. Marty encounters him in Limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...

. Place names also paid homage to the original show: Spooner Drive - named after Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner was an English television screenwriter and story editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s...

 - is used in the first episode of series one; and Cope House - named after Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk , Jed Stone in Coronation Street and Ray Hilton in Brookside.- Career :...

 - is the name of the building where the duo's office is. Marshall & Snellgrove - the name of the rival detective agency - was originally the name of an actual department store that was operating in the 1960s. While interviewing Higson and Reeves for a 2000 feature in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

heralding the first series, the British journalist Tony Barrell
Tony Barrell (journalist)
Tony Barrell is a British journalist, known for his humour and his exploration of the unusual and the unexplained. He has written many major features for the Sunday Times, and has also contributed to The Times, The Idler, and Cornucopia magazine, among others. He frequently writes about people with...

 mentioned a comical anagram he had devised of the show's title: Real Plonker and Sad Dickhead. A slightly revised version of the anagram was used by Higson (with permission) in the fifth episode of the second series, Marshall & Snellgrove.

Technical aspects

The series was shot in 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...

 widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....

. However, the Region 2 & 4 DVD of Series 1 was released in a pan and scan
Pan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...

 4:3 format. The Series 2 DVD is coded for Regions 2 - 6 and is in the original aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...

.

The first print of the cover of the Series 1 VHS and DVD uses lenticular printing
Lenticular printing
Lenticular printing is a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles...

 so that when the viewing angle is changed Marty's image appears and disappears.

Series 1

  • Drop Dead
Whilst working for a troubled artist, Marty is killed by the artist's apparently suicidal wife, but all is not as it seems and Marty is allowed one night to return and solve the mystery of his murder. Guest Starring: David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...

 and Charles Dance
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...

  • Mental Apparition Disorder
After revealing to Jeannie that he can talk to the ghost of Marty, Jeff finds himself spending a week at a psychiatric retreat. However, the doctor running the retreat has a terrible secret.
  • The Best Years of Your Death
After receiving a disturbing message from Jeannie's nephew, she and Jeff go undercover at the boy's new boarding school and discover a horrific secret.
  • Paranoia
Hired to protect a man who will shortly be presenting evidence of several politically damaging events, the duo find themselves protecting their client from assassins determined to obtain and sell the secrets themselves.
  • A Blast from the Past
When a retired policeman turns up asking for help to locate an old enemy, Marty finds himself on the run from the ghost of the criminals brother, who is seeking revenge for his death at the hands of Marty's father.
  • A Man of Substance
Whilst investigating the disappearance of a businessman, the pair find themselves stuck in a mysterious village whose inhabitants are able to both see and hear Marty.

This DVD of the series also included a four minute music video, featuring Paul Whitehouse and Nina Persson
Nina Persson
is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...

 (of The Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...

), who sings a vocal version of the theme. The DVD also featured a 'Making Of' Documentary & Outtakes.

Series 2

  • Whatever Possessed You?
Jeff and Jeannie check into a remote hotel which has been the site of various murders going back almost 50 years. Marty returns to help and discovers a supernatural element to the mystery.
  • Revenge of the Bog People
Jeff runs into an old flame and agrees to re-open an old case in order to attempt to clear her father's name.
  • O Happy Isle
A young man is found dead on a small island. According to the local police it was a simple suicide, but when Jeff and Marty discover that the victim was gay, they begin to suspect the highly traditional locals.
  • Painkillers
Hired to investigate the death of an undercover agent, Jeff and Jeannie meet a mysterious man who is attempting to recreate a rainforest ecosystem in an underground facility, but why?
  • Marshall & Snellgrove
A case involving feuding twins and a large inheritance goes horribly wrong when one of a rival detective duo is seemingly killed by one of the twins. Rather than 'going up' the deceased detective begs Marty to help him solve his own murder.
  • The Glorious Butranekh
After receiving a call from their old secretary, the detectives travel to Latvia to solve the disappearance of their old friend's husband and baby son.
  • Two Can Play at That Game
Jeannie goes missing and whilst tracking her down Jeff finds himself trapped in an abandoned department store. Meanwhile, Marty and Jeff fall out and Marty finds himself in a part of the afterlife filled with other ghosts who fell out with their chosen ones, but they don't seem to want him to leave.

Soundtrack

  1. Theme From Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) - Nina Persson
    Nina Persson
    is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...

     & David Arnold
    David Arnold
    David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...

  2. Jus' Tonight - Basement Jaxx
    Basement Jaxx
    Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...

     feat. Gwyn Jay Allen
  3. Confusion - James
    James (band)
    James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...

  4. My Beautiful Friend - The Charlatans
  5. My Body May Die - Pulp
    Pulp (band)
    Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

     vs the Swingle Sisters
  6. Eve - Spacek
    Spacek (band)
    Spacek is a British electronic music band. Its members are Steve Spacek, Ed Spacek, and Morgan Spacek. The group released its debut album, Curvatia in 2001 , followed by 2003's Vintage Hi-Tech...

  7. Hamlet of Kings - The Orb
    The Orb
    Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...

  8. To You Alone - The Beta Band
    The Beta Band
    The Beta Band were a British musical group who received much critical acclaim and achieved cult status amongst avid followers of the underground and experimental music scene...

  9. Carnival of Drums - Talvin Singh
    Talvin Singh
    Talvin Singh Matharoo , is a producer and composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass...

  10. U.S. Roach - Gay Dad
    Gay Dad
    In 2001 the leading single from Transmission - "Now Always and Forever" - was released. It fell just short of the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart. An extensive UK tour was followed by a limited edition single "Harder, Faster". The third single "Transmission" was released just before the album came...

  11. Zero Zero - Witness
    Witness (UK band)
    Witness were a British alternative rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1997. The band released two albums via Island Records between 1999 and 2001, before splitting up in 2004.-Formation:...

  12. Dead Things - Emiliana Torrini
    Emilíana Torrini
    Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum, 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.-Early life:Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of...

  13. Blue Eyes - Lewis Taylor
    Lewis Taylor
    Andrew Lewis Taylor is a British multi-instrumentalist musician, born in London, UK, in the late 1960s. He started in the music business touring with the progrock band Edgar Broughton Band. In 1986 he began performing as Sheriff Jack, releasing two albums of psychedelia music, Laugh Yourself Awake ...


External links

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