Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British television series, produced by Working Title Television for BBC One, written and produced by Charlie Higson. It is a revival of the 1960s television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and stars Vic Reeves as Marty Hopkirk and Bob Mortimer as Jeff Randall, two partner private detectives, Emilia Fox as Jeannie Hurst, Hopkirk's fiancée, and Tom Baker as Wyvern, a spirit mentor. Two series were commissioned and were broadcast in 2000 and 2001 with the pilot episode airing 18 March 2000.
In keeping with the original series, in the initial episode Hopkirk is murdered during an investigation and returns to Earth as a ghost tied to his partner Randall. Randall is the only living main character who is able to see him (though occasionally other characters can). The remake paid much more attention to where Hopkirk went when he was not on Earth than the original and introduced Limbo, a place where he could meet other ghosts. It also introduced the character Wyvern, a mentor who helps Hopkirk hone his powers, introduces him to other ghosts, and is terrible at poetry. The remake also made Jeannie a more central character than the original and changed her status to Hopkirk's fiancée, rather than widow, allowing for a love-triangle element between the three main characters to form.
Trivia[]
- The building where the detectives work is called Cope House after the original Hopkirk: 'Kenneth Cope'.
- Many of the close ups of Jeff's hands during the series were performed by writer/producer/directer Charlie Higson, because Bob Mortimer's badly bitten fingernails were deemed unscreenworthy. According to Charlie Higson, 'Bob's hands are not that attractive. Mine, however, are quite gorgeous.'
- As a character quirk, Jeff Randall is a crisp addict, even packing them to take on holiday with him.[2]
Episodes[]
Season 1[]
- Episode A1 Drop Dead Original Airdate: 18 March 2000
- Episode A2 Mental Apparition Disorder Original Airdate: 25 March 2000
- Episode A3 The Best Years of Your Death Original Airdate: 1 April 2000
- Episode A4 Paranoia Original Airdate: 8 April 2000
- Episode A5 A Blast from the Past Original Airdate: 15 April 2000
- Episode A6 A Man of Substance Original Airdate: 22 April 2000
Season 2[]
- Episode B1 Whatever Possessed You? Original Airdate: 29 September 2001
- Episode B2 Revenge of the Bog People Original Airdate: 6 October 2001
- Episode B3 O Happy Isle Original Airdate: 13 October 2001
- Episode B4 Painkillers Original Airdate: 20 October 2001
- Episode B5 Marshall and Snellgrove Original Airdate: 27 October 2001
- Episode B6 The Glorious Butranekh Original Airdate: 3 November 2001
- Episode B7 Two Can Play at That Game Original Airdate: 10 November 2001