Right, time for another top 5 list and this one will be on another classic TV series from the 1960's and this time its the comedy-crime-fantasy series, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and not the 2000 remake starring Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves.
The premise of the show follows two private detectives, Jeff Randall (Mike Pratt) and Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope) and Marty at the start of the series is murdered but comes back as a ghost to get Jeff's help to put away his killer. After this, Marty is forced to walk the Earth for one hundred years as he stayed out of his grave during daylight, which leads to Marty helping Jeff solve many more cases throughout the series 26 episode run.
And without much further ado let's take a look at my top 5 favourite episodes from the series.
Oh, and yes here is the usual warning...
SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
5. Never trust a ghost
So to start off the list is this episode, "Never trust a ghost" which starts off with Marty wandering the streets at night in London but he soon witnesses a murder of a man named Howarth (Peter Vaughan) who is killed by a man named Rawlins (Philip Madoc).
Marty then calls in on Jeff, who has brought a date home to his flat but Marty demands that he send his date away, which Jeff reluctantly does but she tells him to "drop dead!". On arriving at the scene of where the murder took place, Marty is stunned to find that Howarth is alive and well along with his wife (Caroline Blakiston) who threatens to sue Jeff unless he goes away.
Marty then soon insists that Jeff return in the morning to apologise for his behaviour toward Mrs Howarth but Marty discovers that Rawlins, the killer he say at the start of the episode, is also in the house and insists that Jeff find him. Jeff barges into the study where Marty saw Rawlins but finds nothing and this lands him more hot water with the Howarths but he leaves.
To further complicate things, Marty decides to hang around the Howarths' home and he soon discovers that the people he saw were in fact imposters and the real Howarths are dead and their bodies have been stored in the basement. Marty then goes and tells Jeff that he must go over and discover the bodies but when Jeff get's there, he finds the basement is empty and he narrowly avoids being spotted by the imposter Howarths, who call the police on him.
Jeff now in serious trouble, calls Marty's widow, Jeannie (Annette Andre) and he asks for her help to use her as an alibi so when the police knock on Jeff's door, they find him in his pyjamas and Jeannie in his bed and he narrowly escapes arrest.
And from Jeff must find a way to expose the imposter Rawlins's and bring them to justice but atht same time Jeff begins to doubt Marty's behaviour and he seeks the help of professional psychic medium, Professor Plevitt....
THOUGHTS AND NOTABLE SCENES
"Never trust a ghost" is without any doubt a fun episode in the series and it has its fair share of good moments aswell as a good deal of suspense, particularly when Jeff narrowly avoids being arrested by the police when he get's Jeannie's help as an alibi. And the scene itself is funny as Jeff calls Jeannie from a telephone box and pleads for her help by saying "Jeannie, please help me! If you don't, I'll get 10 years!".
And when Jeannie comes around during the night to Jeff's flat she stropily says to him "Right, so start talking and it better be good!" and Jeff in his pyjamas says to her "It is. Get into bed!" and Jeannie looks appalled at Jeff and says "That's NOT a good reason!". And when the police knock on Jeff's door, Marty suddenly turns up and looks enraged when he sees Jeannie sleeping in Jeff's bed and he puts his fists and angrily says to Jeff "Put em up!". And after Jeff manages to deter the police from arresting him, he is about to head back into his flat when a jealous Marty shouts at Jeff "And where do you think you're going?! Stay out!" and blows the door shut in Jeff's face!
The episode also features a fine supporting cast with the recently deceased, Peter Vaughan playing both the imposter and the real Howarth as well as Philip Madoc, who plays the villainous henchman, Rawlins. Donald Morley also does a good job in the episode as Inspector Clayton who has got it in for Jeff (in fact ALL the police inspectors in this show have!). And lastly Brian Oulton nicely plays the eccentric psychic medium, which Marty has to jump through hoops to try and convince that he needs to call the police to rescue Jeff from the imposter Howarths.
SUM UP
So "Never trust a ghost" certainly deserves a place here in the list with its twists and turns plot wise and also with Jeff's narrow scrape with the law its makes for a fun episode and worth being No.5.
4. When did you start to stop seeing things?
Next up is this episode "When did you start to stop seeing things?" which again is a very enjoyable story in which for some reason Jeff is no longer able to see Marty and Jeff starts to act suspiciously and all is not what it seems.
And the episode begins with Jeff and Jeannie in the office and Marty materialises and speaks to Jeff who all of a sudden can't hear or see Marty, which leaves him puzzled and concerned. Meanwhile Jeff is working for a company who want him to find out who has been leaking information for use on the stock market. However things take a bad turn when a financial adviser for the company is murdered in a car park late at night, which implicates Jeff in the crime.
Marty in the meantime decides to try and find a way to contact Jeff so he goes to a psychiatrist and hypnotist, sir Oliver Norenton (Clifford Evans) and Marty is able to speak to Sir Oliver's patients while they are under deep hypnosis, so Marty gives them a message to call Jeff and get Sir Oliver to speak to him. However this doesn't quite go according to plan as Jeff dismisses Sir Oliver's concerns when he visits him.
However things take a dramatic turn when another murder takes place and Jeff is again accused of the crime by Inspector Large (Ivor Dean) in Jeff's office. After the inspector leaves however as Jeannie tries to reassure Jeff that he has been working too hard and needs to take it a bit easier, Jeff suddenly out of character, grabs and kisses her roughly, leaving Jeannie in shock who runs out the office.
Later that night, Jeff goes back to his flat where he meets up with another man, Jarvis (Keith Barron) who killed two of the men associated with the company. Jeff then takes a gun and goes out to meet with Sir Timothy Grange (Peter Stephens) who Jeff shoots dead, much to the horror of Marty. Jeff soon returns back to his flat though where it is suddenly revealed that he isn't Jeff after all and it is revealed to be a double wearing a mask of Jeff's face.
So from here its up to Marty to find out where the real Jeff is and also how to rescue him from his captors....
THOUGHTS AND NOTABLE SCENES
This is another really enjoyable episode and its one of my favourites simply because it adds something a bit different to the show with Jeff suddenly being unable to see Marty and acting somewhat strangely, it keeps you guessing as to what is going on with his character.
The episode has some great scenes such as the one where the imposter Jeff makes a pass at Jeannie when she tries to reassure him that he needs to take his work a bit more easily. And as Jeannie puts a reassuring arm on Jeff, he suddenly puts his arm on her and he says "That's nice of you to notice, Jeannie" and and Jeannie says to him "Of course! I'm not just a secretary!" and Jeff then armorously says to her "No. You're much more than that!" and roughly grabs and kisses her. And Jeannie recoils in shock and backs away as Jeff get's up and says to her "Oh come on, don't tell me you don't sit across from me thinking the same things as I do" and Jeannie, appalled runs out shouting "How could you!".
And Marty who has been in the room while this is going on also looks in shock and after Jeannie leaves in a rush, Marty holds up his fists to Jeff and says "Right, Jeff, this is it! You've asked for this!" and he takes a swing at Jeff and naturally misses!
Then there are the fun scenes where Marty keeps turning up at Sir Oliver Norenton's office to try and speak to his hypnotised patients to get a message through to Jeff and each time they do, it leaves Sir Oliver even more perplexed and frustrated. And after his third patient receives instructions from Marty under hypnosis, the patient suddenly get's up on Marty's word and he starts to make a call.
And the baffled Sir Oliver asks "Just out of interest, who is it you are calling?" and the patient says "Oh, someone who is in a spot of bother. Chap named Randall" and Sir Oliver suddenly reacts "Randall! Randall!" and he angrily throws the papers on his desk up in the air and shouts "RANDALL!!" one last time as he falls back into his seat.
And later Marty hypnotises Sir Oliver himself when he lies down on the patient bed and his hypnosis machine is activated by Marty who turns him into a champion racecar driver and later a secret agent to help rescue Jeff from being killed. And when Sir Oliver saves the day and comes around, he sees Jeff stand next to him and he asks who he is and Jeff says "Randall" and Sir Oliver dispairs "Randall! No!" and then Jeff's double suddenly appears, which leaves Sir Oliver even more exasperated "Randall is EVERYWHERE!".
SUM UP
So to sum up "When did you start to stop seeing things?" is again one of the series most entertaining episodes especially as it has quite a neat twist with Jeff acting all suspiciously and is not what he seems.
Although to be critical I would have to say that Mike Pratt's performance as the double is obviously quite different from his usual one as the real Jeff as he sounds a bit more subdued and almost robotic as Jeff when he is the double for most of this scenes except for when he meets with Inspector Large. And for me this would be my main criticism of the episode as Jeff's behaviour is often quite off and his personality is somewhat stilted as the double its surprising that Marty and Jeannie and don't twig sooner!
Also another issue is to do with a plot hole in that Sir Oliver doesn't even recognise Randall at the end of the episode after he has come out of hypnotic state even though he had already met him earlier! This is also rather silly as just before Marty hypnotises Sir Oliver, the man thinks that Randall is only a figment of his own imagination yet he had again already met him!! So for me this is a pretty inconsistent moment in the plot.
Anyway its alot of fun and it certainly deserves a place in the top 5 list.
3. A Disturbing Case
Next up is "A Disturbing Case" which is the episode where Jeannie's sister, Jenny (Judith Arthy) is concerned when they witness Jeff talking to himself (when he is in fact talking to Marty) so they refer him to Dr Conard (David Bauer) at nursing home clinic but the Dr is not everything he seems to be...
And so the episode begins with a jewel robbery taking place and the robbers use hypnotic suggestion to rob wealthy businessmen. Jeff meanwhile is seen arguing with Marty just as Jeannie turns up with her sister, Jenny (who actually see him talking to himself) which raises enough doubt in Jenny to refer Jeff to a psychiatrist so they secretly record Jeff talking to Marty and take the tape to Dr Conrad.
Conrad then meets with Jeff but holds him against his will and then pumps him fill with illegal drugs and under hypnosis, Jeff reveals that Marty is a ghost and that he talks to him but no one else can see him, which then leads Conrad to using his hypnosis to erase Marty from Jeff's memory. And to top things off (SPOILER!!!) Conrad is soon revealed to be the mastermind behind the robberies.
Marty however now worried that Jeff will never be able to see him again, works out that he can impersonate Dr Conrad's voice to communicate with him and with that he uses this to help Jeff escape....
THOUGHTS AND NOTABLE SCENES
"A Disturbing case" is again another very enjoyable episode and one which really puts an emphasis on the comedic nature of the series especially when Marty is able to hypnotise Jeff by impersonating Dr Conrad's accent and thereby allowing Jeff to escape the clinic. It was actually only the second episode broadcast in the series so it does show that Marty is still learning to hone his teleportation skills and just starting to feel out his psychic abilities.
As for the noteworthy scenes well there are a few that include the one where near the start, Jeff argues with Marty about using Marty's car. And their argument ends with Jeff shouting "I need Jeannie's car and I'm taking Jeannie's car and that is THAT!" but he is interrupted by Jeannie and Jenny, who are puzzled as he appears to be talking to himself.
And later there is the scene where Jeff is held at Conrad's clinic and under heavy hypnosis, Marty is unable to speak to him and he quotes Conrad's words "We will soon lay this ghost for you!" and Jeff suddenly repeats the words "That's right, lay the ghost". And then Marty twigs that Jeff can hear him if Marty mimics Conrad's voice and he uses that to help Jeff escape from the clinic.
And this section has some hilarious moments that include the one where Jeff punches one of Conrad's men in the face on Marty's instruction and he knocks the man out. And after this Marty says in his normal voice "Great, Jeff, you're working well, come one!" and he disappears but Jeff doesn't move, so Marty reappears and again mimics Dr Conrad's voice "Quick turn! Left march!" and he shakes his head as Jeff responds.
And not long after, Jeff escapes the clinic in a car under instruction from Marty who continues to mimic Conrad's voice says to him "That's it maintain a nice, slow speed". And he continues "You see you can drive a car nice and safely, now why don't you try and drive a car like this all the time, Mr Randall?!".
Near the end of the episode there is another funny scene where Jeff intercepts the robbers as they try and carry out another jewel robbery and he manages to stop them. And in the scene Jeff fights them under instruction from Marty who says "Right, Mr Randall, you are now a karate expert!" and Jeff suddenly shouts out "Black belt!" and continues to fight the robbers until his hypnosis wears off.
And the episode ends with an amusing moment where after Jeff at the police station explains to Jeannie and Jenny that his being admitted to Conrad's clinic was in fact all an elaborate ploy he had put in place to try and expose Conrad's criminal enterprise. And as Jenny feels guilty about putting Jeff in this position, Jeff says to her "You can start your pennance right now, by coming to dinner with me, both of you!" and they leave the station.
This however leaves Marty feeling left out and he shouts out to Jeff, who pops his head back round the door and says to Marty "You coming, Marty?" and Marty enthusiastically acknowledges Jeff in his German accent!
SUM UP
So there you go "A Disturbing Case" is yet another highly entertaining episode in the series and it has plenty of funny moments to recommend it especially as it is probably the most comical the show ever got although perhaps its a good thing it wasn't always like this, but its still alot of fun and well worth being at the No.3 spot.
2. Murder ain't what it used to be!
So the runner-up spot belongs to this episode "Murder ain't what it used to be" which is great deal of fun and does its take on American gangsters and the twist of the tail in this scenario is that the ghost of a fallen gangster is out for revenge.
And to say a bit more about the story, it kicks off with the American gangster, Paul Kirstner (Alan Gifford) arriving in London to attend to business. However as he is met by his daughter, Susan (Sue Gerrard) and they drive from the airport, Kirstner suddenly sees a strange man in a white suit stand infront of the road who he narrowly avoids hitting and Kirstner appears to know who the man is but doesn't say who he is.
Soon after though, Jeff is hired by Kirstner to protect Susan although Jeff has reservations about working with Kirstner when he realises who he is. During their meeting, the man in the white suit appears again and nearly kills Kirstner by almost dropping chandelier on him.
Marty in the meantime is alarmed to see the man in the white suit come out of Jeannie's apartment bedroom thinking he is a new boyfriend. However Marty soon discovers the man is in fact the gangster Bugsy "Smiler" Spanio (David Healey) and is now a ghost, who is out for revenge over Kirstner who killed him years ago during the prohibition era in Chicago. And Bugsy wants Marty to use Jeff to kill Kirstner for him and if he doesn't then he will torment Jeannie with visions of himself (as Bugsy has the ability to make visible appearances to the living).
So its up to Marty and Jeff to try and prevent Bugsy from tormenting Jeannie while Bugsy plots his revenge over Kirstner....
THOUGHTS AND NOTABLE SCENES
"Murder ain't what it used to be" is definitely one of the most entertaining episodes of the series with its gangster premise, it pokes fun at the genre and even nails it down to the stereotypical image of Bugsy himself being a gangster in a white suit with a hat and cigar. The story also has its moments where it focuses on Jeff's morality and how he is torn in being offered a big sum of money to work for Kirstner.
And we also get to see how ghosts can interact and touch each other as Bugsy on several occasions punches Marty and bullies him although Marty get's his own back on Bugsy later on in the episode. Marty also is able to use his own telekinetic abilities by moving objects such as vases as we see in one scene when Bugsy moves a vase but Marty puts it back with his own telekinetic power.
The episode itself has plenty of great scenes such as the one where Marty first properly chats with Bugsy who tells him about his past and how he is out for revenge over Kirstner. And Bugsy says to Marty "I've watched him lie, cheat, steal and murder for over 35 years! And now you're gonna help me get him, Marty! And if you don't, I'm gonna really fix that dame of yours!" referring to Jeannie as he cracks his knuckles intently, leaving Marty looking anxious.
Then there is the scene when Marty tells Jeff about the situation with Bugsy and Jeff listens on in disbelief and he says to him "Marty you've told me some real whoppers in your time but this one is out of sight!". And Marty nervously tells Jeff that he is afraid of Bugsy "I mean you should see the size of him! He's even got his own cigar!".
Another good scene is when Bugsy decides he no longer needs to Jeff to kill Kirstner and he hatches another plan to get his revenge as he gives Jeff a number to call. And after Jeff makes the call, he is puzzled by the message he has been given and Bugsy says to Marty "The call was for the one man, who has more reason to kill Kirstner than I have: Jack Lacey" and he begins to laugh and then says "I bet he's buyin a reef right now!" and he laughs loudly.
And lastly there is the scene where at the end where after all has been sorted out, Jeff drives Jeannie back home and all of a sudden there is some smoke wafting in Jeff's general direction and we see that Marty is sitting in the back, with a big cigar in his mouth and wearing a white hat and has a Tommy gun in his hands.
And Marty says in a poor American accent "OK, Randall, this is it! Harry "the hatchett" Hopkirk! Keep your eyes on the road and tell that stupid broad to button her lip, otherwise I'll fill you full of lead!". And Jeannie opens the window for Jeff and says "There is that better?" and without thinking Jeff says to her in a fake gangster accent "Yeah, thanks broad! I mean Jeanie!" and the episode ends with them driving on and we see Marty stick his head out the window along with the gun.
SUM UP
So there you go, "Murder ain't what it used to be" is definitely one of the most fun episodes of the series and the inclusion of an enjoyably hammy performance by David Healey also helps make it work well along with the regular cast putting in their usual good work. So for me I think its well worth taking the runner-up spot.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Now in the spirit of Watchmojo.com and their top 5 or 10 lists, here are a few episodes from the series that are worthy of being honourable mentions.
That's how murder snowballs - a fun episode where Jeff works with Marty to uncover a murder mystery at a theatre and Jeff poses as a mindreader as he get's Marty to help him with the act.
Whoever heard of a ghost dying - another enjoyable one which involves Marty being unwittingly used by a gang of robbers who use an elderly psychic medium to their advantage to foil the police's attempts at catching them and in the story, Marty suffers pains (inflicted by the medium) that resemble something similar to pregnancy!
Vendetta for a dead man - one of the more dramatic episodes of the series, which involves Jeannie being stalked by a madman, who Marty had put away in prison but manages to escape and he wants revenge. It also shows the darker side of Marty in one scene where he is almost prepared to let Jeannie's would-be boyfriend nearly freeze to death in order to make him co-operate with Jeff.
The smile behind the veil - this is the last episode of the series in which Marty wants Jeff to help solve a murder mystery involving Marty's former neighbour. The only problem is Marty nearly ends up getting Jeff killed too as in one scene he is captured and dumped in the river and only narrowly saved from drowning.
And the No.1 spot goes to....
1. When the spirit moves you
Yep the No.1 spot belongs to this classic episode, which is a great deal of fun and again it offers another twist on how someone can see Marty as this time Jeff unwittingly get's himself involved in a scheme with an alcoholic con-man, who can see Marty when he is drunk.
So the episode begins with Jeff being paid a visit by Calvin Bream (Anton Rodgers) who is a con-man but he poses as an American businessman who offers a deal to work with Jeff to recover some valuable bonds. However Bream has in fact really landed Jeff in alot of trouble as he has used Jeff as a fallguy for a criminal racket who are after the Bonds and who are lead by Miklos Corri (Kieron Moore).
Jeff is soon interrogated by Corri's main henchman, Perrin (Michael Gothard) along with an associate, however during a struggle, the associate is killed and Perrin knocks out Jeff and escapes. Jeff soon comes around and pays Bream a visit only to find that Bream has been framed by Corri's men as they have planted the dead associate's body in his cupboard, leaving Jeff and Bream little choice but to try and dispose of the body.
However before they can, Inspector Large (Ivor Dean) turns up on the scene and finds Jeff holding onto the dead body and Jeff tries to explain the situation but Bream manages to avoid being spotted by Large as he went back in to get his coat and then pretends that he doesn't know Jeff when Large knocks on his door. Bream out of panic then get's drunk and when he does, he can all of a sudden see Marty appear infront of him, who threatens to haunt Bream if he doesn't call the police, which leaves Bream terrified and therefore does so.
After this, Jeff is released by Large and is given 48 hours to come up with some evidence to put away Corri, however Corri himself delivers a serious threat to Jeff saying that if he doesn't come up with the bonds in 24 hours, he will kill him.....
THOUGHTS AND NOTABLE SCENES
Well for me this episode has everything going on as it has a great mix of suspense and fun and it features a very entertaining performance by Anton Rodgers as the bumbling alcoholic conman who ends up getting Jeff into hot water with Corri's criminal syndicate.
And the series also had concocted quite a few ways in which Marty could communicate with the living other than Jeff as some of them were pyschic but in this case its Bream's drunken state that allows him to see Marty and that also adds a neat spin on the story.
And being my favourite episode of the series it naturally has some great moments that include the scene where Jeff pays a hungover Bream a visit after his run in with Perrin. And in the scene, Bream worse for wear tries on his poor American accent and says to Jeff "Look, Mr Randall, you're a private detective, you know about these things!" and Jeff says to him in his own fake American accent "You can drop the phoney American accent!"
Then there is the scene whereafter Jeff has been taken to the police station by Large, Marty tries coerce a drunken Bream into calling the police to help out Jeff. And in the scene Marty tells Bream that he is a ghost and he demonstrates by walking through the wall, leaving Bream stunned and drunkenly says "That's a neat trick!" and Marty says to him "It comes with the suit!". And Marty then continues materialise and dematerialise all over the room to freak out Bream, who becomes terrified and Marty says to him "A ghost can materialise anywhere, popping up here! Infront! Behind!".
Another good scene comes when Bream pays Corri a visit and tries to convince them how they can do business and exchange Corri's money for the bonds and during the scene when Corri offers Bream a drink, Marty stands next to Bream shouting "Lay off that stuff, Bream! Lay off it!" and Bream is haunted by the flashback of Marty appearing on his ceiling, making a chilling ghoulish noise.
Then there is the scene where Bream is at the exchange for the bonds and he meets with Perrin and they stand at a distance from each other and Bream shows Perrin the bonds (which are fakes made up by Bream and Jeff). And as Perrin is about to approach Bream, the conman puts his hand into his jacket pocket and points like he has a gun and says to Perrin "We don't trust you an inch!". And after Perrin has seen the bonds from a distance he says to Bream "I'll just take those bonds now" and Bream then puts his hand back in his jacket pocket and points it like a gun again and he says "Ahh now its a stalemate". But Perrin twigs that Bream is bluffing and takes Bream's hand out of his pocket and says "You really shouldn't point! Its quite rude!".
And later after Jeff is captured by Corri's men when they discover the bonds were a fake, they place him in the vault where Jeff deposited Corri's money and Corri has his men set to blow the safe and take out Jeff with it.
In the meantime however, Bream has evaded the scene and out of panic he get's drunk again and again he sees Marty but this time he tells Marty "Why don't you go and find someone else to haunt?!". And Marty says to him "Look, Bream, you have got to call Scotland Yard!" and as Bream is about to leave he says to Marty "Yeah well why should I?!" and Marty says to him "Because if you don't there will be TWO ghosts haunting you! Me and Jeff Randall!" and Bream quickly changes his mind and says "That's a good reason!". And Bream drunkenly asks "What is the number??!" and Marty impatiently shouts "9-9-9!!!".
And the episode ends with (SPOILER) Marty (and Bream) saving the day for Jeff and as Bream departs and says goodbye to Jeff in his office, we see Bream drink a glass of milk instead of whisky. And after Bream leaves, Marty says to Jeff "Well, that's the last Calvin P. Bream will be seeing of me" and Jeff looks at the glass of milk and picks it up and asks Marty "Why did you do to him, Marty??" leaving Marty looking rather awkward.
SUM UP
So that's it, for me "When the spirit moves you" is definitely my favourite episode of the series as it is great fun from start to finish and it features an excellent performance by Anton Rodgers as well as good performances from the regular cast and the supporting cast, especially Kieron Moore as Corri and Michael Gothard as Perrin and they are both quite intimidating in their roles as the villains.
And for me it is more than worthy of taking the top spot as its an episode where everything comes together very well indeed and that's it sits at No.1.
Right! Well that's that post finally over and done with and I will be back again with another quite soon.
So until then its bye fer now!
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