Paul Temple...zzz...
Introduction
Radio has traditionally been the origin of popular series; think Dick Tracy or Dick Barton, Special Agent amongst others. Paul Temple, penned by Francis Durbridge, first arrived on radio in 1938 before branching out into novels, films and even a daily comic strip. The radio series lasted for over 30 years before the BBC finally decided to make a TV series centred around the writing sleuth.
Paul Temple (Francis Matthews) and the young, captivating Steve (Ros Drinkwater) are the husband and wife team who supplement Paul's writing income with solving real-life mysteries.
Games People Play
Paul and Steve are in Malta and Paul finds himself the butt of one of film star Mark Hall's jokes. Hall (George Baker) has a line of games in which he involves his group of sycophants in order to keep himself amused. After Hall tries to involve Steve in one of theses, Paul decides to teach the film star a lesson he won't forget.
Corrida
Whilst in France, Paul and Steve uncover a protection racket involving a struggling English sculptor after two children are killed by some abandoned dynamite.
The Specialists
After a number of attempts are made on the life of businessman Edward Caine (Emrys Jones), Temple decides that he will help his old friend testify at an embezzlement trial in Wales. It's a race against time with contract killers on their tail.
This release is a 4 disc set that runs to over 560 minutes, but I only received a single DVD-R with the three episodes above on it. Therefore this review is a little incomplete...
Extras
Being Paul Temple: Francis Matthews Interview - a recent interview with the star of the show during which he talks about his association with Temple author Francis Durbridge and what it was like to work on such a successful show.
The other extras are a combination of text and photo-based extras:
The Women of Paul Temple
Fashion Statements
Francis Durbridge Biography
Filmographies - both the two main stars and a number of guest stars
Overall
Apparently this series was huge in Germany and very successful with over 25 million viewers per night. This was also apparently part of the reason why the BBC killed it off after two series; it just wasn't the done thing to have successful series on the BBC. Sadly it appears that standards must have risen in the time since this series was written as I found it rather bland and flaccid.
The concept of a mystery writer husband and wife team was taken by US TV with the likes of McMillan and Wife and latterly Hart To Hart, both of which were much more exciting than the rather limp writing and direction here. Even Murder She Wrote is more exciting than this.
Rather boring, unfortunately...
Your Opinions and Comments
It sets up quite nicely as a slightly sinister group of hangers-on and a movie star latch on to writer Paul and his missus Steve Temple. Has-been movie star Mark Hall (George Baker) invites Steve to his island hideaway, it turns out to lure Paul to the island to play their "game".
Hall, it turns out, likes his bit of fun and has a line in tiresome games with forfeits designed to scare guests.
Paul follows the group to the island and arrives in time to save his wife from freaking out, having been given the classic "Avengers" psychological treatment over the availability of a phone by Hall's missus (played by Francis Matthews' real life wife Angela Browne).
He suggests a game of his own - to scare Hall to the point where he shows his fear in front of Temple.
Sounds great, doesn't it? A cool caper screwing with the mind of the villain and leaving him either dead or completely redeemed as a human being.
Not a bit of it. Temple has a little chat with each of the hangers-on, finding out what makes them tick and gleaning what they believe Hall is scared of. Then he arranges for Hall to meet them all at an old building in the town on the other side of the island.
The denouement arrives fast and unsatisfactorily. Temple is screwing with Hall's mind, but not as thoroughly as we'd like. In fact - and no apologies for spoliers here - the story ends with Hall blagging a lift off Paul and Steve back to the ferry.
The story could have comfortably filled a second fifty-minute slot, with Temple acting as the little voice in the ear, building on Hall's paranoia and that of his hangers-on to the point where they could all have been at each others' throats.
I voiced this opinion over at Roobarb's, and it didn't go down well.
I hope the rest of the set is more entertaining. As a package, it's glossy and well put together, including a smashing interview with Francis Matthews, who is looking very well for his age. As with all Acorn Media releases, however, it's a good £10 more than it really should be.
[Donald Sinden]My misgivings aren't sore any more since I liberally applied the ointment. {/Donald Sinden]