Review of Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased): The Complete Second Series

Introduction

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is one of those television shows from the 1960s era that most people born in the 1970s will probably remember as being endlessly repeated on TV. My memories of the original show are hazy but I don`t ever remember it being any good.

This DVD contains the second series of the recent BBC "remake" (although this is not a BBC disc). "Remake" is perhaps not the most accurate of descriptions as it implies that they`ve remade all of the old episodes. This is not the case, as they`ve simply used the basic premise of a detective and his ghostly partner and updated it for a 21st century audience.

The series is the brainchild of Charlie Higson of The Fast Show and Harry Enfield fame, although he has also been a long time collaborator of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, who take the lead roles here. Higson has been very heavily involved in this "remake", writing, producing and directing various episodes and also starring in several episodes in a different role each time.

Video

Thank you disc producers. After the travesty of the disc of the first series (a full frame cropped transfer), it seems that someone was listening. The series was made and broadcast in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and that`s what we get here. It all looks very good, with plenty of detail, good colour and no blemishes. The effects are good for a TV series too. Nice to know that some BBC sci-fi type shows won`t look so dated in the future.

Audio

Despite being a TV show, the audio comes up trumps with a DD5.1 soundtrack. Yes, really! A marked improvement over the original stereo broadcast obviously, and the soundtrack is used to good effect in various scenes across all seven episodes of the series. It adds a whole new dimension to the show.

The other audio note is that this series features Tom Baker as one of the regular cast. If you believe in any form of god, and you believe that your god has a voice, then Tom Baker has that voice. It is a joy to see and hear him on your TV screen.

Features

The series is presented as a 2 disc set, with 3 episodes on disc 1 and 4 episodes on the second disc.

The first series, had a 45 minute "making of" type documentary, so that`s not repeated here, instead we get a commentary by Charlie Higson on the Revenge Of The Bog People episode and a commentary by Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Charlie Higson on the Painkillers episode. These commentaries are interesting, informative and fun, largely due to the participants. The ensemble commentary is a bit more fun, but it`s still worth listening to the Higson only commentary.

Unfortunately, that`s the end of the extras, it`s a shame that we don`t see the deleted scenes and out-takes like the first series disc though.

Conclusion

An entertaining and amusing comedy/drama/sci-fi/fantasy series. Fans of Vic & Bob will enjoy this a lot, but you`ll also enjoy it even if you don`t like some of their earlier work. Imagine a bizarre cross between The X Files and Shooting Stars and you might be reasonably close to what the series is all about.

Vic & Bob give reasonably good performances, having grown into their first real "serious" roles since the first series. Again they are backed up by an excellent guest cast including Dervla Kirwan, Derek Jacobi, Hywel Bennett, Matt Lucas, Adam Buxton, John Sessions and Reece Shearsmith. This all adds up to some good entertainment. And don`t forget the legend that is Tom Baker and his amazing voice.

This time round we get the widescreen transfer that we deserve, and a DD5.1 soundtrack that is excellent for a TV series and the commentaries are interesting. Recommended for Vic & Bob fans, and fans of the series itself.