Joining the ever-growing list of “Cool British Shows from the 60s That I’ve Never Heard Of” (otherwise known as the CBSFT6TINHO), is “Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)”. The title intrigued me so I had to check it out. The series starred Mike Pratt as Randall and Kenneth Cope as Hopkirk, two detectives who end up working under the most unusual of circumstances. As you might guess from the title, one of them… is dead. Their business partnership didn’t start off that way, however. As a matter of fact, the work was quite normal, until early into the first episode when Hopkirk is killed by a hit-and-run driver. This is when the show really begins. Randall finds out that is partner is indeed, quite dead. But when he gets a phone call from the great beyond, he learns that Hopkirk is far from gone. Over the course of the series, Randall & Hopkirk solve all manner of cases, and run into a wide variety of criminals.

They face haunted houses, spiritual scientists and even, believe it or not, ghostbusters. Hopkirk’s widow, Jean (Annette Andre) continues to work for the agency, but only Randall can see his ex-partner.

“Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)” ended up with a pretty avid fan base following its premiere back in 1969. It was popular enough to make it to U.S. shores, but under the more straightforward name, “My Partner the Ghost.” Undoubtedly the British felt that the original title would be lost on less sophisticated American audiences (and they were more than likely right). It was hoped, understandably so, that the series would return (much as Hopkirk did). And it did end up with a life after cancellation, but not for almost 30 years. Back in 2000, there was a new version of the show with an all-new cast.

I enjoyed the heck out of the first episodes that were included on this 4-disc DVD set from A&E. The series was quite well-written, and offered up a good blend of drama and humor. I’m kind of curious as to how well it went over here in the States however, as the humor was usually quite droll. I even loved the logos of the series which had the name Randall (in white lettering) above Hopkirk (in red) with the latter encased in the shape of a casket.

As has been the case with all of the DVD releases of these great 1960s series, A&E has done a terrific job restoring them. They’re not perfect, and occasionally you’ll catch little blemishes in the image, but they certainly look as good, if not better than when they were originally aired.

There are only a few extras include on this set, the most interesting being an episode of A&E’s “Haunted History” which focuses on London. We get to hear some of the history of the Tower of London, as well as other notable places. Being somewhat of a ‘ghost’ nut, I watch this show quit often on TV, and would certainly be interested in it having some full season DVD sets of its own.

Once again, I really appreciate the fact the A&E takes the gamble of releasing shows like these to DVD. They give them a chance to be seen by new audiences (like me), as well as giving old fans the chance to see them again at their leisure.

Starring: Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope, Annette Andre
Extras: “Haunted History: London Episode” from The History Channel
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: A&E
Release Date: 2/24/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) a B.