The Official Public Eye Enquiry Agent Playset!

Public Eye is back on British television thanks to those nice people at the Talking Pictures television channel. Quite probably one of the best detective series to come out of the telly box ever, Public Eye debuted in 1965 on ITV and chronicled the exploits of one Frank Marker - a rather grubby looking enquiry agent in a dirty mac three years before Columbo purchased his... 

Obviously its broadcast cannot go without celebration so I've dug up this little gem from the golden age of TV tie-in toys. Devotees of The Man from UNCLE may recognise the product as a thinly disguised version of the UNCLE toy trenchcoat that is now much sought after at collectors fairs and online auction sites. Back in those days, it was almost a tradition that toy manufacturers would merely adapt existing products to suit current trends and licences. And this was no exception. 

Mint versions of the Public Eye Detective Outfit Playset can go for literally tens of pounds these days and are rarely seen intact (if at all). I certainly haven't seen one on sale. 

Ever. 

If you liked this post (or indeed, any of the 400 odd others I've done over the years), why not buy me a coffee at my Ko-fi profile. The link is here.















10/10/2018: Edited to add this spoof modern Radio Times cover I knocked up for the series and posted on Twitter. 

Another Christmasy Post About TV Annuals

It may come as a shock to you but I love old TV annuals! 

No doubt the subtle clues from previous posts on the subject have gone over your heads and the admission comes out of the blue to you.

I have a neat little collection of them stretching from a mint-fresh copy of the very first Doctor Who annual from 1965 (apparently written by the show's original script-editor, David Whitaker!) to a Dick Barton Special Agent annual (based on the late 70s TV series and illustrated in muted 50s hues by V for Vendetta's David Lloyd). 

A year or so ago, when I first started fiddling around in Photoshop, I put together a few annuals that I wished were available back in their hey-day when I was the age of their target market. 

This is a selection of them which I hope you appreciate.

Tonight's Episode - "Top Ten TV Titles"

What is it with writers and producers today? 

What ever happened to the wonderfully evocative and sometime lurid titles of TV episodes we used to have? 

The eagerness with which we waited on any Quinn Martin detective show for that rich baritone announcer to reveal “Tonight's Episode” and win the bet as to whether it contained either the word 'murder' or 'death' somewhere in it.

These days, episode titles seem somewhat repetitive and hum drum. There was a phase - not so long ago - when all episode titles seemed to consist of a single word – usually something like 'Gambit' or 'Survival' or 'Flashpoint'. These days though the cliches come thick and fast. Often episode titles are simply a pointer – a two to three word precis of the gist of the plot. 'Daleks in Manhattan' is probably the worst offender of recent years.

In the interest of piquing curiosity in the subject, I present my own Top Ten Episode Titles in No Particular Order.

1. Public Eye - You Think It'll Be Marvellous – But It's Always a Rabbit (1965 – 1.10). The sixties/seventies private eye series that starred the late Alfred Burke always gave good titles. Often they were quotes from dialogue in the ever quirky scripts. 

2. Callan: Nice People Die At Home (1969 – 2.14) Nice and grim as one would expect from Callan.

3. Star Trek: For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (1969 – 3.08) Another dialogue quote from a series that also enjoyed quoting the classics and quite elegantly pretentious.

4. Doctor Who: The Death of Doctor Who (1965 – 2.34) A good lurid title from Terry Nation which is almost designed to piss off the nerd. Needless to say, the TV programme referred to in the title is still going strong after fifty or so years...

5. Space 1999: The Rules of Luton (1976 – 2.07) Amuses me every time I see this episode title. The story goes that the American producer saw the name 'Luton' on a road sign on the way to the studio and decided it would make a good name for a planet of intelligent trees. 

6. Cannon: Bad Cats and Sudden Death (1972 – 2.01) It's for titles like these that the Quinn Martin announcer's voice was purposely trained.

7. The Streets of San Francisco: A Trout in the Milk (1973 – 1.13) You really want to see this episode.

8. Hawaii Five-0: Three Dead Cows at Makapuu part one (1970 – 2.23) You probably don't want to see this episode.

9. Mannix: Skid Marks on a Dry Run (1967 – 1.2) Heh. Heh. It says 'Skid Marks'.

10. The Saint: The Effete Angler (1962 – 1.09) Fishing for trouble!

And while we are at it... here's a spelling error from 'Galactica 1980'.