- Dick Spanner, P.I.
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Dick Spanner, P.I. 
Promotional image featuring the title character, Dick SpannerGenre Comedy
Police Procedural
Science fictionFormat Stop motion serial Created by Terry Adlam Written by Terry Adlam Directed by Terry Adlam
Steven BeggVoices of Shane Rimmer Opening theme Russell Shaw Composer(s) Christopher Burr Country of origin United Kingdom Language(s) English No. of series 1 No. of episodes 22
(4 in alternative 24-minute format)Production Producer(s) Gerry Anderson
Christopher BurrCinematography Steven Begg
Bob BellCamera setup Single Running time 6 mins approx. per episode Production company(s) Virgin Distributor Channel 4 Television Corporation Broadcast Original channel Channel 4 Audio format Mono Original run 1986 – 1987 Dick Spanner, P.I. was a 1986 British stop-motion animated comedy series which parodied Chandleresque detective shows.[1] The titular character and main protagonist was Dick Spanner, voiced by Shane Rimmer, a robotic private detective who works cases in a futuristic urban setting. The show made frequent use of puns and visual gags.[1]
The series consisted of 22 six-minute episodes, covering two story arcs of equal length: "The Case Of The Human Cannonball" and "The Case Of The Maltese Parrot". The programme was originally broadcast in the UK as a segment of the Sunday morning show Network 7 on Channel 4, and was later repeated on the same channel in a late night spot.
Produced by Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, the series was created and written by Terry Adlam, who had previously worked on effects for Anderson's Terrahawks.[2] It was also the basis for the Anderson-created Tennants Pilsner advertising campaign using the Lou Tennant character (voiced by Vivian Stanshall).
Contents
Commercial releases
VHS videocassette
The series was released on VHS by the Channel 5 video label (who released many other Gerry Anderson series) towards the end of the 1980s; two cassettes were released, 'The Case of the Human Cannonball' and 'The Case of the Maltese Parrot'. Both 'cases' had their respective episodes spliced together to make up the complete story, with minor cuts. In the early 1990s, both cases were re-released on a single cassette by Polygram Video. All of the VHS releases are now hard to come by and command respectable amounts of money when sold online.
DVD
A DVD of the series was released on 15 October 2007, with extras including an interview with Gerry Anderson.[citation needed] At the request of Anderson himself, the episodes featured new acoustic background music in place of the original synthesiser theme tune/background music (which is probably the series' most famous element and is fondly remembered by many who watched the series on Network 7). The remaining soundtrack (sound effects etc.) were altered to the extent that many of the show's audio gags either no longer work, or are missing entirely. The quality of the original prints appears to have degraded somewhat since the VHS releases, as they seem a lot cleaner and have more vibrant colour. Finally, although the DVD release version is split into the original six minute segments, the original end credits sequences have been replaced by a new set of credits made for the DVD.
Missing puppet hoax
In October 2007, it was reported by several newspapers (including The Independent) that Gerry Anderson was searching for the original Dick Spanner puppet, which had last been seen in the possession of "Clive", a man who had worked on the show.[3] This was later revealed to be a publicity stunt to promote the new DVD release, and the statement was made by a DVD publicist without Anderson's knowledge.[4]
References
- ^ a b Worthington, TJ (December 2002). "Comedy on Channel 4 Part Two: From Ruby Wax to Roger Mellie". OFF THE TELLY. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20071012083254/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/features/c4/comedy2.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
- ^ "Film, TV & Video". Terry Adlam. http://www.terryadlam.co.uk/ftv.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
- ^ Owen, Jonathan (2007-10-21). "Help! One of my puppets is missing, says T-bird 1". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/help-one-of-my-puppets-is-missing-says-tbird-1-397454.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ http://downthetubescomics.blogspot.com/2007_10_21_archive.html
External links
- Dick Spanner, P.I. at the Internet Movie Database
- Dick Spanner, P.I. at TV.com
- [1] Watch the complete original series on Anderson TV
- Dick Spanner, P.I. at sausageNet
- Watch all 22 episodes of Dick Spanner with the new DVD music score on FHM.com
Categories:- 1980s British television series
- 1986 British television programme debuts
- 1986 in British television
- 1987 British television programme endings
- AP Films
- British science fiction television programmes
- British television comedy
- Channel 4 television programmes
- Crime television series
- English-language television series
- Fictional private investigators
- Parallel universes (fiction)
- Police comedies
- Police procedural television series
- Stop-motion animated television series
- Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
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