It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water

Infobox Television episode
Title = It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water
Series = Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 22
Airdate = 13 February 1970
Production = 22
Writer = Donald James
Director = Leslie Norman
Guests = Felix Aylmer
John Hallam
Liz Fraser
Neil McCallum
Meredith Edwards
Episode list = List of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)episodes
Prev = The Ghost Talks
Next = The Trouble with Women

It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water is the twenty-second episode of the popular 1969 ITC British television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broadcast on 13 February 1970 on the ITV. Directed by Leslie Norman.

Synopsis

Jeff is hired by an elderly gentleman of the wealthy Crackan family and his butler Hodder to deilver a letter to his nephew Johnny, recently escaped from jail. The letter invited him to stay with his uncle at his large country manor and is united with the rest of his relatives who come to stay including his niece, a Spaniard and a Japanese man and an Irish vicar who are apparently related. However, when the Spaniard one arriving at the manor is pushed out of a window Jeff becomes suspicious. Soon after his death the next day, the nephew Johnny takes his car for a drive and is travelling over 60 mph when the breaks lock up and he runs out of control over a massive quarry mountainside, killing him. Later that evening at dinner, the Japanese man is poisoned after his meal and all the time the elderly estate owner seems the none the worse or the least bit shocked. Leaving them, Jeff becoming attached to his niece (pictured) takes her to a lodge to esacpe the troubles and soon after leaving she finds the Irish vicar in her room. With her the only one in the way of the inheritance of the estate she appears very frightened believing he will kill her. However, when Jeff returns to her lodge he discovers the vicar dead in his bedroom next door. By this time the niece had departed quickly.

Knowing the niece to be innocent Jeff tracks her to a theatre where she works as a theatre performer and actress to inform her that the inheritance is hers. Meanwhile the elderly gentleman's butler visits Jeannie and in polite converstation manages to find out where the niece is performing. He attempts to kill her but with the help of Marty remains alive and under hypnosis gets her to phone the police to visit the manor. It was of course the butler in cahoots with his master all along to dispose of every member of the family so he could inherit it. The elderly man was ashamed of his family, the reason why he thought killing them was the best thing to protect his estate in the future leaving it to his trusty butler.

Overview

Cast

*Mike Pratt as Jeff Randall
*Kenneth Cope as Marty Hopkirk
*Annette Andre as Jeannie Hopkirk

*Graham Armitage .... Young Stage Director
*Felix Aylmer .... Joshua Crackan
*Dick Bentley .... Mesmero
*Meredith Edwards .... Hodder
*Liz Fraser .... Fay Crackan
*Earl Green .... Ramon
*John Hallam .... Johnny Crackan
*Neil McCallum .... Rev. Henry Crackan
*Michael Ripper .... Punter
*John A. Tinn .... Sung Lee Crackan

Video and DVD release

The episode was released on VHS and several times on dvd with differing special features.

Trivia

External links

*http://www.anorakzone.com/randall/old/index.html
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0682595/