In a parallel universe to our own, wisecracking robot private detective Dick Spanner becomes involved in a series of increasingly bizarre cases.
Anderson Burr/Channel 4
Produced: 1986-87
First UK broadcast: 3rd May 1987
22 episodes x 6 minutes (alternative version: 4 episodes x 24 minutes)
Producers: Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr
Associate Producer: Bob Bell
Director: Steve Beggand Terry Adlam
Creative Supervision: Gerry Anderson
Photography: Steve Begg and Paddy Seale
Music Composed and Performed by Christopher Burr
| Episodes List | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
The Incredible Case Of Harry The Human Cannon Ball (11 parts) Dick Spanner is hired by a mysterious woman to find a man named Harry who worked in a circus as a human cannon-ball before he was fired. Harry has now disappeared, so Dick agrees to take the case .- the woman’s very heavy suitcase – and searches the streets of the Big Pear for a lead. At the Crow Bar, he contacts an informant named Squealer but someone bumps him off with a demolition ball. When Dick returns to his office, he is arrested by Lieutenant O’Grady on a charge of murder Juan after a dead Mexican is found in his cupboard and, realising that he has been framed, Dick makes a run for it. Then mob boss Mendoza puts a price on Dick’s head and, after avoiding a number of assassination attempts, Dick is caught red-handed with another dead Mexican by O’Grady. A bit of fast-talking persuades O’Grady to let him go and eventually Dick’s investigations lead him to Signor Allova’s Flying Circus… Written by Harry Bolt Directed by Steve Begg (Parts One and Eight) and Terry Adlam (Parts Two to Seven and Nine to Eleven) Original UK Airdate (all screened as part of Channel 4’s Network 7 programme):
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| 2 |
The Strange Affair Of The Maltese Parrot (11 parts) After flying back from Mexico, Dick returns to his office to find a huge jar of strawberry jam jammed in the door jamb and his office walls covered in the same jam. Then he learns that he is being sued by Too Tall Tim Johnson and his brother Tall Tim Two, who agree to drop their lawsuit if Dick helps them to find their missing pet Maltese parrot. As the pair work as stuntmen in Ivywood, the film capital, Dick goes there to investigate and drops in on former silent screen siren Gloria Vamp. Later, at the Brown Trilby Restaurant, pint-sized film stars George Lifeboat and Edward G. Hobson hold him at fingerpoint and take him to the top of the RUOK tower where they demand that he hand over the missing parrot. Dick escapes by leaping from the tower to land safely on an old moose head, but then a misunderstanding with the members of a Moose Hunting Lodge lands him in the Sing A Song Penitentiary… Written by Harry Bolt Directed by Terry Adlam Original UK Airdate (all screened as part of Channel 4’s Network 7 programme):
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| Cast List | |
|---|---|
| Dick Spanner | Shane Rimmer |