Call Me Mister

I know that some of the series premises were rather predictable, but I still found this surprisingly enjoyable, well scripted, well acted, and I would love to see it again.

Jack is a 'fish out of water' ex-pat who has been a cop in Australia, who now finds himself inheriting his fathers barony, and potentially a share of his company. This is the dull stereotypical part that probably put many critics against it.

What is for it, is Dulice Liecier, David Bamber and Dermot Crowley who provide an interesting set of sparring partners for a private detective series. I liked the plots, and the guitar-based theme tune.

Give me a DVD (or at least some cable/satellite repeats!).

The BBC in the 1980s were always on the lookout for another Shoestring or Bergerac. A quirky private eye series that manages to hook the viewers.

Call Me Mister starred Australian Steve Bisley as Jack Bartholomew, the elder son of a titled family who left England as a young man to become a cop in Australia. When his father dies he inherits the title, but has no interest in using it or being part of the family business. Instead he becomes a private detective getting involved in a different case each week while his estranged family try to get back control from him.

Critics were against this series from the start, one of the reasons being no matter how long you have been away from the UK, an aristocrat would never lose his English accent never mind adopt an Aussie one.

The family rivalry plot was dull and rather aped Dallas/Dynasty which were popular dramas of the period. The plots were interesting and quirky enough, there was some nice sparring between Bisley and Dermot Crowley who played a police detective. Most fans would now remember the show for an early appearance by Marina Sirtis clad in lingerie but it is a shame there was no second series.

This is a likeable detective series which, with a few flaws ironed out, could've made it past the one season that was made. The premise of the show is that after the death of his father, Sir Jack Bartholomew (Steve Bisley) returns to his native England after many years living in Australia. Estranged from his family, he is now very different to his brother and sister who continued to run the family pharmaceutical business. Jack had been working as a policeman in Sydney and now sounds so Australian, he'd bleed XXXX beer if he was cut. Because of some legal complications with his father's will and his siblings (more of that in a moment) Jack is left with no choice but to find a job in London. That job turns out to be working as a private detective alongside wheelchair-bound Fred Hurley (David Bamber).

While Fred mostly stays in his office using some wonderfully obsolete 1980s technology to do his work, Jack gets to do the more exciting stuff. He sometimes uses his girlfriend - singer Julie Columbus (Dulice Liecier) as a sidekick. He also has an entertainingly combative relationship with Detective Sergeant McBride (Dermot Crowley) from the local police station. This central quartet work well together and are the best part of the show.

Far less successful are Jack's storylines with his brother and sister. They aren't very happy that their late father changed his will late in the day and that Jack now stands to inherit 20% of the business. His sister Bridget (Haydn Gwynne) shows some human qualities but their brother Philip (Rupert Frazer) is little more than an obnoxious upperclass toff straight from stereotype central. Hell, he even has a floppy fringe to match his plummy accent. All of this sounds like a needless plot device to explain why Jack is still in England and to remind us that he is some sort of posh boy gone rogue.

The show would've managed just fine without this cumbersome back story. It would've made for an interesting premise if they'd just made Steve Bisley's character an Aussie off the bat and observed London through his eyes. They also could've done with less of Jack's girlfriend singing songs on everything from daytime TV chat shows to nightclubs - I know nothing about the actress who played Julie but I'm guessing she was being marketed as a singer at the time.

Call Me Mister is very much of its time but for what it is, it's a well made and acted show. In general, the storylines were engaging and it had really settled down towards the end of its run. I guess that was too late for it though. I also wanted to mention how cool the opening and closing credits are - they look pretty good even in modern times.