Prime Target 

Jim is sent to France to help solve the murder of an unidentified Jersey resident. He turns out to have been Jack Moberley, a private eye, who was trailing eccentric lawyer Lionel Carteret ... See full summary »

Director:

Henry Herbert

Writers:

Robert Banks Stewart (by), Robert Holmes (by)

Stars:

John Nettles, Terence Alexander, Celia Imrie

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Nettles	...	Jim Bergerac
Terence Alexander	...	Hungerford
Celia Imrie	...	Marianne
Anthony Valentine	...	Lionel
Catherine Schell	...	Veronique
Nickolas Grace	...	Inspector Chazottes
Constantine Gregory	...	Duchesne
Madge Ryan	...	Mrs Van Stratton
Emlyn Price	...	Lawrence
Sean Arnold	...	Crozier
Annette Badland	...	Charlotte
Mela White	...	Diamante Lil
Nell Campbell	...	Mrs Moberley
Marc Sinden	...	Lucas
Tamara Ustinov	...	Libby

Storyline

Jim is sent to France to help solve the murder of an unidentified Jersey resident. He turns out to have been Jack Moberley, a private eye, who was trailing eccentric lawyer Lionel Carteret on behalf of his family. Lionel has plans to marry a countess, whose house has been repossessed by the local casino, due to her late husband's gambling debts. When a gun is found in her bedroom it would seem that she killed Moberley, but there are other suspects, including Lionel and his family and the casino owner.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 1983 (UK)

Filming Locations:

46 Avenue George V, Dinard, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Seven Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 57 min (BBFC entry for UK DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Robert Holmes and Robert Banks Stewart had worked together before on series such as Doctor Who and Shoestring.

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Quotes

[while working on a case in France, Jim happens to see Charlie Hungerford going into a hotel with an unknown woman]
Jim Bergerac: I wonder what *he's* doing here?
Inspector Chazottes: Perhaps he's having a naughty weekend. It's always good to have some dirt on your in-laws, no?
Jim Bergerac: Digging up dirt on Charlie Hungerford is as easy as finding garlic in your salad.

User Reviews

Prime Target

There is something about Prime Target that is a cut above. Maybe because it was co-written by Robert Holmes or the location shooting in France or just the standard of acting from the varied guest stars.

Inspector Chazottes calls Bergerac over to identify a dead body who might be a man from Jersey. Bergerac has no idea of the man with or without his wig. Bergerac also handily bumps into Charlie Hungerford who is with a wealthy widow who was once accused of killing her husband.

The dead man was a private investigator tailing the new girlfriend of Lionel Carteret, an inveterate gambler and from a wealthy and distinguished legal family in Jersey. The girlfriend is a Countess fallen into hard times because of her late husband's gambling debts and might be attracted to Lionel because of his wealth.

There is a nice interplay between Bergerac and Chazottes played by Nikolas Grace. I liked Bergerac wandering around Jersey looking for the owner of the toupee which turned out to be ghastly thing from Hong Kong. Charlie plays a handy role in stopping the villain.