My Partner the Ghost (TV Series) My Late Lamented Friend and Partner (1969) User Reviews

Fun Introduction to a Fun Series

[richard.fuller1 · 8/10 · 30 July 2006]

Randall and Hopkirk are investigators who handle divorces.

A woman gets information from Randall that her husband is cheating on her.

When Hopkirk goes to the residence instead to settle the account, the woman is killed and the husband believes Hopkirk was the meddler.

Hopkirk pays the fine with his life.

Hopkirk returns to Randall to get revenge for his murder. Hopkirk says that if he stays visible beyond sunrise, he will have to walk the EArth for 100 years.

So now we have the setup.

Unsentimental piece, but the click among the unlikely performers is solid. You believe that Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk are devoted, concerned friends.

The angle of Marty's widow is perfect as well. Had the show managed to progress, it seems possible that fandom would be rooting for Jeff to marry her, but alas, the show didn't progress.

However, here we are, over 35 years later, still noting it.

First Past The Ghost

[Lejink · 8/10 · 2 March 2023]

Origin-shows are frequently the best of any long-established series, I always think. Many times, of course, you'd join a several-part series during, rather than at the beginning of the show's run and it was always intriguing to go back and see just how the premise of the story and its lead characters got started.

And so it proved with my favourite 1960's fantasy-adventure series "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)" starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the P. I. firm with a difference, one of them, Marty, is actually dead but still in the ether as an appearing and disappearing ghost. We know he's a ghost because he's now dressed in white from head to toe. Only Jeff his partner can actually see him and between them they tackle many a strange, offbeat case, with Marty's attractive widow Jeannie, Annette Andre often caught up in the action too.

This taster for the series is about the only time you'll see Kenneth Cope in a dark suit before he's callously run down by Frank Windsor, here moving to the dark side himself, as the nefarious, murdering husband who resents Marty's investigation.

There's lots of fun to be had as Marty introduces himself to Jeff and gradually learns how to use his powers. Jeff's hair is slightly different at this early stage, but all the future markers for the series are fairly and squarely on display here.

Great theme tune too!