Dick Turpin

So simple. Napoleon's blockade in the early 1800s. British smuggler swashbuckling in Normandy and Kent. English officers are the baddies (I don't remember seeing any French baddies).

All episodes are the same: escape from the British police, save the idiotic young sidekick, get the girl aka barmaid, kick the captain's butt, the captain is humiliated by the commander, kick the captain and the commander's butts. end.

So... what was so great ? ha ha ha the music of course ! The theme is completely amazing. It's been 20 years and the only reason why I remember this crappiest of all piece of ol'rubbish British TV from the late seventies is the music.

The French counterpart of this series is called Schulmeister, l'espion de l'Empereur, and it takes place during the same period of history with a former smuggler from Alsace, a fat version of Asterix, turned into an Imperial Commissioner (wow) and enforcing Napoleon's way all over Europe. Much more fun. Jacques Fabri is Schulmeister and Roger Carel is Hamel the sidekick.

But the music sucked. Big time.

Fantastic production design. Finely crafted stories. Inspired casting.

I watched it when I was a kid. I remember counting the days between the weekly airings. Heck, for me he was almost bigger than Robin Hood. So all in all I am probably a bit biased, but I recently bought the box set and found myself binge watching it and being genuinely entertained.

The first film made by RKO Pictures, together with London Weekend Television, the film version also starred Mary Crosby, who had just finished shooting "JR" in the TV series DALLAS.

Not a wonderful movie, but RKO had just gotten started and could only co-produce in the early years. The terrific experience working with LWT led RKO to establish its post-production and international distribution headquarters in London. In fact, RKO hired several people from LWT and staffed its London office completely with people from the British film industry. For many years, the British contingent at RKO ran production and international sales.

Why are users giving this wonderful piece of TV a bum rap ?

First of all the casting of Richard O'Sullivan was inspired, an actor known solely for one comic role spun over nearly a decade made the character his own. This was ripping boys own stuff. Top entertainment with characterisation as good as you could expect from Richard Carpenter, a man with a track record of success.

Each story is well contained within a 25 minute timeframe. I have recently purchased the DVD of series 1 and having watched them all at the rate of 1 a week would recommend them to anyone with an interest in light drama.

I loved this series when it was first transmitted and recently reacquainted myself with the series on DVD. Is it still worth watching?

First of all, this Dick Turpin is presented as an adventurer, friend of the poor, chivalrous to women, the voice of wisdom to his young sidekick Swiftnick.

Impeccably cast, Richard O'Sullivan has a whale of a time as the highwayman, and is hugely entertaining to watch. Michael Deeks (whatever happened to him?) is endearingly dumb as Swiftnick, while Christopher Benjamin is the blustering baddie, although more of a Lestrade than a Moriarty to O'Sullivan's Holmes!

The prints currently available on DVD really are awful though for a series which is less than thirty years old; this aside, if you are in the mood for some boy's own adventure, this is the series to watch. Enjoy.