Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

Based on the classic 1960s series of the same name, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) saw TV comics Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves take on the roles of Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, two private detectives who stumble along from one case to another.

But where Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) stands out from other similar detective series — and there's a slight clue in the title! — is that Marty manages to get himself killed during the course of the opening episode, only to come back in the form of a ghost that only Jeff can see. Unsurprisingly, this makes Marty the ideal partner, as he can get information and go places where no one else can.

The two other main characters were Jeannie (Emilia Fox), Marty's fiancée, and Wyvern, a completely new character who would act as Marty's mentor in Limbo, and who was played by former Doctor Who star Tom Baker.

The mastermind behind the re-make was Charlie Higson, best known then as one of the stars of The Fast Show, and more recently as the writer of the Young James Bond novels. Of the six episodes in Season 1, Higson was solely responsible for scripting five of them, sharing writing duties on Paranoia with his Fast Show co-star Paul Whitehouse.

Season 2 saw the introduction of a number of new writers to the series, with Gareth Roberts and Kate Wood both co-writing an episode each with Higson. Roberts was allowed to go solo on Painkillers, and this proved to be one of the highlights of the series — ideal training for his future work on both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. The very final episode was written by Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson, who, at that time, were best known for their work on The League of Gentlemen. Higson also found time to direct four episodes, and in true Hitchcock fashion appeared on screen in all thirteen of them!

Unfortunately, the mix of comedy and special effects was obviously not to the liking of the Saturday evening audience and, over the two seasons, the ratings plummeted from 10.63m to a paltry 3.24m. This despite appearances from the cream of modern-day UK television comedy, including over half the cast of The Fast Show (John Thomson, Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson himself, Arabella Weir, Simon Day), Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson from Spaced, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith from The League of Gentlemen, and also David Walliams and Matt Lucas, who subsequently went on to find fame and fortune with Little Britain.

The remainder of the acting talent included the likes of Charles Dance, Hugh Laurie, Steven Berkoff, Richard Todd, Mark Benton, Dudley Sutton, Gareth Thomas, Hywel Bennett, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dervla Kirwan and Pauline Quirke.