Review of Dick Spanner P.I.

Introduction

Gerry Anderson completists, like me, have been looking forward to the release of this for some time. With the exception of an issue of `Twizzle` (lost in the annals of time) this just about wraps up the complete works of Gerry Anderson on DVD.

When I met Gerry Anderson (see `interviews` - and apologies for the shameless plug!) he confessed to looking forward to securing a release for this series which seems to be amongst his personal favourites.

Curiously critical of all his own previous works, and his `puppet` work in particular, it seems strange that he should reserve his affections for this primitive stop-frame piece that is dissimilar in tone and style to just about anything else he has ever been involved with.

In truth, it was never a major smash. As an `insert` to the incredibly trendy `Network 7` show on Channel 4, it was a dry-witted pastiche of film noir, full of puns and word-plays as well as countless and often subtle visual gags. Which probably explains a lot. Compared to some of Anderson`s more ambitious pieces, this was probably much more fun to make. Much of that fun can be felt on watching it today.

Dick Spanner is a Private Eye (a walking `spanner` in a hat and coat) who walks the mean streets of the `Big Pear` which is populated with robots, aliens and strange humans. Working from the 15th floor of a block on the `east side of the wrong side` Dick takes on cases that no one else would dare to touch. Luckily, his many coat pockets contain every device that he could ever need to get out of any sticky situation and there are plenty of those!

His best friend is the curvaceous engineer Mae East who always has a soldering iron to hand and who gives the best lube jobs in town. Dick is always at odds with pig-headed police officer Lieutenant O`Grady form the Big Pear`s 10th Precinct who has no time for Private Dicks.

Anderson originally made a 6 minute pilot episode and then sold the series to Channel 4 who thought it work well in their 2 hour Sunday magazine programme for hip young things, Network 7. Taking the pilot, they commissioned a further 21 six minute episodes.

Though only one was shown in each show, the series actually ended up comprising 2 x 11 part stories; `The Incredible Case of Harry the Human Cannon Ball` and `The Strange Case of the Maltese Parrot`. The 22 episodes were later re-edited into four 24-minute segments which showed each of the stories in two parts.

The curiously unimpressively packaged DVD release on Pickwick (with a nasty looking cover) has a single story on each of the two discs, presented as original episodes rather than a single cut, as well as an interview with Gerry Anderson and a music video on each.

One gripe to be aware of for those considering purchasing this for nostalgic reasons; the music used here is not that of the original series. Anderson has a track record of fiddling with his own history. He added awful `star wars` laser effects to the first VHS releases of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet which were a horrible disappointment to those of us who hadn`t seen the shows since they originally aired in the 1960`s.
His time we learn that he found the original synthesiser soundtrack `tired` and gave permission to One Media (who own the rights) to bring in members of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) to play to a piece of cool fifties style jazz composed by Evan Jolly (music scores inc. Cirque Du Soleil). To be non-purist for a moment, I guess you have to concede that it does work, adding to the Chandleresque atmosphere of the piece. However, the cold truth is that there will be very little `new audience` for the DVD, and nostalgia freaks are bound to be disappointed. Part of the fun of revisiting old TV is to see and hear how strange it all looks and sounds today.

Video

The picture quality on the disc is fine if not great with occasional blurring and even the odd stutter. Generally it`s fine.
I watched this as 4:3 initially though that would explain the weird formatting and elongated heads as this has been recropped 16:9. Someone somewhere will know what`s going on...!?

Audio

Once again, I should mention that the original slightly discordant synthesiser music has gone, to be replaced with a more sympathetic lilting 50`s jazz score. Without having the original to hand, it`s difficult to know if there has been any fiddling with audio effects too. For my money, I would have liked a choice of the two (new and original) which would not have added much to the re-mastering or DVD mastering costs. Maybe there was some wrangling with the original composer that we are unaware of?

Other than that, a perfectly serviceable stereo soundtrack.

Features

There are two interviews with Anderson (probably at his Pinewood office) that are technically unremarkable but which do reflect some of the modesty and honesty that is his manner. Some of the questions made me cringe slightly (Alex Stranger is clearly a fan but not a particularly knowledgeable one) though he treats her with nothing but respect and good manners. Fans will thoroughly enjoy these and they`re a great reminder of what a thoroughly nice chap Gerry appears to be.

Each disc also houses a pop video which is shoddily cut featuring Spanner in the works. Yuk.

Conclusion

I`m a huge Gerry Anderson fan and now that I have this recently released disc, I feel almost complete. (I guess I`ll have to give up on ever hoping for an `Adventures of Twizzle` set unless someone unearths some in an old attic somewhere.). Only I don`t feel quite as complete as I should.

Though all 22 episodes are correct and present here, they are no longer as originally aired, each now sporting a brand new soundtrack with a whole new score. There is no option to watch with the original soundtrack, nor even a single episode as a reference. Which is to say that the cheesy eighties synth track has gone and an arguably superior lounge-jazz score added in its place.

Putting that obvious gripe aside, this wise-cracking detective series is undoubtedly the funniest of Anderson`s works, proving to be a great success as one of the most popular feature inserts on Channel 4`s ground-breaking youth programme of the late-eighties, `Network 7`. The primitive stop-frame animation is unlike any of Anderson`s previous or consequent work though remains a personal favourite of his. It`s fun viewing, and with wall-to-wall gags, both verbal and visual, stands up pretty well to repeated viewings. It`s also really easy to squeeze in an episode as each runs for only 6 minutes.

Until someone has the gumption to release a version that has both the new and the original soundtrack, this set will have to do. But until then, the Anderson DVD collection will have to remain, sadly, officially incomplete.