Dempsey And Makepeace

[John H Ross]

Has anybody heard anything about the possibility of classic 80s cop show "Dempsey And Makepeace" (starring Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber) coming to DVD, particularly in Region 2?

The series pops up periodically on Granada Plus over here but it's usually trimmed to accommodate commercial breaks. 50 minute shows don't seem to fit into 60 minute time slots as well as they used to... :-(

There were only 30 episodes (including the 90-minute pilot) so the whole lot could be squeezed into a single set.

Check it out: www.dempseyandmakepeace.de

Fingers crossed for positive news!

John

 

[Nicodemus]

This was one of the shows that was a huge disappoinment when I saw it again after more than 10 years. I really expected something more from a show that was so good and funny when I was a kid. Well, guess that how it goes, like with Knight Rider and maybe also with MacGyver.

 

[John H Ross]

I don't know, I get something new out of it every time I watch it. There's certainly more subtle humour in there than I first thought. And it's a whole lot more entertaining than the so-called "gritty" cop shows we get nowadays.

And you gotta hand it to the makers of the pilot. That truck chase is so awesome - there's not another vehicle on that whole stretch of motorway!

John

 

[Michael Harris]

God, I totally forgot about that show. I lived in the UK when during its first run. And to think that I thought that only us Yanks produce shows that rely stictley on formula.

Tough as nails NYC police lieutenant is "exiled" to London for his protection. Gets "seconded" to Scotland Yard and is partnered to, of course, a stunningly beautiful female who is also a "Lady". Hilarity ensues when Dempsey can't understand British firearms regulations and why most cops in England don't carry guns. Genuine mirth when his British colleagues call him "Leftenant" and having to call the boss "Guv'nor". And of course there was the "will they, won't they" relationship between Dempsey and Makepeace.

I actually enjoyed the show and found it fun to watch the Brits engaging in stereotypes.

 

[Mark To]

From what I recall, the show was produced more with the American syndication market in mind moreso than for England. As I remember reading, the British were actually kind of embarrassed by it. Fun show and Glynnis Barber was gorgeous. Glad I have them all on tape.

 

[Mark Oates]

I remember that show was the first to have a bad guy deep-fry someone, and I reckoned it overstepped the bounds back then. It had tons of potential and could have run rings around "Moonlighting" but the script editor (and writers) didn't know whether they were writing another "Avengers" or "The Sweeney". If they'd gone for "light" rather than "gritty", it might have survived to a couple more seasons.

 

[Jon Martin]

I loved the show. It aired here in the US quite often, but I haven't seen it in 10+ years.

When I got a region free player, it was one of the first titles I looked for in the UK. Unfortunately, not released.

 

[Deb Walsh]

Only the pilot film has been re-released on PAL video (not DVD). I thought maybe that was a precursor to the series being released as a whole, but that was two years ago now. A handful of episodes were previously released on PAL video, but not the whole series.

It was fun cheese. I haven't seen it on the air here since the mid-80s, and I never did catch the last few episodes, as it was pulled in my television market. I would totally buy this one.

 

[Jon Martin]

Series 1 of Dempsey and Makepeace will be released Feb 27th in the UK on R2 DVD.

Don't know if an R1 is in the works.

 

[Brady]

I was looking at that myself the other day, on amazon.co.uk. Maybe this has been touched on in some other threads, but I find it rather interesting that sometimes our European friends get things we don't. Starsky and Hutch season 4, the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman season 1, and of course season sets of the Saint. Would like to see some of that same action over here!

 

[Jon Martin]

Just got the DVD from Amazon.uk

It is the first season, with two commentary tracks by Brandon and Barber and a 20 minute interview with both of them.

I didn't even know that they were married in real life!! That is cool to know. Barber still looks great, haven't seen her much since the end of the series. Thought she would have become a bigger star.

One question though, for US viewers, was the US title sequence different? Didn't it begin with showing a UK and US flag and music behind them? Then go into the standard opening? Or was that only in the later seasons? The flag part wasn't on the DVD titles, yet I remember it very clearly. Was it from a promo or were the UK titles different?

Haven't watched all of an episode yet. The transfers look a bit worn, but I'm not complaining. Just glad to be able to see it again.

 

[Ben King]

Series 2 is out in the UK on 26th June.

 

[WaveCrest]

Does anyone here know whether the Region 4 boxsets of all three series of Dempsey & Makepeace contain the uncut versions, or the 'afternoon edit' versions which are in the Region 2 sets released by Network DVD? I've read a review on Amazon.co.uk saying the episodes in the Network DVD sets are cut.

 

[WaveCrest]

Has anyone here bought the Region 4 sets of Dempsey & Makepeace?

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Originally Posted by WaveCrest

Does anyone here know whether the Region 4 boxsets of all three series of Dempsey & Makepeace contain the uncut versions, or the 'afternoon edit' versions which are in the Region 2 sets released by Network DVD? I've read a review on Amazon.co.uk saying the episodes in the Network DVD sets are cut.

I didn't know there was an 'afternoon edit' of this show. Usually, Network are pretty good abotu using the uncut versions of things (unless they were unaware of different versions of the episodes).

 

[Neil Brock]

I'm glad I just came across this. I was going to discard my copies from off-air because of having the DVDs from England. Is it for sure that the DVDs are edited or is this just some internet rumor?

 

[WaveCrest]

I think it is only on one of the front covers of the three series of Dempsey & Makepeace that the episodes are complete and uncut. Usually Network are good at letting you know on the front and/or rear artwork if episodes are uncut or not.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Originally Posted by WaveCrest

I think it is only on one of the front covers of the three series of Dempsey & Makepeace that the episodes are complete and uncut. Usually Network are good at letting you know on the front and/or rear artwork if episodes are uncut or not.

Wasn't the final series UK only (i.e. US syndication had dropped-out at that point)? Perhaps that is the one billed as 'uncut' as there would likely only be one 'version' of those episodes.

 

[WaveCrest]

Could very well be. I checked the Amazon.co.uk page for the first series of Dempsey & Makepeace, and one review says the first series isn't uncut and the versions are the afternoon edits.