I'm quite familiar with the original as I often had it on in the background on a Friday evening when rushing through my homework so I could be free of school for the weekend. I was a fan of Vic & Bob from "The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer" and "Shooting Stars" so looked forward to it with relish. Oddly enough bar the first episode I've not come back to this since it aired so bar the odd line or scene here and there it was all fairly new to me.
To bring you up to speed the series is set around a pair of private investigators Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk and their detective agency. Jeannie Hurst (an early role for Emilia Fox) is the fiance of Marty and introduced in the first episode. During the case of the first episode Marty is mysteriously killed and comes back to help Jeff solve the case and bring his killer to justice. However in order to save Jeff he stays behind as a ghost to long and has to remain on Earth as a ghost which only Jeff can see and hear whilst also being able to travel to Limbo to train alongside Wyvern his spirit mentor - ably played by Tom Baker.
The show is 13 episodes long spread over two series and theres a lot to enjoy. Most of the episodes are very busy with a lot (occasionally to much) packed into the story. There are quite a few affectionate nods to the original series and as a fun east egg Charlie Higson (of The Fast Show and later Bond novels) appears in every episode as a cameo as he is also on writing, producing and directing duties. Of note is the guest cast which includes; Charles Dance, David Tennant, Hugh Laurie, Pauline Quirke, Peter Bowles, Simon Pegg, Gareth Thomas, Eleanor Bron, plus all on screen members League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and almost all of The Fast Show. Theres a lot of Doctor Who connections with Mark Gatiss and Gareth Roberts on writing duties and a guest cast that includes four Doctor Who's and one Master.
Vic and Bob are very good as the two leads, there was a bit of fuss about weather they could play straight roles but there isn't much to worry about. Vic Reeves is lots of fun and plays Marty with a wonderful frenetic feeling. Also lots of fun are his scenes with Tom Baker which are brilliantly OTT and not for fans of under acting. Bob Mortimor plays a distinctly different Jeff Randall from the original series and after a few tricky moments in the first series is on top of his game with a firm grip of his role by the second.
All in all I found this revisit unexpectedly brilliant and have come away thinking its one of the most underrated shows of the last twenty years. Do yourself a favour and give this show a watch.
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