Rose and Maloney

I've been transferring old Tv shows I've recorded on VHS across to DVD format for the sake of gaining storage space, as well as updating my media and hopefully halting deterioration that tape inevitable succumbs to. Tonight I've watched and dubbed some old episodes of one of my favorite series Rose and Maloney which is filling up valuable shelving space.

Rose and Maloney was a British television crime drama with Sarah Lancashire & Phil Davis as Rose Linden and Maloney, two investigators working for the fictional Criminal Justice Review Agency. The agency takes on claims of miscarriages of justice, assessing whether there are grounds to reopen old cases.

Rose is brilliant but strong-willed and sometimes reckless. She likes to follow her instincts and play hunches and often comes into conflict with authority. Maloney, although Rose's superior, usually allows himself to be led by his more passionate colleague. Maloney is a by-the-book man and a little grey. He finds working with Rose dangerous but addictively exciting. Only a handful of episodes were made, but all of them were well written and acted. Watching the interplay between the two opposite personalities was a joy and anything with the underated Phil Davis is worth putting time aside to watch. I watched his work in the Whitechapel series earlier this year and to see him at work in an entirely different persona in this series is wonderful.

Unfortunately, Rose and Maloney have never been released on dvd so the VHS transfers are the next best thing. if anyone hears of a kosher version out there, let me know - I'd willingly pay for the series.

Burn brightly, Pete

So how come No-one wants a Wonder-Woman TV Show?

Fangs for the Memories

Consulting Producer Jim Pierson recently announced that Tim Burton’s film version of Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, and Michelle Pfeiffer will premiere in May 2012. Based on the old television series of the 1970s, the movie has been gathering interest since Burton announced plans to revive the vampire/soap show which garnered a massive following in its heyday. It wasn't just the monsters that made the gothic show stand out from other soaps of the day. Most daytime dramas have protracted plots that last years, but Dark Shadows told smaller concentrated stories in a similar format to today's telenovelas. They had whole continuities that transported the story through time, allowing cast members to portray their own ancestors. The unusual format kept the audience guessing since writers could kill off major characters since the actors could return as ghosts or other versions of themselves in other stories.

Vale Ann Francis

Earlier this year Ann Francis lost her battle with cancer. She was 80 years old and had not been in front of cameras for a while, but I had been watching her on almost a daily basis for some weeks around the time of her death. In February I worked my way through her TV series Honey West, a result of reading the comic series which caused me to purchase the 60's B& W TV series. After the death of her father, sexy Honey West took over his high-tech private detective firm. TVs first ever female Private Eye, Honey West would take on any tough case. She could handle herself mingling with millionaires just as well as scaling a thirty foot wall. Along with rugged Sam Bolt and her pet ocelot Bruce, Honey West was sure to solve the case. 


Francis played the karate-kicking detective, boss of her own small agency, appearing in jump suits similar to Diana Rigg's choice of apparel.

I had always enjoyed her in Forbidden Planet, one of the most memorable adaptations of The Tempest I'd seen. The Honey West series has its moments over the 30 episodes. Her interactions with her sidekick Sam and her pet ocelot Bruce made the series a hit for a while and Francis was almost an identical twin for Honor Blackman. Sets tended to be reused and some of the plots also develop a sameness towards the end of the second season, but Francis's on screen charm and presence carries it off.

“A lot of people speak to me about Honey West,” Francis recalled. “The character made young women think there was more they could reach for. It encouraged a lot of people,” she added.

An interesting mix of early feminism, Bond-type gadgetry with a strong female character that uses her sexuality to solve the cases, Francis/West is atypical in interesting ways, but I don't know that I can really recommend it - there were good reasons it was cancelled during the second season.

Burn brightly, Pete