Cult TV Blog

This will be an unusually image-based post for this blog, simply because I'm obsessed with the surreal and deadly department store in this episode. The episode is heavily influenced by several episodes of The Avengers. Death at Bargain Prices suggests the store.  Oh look, there's Steed! Over Death at Bargain Prices the resentment here is much more personal so I think The House That Jack Built is another influence. There are also overtones of Don't Look Behind You/The Joker in being trapped inside a killing machine where you're doomed to fail. I particularly like the trompe l'oeil corridor. Incidentally I love the art deco store used as a location, but try as I might I haven't been able to identify the location. It's obviously an original art deco building which is either listed or in the hands of an owner who appreciates the style. Alternatively this may be where someone comments that it was burned down by arsonists the week after filming ended. There are al...

I haven't tended to do tributes to actors from shows which feature here. I have always wanted it to be about the show and have always soft pedalled the actors. When a famous actor dies there will be loads of tributes and I've always tried not to reproduce the material you can read all over the internet.  That said while I have always aimed to blog about what I am viewing, and as it happens the legendary Peter Bowles has died and I happened to have an urge to watch through the remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and he appears in this episode, so hence this post by way of a tribute. Spoiler alert: I'm going to give away the ending. Of course both this and the original series had a very light touch but Bowles's role as the headmaster of a distinctly odd school is an absolute gift. I'm no actor but I would think the role could be quite difficult because it's both serious and wildly humorous. Bowles plays the total power crazed (and more than a little deranged)...

I never thought I would ever be blogging about this show here. The original series is one of my favourites and I thought this one had everything I dislike: I loathe remakes and thought this was one. But then I read a blog post by Grant Goggins about a different episode  (here ) in which he says, I’m afraid the previous three episodes were really uneven, but  Randall & Hopkirk  went out on a high note written by Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson as a very cute tribute to  The Avengers . It’s  “Death at Bargain Prices”  crossed with  “The House That Jack Built”  as Jeff and Jeannie are trapped in an escape-proof department store full of lethal traps. And just to add to the tips of the bowler, they brought along some mannequins that evoke the Autons from  Doctor Who  and dressed one of them like Steed. ... And of course I was smitten. This series manages to play tribute to just about every classic TV series and film ever made, including...