Dempsey and Makepeace

This little 80's-era cop series was elevated by the performance and (obvious) skillful additional writing done by the cast. It was one of the earlier U.K. imports to be played on commercial TV for U.S. audiences (as opposed to public TV like PBS). Those that saw it loved the over-the-top action and smooth, seductive style of Michael Brandon's no-nonsense Brooklyn cop, Dempsey. His counterpart, Makepeace, is the Sloaney skirt who is annoyed by the brash New Yorker's style, but can't quite seem to hate him because he's not only witty, but has good police skills. The chemistry between the Bensonhurst Badboy and the Upper Crusty Lady Makepeace heats up as the seasons progress. The other critical ingredient to the success of this project was (Ray Smith) Gordon Spikings character who is consistently yelling and dropping the hammer on one person or another, as the commander of the unit. Lots of gunplay, explosions, and stunts. Character-wise, it has a flavor not wholly unlike Scarecrow and Mrs. King, which is of a similar vintage. Ironically, the Brits espouse an anti-gun sensibility and create a cop character that fires his .357 revolver at absolutely EVERYTHING - even if he doesn't have a clean shot. As of 2010, there is no region 1 (USA) DVD commercially available from the series. An unfortunate oversight on the part of the owners, since even a small fan base here in the U.S. is as big as a large fan base in another country. They are overlooking the opportunity to re-purpose this content.

I used to love this show as a kid and recently I've been re-watching some of it and I still think it's as good as I used to.

Micheal Brandon and Glynis Barber are great as James Dempsey and Harry Makepeace. The chemistry is amazing and because it was real all the more interesting to watch.

It's a shame that they only made 3 seasons - although its great to re-watch them all again.

My only complaint is that they never got together romatically and I think that they should have.

Watching the ridiculous, but funny "Keen Eddie: (on Fox) last night made me think about D&M and how wonderful it was. We got to see 20 of the 29 episodes produced and they ran as a syndicated show during the fall of 1985. Unfortunately the remaining shows didn't make it over here. Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber had tremendous on-screen chemistry (which eventually carried off-screen as they got married), and the writing, location shooting, directing, and acting were top notch. Dempsey's character was an no-nonsence action guy, who often had a hard time with the stiff rigid ways of Scotland Yard. Makepeace, on the other hand, though by the book on the job, was a wild society dame after hours, which took Dempsey a while to adjust too. I would like to see the final 9 episodes to see if D&M's sexual tension finally resulted in them "closing the deal"!!! I wonder if this marvelous show will ever show up in re-runs?

I watched Dempsey & Makepeace when I was small (10-12 years, I don't remember) and I loved this series. Few days ago, I've noticed they are repeating it on our TV station and I was very happy to see it again. I like it even more than before. I love this series. It is gorgeous.

The plot of every episode is quite exciting and interesting. It is always something new and original. I have never be bored during watching this series. I think it's quite realistic. They don't shoot so much and if so, watching them is so exciting. I love Dempsey and Makepeace's sense of humor. It should be serious but when they say something funny, it is great and I am laughing like I would watch a comedy :) The actors are marvelous. They are playing in such a beautiful style. I love their cars! 1980's Fords are so cool! Especially Makepeace' Escort 1.6i cabriolet. Really nice cars. In Slovakia (my country), our actors have done one of the best Slovak dubbing for Dempsey & Makepeace, ever! I would love to hear the original D&M voices, too.

My brother first introduced me to this show in 1996 when I was 13 and I have been a hardcore fan ever since!!

From the first episode I watched, I was hooked. I dont think I can praise Michael and Glynis enough for their performances in the show. And Ray and Tony played their parts well too. Even though the show was supposed to be serious - I found the humour and one liners from James and Harri very funny and memorable. Its part of what made the show likable.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Glynis this year and she is really nice and polite, and I am thankful that she agreed to let me meet her as she could have easily had said no. (So thank you Glynis!!)

I could sit and watch this show all day, and I hope that Granada Plus will continue to replay it very soon, as there are still a few episodes that I havent seen.

If there are any hardcore fans out there that read this please get in touch by leaving a message on the message board!!

Ciao