herbertanchovy

Lasting only for 2 seasons in 1979-80, Shoestring follows the adventures of former computer programmer turned private eye, Eddie shoestring. Following a period in a mental institution after he had a breakdown and smashed up computer equipment, he gets recruited to "radio west" a fictional (at the time) local radio station to be a "private ear". People who need detective services call him up and he attempts to solve the case for them, using the story in his radio show. The show is in my opinion much greater than the sum of its parts- and its all due to the wonderful characterisation of Trevor Eve. He really developed Eddie Shoestring as a likable and flawed character, he deliberately isn't a "super cool" type of P.I. He wears pyjama tops instead of shirts, drives an ageing (even then) orange cortina estate (which he managed to get on his expenses from radio west after his own Hillman hunter was smashed up on a case early on in the series) and as a method of stress relief, makes very accurate caricatures of his adversaries in a little doodle pad he carries with him. when this isn't enough he takes time off to potter around on his boat which is permanently moored on dry land. he has an on-off sexual relationship with his landlady, who as a barrister, provides plenty of legal assistance with her many contacts. He is spontaneous, witty, intelligent and has a ready sense of humour. all this makes the show far superior to its successor, Bergerac- No offence to Mr Nettles, but you just didn't give two hoots about the character of Jim Bergerac, a man totally lacking in any charisma whatsoever. The programme is of its time, but this serves as a superb snapshot of late '70s west country locations, which if you are local, you will enjoy spotting. (weston super mare sea front, Aust ferry terminal at Beachley, the old severn bridge, severn beach, etc etc) Older viewers may recognise Michael Medwin from the 1950's show "the army game" who plays the Radio station boss who always seems to have a problem with Eddie, be it expense claims or legal issues, whilst the delectable Liz Crowther is the friendly,efficient and helpful receptionist who seems to be an invaluable character in the running of the station. This deserves to be released on DVD- its far more popular than people might think, so come on and release it!

If you like '70s blagger type films like "sweeney" this will probably be right up your street. One gets the impression that Richard Burton is punching well below his weight here- maybe he needed the money? but nonetheless it's an enjoyable film, in which Burton does play a very convincing mentally unhinged, sadistic, mother obsessed, homosexual gang boss planning a job that's not normally his style, just to prove that he can. times have changed however and the police are closer than he realises. Plenty of period street scenes with car chases featuring S type jaguars and ford zodiacs, and its surprisingly violent and graphic for such an old film. well worth a look, and its on DVD too.

My younger brother and I watched this endlessly as kids and it has lost none of the appeal. as others have stated, the trio of hay, moffat and marriot work very well together and it remains a shame that the on-screen chemistry was not exploited further in subsequent films. apparently will hay was the possessor of quite a sizeable ego and did not want to be upstaged by anyone, preferring to remain a solo name. a useless piece of trivia is that although the arbottle character was portrayed as an octegenarian he was in fact only a year or so older than hay himself, and made a career out of looking old for most of his life. "Oh Mr porter" remains a classic of British comedy and shows that big budgets are not necessary if the script and actors are the right sort. A glimpse of a long-vanished Britain, I never tire of watching it.