Episode Three: All Work And No Pay

Original Air-Date:
5/10/1969
Duration: 48'14m
Screenplay by: Donald James
Directed By: Jeremy Summers
Availability: Try store



Starring: Mike Pratt (Jeff Randall), Kenneth Cope (Marty Hopkirk) and Annette Andre (Jean Hopkirk).

Guest-Starring: Alfred Burke (Henry Foster), Dudley Foster (George Foster), Adrienne Corri (Laura), Noel Davis (Pawnbroker's Clerk) and Michael Foster (Man In Laundromat)

Technical Personnel: Ronald Liles (Production Supervisor), Gerald Moss (Director of Photography), Charles Bishop (Art Director), Cyril Frankel (Creative Consultant), Edwin Astley (Musical Director), Philip Aizlewood (Post Production), Harry Ledger (Editor), Malcolm Christopher (Production Manager), Jack Lowin (2nd Unit Director), Frank Watts (2nd Unit Cameraman), Val Stewart (Camera Operator), Michael Meighan (Assistant Director), Sally Ball (Continuity), Denis Porter/Dennis Whitlock (Sound Recordists), Guy Ambler (Sound Editor), Alan Willis (Music Editor), Anthony Arnell (Casting), Sue Long (Set Dresser), Bill Greene (Construction Manager), Peter Dunlop (Production Buyer), A. J. Van Montagu (Scenic Artist), Frank Maher (Stunt Co-Ordinator), Elizabeth Romanoff (Make-Up), Jeannette Freeman (Hairdresser), Laura Nightingale (Costume Supervisor), Cinesound (Sound Effects Suppliers), Chambers + Partners (Titles), Dennis Spooner (Creator/Executive Story Consultant) and Monty Berman (Producer). An ITC Production.


Jeff: With the business in a bad state, Jeff reveals to Marty that his bank account registers as �27 overdrawn. He's also seen playing his guitar.
Jeff Scraps: Apart from a clash between his chair and a flying sword, this is the only episode other than The Ghost Who Saved The Bank..., Money To Burn and The Ghost Talks not to feature Jeff in a physical conflict.

Marty: Marty claims to be a sceptic of psychic phenomena, yet senses Jeff's phone will ring seconds before it does.
Marty also talks of time being "of relative importance" and reminisces about pre-married life "six or seven years ago."

Jeannie: Jeannie refers to Jeff as her "partner", indicating she now has 50% shares in Randall and Hopkirk despite being the secretary. However, it's possible she was saying this to impress prospective employers the Foster brothers, as she later describes Jeff as the "Managing Director".

Story: Two conmen brothers try to convince Jeannie that Marty is haunting her as a poltergeist by using electronic equipment to smash objects in her apartment. Holding her trust, they then recruit her to leave Randall and Hopkirk and work for them, earning �75-�100 to ensure widows use their medium service.
Attempting to lure Jeannie back, Jeff pays an actress friend of his �250 to play the role of a client looking for a lost son. However, the actress - Laura Watson - shortchanges Jeff by only handing �25 over to Jeannie, who in turn introduces her to the Fosters. While there, they reveal that they intend to kill Laura, the only difference between her and their previous victims being that they're telling her in advance, so that she'll know they'll try to reach her on the "other side". Genuinely interested in being mediums, they also ask her to contact Marty after her death, as a reward for Jeannie.
Using Marty's help Jeff uncovers their plans, whereby they decide to kill both Jeff and Jeannie using their equipment. Marty teleports to a nearby electricity plant and overloads the grid, blacking out the whole of southern England, including the Fosters' home. With Jeff calling the police, the brothers are arrested, and Jeff finds Laura Watson hiding in the back of his car, covered in only newspapers after having swam to safety offscreen.

Production Order: This was the twelfth episode to be filmed.

Trivia: The back projection on Jeff's car in the pre-credits teaser doesn't appear to have been keyed in.

Look out for 44'02m in, where Mike Pratt fails to flick off the "lock" on top of the door with his sword, but carries on anyway as if he had.

Jeff's car registration is back to being RXD 996F.



Viewpoint:
"I think we've got a bit of a technical problem 'ere."
"Technical problem?"
"Yeah. We're not actually registered as a charity."


I'm having to watch each episode twice in order to complete this guide - once for enjoyment, and to write the review, and once to draw up the story, trivia and character details. In general I don't intend to allow the two to overlap, but while I originally described All Work and No Pay as "a smashing little episode" I couldn't help but notice on second viewing just how thinly-plotted and inconsequential it all is.

Yes, there's still the funny characterisation, including the acerbic pawnbroker (quoted) and Summers's well above average direction that removes the silliness of inanimate flying objects due to its sheer invention. But it's also extraordinarily padded - I mean, just how many times do you need to see a flying vase? - and the cheap get-out climax is lazy and contrived.

The plot? Well, it's as daft as they come, with a couple of fey villains trying to convince Jeannie that Marty is haunting her. Quite a sound plan in some senses, but then the next stage of their plan is for Jeannie to locate another widow who they can kill with the knowledge that she will have no relatives to look for her. Errrr� if they wanted a bereaved widow to kill, why not just top Jeannie in the first place? They even, Scooby Doo style, reveal their plans to Jeff before attempting to kill him. In fairness, they're probably just bonkers, and not only does Annette Andre look gorgeous in this episode, she's also a lot better actress than I remembered. But for a revised rating of the third episode then this particular repeat viewing has caused it to drop a star...