Public Eye (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The theme music was composed by Robert Sharples under the pseudonym Robert Earley.
• A slower-paced version of the theme was used in the fourth series before reverting to the original.
• Guest actors included Peter Sallis, David Suchet, Michael Gambon, and Brian Blessed.

Background

The series was created by Roger Marshall and Anthony Marriott, who wanted to move away from the 'square-jawed' heroes common in Hollywood films—a goal shared by actor Alfred Burke. This allowed flexibility in episode structure, with most episodes covering a single case but some spanning multiple episodes or an entire series. Marker's work ranged from routine divorce evidence and credit checks to tracing missing people or a prize-winning whippet. Many episodes end with Marker leaving a situation unchanged, as in 'The Man Who Didn't Eat Sweets', where he fails to inform a client she is one of three wives.

Episodes produced by ABC Television 1965–1968

The first episode aired in black and white in January 1965, set in London but mostly confined to the studio with little location work. Of the 41 ABC episodes, only five survive in broadcastable format due to wiping; two remain from the first series. In 'Nobody Kills Santa Claus' (30 January 1965), Marker plays a minor role but the episode establishes his modest lifestyle, his fee of 'six guineas a day plus expenses', his shabby office, and his need to take almost any work. Hired to protect an unlikeable businessman receiving death threats, Marker insists on working as a chauffeur rather than a bodyguard, takes an off-screen beating, and refuses permanent employment. In 'The Morning Wasn't So Hot', Marker is thrown into the River Thames by criminals to drop his search for a missing girl forced into vice. Partly due to this, he moves to Birmingham at the start of the second series.

Episodes produced by Thames Television 1969–1975

After ABC merged with Rediffusion London to form Thames Television in 1968, Thames resumed the series in 1969, producing 46 episodes—all surviving, though 11 were made in black and white and one in colour but broadcast in black and white as a test. ABC's audience research found viewers as interested in Marker as his cases, so the first Thames series, written entirely by co-creator Roger Marshall, is known as 'the Brighton series'. Its seven linked episodes follow Marker's release from prison and rehabilitation, ending with him renting a new office. This series introduces regular characters including probation officer Mr Hull and landlady Mrs Mortimer.

The end of the series, its fate and legacy

The final episode, 'Unlucky For Some', aired on 7 April 1975. A hotel owner asks Marker to investigate his wife's odd behaviour; it emerges her first husband is alive and she is being blackmailed. Marker traces the husband but the blackmailer claims the reward 15 minutes before he can, leaving Marker with nothing. Thames had planned an eighth series on film via Euston Films, but Alfred Burke declined, fearing the move would lose the series' low-key identity. One episode was repeated in 1989 for Thames' 21st anniversary. In 1995, UK Gold repeated all colour Thames episodes from series 5 onward, though black-and-white episodes remained unscreened.