Introduction
This website is dedicated to the lost episodes of the British television drama series Public Eye, which depicted the low-key investigations carried out by the down-at-heel detective Frank Marker, played by Alfred Burke. The programme ran from 1965 to 1975, but most of the episodes from its first three series (1965 to 1968) are now missing, believed wiped. Fortunately, a script survives for each of the lost shows (as well as other bits of evidence), so here I intend to present detailed story summaries, together with an episode guide offering behind-the-scenes information and analysis. For the five instalments from Series 1 to 3 that exist in complete form (Nobody Kills Santa Claus, The Morning Wasn’t So Hot, Don’t Forget You’re Mine, Works with Chess, Not with Life and The Bromsgrove Venus), I will document deleted scenes and other differences between the original script and the final production.
The episode guides are divided into the following sections:
If you’re new to the world of Public Eye and the character of Frank Marker (welcome!), the first few items of press coverage for All for a Couple of Ponies will be a useful primer. At this time, I don’t intend to go into great detail about the genesis of the series. If you want to read about that, I highly recommend Andrew Pixley’s excellent reference book Six Guineas a Day, Plus Expenses, published by Network. If you can’t get your hands on that, then turn to Alan Briscoe’s website Public Eye – Frank Marker Investigates, which was my main source of information when I first got into the show, courtesy of Network’s DVD releases, in 2014. I am indebted to Alan and Andrew for their prior researches, and to the much-missed Network Distributing for releasing all the surviving episodes and various special features – without those stills galleries, the promotional material from Series 1 and 2, and of course Andrew’s book, this site would be noticeably emptier.
I would also like to thank another Alan – Alan Hayes, with whom I have collaborated on previous projects (see below), whose research methods and writing style have informed my own, who recommended Public Eye to me in the first place, and who came up with the name of this very website (originally intended as the title for a book). He has provided me with various invaluable materials over the years, and without him I wouldn’t even have known where to look for the Public Eye scripts. Which brings me to… Grateful thanks also to Jonny Davies and the BFI Special Collections for granting me access to the scripts, and to Barbara Toft, without whose help I would probably still be in the BFI Reuben Library right now, poring over those ancient pages!
Episode-specific acknowledgements are given at the foot of each episode guide.
The episode guides are divided into the following sections:
- Cast and Production credits
- TV World Synopsis – the enigmatic plot summary given out by ABC Television and published in listings magazines such as TV Times and ABC’s own periodical, TV World (co-published with ATV)
- Transmission – when the episode was broadcast
- Archive – what remains of the episode today (usually this is just the script)
- Story Notes – details about the scripting process
- Production Notes – details about the production process
- Home and Away – any location shooting that took place (there was very little of this until Series 2)
- Many a Slip – mistakes that occurred on screen, and scripting errors that one hopes did not make it to air
- Who Wants to Be Told Bad News? – press coverage
- Nobody Wants to Know – cultural references, slang terms and other nerdy trivia
If you’re new to the world of Public Eye and the character of Frank Marker (welcome!), the first few items of press coverage for All for a Couple of Ponies will be a useful primer. At this time, I don’t intend to go into great detail about the genesis of the series. If you want to read about that, I highly recommend Andrew Pixley’s excellent reference book Six Guineas a Day, Plus Expenses, published by Network. If you can’t get your hands on that, then turn to Alan Briscoe’s website Public Eye – Frank Marker Investigates, which was my main source of information when I first got into the show, courtesy of Network’s DVD releases, in 2014. I am indebted to Alan and Andrew for their prior researches, and to the much-missed Network Distributing for releasing all the surviving episodes and various special features – without those stills galleries, the promotional material from Series 1 and 2, and of course Andrew’s book, this site would be noticeably emptier.
I would also like to thank another Alan – Alan Hayes, with whom I have collaborated on previous projects (see below), whose research methods and writing style have informed my own, who recommended Public Eye to me in the first place, and who came up with the name of this very website (originally intended as the title for a book). He has provided me with various invaluable materials over the years, and without him I wouldn’t even have known where to look for the Public Eye scripts. Which brings me to… Grateful thanks also to Jonny Davies and the BFI Special Collections for granting me access to the scripts, and to Barbara Toft, without whose help I would probably still be in the BFI Reuben Library right now, poring over those ancient pages!
Episode-specific acknowledgements are given at the foot of each episode guide.
Latest Updates
Next episode: There Are More Things in Heaven and Earth…
14 September 2024: Episode guide, synopsis and deleted scenes added for No, No, Nothing Like That.
10 August 2024: Episode guide and synopsis added for Tell Me About the Crab.
13 July 2024: Episode guide and synopsis added for It Had to Be a Mouse.
19 June 2024: Episode guide and deleted scenes added for Works with Chess, Not with Life.
28 May 2024: Episode guide and synopsis added for You’re Not Cinderella, Are You?
14 September 2024: Episode guide, synopsis and deleted scenes added for No, No, Nothing Like That.
10 August 2024: Episode guide and synopsis added for Tell Me About the Crab.
13 July 2024: Episode guide and synopsis added for It Had to Be a Mouse.
19 June 2024: Episode guide and deleted scenes added for Works with Chess, Not with Life.
28 May 2024: Episode guide and synopsis added for You’re Not Cinderella, Are You?
Other Publications
If you’re into missing episodes, especially those produced by ABC Television, then you may be interested in the following titles, to which I contributed…
|
Dr Brent’s Casebook:
An Unauthorised Guide to Police Surgeon Written by Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes Illustrated by Shaqui Le Vesconte Dr Brent’s Casebook tells the complete story of Police Surgeon, a short-lived and now mostly missing 1960 ABC series that gave Ian Hendry his first regular starring role. A low-key show about social misfits, it made its mark in television history not for what it was but for what it led to – the world-beating show The Avengers. Unlike its illustrious successor, Police Surgeon has faded from public memory and has rarely been revisited for the purposes of research or retrospective celebration. Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes now redress the balance, revealing information about the creation of the series, its production, transmission and narratives – including the mysterious Diplomatic Immunity, which never appeared in TV listings – and the circumstances that caused Police Surgeon to be brought to a sudden end after just 13 weeks. They also touch upon how, just as The Avengers deliberately moved away from the down-to-earth realism of Police Surgeon, so Public Eye was a reaction against the increasingly fantastical nature of The Avengers. Therefore, Police Surgeon could be regarded as the granddaddy of Public Eye! Available in hardback, paperback and ebook formats. |
|
Two Against the Underworld: The Collected Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1
Written by Richard McGinlay, Alan Hayes and Alys Hayes Illustrated by Shaqui Le Vesconte Two Against the Underworld lifts the lid on all 26 episodes from the 1961 series of The Avengers. Following a similar format to The Missing Markers, comprehensive chapters document the narratives, production, transmission and reception of each episode, as well as the talented personnel who were involved in making them – including Alfred Burke as an ‘honorary Avenger’ in Dragonsfield! The creation of The Avengers, the departure of Ian Hendry, the mystery of the missing episodes – all are explored in a series of essays, while 70 pages of appendices deal in depth with the unproduced episodes of Series 1, Keel and Steed’s further adventures in the comic strip The Drug Pedlar and the novel Too Many Targets, and much more. Previously published in two volumes, The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes and With Umbrella, Scotch and Cigarettes, this collected edition has been revised following the recovery of the episode Tunnel of Fear. Includes forewords by Avengers scriptwriter and Public Eye co-creator Roger Marshall and Neil Hendry, who runs his uncle Ian Hendry’s official website. Available in hardback, paperback and ebook formats. |
|
Contact
If you’d like to contact me with constructive criticism, corrections or additional information, please use the form below.
The Missing Markers is a not-for-profit fan website written and edited by and copyright © Richard McGinlay. All rights reserved.
Public Eye (the ABC years) is copyright © StudioCanal. No attempt to infringe this copyright is intended.
