Bulman is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985.[1] The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy McGinty (Siobhan Redmond), was a spin-off from the 1978 TV series Strangers, itself a spin-off of the 1976 TV series The XYY Man, which was adapted from the novels of Kenneth Royce.[2] Produced by Granada Television, Bulman ran for two series, with the final episode broadcast on 8 August 1987.[3]
In this incarnation, Don Henderson once again stars as former Detective Chief Inspector George Bulman, who is ostensibly retired from police work and now spends his spare time repairing old clocks. However, aside from fixing clocks, Bulman is also working as a private investigator, and even has an assistant, Lucy McGinty.[4] Aside from a number of private clients, Bulman and Lucy are frequently drawn into the clandestine world of the secret service through the machinations of security chief Bill Dugdale (Thorley Walters), and also find themselves helping the police with cases under the instruction of Bulman’s former boss Jack Lambie (Mark McManus).[5] Bulman’s former assistant, Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch), also appears in two episodes.
Both series were released on DVD via the Network imprint on 1 July 2013; however, these have since gone out of production. A complete box set was released on 20 August 2018, again via Network Distributing.
Cast
- Don Henderson as George Bulman
- Siobhan Redmond as Lucy McGinty
- Thorley Walters as William ‘Bill’ Dugdale (Series 1 — Episodes 4, 6, 7 & 13; Series 2 — Episodes 5 & 7)
- John Benfield as DI Holmes (Series 1 — Episodes 1, 5 & 11)
- Mark McManus as DCS Jack Lambie (Series 1 — Episodes 1, 2 & 13)
- Simon Molloy as DS Mackay (Series 1 — Episodes 1, 5 & 7)
- Dennis Blanch as DS Derek Willis (Series 1 — Episodes 1 & 3)
- Jeremy Gagan as DCI Faulkner (Series 1 — Episodes 1 & 3)
Episodes
Series overview
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 13 | 5 June 1985 | 28 August 1985 | |
| 2 | 7 | 20 June 1987 | 8 August 1987 | |
Series 1 (1985)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | “Winds of Change“ | William Brayne | Murray Smith | 5 June 1985 | |
|
Despite having retired from the police force to fix clocks, Bulman is asked to help out on a case. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | “The Daughter Was a Dancer“ | Ken Grieve | Murray Smith | 12 June 1985 | |
|
Bulman acts as safeguard for a businessman. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | “Pandora’s Many Boxes“ | Christopher King | Murray Smith | 19 June 1985 | |
|
Bulman investigates when a man fails a security check. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | “Death of a Hitman“ | Bill Gilmour | Murray Smith | 26 June 1985 | |
|
Bulman helps a woman find out why her son was killed. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | “The Name of the Game“ | William Brayne | Murray Smith | 3 July 1985 | |
|
Bulman assists the police when a woman who blames her husband’s death on a policeman swears revenge. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | “One of Our Pigeons is Missing“ | Charlie Nairn | Murray Smith | 10 July 1985 | |
|
Bulman goes undercover as a tramp to solve a case. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | “Sins of Omission“ | Roger Tucker | Murray Smith | 17 July 1985 | |
|
Lucy is used as bait to catch a female KGB agent. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | “Another Part of the Jungle“ | Christopher King | Henry Livings | 24 July 1985 | |
|
Bulman is hired to fix a church clock but must contend with a hitman instead. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | “Born Into the Purple“ | Bill Gilmour | Paul Wheeler | 31 July 1985 | |
|
Bulman investigates thefts in a wealthy household. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | “A Cup for the Winner“ | David Carson | Murray Smith | 7 August 1985 | |
|
Bulman is hired by an American to find his family property. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | “I Met a Man Who Wasn’t There“ | Ken Grieve | Henry Livings | 14 August 1985 | |
|
Bulman interferes with the schemes of a vengeful villain. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | “A Moveable Feast“ | Bill Gilmour | Paul Wheeler | 21 August 1985 | |
|
Bulman helps a couple running a catering service. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | “A Man of Conviction“ | Tom Cotter | Murray Smith | 28 August 1985 | |
|
Bulman goes undercover to investigate robberies by prisoners. | ||||||
Series 2 (1987)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | “Chinese Whispers“ | William Brayne | Murray Smith | 20 June 1987 | |
|
Bulman re-encounters a convict that he helped to put away during his time in the police force. | ||||||
| 15 | 2 | “Death by Misadventure“ | David Carson | Murray Smith | 27 June 1987 | |
|
Bulman investigates when a reporter is killed at a racetrack. | ||||||
| 16 | 3 | “White Lies“ | Gareth Morgan | Murray Smith | 4 July 1987 | |
|
Bulman helps Commander Morrison on a case. | ||||||
| 17 | 4 | “Chicken of the Baskervilles“ | William Brayne | Murray Smith | 18 July 1987 | |
|
Bulman poses as a butler to investigate a butler’s disappearance. | ||||||
| 18 | 5 | “Thin Ice“ | Bruce MacDonald | Murray Smith | 25 July 1987 | |
|
Bulman investigates when he hears rumours that Dugdale has been found dead. | ||||||
| 19 | 6 | “W.C. Fields Was Right“ | Sarah Harding | Murray Smith | 1 August 1987 | |
|
Bulman investigates a series of incidents involving young children and animals. | ||||||
| 20 | 7 | “Ministry of Accidents“ | Brian Mills | Murray Smith | 8 August 1987 | |
|
Bulman offers to help out Dugdale one last time. | ||||||
References
- ^ “Sins of Omission (1985)”. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
- ^ “The XYY Man – Show News, Reviews, Recaps and Photos – TV.com”. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
- ^ “Bulman – Show News, Reviews, Recaps and Photos – TV.com”. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
- ^ Newcomb, Horace; Newcomb, Lambdin Kay Distinguished Professor for the Peabody Awards Horace (3 February 2014). Encyclopedia of Television. Routledge. ISBN 9781135194727 – via Google Books.
- ^ “Sorry, pal…”. 28 March 2021.
External links
- Bulman at IMDb
- Bulman at epguides.com