British TV detective series (1978–1979)
Hazell is a British television series that ran from 1978–1979, about a fictional private detective named James Hazell.
Overview.
James Hazell was a cockney private detective character created by journalist and novelist Gordon Williams and footballer Terry Venables, who wrote under the joint pseudonym of P.B.Yuill. The first book, "Hazell Plays Solomon", appeared in 1974.
"Hazell Plays Solomon" was also the first episode of the TV series. The wise-cracking private detective was played by Nicholas Ball. Hazell was a smart parody of earlier film-noir detectives such as Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade, the casting of Ball in the title role made for a younger TV Hazell than the Hazell in the books.
A Thames Television Network Production, "Hazell" ran for 22 one-hour-long episodes (50 minutes without adverts). Its theme music was composed by Andy Mackay; the end credits incorporated the theme music with added lyrics, written by Judy Forrest and sung by Maggie Bell. An academic work, "Hazell: The Making of a TV Series" by Manuel Alvarado and Edward Buscombe (BFI Publishing) appeared in March 1978.
Cast.
The main and most frequent cast members were:
Episodes (by series).
(*) = Although broadcast as listed, continuity involving the destruction of Hazell's original Triumph Stag car and its replacement with a Jaguar Mark 2, indicates that episode 7 should have been twelfth, and episode 12 should have been ninth (after "Hazell and the Happy Couple", when the Stag is attacked by an angry client).
References.
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