After witnessing Trevor Eve's unlikely appearence in the movie, She's Out of My League I immediately recalled this fondly remembered series from my youth.
It must have been fairly good considering how strong my recollections are of it, so why was it on for only 2 years?
Also, I know it is an old show, but as another mentioned why are there so few postings on the boards here?
I have fond memories of the show. It was big fave of my parents and I remember that they sometimes let me watch it ( I was only 4 at the time! ). It's a shame that there were only 2 series but it couldve ended up like Begerac which just rehashed the same stories for years. In fact, it's interesting to know that Bergerac was made by the same team as Shoestring! My mother even bought the theme tune when it was released as a single. My fave episode was the one with the faulty Scaletrix! Very good.
shareYeah, it certainly finished on a high instead of going on and on and on like a few others I could name. I agree with you about Bergerac as well. It was good in the beginning but just went on for too long. The funny thing is there are a few American cop shows that have had a good long run and they seem to keep their quality fairly high, or so I've been told because I don't really watch them =P
shareIts a shame there were only 2 series. It really was a good show and I enjoyed seeing locations on camera that I recognised, being relatively local.
The Shoestring character was also quite a charismatic guy, very likeable, in a way that the replacement "bergerac" just wasn't. John nettles just didn't come across as someone you'd empathise with.
Agree!
It's funny how we can't help comparing things. Like you, I didn't like John Nettle's Character in Bergerac because I compared him to the one in Shoestring. Still don't like him in fact, but I warmed to the actual show over time. We can usually forgive a show a whole host of flaws if we like/identify with the main character.
I've just this year watched the whole Bergerac series on DVD and I agree that it had gone on far too long and Jim Bergerac wasn't a character many people could ever warm to.
Eddie Shoestring is a likeable character though and he makes me laugh with his scruffy appearance and clumsy demeanour.
I only came across Shoestring when I looked through Bergerac posts on IMDB, I had only been born a few months when it was first broadcast and recently purchased the first series on DVD and I'm a little gutted that 2entertain/BBC won't produce the second series on DVD.
But very often the short-lived programmes are the best.
From what I read, Trevor Eve didn't want to do any further series out of concern for typecasting as well as a desire to move on to other things. However the show format had proven popular, so it was retooled into what became Bergerac. As for why it doesn't get much discussion on here, probably because people are too busy watching the Great British Bake-off or whatever fluff fills the airwaves these days.
shareI've finally given up on GBBO and decided to rejoin this discussion instead! A few posts up someone pointed out that cop shows in the U.S run and run but maintain a high standard. America TV has a culture of rotating the writing staff so that it always stays fresh. I know they did this on comedy shows too. Its not a bad idea really. I couldnt honestly see Shoestring going past the second one without going stale. Bergerac is a dirty word in out house. We hates it!
Yes, that is exactly what I have heard. It was because Trevor Eve wanted to move onto other things and they used ideas for further Shoestring plots in Bergerac instead. I really enjoyed the Shoestring series at the time, read the two novelisations and have recently finished watching series two on dvd. I was quite sad that it did finish only after two serials. I liked Shoestring's character and the other regular members of the cast were likeable. They could probably have had a few further serials and developed the characters more. As other people have said though, it was probably better to finish on a high. Some UK tv serials at the time, which were popular at the start, just got farcical towards the end because they had gone on for too long. My favourite episode I think, was when Shoestring was after that blackmailer (The Teddybears). I found the blackmailer funny!
We have relatives who live in a village called Congressbury in the south west. I remember Radio West starting there in the early 1980's. Always used to retune the car radio to it if ever we went down there. The station is still going, but it is called Heart FM Bristol.
As mentioned previously, the show went out on a high (that Christmas episode with the 'Lunar 2000' racing car set, was quite tense stuff, for an otherwise languid show) I remember reading that future 'Shoestring' plots were recycled for his 'replacement' show 'Bergerac'
Also, remember reading that Cary Grant was a fan of the show.
I think Trevor Eve wanted to move away from TV and get into movies (hence his appearance in John Badham's 'Dracula' around the time that series one aired)
As it stands, it's a great show that left it's audience wanting more.