Hazell

1978

Seasons & Episodes

  • 2
  • 1

7.3| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Hazell is a British television series that ran from 1978–1979, about a fictional private detective named James Hazell.

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Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Console best movie i've ever seen.
TramMatrix3001 Look, I'm no critic with the same level of expertise as those above. All I can say is that Hazell was fantastic! The 'edginess' of Hazell always gripped me; the short sharp characters, the fast efficient script. And all beautifully introduced with fabulous Maggie Bell thumping out her very best blues (too bad I can't find a quality copy). Perhaps best was the rock solid foundation provided by all the supporting cast. OK, 'Hazell' seemed a little young to have so much 'experience' but Nicholas Balls' interpretation was perfectly believable if you simply accepted that the character started out young and grew fast, and what's so unusual about that in a large brutal city? Oddly, the series reminded me of the quality of Callan, which I love. Golly me, both so much better than usual politically correct diatribe presented as drama these days.
Deepburn1 Hazell is one of the best shows from ITV, wow it seems funny saying that now especially with all the garbage currently on. The brilliant Nicholas ball stars a James Hazel a private detective in London and Roddy McMillan as Choc minty a Scottish detective on his case. Many appearances from known faces such as derrick o Connor, Micheal Elphick etc also episodes written by Trevor Preston and Tony Hoare of minder fame. While some people may find this slow going you will definitely appreciate the way old school programs such as this allowed the story to breathe, not like today where you pretend to no what is going on Too too good just get the DVD, and oh yeah network sort it out with series 2!
jcbain You will notice Season 1 has ten episodes while Season 2 has twelve.This is because at the time that Season 1 was being broadcast the actor John Bindon, who was playing a gangster in the episode "Hazell and the Public Enemy", was up at the Old Bailey on trial for the murder of Johnny Darke in a pub in Putney (improbably named Ranelagh Yacht Club). At the request of Bindons defence team, who felt that a jury might confuse the character with Bindon in real life, Thames Television 'pulled' the episode from the schedule. During the trial fellow actor Bob Hoskins was one of those who appeared as a character witness for Bindon.By the time Season 2 of Hazell was broadcast, Bindon had been acquitted of the murder, so Thames just tagged the episode "Hazell and the Public Enemy" on to the end of Season 2.
ShadeGrenade 'Hazell' was the creation of Gordon Williams and Terry Venables ( yes, that Terry Venables! ). A sort of Cockney version of 'Philip Marlowe', James Hazell looked cool driving around '70's London in his Triumph Stag. His main adversary was Detective-Inspector 'Choc' Minty, a hard-faced Scotsman who acted as a kind of 'Teal' to Hazell's 'Saint'. With its brassy opening theme and Bond-style titles, 'Hazell' blasted onto I.T.V. with the force of a howitzer. The plots ran the gamut of '70's crime show clichés ( missing children, drug smuggling, bank raids ), with Hazell often on the receiving end of a good hiding from some underworld felon. What lifted it above the average were the witty scripts and Nicholas Ball's laconic performance in the title role. At the time, he was married to 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' star Pamela Stephenson. 'Hazell' made him a star, but alas the fame it brought him was fleeting. Allegedly the series ended after only two seasons because Ball issued an ultimatum - do it on film or else. The prospect of 'Hazell' becoming a Euston Films Production was certainly intriguing, but alas it wasn't to be. Williams and Venables later confessed that they thought him too young for the role anyway, their preferred choices were John Bindon and Michael Elphick. I.T.V. briefly considered reviving the series a few years ago, but decided against it on the grounds that it was 'dated and sexist'. Haven't times changed!