Storyboard - King & Castle (1985)

A martial arts teacher at a university struggling to make ends meet takes on a job for an ancestry firm tracking down a client, Ronald King, who is the heir to some money. However King is a police inspector who is being tracked by the fraud squad for debt collecting on the side and trusts no one... Starring Nigel Planer, Derek Martin, Martin Fisk, James Lister, John Challis, Eric Mason, Liz Crowther, Andrew Cruichank, Jon Laurimore, John Pierce Jones, Kate Fahy, Peter Cellier, Catherine Harding, Laurence Harrington, Terry Richards, Clive Curtis, Ken Barker and Harry Fielder. Written by Ian Kennedy Martin and first broadcast on August 20th 1985, this was one of only two editions to the anthology series Storyboard for the start of Series 2. These were put out as feelers for possible series and it's clear that the writers are angling for it here. They must of thought they had a chance when the only other pilot was Ladies in Charge, but as it turned out the Ladies got the series and judging by this episode it's not hard to see why. For apart from Nigel Planer's amiable martial arts character, there are very few likable characters in this. Soap fans will spot Derek Martin from EastEnders in a lead role, while sitcom fans will rejoice at the sight of Boycie himself John Challis at the start in what is far too brief a screen time. The 1980's settings will be of interest to some however, and it remains a curious misfire for Ian Kennedy Martin. For him far greater things were just around the corner that year in a TV thriller called Edge of Darkness. Please note that this contains some swearing.