Season 2 • Episode 11
LatestDick Spanner, P.I. is a 1986 British stop-motion animated comedy series which parodied Chandleresque detective shows. The title character and main protagonist was Dick Spanner, voiced by Shane Rimmer, a robotic private detective who works cases in a futuristic urban setting. The show made frequent use of puns and visual gags. The series consisted of 22 six-minute episodes, covering two story arcs of equal length: "The Case Of The Human Cannonball" and "The Case Of The Maltese Parrot". The programme was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom as a segment of the Sunday morning show Network 7 on Channel 4, and was later repeated on the same channel in a late night spot. Produced by Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, the series was created and written by Terry Adlam, who had previously worked on effects for Anderson's Terrahawks. It was also the basis for the Anderson-created Tennants Pilsner advertising campaign using the Lou Tennant character.
Practical Effects
Gerry Anderson's puppet mastery in miniature noir sets
Writing
Pun density that would make Chandler weep or applaud
Production
Born from a beer ad and somehow got weirder
Creators
Gerry Anderson, Terry Adlam
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dick Spanner originated in Tennants Pilsner commercials before getting his own show—a rare case of advertising mascot outgrowing his product.
Terry Adlam animated this between Terrahawks gigs, essentially making Gerry Anderson's most obscure passion project in his entire puppet-obsessed career.
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