Bulman

Bulman seems to be a little known/remembered series, but was popular enough at the time (enough to be shown in the U.S. on PBS), and has had tremendous influence on subsequent - but, alas, lesser - detective/police/crime dramas.

The series was unique, but not in the sense that it was so far superior to predecessors or contemporaries. No, Bulman was one of several excellent detective/police/crime dramas to come out of the seventies and eighties, including The Sweeney and Minder. Each show had a very unique concept, and featured memorable and real characters played by amazingly talented actors. The one characteristic all these series shared was true grit - they reflected real toughness, machismo, and cynicism, as opposed to the ridiculous posing one sees in modern cop dramas.

Anyone who thinks modern programs like From Ashes to Ashes or Life on Mars are so wonderful should watch or re-watch any one of those afore-mentioned series. A direct comparison would be evidence that, where television is concerned, quality has suffered over time. Sure production values have improved, but writing and performance have greatly suffered. Prime Suspect is the one exception I can think of.

While television today is primarily all style and no substance, series like Bulman proved that great substance produces remarkable style.

Gawd I miss this show. Did anyone else ever see it? The characters (especially the lead, Bulman himself played by the brilliant Don Henderson), the plots, the acting were the very best. Bulman was this mercurial Shakespearean personality, complex, explosive, completely unpredictable, always raging, always tragic, always most human. Years & years ago Sam Peckinpah had a short-lived western series on American TV called, I think "The Westerner" starring Brian Keith that was sort of like this. Real jewels amidst the garbage.

But unlike Strangers this series ends with a negative impression given how things turn out on his own. This series carries on from Strangers following George Bulman, the "Oliver Cromwell of the deptarment" into retirement. At first he seeks to own an antique shop and repair clocks for a living but once a detective always a detective.

Bulman being a detective on his own proves to be a double edged sword. He is free to investigate as he sees fit but he is also without the protection that comes from being a member of the police department. That leads him and his young partner, Lucy into trouble. That trouble makes this series end on a sour note which is not how Strangers ended.

By 1985, Don Henderson had been playing the character Bulman off and on for 9 years. Bulman is an eccentric with many idiosyncrasies and defining attributes. From gloves, to quotes to plastic bags in place of briefcases to weird t shirts. Bulman is a complete character.

Murray Smith carries on from Strangers and he brings the same blend of humor and drama to many of the stories. It has lighter episodes and fairly dark ones.

I can't recommend this series enough. It has only 20 episodes but they are worth seeing.