Marty Hopkirk

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Marty Hopkirk is a fictional ghost played by English actor Kenneth Cope in the television private detective series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) from 1969 to early 1970. In the remake of 2000 and 2001 he was played by English actor and comedian Vic Reeves.

In the original series Hopkirk was murdered in the line of duty as he was run down by a car travelling at high speed. Hopkirk dies instantly, but returns as a ghost selecting Jeff Randall as the only man who can see and hear him as he returns to the world of the living. Staying out in the daylight to help Jeff solve an early case, he is cursed to roam the Earth for 100 years. Marty is a highly persistent character clad in an all white suit to mimic that of a ghost. At times his pressuring of Jeff to pursue cases and follow up leads that he has witnessed nearly puts Jeff at breaking point and haunts Jeff almost as much as he aids him in fighting crime.

As a ghost Marty travels by teleporting from one place to the other although he can seemingly walk as a human would in whatever location he is in. Although he cannot physically touch people or things he can manipulate objects such as vases and furniture which prove crucial in many cases in putting attackers of Jeff at bay. Marty's use of wind blowing also proves very important in distracting people allowing Jeff to manoeuvre and enter situations which would have otherwise proved impossible. In one case ("Just for the Record") Marty saves Jeff's life as he is being burnt in a warehouse, by using his concentration to shatter the alarm bells.

However, Hopkirk can also be a highly jealous character and is often quick to jump to conclusions. For instance in the episodes "Never Trust a Ghost" and "Murder Ain't What it Used to Be" when it appears that Jeff and Bugsy had bedded his widow Jeannie he becomes highly irritated and angry at the situations. This also shows that while Marty can move from place to place by teleporting and has certain extra sensory abilities, his capability to understand situations where he is not present are as limited as a humans.

Despite being a ghost, there are many situations where Marty proves that it many ways his feelings are still human and he shows as much fear of other ghosts and paranormal activity as any human would. In the episode "The House on Haunted Hill" Marty shows a great fear of electronic equipment in a house attic pretending to producing the sounds and noises of ghosts. He is far more afraid than even Jeff, and he doesn't appear to have any sense of other paranormal phenomenon when he can not physically see them. He also shows a subservience to the 1920s American gangster ghost of Bugsy in the eighth episode "Murder Ain't What it Used to Be".

[edit] Remake

In the remake the situation is similar; his murderer tries to run him down with his vehicle, but it's not a car it's a jeep. However as the jeep is coming towards Hopkirk, Hopkirk jumps onto the bonnet preventing him from being run over, but the jeep doesn't stop and is now travelling at high speed. As Hopkirk is shouting "STOP! STOP!", the driver does eventually stop, but just manages to stop at a cliff and the jeep is now balancing on the brink. As Hopkirk says "don't get out of the car!", the driver ignores what he says and gets out of the jeep, which is then unbalanced and falls down the cliff taking Hopkirk with it, hence ending his life. Hopkirk then returns as a ghost.

As a ghost, Marty is able to generate gale forces of winds by blowing, shatter glass with sufficient concentration- although this power was primarily triggered by Marty's jealousy of Jeff's new relationship with Jeanie-, topple and levitate small objects, make lights flicker, mimic voices, and enter computer systems. He also demonstrated the ability to possess people and animals, but strong-willed individuals such as Jeff could resist his possession, and it left them fatigued and often unconscious afterwards. His powers grow increasingly limited the further he goes from Jeff.

In contrast to the old series, which had Jeff as the womaniser, here Marty is the flirtatious one, with Jeff once commenting that he would have thought Marty's obsession with sex would have ended due to his lack of a body (Much like Al Calavicci in Quantum Leap, who spent much of his time watching the attractive women encountered during the Leaps despite their inability to see him). Another Quantum Leap analogy is drawn when it is mentioned that Marty can be seen not only by Jeff and various mediums, but also by small children, animals, and the mentally ill, although his ability to be perceived by children is questionable as the only child he was ever in prolonged contact with was a baby.