Big changes had occurred in the
ITV franchises in Britain in 1968, and ABC had been forced to merge with rival company
Rediffusion London to create what became one of the powerhouses of UK television production—
Thames Television. Thames picked up the series again in 1969 and produced 46 more episodes; unlike their ABC precursors all 46 remain safely in the archives, although 11 of these were still produced and broadcast in black and white. One other was made in colour (but broadcast in black and white) as a test of Thames's new colour equipment, which was first used for broadcasting from November 1969—two months after the fourth series of
Public Eye finished its on-air run. ABC's audience research had shown that many viewers found the character of Marker as interesting as his cases. For this reason, the first Thames series is quite different in style from the other three, and was written entirely by
Public Eye co-creator Roger Marshall. Commonly referred to as 'the Brighton series', the collection of seven episodes links together to tell the story of Marker's release from prison and his gradual rehabilitation into everyday life, culminating in him renting a new office and starting up again as an enquiry agent. This series also introduces regular characters such as Marker's probation officer Mr Hull and his landlady Mrs Mortimer — the first such characters in the series apart from Marker himself.
The Brighton episodes The first episode of the fourth series, "Welcome to Brighton?" (broadcast 30 July 1969) starts with a custom title sequence giving a brief recap of Marker's offence and his prison career. The first shot is of Marker lying awake in bed with the judge's voice going through his head, passing sentence on him. It is about a year since the events of "Cross That Palm When We Come To It" and Marker has been transferred to an
open prison before being released on
parole to complete his sentence. He is determined not to fall into a life of crime, despite what his fellow prisoners tell him ("You've crossed over the line now, mate — you're not one of them, you're one of us!"). In the first half of the episode, Marker is released from prison and heads for
Brighton where the parole system has arranged accommodation for him with a Mrs Mortimer (
Pauline Delaney). Through an extensive location-shot sequence on the sea front at Brighton, the viewer experiences Marker's disorientation at a world which appears to have changed considerably since he was sent to prison. He immediately encounters the very same sort of people with whom he dealt every day in his pre-prison life; a semi-drunken encounter with a woman who tries to steal his money and using his detective skills to trace the wife of a fellow inmate from the prison he has just been released from. Marker meets his parole officer, Mr Hull (played by
John Grieve) and gets a job with a local builder, Mr Kendrick. In the third episode of the series, "Paid in Full", a colleague at Kendrick's yard has his pay packet stolen (workers in Britain were still paid in cash, rather than by cheque or bank transfer, in the late 1960s). Although completely innocent of any wrongdoing (as he points out, he would be stupid to steal the money as it would immediately end his parole and send him back to prison) Marker is placed under immense pressure by Kendrick's other employees once they find out he is an ex-prisoner. The episode ends with Marker reluctantly agreeing to give up the job at Kendrick's, and graphically illustrates the problems faced by ex-convicts as they try to reintegrate into society. "Paid in Full" also contains a scene where Marker visits an antiques shop in Brighton to enjoy his newfound freedom to purchase something with the money he is earning. A conversation ensues with the old lady who owns the shop, wherein Marker explains some of his family history. The fourth episode in the Brighton series, "My Life's My Own", is notable for an early television treatment of a lesbian relationship. Characters from the episode would later appear in the
Armchair Theatre play ''Wednesday's Child
in 1970, though the role of Shirley is played by Stephanie Beacham in Public Eye
and Prunella Ransome in the Armchair Theatre'' episode (the other two overlapping roles are played by the same actors, however). The Brighton series sees Marker establish a platonic friendship with Mrs Mortimer. Although he is told that she is a widow, she later confides in him that she has a husband who left her, and who she presumes is still alive. She tells the probation service she is a widow because she feels it would be more socially acceptable for a widow to be seen to take in ex-prisoners as lodgers—an interesting comment on the social attitudes of late-1960s England. Towards the end of the series, Marker works briefly for another enquiry agent, Rylands—in "The Comedian's Graveyard" he is hired to trace a young girl who has run away from her home and is now appearing in a run-down end-of-
pier theatre act. Unthinkably for the character during the ABC episodes, he invites Mrs Mortimer out for an evening at the theatre, together with the girl's aunt who has hired him. The partnership with Rylands soon splits up as Marker finds his working methods intolerable and makes it clear he thinks Rylands is less than honest with his clients. The final episode of the Brighton series was "A Fixed Address", broadcast (in monochrome) on 10 September 1969—although it was actually made in colour, as noted above (it is now shown in colour by
Talking Pictures TV as part of the re-runs of the complete Brighton and Eton series). The series afforded a great deal of character development to secondary characters. Mrs Mortimer's estranged husband turns up on her doorstep claiming that he wants to restart their relationship. It transpires that his employers have offered him a lucrative post in an exotic overseas location—but only if he is a married man accompanied by his wife. The episode is notable for Marker setting up on his own again as an enquiry agent. The end credits are played over shots of him admiring his new (but still run-down and dingy) office. The end credits returned to the original theme music of previous series rather than the barer, more static arrangement that had been used especially for the Brighton episodes.
The Eton episodes Thames commissioned a further series, this time of thirteen episodes, and the fifth series began on 5 July 1971. Several
ITV companies in the early 1970s faced strike action as unions demanded better wages for handling the more complex colour broadcasting equipment. As a result, the first five episodes of series five were made in black and white although they were juggled around for transmission so that all five were not shown together. The series opened with "A Mug Named Frank"; some months have passed since "A Fixed Address" and Marker is still living with Mrs Mortimer. She comments to him that his old problems are still present in Brighton—the police all know of him and of his record of being in prison. She also points out that, by his own admission, life has not been easy for Marker since he set up office on his own again and that he isn't getting much work. A chance encounter in a supermarket ultimately results in Marker making the decision to move to
Eton. To emphasise this, the opening titles to the episode are those used for the Brighton series, whereas the
closing credits play over a film of Marker walking around Windsor and Eton, as used for the rest of the series. The episode also introduces the new regular character of Detective Inspector Percy Firbank (played by
Ray Smith)—a local police officer whose interest is piqued by Marker. The remaining 12 episodes of series 5 often explore the Marker-Firbank relationship in detail. Marker is very suspicious of authority figures, especially policemen, and Firbank—at least initially—considers enquiry agents to be a lower form of life. The two gradually come to like each other, even when their relationship is tested—the final episode of the series is "John VII, Verse 24" (29 September 1971) in which it appears Firbank is corrupt and is accepting money from known criminals. Series 5 also demonstrates the variety that the programme could offer: in "Well—There Was This Girl, You See..." Marker again becomes involved in stolen jewels, but is exceptionally careful, too careful as it turns out, as his tactic of exerting pressure on a young man he thinks is involved backfires when he chooses to run to the police rather than Marker, and wrecks Marker's chances of getting a share of the reward money. An embarrassed Marker has to explain to an amused Firbank what has gone wrong. In "Shades of White", Marker is hired to monitor the suspicious activities of an ambitious local businessman's daughter—he becomes friendly with the businessman's housekeeper but then has his trust betrayed (again) when it transpires the housekeeper is acting to receive items stolen by the daughter's friends. Lighter moments in series 5 come with "Transatlantic Cousins" as a visiting American hires Marker to trace his English relatives, assisted by the tourist's daughter. They find out that the American family does have an English relative who has inherited a baronetcy but the daughter also discovers that, because of a previously unknown member of the family who was killed in a war, her father is actually the rightful inheritor of the title.
Marker's failed alliances A further series of Eton-based episodes aired from 8 November 1972 to 14 February 1973, with the series now fully in colour. The final series began on 6 January 1975 with another arc of related episodes. Starting with "Nobody Wants To Know", Marker investigates a horse-doping racket being run by an organised criminal gang. He ignores warnings to drop the case, because he "doesn't like being bullied" but gets a serious beating-up for this. The next episode, "How About a Cup of Tea?", recalls the Brighton era as Marker comes out of hospital and his friends (including Firbank and a returning Mrs Mortimer) attempt to rally round him and cheer him up. He tries to find a career other than enquiries but is told by an unhelpful job centre clerk (
Robin Askwith) that he is too old to do anything new. The episode concentrates again on Marker and how, with his friends to help him, he pulls himself out of the negative cycle of self-pity and depression. The final episode of the trilogy is "How About It, Frank?", in which he reluctantly takes revenge on those responsible for his beating up and narrowly avoids another encounter with the wrong side of the law. He enters into a partnership with another enquiry agent, Ron Gash (
Peter Childs). Gash is an ex-policeman and, although much more likeable than Rylands (of the Brighton episodes) he does have very different ideas about the job from Marker. Although Marker would show interest in money if a large quantity of it appeared to be heading his way (such as "Well—There Was This Girl, You See ...") he never considers raising his fees to provide himself with a more comfortable living standard. Gash is far more profit-motivated and also considers Marker's shabby appearance to be off-putting to potential clients. Yet again Marker decides he doesn't like working with a partner, and in the episode "What's to Become of Us?" (10 February 1975) Gash and he part ways peacefully and amicably. For the final half-dozen episodes Marker relocates to
Chertsey in
Surrey, partly to avoid a clash of location with Gash's business. The move to Chertsey sees the series return to its traditional format of a new case each week for Marker. In "Fit of Conscience" he is asked to investigate the collapse of a residential apartment block and it becomes apparent that the concrete has been incorrectly formulated. Those responsible for this, the primary cause of the collapse, leave the country and avoid being brought to British justice for their actions. The series often produced such downbeat endings, with the villains getting away with their crimes or at the very least, with the resolution unclear and further thought required on the part of the viewer. ==The end of the series, its fate and legacy==