Yellowthread Street
Yellowthread Street is a British television police drama, first broadcast in 1990, that focuses on the work of a group of detectives in the Royal Hong Kong Police. Developed and produced by Ranald Graham, the series was loosely based on the novels by William Leonard Marshall. A single season of thirteen episodes was produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast on ITV from January 13 to April 7, 1990.[1] The series starred Ray Lonnen as principal character Alex Vale, with Bruce Payne, Robert Taylor, Doreen Chan, Tzi Ma, Mark McGann and Catherine Neilson also appearing as detectives in the series.[2]
| Yellowthread Street | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Action • Crime • Thriller |
| Developed by | Ranald Graham |
| Directed by | Roger Cheveley Syd Macartney Gerry Mill Ian Stuttard Tim Dowd |
| Starring | Ray Lonnen Doreen Chan Bruce Payne Robert Taylor Tzi Ma Mark McGann Catherine Neilson |
| Theme music composer | Roger Bellon |
| Opening theme | "Yellowthread Street" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Keith Richardson |
| Producer | Ranald Graham |
| Production location | Hong Kong |
| Editor | Paul Martin Smith |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company | Yorkshire Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 13 January – 7 April 1990 |
The series was well received by viewers and critics alike, despite only lasting one season. However, the series also received negative press, with Matters Criminous stating that "The series chiefest goal seemed to have been to explore just how very badly a dramatisation can corrupt and befoul the ideas and characters of a book."[3] The series was also celebrated for the use of state-of-the-art technology involved with the production, including becoming one of the first series on British television with stereo sound.[4] The series has never been released on DVD.[5]
Novels
In the Yellowthread Street novels, the detectives of the Yellowthread Street police station are based in the fictitious Hong Bay, Hong Kong.[6] Four principal characters are featured in the novels; DCI Harry Feiffer, of European heritage but third generation born and brought up in the Colony, Senior Inspector Christopher O'Yee, a half-Chinese American and the ever-bickering team of Inspectors Auden and Spencer, who attempt to find the rational basis for inexplicable and seemingly bizarre crimes.
One of the most notable novels is 1988's Out of Nowhere, in which Feiffer must figure out why in the pre-dawn hours, four people in a plate-glass-filled van with Chinese opera blaring out of the tape deck were driving on the wrong side of a deserted motorway, miles from the nearest on-ramp, before dying in a violent collision with an oncoming lorry.[7] Sixteen novels were published between 1975 and 1998: Yellowthread Street (1975), The Hatchet Man (1976), Gelignite (1976), Thin Air (1977), Skulduggery (1979), Sci-Fi (1981), Perfect End (1981), War Machine (1982), The Far Away Man (1984), Roadshow (1985), Head First (1986), Frogmouth (1987), Out of Nowhere (1988), Inches (1994), Nightmare Syndrome (1997) and To The End (1998).
Cast
Main
- Ray Lonnen as Chief Inspector Alex Vale
- Doreen Chan as Detective Jackie Wu
- Bruce Payne as Detective Nick Eden
- Robert Taylor as Detective Peter Marenta
- Tzi Ma as Detective Eddie Pak
- Mark McGann as Detective CJ Brady
- Catherine Neilson as Detective Kelly Lang
Recurring
- Kenny Chan as Detective Chan
- Diego Swing as Frankie Ku
- Ming-Yang Li as Blind Beggar
- Christopher Leung as Szi Tai
- Winnie Tang as Jei
- Nicholas Eadie
Production
The series cost approximately £8 million.[8] This made it the most expensive series fully financed by an ITV company at the time of its broadcast.[9]
Episodes
| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Power Play" | David Wilks | Ian Studdard | 13 January 1990 |
| 2 | "The Lost Man" | Eric Wendell | Roger Cheveley | 20 January 1990 |
| 3 | "Key Witness" | Robert Hammond | Syd McCartney | 27 January 1990 |
| 4 | "Middleman" | David Wilks | Roger Cheveley | 3 February 1990 |
| 5 | "Angel Eyes" | Lawrence Gray | Syd McCartney | 10 February 1990 |
| 6 | "Fan Tan Man" | Steve Burns | Roger Cheveley | 17 February 1990 |
| 7 | "Rummy's Cut" | Claude Harz | Gerry Mill | 24 February 1990 |
| 8 | "Spirit Runner" | William Marshall | Gerry Mill | 3 March 1990 |
| 9 | "The Red Pole" | Steve Burns | Ian Studdard | 10 March 1990 |
| 10 | "Chinese Boxes" | Phil O'Shea | Ian Studdard | 17 March 1990 |
| 11 | "Slicing the Dragon" | Robert Hammond | Syd McCartney | 24 March 1990 |
| 12 | "Big Circle" | Steve Burns | Gerry Mill | 31 March 1990 |
| 13 | "I Knew a Man" | Lawrence Gray | Tim Dowd | 7 April 1990 |
References
- "Catalogue". www.itvstudios.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- TV.com. "Yellowthread Street". TV.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Matters Criminous: Yellowthread Street". matterscriminous.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Yellowthread Street Revisited | Impact Online". Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- "Yellowthread Street". Do You Remember?. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Yellowthread Street Series by William Marshall". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Yellowthread Street Mysteries". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- Vincent, Sally (2 February 1990). "Chinese Torture". Punch (6799 ed.). p. 36.
- Lee, Harvey (1 September 1989). "Levy changes spell the end for ITV's big budget dramas". Broadcast. p. 11.