Bulman (1985–1987) User Reviews

Something Unique

[sts-26 · 9/10 · 4 December 2008]

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.

Didnt seem like Bulman left the force in disgust,

[vonnoosh · 9/10 · 15 October 2021]

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.

I used to love this but disappointed seeing it again

[ib011f9545i · 7/10 · 5 October 2018]

If you don't know already this series was a sequel to a series called Strangers which in turn was a sequel to a thing called the XYZ man.

The character of George Bulman was in all 3 series,I loved the character ,he was intelligent but eccentric and funny.

I got the full series on dvd recently and am watching it. But I am not enjoying watching it much,it is mostly style over content. It seems dated and not much happens in any particular episode.

The late Don Henderson is Bulman and Siobhan Redmond is his young sidekick.

When I saw this in the mid 1980s I felt a real smart kid watching it,it fitted with the cold war paranoid times

Maybe the best TV series I ever saw...

[inframan · 10/10 · 6 July 2001]

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.

Bulman was a very strong character but utterly believable

[anne-bolger · 1 January 2006]

Why oh why must we suffer constant repeats of average stuff when gems like the 20 episodes of this brilliant series lie idle in the vaults having only been shown once (?). It can't even be bought on DVD as far as I know....come on you budding entrepreneurs !! make the copyright holder an offer and release this wonderful set....if only as a testament to the brilliant but sadly no longer with us Don Henderson - a truly great character actor - don't let his memory pass relatively unappreciated. Even the previous 'Strangers' series (during which he was a cop - this led to the writing of Bulman) is worthy of a re-run - his two police sidekicks (whose names escape me) being completely in awe of his idiosyncratic ways.