The 1970s was an innovative time for British TV. Zodiac, which ran for only six episodes in 1974, is no exception. It concerns an unlikely pairing between a cynical underachiever, Detective Inspector David Gradley, and an attractive young astrologist, Esther Jones. They use a combination of standard deductive reasoning and psychic prediction to solve some intriguing crimes.
The star of the show is the late Anton Rodgers, a much-missed and prolific actor, who later in his career specialised in bald-headed avuncular roles in comedies such as May to December and French Fields. He is extremely charismatic in Zodiac as the cynical detective, revelling in the sardonic lines he’s given, and encouraging the audience to warm to him straight away. Less successful is Anouska Hempel, whose limited ability is at full stretch convincing as the mystical Esther Jones. They spend a lot of screen time together, and sadly fail to convey any real chemistry, despite Rodgers’ best efforts. Hempel’s almost immobile face tends to make Rodgers work harder than he should have to.
The first episode, Death of a Crab: Cancer, sets up an intriguing death, which may or may not be murder. It concerns a man called Parker in somebody else’s apartment, which in terms of décor, is an homage to all that was kitsch about the 70s, until he is found dead in the bath by the housekeeper. What would now be established within sixty seconds is given a leisurely amount of screen time, whilst Parker wanders about the flat, looking at the goldfish, pouring himself a drink and running himself a bath. Enter Detective Inspector Gradley, who interviews the prudish housekeeper, and later discovers that the dead man is not the owner of the apartment as everyone assumed. Connected to the deceased is his estranged wife, Esther Jones, and thus Gradley meets his sidekick for the first time. It’s quite a good opening episode, with the ever-excellent John Rhys-Davies playing the baddie (I hope that’s not too much of a giveaway as he’s the only possible candidate and the big reveal comes as no great surprise).
The second episode, The Cool Aquarian: Pisces assembles a remarkably good cast. Playing a pair of business colleagues are George Baker and Michael Gambon. Gradley starts to investigate when a young girl goes missing, and her uncle is played by Bill Maynard. Meanwhile Esther has inherited a butler (the excellent Trevor Baxter). These incredibly fine actors make the most of a fairly decent script, which is again thin on red herrings and a bit predictable, but there are some good moments of drama. Saturn’s Rewards features Return of the Saint’s Ian Ogilvy, as well as Peter Vaughn. Sting Sting Scorpio guest stars Robert Powell, and the final episode, The Horns of the Moon, sees Peter Egan and Graham Crowden in supporting roles.
The trouble with Zodiac is that, what probably appeared a good idea on paper – using astrology alongside standard detective techniques to solve crimes – soon sees the supernatural element of the stories getting in the way of the narrative. Esther Jones’ weekly predictions often end up seeming nothing more than mere coincidence if you look hard enough, because if she could accurately predict the future, there would be no crimes to solve as they could be prevented before they happened, an idea taken to its logical conclusion in Minority Report. Instead, Esther has to constantly explain that astrology’s not as simple as it first seems, and its inaccuracies and general application can’t be avoided: raising the valid question in the audience’s mind as to whether or not it contributes anything whatsoever to the crime-solving. Despite plenty of dialogue about Mercury Rising and the Seventh House of Jupiter, the astrology ultimately fails to lend the premise anything new or interesting, and you can’t help but feel that it’s a straight detective series with an angle tagged on that just doesn’t work. It’s a bit like Inspector Morse would have looked, had he been friends with an astrology-enthusiast who would have interpreted his weekly star-sign to fit the facts of the case each week at the end of the episode. The crime mysteries are also a little underwritten, possibly as a consequence of having to accommodate the astrology element to each story, and this does unfortunately leave some excellent actors doing their best with thin material.
Other series, which have admittedly veered much closer to science-fiction than Zodiac, have more successfully amalgamated crime drama with supernatural elements, most notably 1979’s The Omega Factor, which in turn inspired The X-Files. Zodiac may be viewed as a tentative step towards these series. However, nobody involved on either side of the production will chalk up Zodiac as their finest achievement. Nevertheless, for curiosity value, and as a slice of classic television that has remained long-buried, it’s well worth an airing. It’s television that doesn’t quite work, and on balance largely earns its short run and slide into obscurity; but its stronger episodes, near misses, and the presence of some great actors giving it all they’ve got make it somewhat rewarding.
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