MovieChat Forums > Minder (1979) Discussion > Oi, the Ray Daley years were fantastic!

Oi, the Ray Daley years were fantastic!

posted 18 years ago by sean_k
20 replies | jump to latest

This isn't a post to say i prefer Ray Daley episodes over Terry McCan's, but it's one to show appreciation for Ray Daley who to me, was the perfect 90's Minder. If you don't have terry, ray is the next best thing. I disagree with Dennis Watermans comment that Minder simply wasn't 'Minder' when it continued in 1991, it was just a different Minder. The basics were the same: Arthur gets into trouble, Ray duffs someone up, Arthur gets out of trouble, Ray ends up in bed with a girl. The punch-ups were still there, and the scrapes Ray Daley got into were alot more darker and violent than anything terry had to deal with, it was still the Minder doing the dirty job once a week.

I do think series 10 wasn't as good as it could've been with the absence of great characters such as DC Morley and DC Field (where are they now?!), but again it contained much better episodes than either series 6 or 7 from Terry's years.

I would've happily settled for and would settle for a Ray Daley spin off, i think he was a great character that could've worked even without Arthur. Bring back Ray Daley!

[–] JohnIMDB-2 18 years ago

The Ray Daley years had the shoddy guitar theme though whereas Dennis Waterman wrote the feeme tune and sang the feeme tune.

[–] maltesecharlie 18 years ago

Minder isn't Minder without Terence.

[–] dean-swain 17 years ago

I agree. Watching these episodes now shows just how good they are, although I always prefered series 8 compared to 9 & 10.

[–] Damon_3388 17 years ago

They are two different shows really, but I like both the Terry McCann years and the Ray Daley years.

I just got finished watching Season 10, and I liked it. It still had a lot of humour and drama, right until the end.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] chriskooter 14 years ago

I've not seen the Shane Ritchie ones, but I do know that without George Cole it ain't Minder. Sorry, Gary Webster did a good job but I draw the line at a new Arthur...... I'll check it out but I have a strange feeling it should have been left alone. Shane Ritchie is pretty annoying generally and certainly not a great actor, George Coles shoes are too big for him, it all looks so half baked.

[–] NothingButTheBest 14 years ago

Shane Ritchie was the biggest problem with the new series in my opinion, even more so than the slow scripts. Lex Shrapnel was fantastic however. It's difficult to compare Arthur to Ritchie's character anyway, they are quite different.

"The World Is Your Lobster My Son!"-Arthur Daley, Minder.

[–] jamieleng 14 years ago

I was 13yo in '91, my father & I loved watching 'Minder' & 'Twin Peaks'. I remember being worried they were going to ruin the series by bringing it back sans Terry. All our fears were allayed, as Ray was a perfect fit & the transition was seamless.

ITV4 are currently re-running some of the earlier series & there are so many episodes I haven't seen, or don't remember.

So sweetbreads are meat & sweetmeats are pastry? What a world we live in.

[–] jmac-20 14 years ago

I think another good thing (rather than despairing over Waterman leaving the show) was that they didn't try and make Ray a cardboard cutout with identical personality to Terry.

I wouldn't compare the two series, because Minder is light years better, but on the dukes of hazzard series, the two main stars (wopat and schneider) were in contract disputes (wanting more money) and so the studios just found two other actors to play their cousins, with little explanation as to why they showed up, and clearly just used the same scripts intended for the originals. It killed the show, and even bringing back the original guys was too little too late to get the audience back.

I don't think that Minder was quite in that boat, but I do think that it has, for want of a better word, run its course. I wouldn't like to see any more episodes made, or a 'reboot' as they say, it'd be an insult to most I would think.

[–] dynamohat 12 years ago

Oi, no they were'nt, Ray Daley years were the death of Minder, everyone new it,
just cashing in on a title legacy. Shane Ritchie Minder doesnt even deserve
a mention - DOH !

"You're gonna need a bigger boat..."

[–] NothingButTheBest 12 years ago

In fairness, in my opinion series 8 with Ray was just as good as the Terry McCann episodes. It gave the series a bit of new life and opened up some new ways to tell the stories. Waterman also looked a bit tired by Series 7.

Series 9 and 10 really did go downhill though, there are still a few good episodes, but the majority of the worst ever episodes of Minder have got to be found in series 9 and 10 for sure.

Maybe they should have quit when Dennis left? I'm not sure. I don't think it was Gary Webster's fault, or the fact that Dennis was now gone, it was just really poor writing.

The world is your lobster.

[–] Ms_Belladonna 13 years ago

Like Granddad and Uncle Albert......I'm glad we had both......pitty we never seen them on-screen together.

I'm only half Troll....on my mothers side.

[–] CrestOfLove93 13 years ago

I quite liked Ray Daley (didn't watch the program much, but sometimes watch it when my Dad does - he loves the show!). I thought he was pretty good looking too! Aha :P

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Life is special.

[–] offramp_tavanipupu 12 years ago

I really prefer Ray Daley to Terry McCann as he has all the best bits of Terry without the worst bits - and the worst bits were sounding too clever to be a minder, having a bald head AND long hair and looking unconvincing in fights.

But Ray does not like to get involved in fights - he is a relative, not a minder, and he likes to use his brain to get himself and his great-uncle out of bovver. The trouble with Ray is that he looks SO 1990s, suits, hair, shoes ... everything.

[–] joyfarrah 12 years ago

Agree Sean... though I know this is late in the day. They were different "sections" of the show. In "Ray" Minder years, Arthur is a bit softer, but that makes sense because he's now working with a relative, not just a friend. And they are both very good in their different ways. I just saw "I'll never forget What'sername" which was about a pub quiz and was hilariously funny, esp when Arthur went to see "Silence of the Lambs" so that he could see the Pathe News..and was horrified by the violence. and it was wonderful when Arthur answered the last question in the quiz...

[–] xfranco_uk 12 years ago

I never liked the "Ray" series but watched them again recently and have to say they do grow on you...he ain't half bad.
I like the "Terry" series better but "Ray" will do at a push :)

[–] peter-617-162365 12 years ago

There was a wonderful episode in the Ray Daly years when all the missing characters, including Waterman and Chisholm, turned up. I think Arthur had actually been kidnapped and had to be rescued.
I see no mention of it on the websites - does anyone recall its name?

[–] mrcdrous 11 years ago

I actually prefer the Ray Daley years to thee McCann years.

[–] cambus741 11 years ago

I like the ray Dayley years as well, although I did miss Chisholm.
this is a personal thing, but worth mentioning, the earlier series similar to The Sweeney are now fascinating period pieces of London because of the Cortinas, Ganadas, Routemasters and RTs.

[–] clark_gillies 11 years ago

The final series (and even the last Feature Length movie) in the Terry years where not all that good (clearly peaked at Minder on the Orient Express), and Denis just looked hardly interested from that point (also there seemed to be a shift from stories centering around him to more around Arthur).

First series of the Ray years was good, and one of my all time favorite episodes of Minder is the 92(?) Christmas Special where they are on a Narrow Boat.

Clearly the first series was a false dawn and people did not buy it (this is what I am expecting New Tricks to be like with almost all the original cast gone) as the 2 series after that were really poor (clearly idea's were gone and it was a case of reaching the 10th series more than producing quality)