The Sweeney: Abduction

 "One by one they stopped inviting us. One by one the Christmas cards stopped coming. One by one I lost every friend I ever had."

Yes, there are the usual "look it's the '70s" moments here. A Wimpy. An old warm-up television set that I remember from my childhood at Regan's ex's house. Eight year old childsren walking to school alone. But damn... this episode knocks all of its predecessors into a cocked hat. This is a truly compelling bit of drama.

The conceit is simple: Rergan's daughter is kidnapped, and he's warned to take no action about an expected robbery if he wants her to go unharmed. But it's not really about the plot, which ends up being fairly straightforward. It's about character. And my God, Regan is such a nuanced, real character.

Once again we see how George's wife Alison is no fan of Regan's. But we also see that he's divorced, and he doesn't see his daughter as often as he should. And we get the astonishing scene in which his ex really lashes out at him, including the above quote. This, and the companion scene that ends the episode and shows them coming to a reconciliation of sorts, tells us exactly how the marriage unfolded, and how Regan's addiction to his job means he may never find happiness in his relationships.

The final confrontation with Haskins and the Inspector handling the investigation into the kidnapping is similarly dramatic, real... and, in the end, nuanced. The relationship between Regan and Haskins will never be smooth. Yet there's a genuine mutial respect, however grudging.

Extraordinary television. 

As we've come to theend of the first series, I'll be giving The Sweeney a rest for a while. But it'll be back...

The Sweeney: Contract Breaker

 "They've made up their mind it was me...."

Once again it's fun to see the world of half a century ago. Prison scenes straight out of Porridge. A retirement presentation at work where the booze flowsfreely and the air is clogged with tobacco smoke. Stock car racing. The clothes. The cars. And yes, people seemily did look much older then.

But this isa genuinely impressive episode, penned by one Robert Bank Stewart, whose work for Doctor Who is well known to me. The conceit is simple: Danny Keever, on day release before his release from prision, is framed for a bank job and it's up to Regan to prove his innocence when everyone else has made their mind up. We know from the start that Danny must be innocent, but the way this plays out, and how it resolves, is nicely done and very clever.

I particularly like the way the sub-plot with the aggrieved member of the gang with his posh car marries up with the rest of the plot. But it's not just the cleverness. As ever, it's the gritty realism of the acting, the dialogue, the direction. You feel utterly immersed in this world.

And wow... Warren Clarke certainly looks young here.

 

The Sweeney: Big Spender

 "I found a way of getting a lot of bread for no graft at all."

Intriguing episode, this, where it takes time for the penny to drop about what mild-mannered Wardle is up to, why this harmless little accountant is associating with the notorious Smith brothers and spending so much money, including on his prostitute girlfriend. In the end  it works out satisfyingly enough, although this episode isn't up there withe the best.

There's a lot of good stuff, though, including a satisfyingly '70s car chase- Rolls Royce vs. Ford Cortina. We get a magnificent central performance from Warren Mitchell.. in drag, at one point. Wardle is a truly tragic figure. A respectable, mild-mannered accountant straight out of that Monty Python sketch, who makesa lot of money from a parking scam, gets blackmailed... and clearly knows from the beginning that he can only ride his luck so far.

Haskins, though... as Regan says, he's "on the turn". He's been quite an understanding boss of late- why is he suddenly being so harsh? Or is his Jekyll and Hyde nature just who he is...?

The Sweeney: Stoppo Driver

 "Who taught you to drive- Evel Knievel?"

Another strong episode this time round as a newlywed copper is forced to act as a getaway driver in order to stop his kidnapped bride from being harmed- an evocative situation which is handled superbly, with a very strong guest performance from Billy Murray in particular.

We're really made to feel for the couple, who at least manage to get their revenge at the end, albeit with Cooney's career in ruins. It's a script that is pacy, taut and lean yet also gives the tragic events the room they need to breathe.

The car chases (with proper '70s cars!) are excellent too, of course, as is the excellently naturalistic yet charistmatic performance from John Thaw. It's interesting to see the growing mutual respect between Haskins and Regan, too- this isn't a one-note, cliched adversarial relationship. But Aubrey Morris pretty much steals the show as an arrogant Swiss diplomat.

As ever, though, the joys lie as much in the sights and social mores of half a century ago as in any of the plot and characters. Towards the end of the season, perhaps, the self-contained nature of each episode, normal for the time, is perhaps starting to grate. But there's no denying that this is good stuff.

The Sweeney: Golden Boy

 "You're nicked, and I'm not authorised or insured to drive this car!"

I know: all this current telly, especially, means The Sweeney has taken a bit of a back seat lately. But fear not: I'll carry on until the end of the first series,and return after a break to blog the rest.

Anyway, this is another damn good episode, about a heist to nick some gold bullion and haul it to Beirut, and involving some particularly clever jiggery pokery with security cameras. Yet it's also about the personalities involved, the complezities of keeping such a blag secret, and how Regan and George manage to nab them in the end. As ever, it's not a whodunit- we're privy to everything that happens- but it's fun following how the Flying Squad get their men, sometimes by detective work but often by other means.

Plus, of course, there's the usual fun of seeing the UK of fifty years ago. Playing Pong in a pub. Time and motion studies. Everybody always smoking. Half pennies.But it's becoming particularly noticeable how good and how natural John Thaw is as a gruff, laddish, vaguely cynical yet nevertheless likeable Regan.

The Sweeney: Cover Story

 "I think that fish fancies me".

Hmm. Good dialogue, good acting, and it all looks great- not surprising for an episode directed by the great Douglas Camfield. But... for the first time with The Sweeney, I'm not sure about this one.

It's not that the chemistry between John Thaw and Prunella Gee isn't there. It's not that their relationship isn't believable, or that the dilemma isn't real- she genuinely is mysterious: is she in league with this week's villains? And yet... well, the is she / isn't she is driven up to a point of real suspense as the rubbish tip, et, tip she leads them on turns out to be false. But the revelation that she's kosher is just... fairly flat, nothing to it. And her disappearance- leaving because Jack loves his job more thsan her- is the most horrible cliche.

Which isa pity. Great script, characterisation... but the plot just fundamentally doesn't satisfy. Good job, then, that we've got all this '70s-ness to entertain us, the world of half a century ago when journalists mattered.

I'm sure this one is just a blip.

The Sweeney: The Placer

 "Jack Regan, this is your life..."

I'm still so behind with The Boys, plus there are only two episodes left... it can take it's natural place in the order in which I'm blogging my varioius shows. So tonight it's back to The Sweeney. 

Anyway, this is a well done episode with Regan undercover trying to sniff out the big boss of a loads of villains, full of twists and turns as Regan takes increasing risks to try and incriminate Harry. It's a fascinating type of episode, at once... well, no so much a woodunit as a "provedunit", and filled with peril as Harry risks exposure at every turn. The scenes where he's caught, yet distracts Harry with his girl's unfaithfulness, are gripping.The conclusion is horrifying and satisfying in equal measure.

Oddly enough, despite fleshing out Regan a fair bit, this is quite narrowly plot,plot, plot compared to many episodes. And Haskins is... well, almost supportive here!

A good episode, then, but not one with much subtext or depth beyond the obvious. John Thaw certainly rocks that moustache, though....

The Sweeney: Night Out

 "Wait, where's my gun?"

"In the dishwasher?"

This is another subtle little character episode from the pen of none other than Troy Kennedy Martin. On the surface it's about Regan keeping an old flame, Iris, in her flat next to a pub while a Superindendent and his gang carry out an operation to grab the villains doing a job in the vault of the bank next to the pub next door. There's suspense. There's shootout. There's realistic fear from Regan.

And yet... this is really about the people. Jack's old flame is... nice, witty, likeable. You can see why Jack liked her. And, despite an awkward start, you can see their chemistry.As real people often do, they fall apart through circumstances but crisiscan bring back the old affections...and so Irisand Jack end up in bed together. Twice. With lots of rather glorious screwball comedy for good measure.

Yet it's also a fascinating character study of T.P. McKenna's Superintendent, a man who loves success, loves publicity and is admired by his men, seduced by the glamour... yet it's all about him, and he cares not how many get hurt, or killed, in the attempt. John Thaw plays contempt for this man to perfection. The suspense at the end is electric. At one point I thought Iris would be the one being shot.

Not the best episode so far, perhaps, but only because of the high quality of the others. And I love the casual response to the bar fight as "Well, I suppose it's Saturday night, innit?"

The Sweeney: Jigsaw

 "He's got the Church and the Palace of Westminster on his side. Who have you got?"

On the surface, this episode is all plot, and very cleverly done. It's not a whodunit, it's a "howdunit". We know Eddie and Eric are the villains what robbed the payroll and coshed the nightwatchman, but they have cast iron alibis- with Regan himself and a vicar respectively. The episode is all about how Regan, with Carter's dogged support, try and ultimately succeed in nailing them despite pressire- including from the local MP- to stop "harrassing" Eddie.

It's all verty clever, centred on character; Eddie's cynical pose as a family man is his downfall. And so it's all tied up neatly.

And yet... this is really a character episode. We're five episodes in. We start to get to know them a little more. So we have Regan confronting Eddie at the school gates, leading to us meeting Carter's wife, who tells him what she thinks of Regain, and she doesn't like him... contrasting with Carter's genuine admiration. Itr's a nice little character moment.

We also see Regan annoyed by Eddie's family man act, cynically using the affections of a child for personal gain... and we learn that this is largely because Regan is divorced, can't see his own daugher, and his ex's new fella is the one who is "there". Ouch.

This series hasn't had a duffepisode yet, and it's slowly getting better and better. And, yet again, it's a fascinating glimpse into a Britain just a few years before my earliest memories.

The Sweeney: Queen's Pawn

 "I'm not a gentleman. And I don't like losing."

Oh, I like this episode: hard boiled and clever. It's a simple premise: arch robber Johnny Lyon gets off at court and Regan is given free rein to bring him in by any means necessary, working on his two associates playing clever, amoral mind games- this is personal, and Regan will do absolutely anything. He's a moral man, in a way, but the ends justify the means.

Yes, like other episodes, this is policing from another era, and it's fascinating seeing the nation as it was half a century ago, shortly before I was born. The social mores, the gender roles, the conventions are all subtly different. But the scene where Johnny (Tony Selby is superb here as Regan's ever-more-desperate prey) loses at chess to his lawyer (a typically suave Julian Glover) in a fool's mate serves as a microcosm for the entire episode which consists of Regan playing ten dimensional chess. Even the title is a clever pun- it;s just a matter of which of Johnny's cronies will end as Regan's pawn, and turn queen's evidence.#

The twist at the end is shocking... and Regan's fault. But this is a hard world. One fascinating to watch, if not to live in. And Regan's bosses... such cynical ***s. This is good telly.

The Sweeney: Thin Ice

 "I merely strangled the hound with my bare hands..."

This is the best episode yet. Oh, the plot is clever and entertaining, and we're getting to know Regan, Carter and the rest of the Flying Squad, but more than anything else this is just bloody good writing.

This episode is basically ten dimensional chess between three parties. Bishop (Alfred Marks is a splendid presence) is a criminal  mastermind on the run to France, and there's a rivalry between Regan and one Superintendent Pringle (a perfectly cast Peter Jeffrey) on how to deal with him, and how. It's fun to see how things play out, with Regan ultimately outsmaring both his adversaries.

Yet it's more than that. It's dialogue that is witty but also very real. People talk at cross purposes, there's wordplay, there's perfectly played cynicism. These characters feel real, despite us not knowing them much, purely because of the deftness of the words and the performances. Little things, like the unfriendliness of the local constabularty or the dark hints of domestic abuse at the end.

Yes, this is certainly the quintessential showabout maverick '70s cops who cut corners to get results. But damn, it's clever.

The Sweeney: Jackpot

"There's got to be a perfectly logical explanation for all this..."

Another excellent episode to follow-up the pilot, perhaps no surprise as it's scripted by Troy Kennedy Martin. Realistic characters, naturalistic dialogue- a very hard thing to do- naturalistic action and naturalistic, shaky camerawork, surely an even harder thing to do with the size of TV cameras in 1974.

The plot- a bag with £35,000 goes missing after some villains are apprehended after a robbery, and it's suspected that Regan or one of his men may have nicked it- is conceptually simple. But the resolution is quite clever, and the conceit works quite well in drawing out the characters and relationships between Regan's men. I wonder if we'll get a proper ensemble feel, looking ahead. And the main villin, a man universally despised and looking at a fourteen year stretch, looks a truly tragic figure by the end. That's good writing.

Again one has to raise an eyebrow at the casual attitude to warrants and waiting for the suspect's solicitor before interviewing him.. but this is the Dark Ages, before 1984. Waterman is superb, and so is Thaw... and that's his natural Mancunian accent, isn't it?

I'm already enjoying this a lot. It's much more serious than it's popular reputation so far. Let's see if this continues.

The Sweeney: Ringer

 "Who's Godot?"

"Plays full back for QPR."

I knew of The Sweeney, of course. I certainly knew the theme tune, one of those based nicely around the syllables of the name of the programme. I knew "get your trousers on, you're nicked". I knew John Thaw was in hisearly thirties, looking somehow much older... but then, everyone seemed to in the '70s. The endless nicotine and the Lutwaffe, no doubt. 

And yes, I knew it was incredibly laddish, about the Flying Squad, the East End, and policing in a world before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, a very different world. So... is the first episode what I expected?

Well, yes. It is. This episode is a nice little opener, establishing what Regan and Carter are like, whata maverick Regan is, how his strai-laced superintendent can't stand him. It shows us a vanished East End underworld not long after the Krays. It shows us a world, not long agos, when photographs needed to be developed. It establishes that this is going to be great actor spotting fun- we have Brian Blessed and Ian Hendry as gangsters, and June Brown as a little scrote's mum. 

It also shows us the '70s, though. The clothes, the different values- Life on Mars for real- and the cars, oh the cars.

I think I'm going to like this...