alxfyv This is a 'rootin - tootin," shoot-em-up, no holds barred, action filled cops and robbers show, with the occasional touch of male chauvinism and with vintage 1977 class. It's Dempsdy and Makepeace meets John Thaw's The Sweeny done with panache and verve. It's notable for the presence of a very young Martin Shaw who, in his 50's, went on to play the erudite, gentleman detective Inspector George Gently. The show's appeal and popularity are attested to by the fact that it ran five seasons.CI5 (Criminal Investigations 5) is a specially formed police group tasked to tackle those criminal enterprises that prove beyond the reach of New Scotland Yard and the Special Operations Branch. Its commander George Cowley (played by Gordon Jackson) and its two chief operatives Doyle (played by Martin Shaw) and Bodie (played by Lewis Collins) comprise the staple team that undertakes a range of special police assignments under a broad mandate and with sometimes less than scrupulous observance of the niceties of British Due Process but always focused on defeating the criminals others can't touch and achieving justice. Cowley barks orders and runs interference with the lordly, upper political classes embarrassed by the teams non-gentile methods. Doyle and Brodie provide the muscle and street smarts brought to bear on the situation at hand.This format effectively sustained the series during its five season run from 1977 to 1982. It's a great piece of police action drama that aficionados of the genre should not miss.

debbiecurtis This has got to be one of the most popular hardman TV shows ever - it ran from 1977-83 on UK TV.Lewis Collins And Martin Shaw were superb in this - great action scenes and car chases in Ford cars - the show was known for the Capri - The theme music became a hit - by Laurie Johnson and the titles are one of the most memorable in history with the Granada smashing through the glass. Bodie and Doyle were easy on the eye and massive icons at the time - the first series was filmed in and around Buckinghamshire - Close quarters on the Thames at Boulters Lock and Maidenhead - Classic TV of the time - lots of beige ! And the best bit is that it was before we all became PC correct and health and Safety obsessed - if you have not seen this show go and buy it on DVD .

Master Cultist CI5 operatives Bodie and Doyle spend their time fighting criminals, shooting at criminals, chasing criminals in their glorious array of classic 70's cars (the Ford Capri being my personal favourite), and generally acting as we would all like to act given half the chance.Bodie is a womanising hard man, whilst Doyle seems to have a more tender side, as emphasised in episodes such as the excellent 'Involvement.Their boss, Cowley, played by Gordon Jackson is a tough man called upon to make tough decisions, frequently issuing orders that could end in the death of one of his staff. He masks his respect and affection for his men behind a veneer of brusque authoritarianism, barking out instructions between swigs of finest malt whisky.An all round entertaining action series, the like of which we will never see again.

ShadeGrenade Alongside 'The Sweeney', 'The Professionals' is probably the best-remembered British action series of the 1970's. It was created by Brian Clemens, and followed hot on the heels of 'The New Avengers'. Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins had appeared together in an episode ( 'Obsession' ).I was not immediately won over by 'The Professionals'. I had the impression that Clemens had taken some left-over 'New Avengers' scripts, scrubbed out the names 'Steed', 'Gambit' and 'Purdey', and substituted 'Bodie', 'Doyle', and 'Cowley'. Certainly the Russian agents in 'The Female Factor' looked and sounded like they had come straight from that show. Even some of Laurie Johnson's incidental music sounded indistinguishable. I was not alone in my cynicism. A letter writer to 'The People' newspaper soon after its debut claimed that 'Gordon Jackson was badly miscast' and that the show was basically 'the poor man's Starsky & Hutch'.The hit U.S. show starring David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser was declining in popularity in the U.K. as 'The Professionals' debuted. I recall my school friends suddenly raving about this new show and going silent on the subject of Huggy Bear's pals.Despite initial misgivings, I stuck with 'The Professionals' and am glad that I did because it improved as it went along. The ratings went up in spite of tough competition from B.B.C.-1's equally violent 'Gangsters'. Later on it would be pitted against the popular private eye drama 'Shoestring'.The premise was this; George Cowley ( Gordon Jackson ) is the head of C15, an organisation set up to combat terrorism. His top agents are Bodie ( Lewis Collins ) and Doyle ( Martin Shaw ). That was really all there was to it.The show boasted lots of exciting action ( violent even by today's standards ), guest-stars such as a pre-'Not The Nine O'Clock News' Pamela Stephenson, one of the best theme tunes ever, a pair of personable leads, and some pretty good scripts. Particularly memorable were 'In The Public Interest' in which C15 investigates an ( unnamed ) city where a zero tolerance policy to crime has unfortunately given rise to massive police corruption; and 'The Rack' where C15's very existence is questioned, and Cowley has to make an impassioned plea to a court to preserve the anonymity of an informer. 'Heroes' had witnesses to a robbery coming under threat from the underworld when a newspaper foolishly printed their names. One episode - 'Klansman' - dealt with racism and was deemed too controversial to broadcast.Shaw and Collins made a good team, and Jackson gave solid support in what was basically a thankless role. The show predictably drew complaints on account of its violence, but fans seemed not to mind. Yes, it took a simplistic approach to serious issues such as terrorism, and there was virtually no character development, but it managed to be good entertainment. It ran for five years in all, totalling 57 episodes.'The Two Ronnies' did a funny parody called 'Tinker, Taylor, Smiley, Doyle' in which Ronnie Corbett's 'Doyle' got a new partner in the shape of Ronnie Barker's mild-mannered 'George Smiley'. And, of course, 'The Comic Strip Presents' gave us 'The Bullshitters'!Though repeats were blocked for many years by Martin Shaw, 'The Professionals' is now to be found on 'I.T.V.-4' ( with heavily edited editions going out in afternoon slots ) and before that, 'Granada Plus'. Despite changing public tastes, its popularity has endured.With the arrival of 'Life On Mars' on B.B.C.-1 in 2006, the genre of hard-bitten '70's crime telly was effectively exhumed. Viewers could once again see men being men, and women either being shot, beaten up or taken to bed. 'The Professionals' though was the real McCoy.