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This article is about the television series. For other uses of the name Sweeney, see Sweeney.
The Sweeney

The Sweeney opening titles.
Format Police / Crime
Created by Ian Kennedy Martin
Starring John Thaw
Dennis Waterman
Theme music composer Harry South
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Ian Kennedy Martin (born May 23 1936) is a British Television scriptwriter John Edward Thaw CBE ( 3 January, 1942 &ndash 21 February, 2002) was an English Actor, who made his début Dennis Waterman (born February 24 1948 in Clapham, London) is an English Actor and Singer, best known for Harry South ( Sept 7 1929 &ndash March 12 1990) born in Fulham, London was an English Jazz pianist, Composer, and Arranger The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located of series 4
No.  of episodes 53
Production
Producer(s) Euston Films Ltd / Thames Television
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Original run 1975 – 1978

The Sweeney was a British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, an elite branch of the British police force specialising in combatting armed robbery and violent crime within the Metropolitan Police area in London. Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic The police procedural is a sub-genre of the mystery story which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a Police force as they investigate Crimes The Flying Squad is a branch of London 's Metropolitan Police Service. The programme title derives from Cockney rhyming slang, in which the expression Sweeney Todd rhymes with (and stands for) 'Flying Squad', in the slang used by London's criminal underworld. Rhyming slang is a form of Slang in which a word is replaced either by another word or phrase that rhymes with it or by the first word of such a phrase in which Sweeney Todd is a semi-fictional character who first appeared as one of the Protagonists of a Penny dreadful serial entitled The String of Pearls

The programme, made entirely on film by Thames Television's film division, Euston Films, was originally aired on ITV between 1975 and 1978, starring John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as Detective Sergeant George Carter. Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties Euston Films was a British Film and Television production company Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) John Edward Thaw CBE ( 3 January, 1942 &ndash 21 February, 2002) was an English Actor, who made his début Dennis Waterman (born February 24 1948 in Clapham, London) is an English Actor and Singer, best known for Such was its popularity in the UK that it spawned two theatrically-released feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2. In the Film industry, a feature film is a Film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening

The Sweeney was the first really modern police-based series on British television. Previously, most dramas featuring the police had shied away from showing 'coppers' as fallible human beings. The police in The Sweeney were a world away from those of the BBC's Dixon of Dock Green or Z Cars. Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series, which ran from 1955 to 1976 and later a radio series Z-Cars (sometimes written as Z Cars) was a British Television drama series centred on the work of beat police in the fictional They were brutal and violent in dealing with London's hardened criminals, and prone to cutting corners and bending laws. The series showed a side of the police which often had a disregard for authority, rules and the 'system', as long it got the job done. Until The Sweeney this had been a subject largely whitewashed by British television.

It was a fast-paced edge-of-your-seat action series, depicting the Squad's relentless battle against armed robbery, but it nevertheless included a substantial degree of humour. It generated one famous humorous catchphrase, when Regan told a suspect in an early episode: "We're the Sweeney son, and we haven't had any dinner!", implying that they just might have him for their dinner if he doesn't co-operate. It was also famous for Regan's tendency to tell every smart-mouthed villain they met to "Shut it!"

For the time, it had a high degree of graphic on-screen violence, with villains frequently ripped apart by blasts from sawn-off shotguns, and the episodes usually had a high body-count (i. e. a high number of on-screen deaths). The language used was fairly graphic too, with armed robbers routinely described as "armed blaggers" and armed robberies as "blaggings". The dialogue was peppered with colourful underworld metaphors of the time, and Regan was always promising villains "a good kicking" if they didn't co-operate. It was a hard-nosed, honest depiction of a violent world.

A big-screen adaptation is currently planned for 2009. Ray Winstone's name has been linked several times with the role of Regan, although not officially. Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone Jr (born 19 February 1957) is an Emmy Award -winning English film and television actor The film is scheduled to be directed by Nick Love and written by him and Ian Kennedy Martin. Nick Love (born 24 December 1969 is a British Film director and Writer. It is not yet known whether the film will be set in the 1970s or in the present day. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970.

Currently the original series is being broadcast on digital channel ITV4 in various time slots. ITV4 is a UK Television station which launched on November 1, 2005, the channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day

Contents

Origins

The series was created by writer Ian Kennedy Martin (brother of the better-known Troy Kennedy Martin), who contributed several episodes and wrote the second film. Ian Kennedy Martin (born May 23 1936) is a British Television scriptwriter Troy Kennedy Martin (born in Scotland in 1932 and educated at Finchley Grammar School (now known as Finchley Catholic High School and Trinity College Dublin The programme was born out of a one-off drama, entitled Regan, which Ian Kennedy Martin wrote for Thames Television's Armchair Cinema series of one-offs in 1974. Armchair Theatre was a British Television drama anthology series which ran on the ITV network from 1956 until 1968 in its original form Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. From the very beginning, the show was seen as having series potential. After it scored highly in the ratings, work began on the development of the series proper. Ian Kennedy Martin's ideas for the series were for it to be partially studio-based, with more dialogue and less action; producer Ted Childs disagreed with this and Ian Kennedy Martin reluctantly parted company with the project. Ted Childs is a British Television producer, Screenwriter and director, whose notable works include The Sweeney, Kavanagh In the event it was shot almost entirely on location and entirely on film (which gave it a startling degree of realism), and had a heavy bias toward action sequences.

The writers were given strict guidelines to follow: "Each show will have an overall screen time (minus titles) of 48mins 40secs. Each film will open with a teaser of up to 3 minutes, which will be followed by the opening titles. The story will be played across three acts, each being no more than 19 minutes and no less than 8 minutes in length. Regan will appear in every episode, Carter in approximately 10 out of 13 episodes. In addition to these main characters, scripts should be based around three major speaking parts, with up to ten minor speaking parts. "

Characters

The main two characters were Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Sergeant George Carter. Their superior officer was DCI Frank Haskins.

Jack Regan

John Thaw as DI Jack Regan in episode one, series one of The Sweeney.
John Thaw as DI Jack Regan in episode one, series one of The Sweeney.

Detective Inspector John 'Jack' Regan (played by John Thaw) is the Flying Squad's chief thief-taker. John Edward Thaw CBE ( 3 January, 1942 &ndash 21 February, 2002) was an English Actor, who made his début He's a tough, no-nonsense copper who is often frustrated by Scotland Yard's red tape. Originally from Manchester (like John Thaw himself), he has been in London for several years, so his accent has modified somewhat but traces of his Northern origins are still evident. He also refers to his Northern roots every now and again (his poor upbringing, his father's work on the Manchester Ship Canal) which brings mild ridicule from Londoner George Carter. A heavy-drinker and smoker (comically, he is more often than not seen stealing other people's cigarettes), Regan also has some success with the ladies - although not as much as Carter. He has an ex-wife, Kate, and a daughter, Susie. In the last episode of the first series, Abduction, Susie is kidnapped. Regan is a hard man but he is human: he helps out an ex-informer whose son is kidnapped in Feet of Clay (Series 4), and his sympathetic pushing enables his boss Haskins to ask for help when his wife goes missing after a breakdown in Victims (Series 4) - it is Regan who finds her. Regan repeatedly bends the rules in order to achieve the desired result - for example, fabricating evidence and arranging for a criminal to be kidnapped in "Queen's Pawn", and illegally entering private properties and threatening to lie about being attacked by a prisoner in order to get information in "Regan". Despite this, he is unwilling to cheat for purely personal gain: he delivers a sharp put down to a corrupt copper in "Bad Apple", and refuses to take advantage of a bung (bribe) in "Golden Fleece". Regan, during early morning raids upon "slags" (villains), would often kick in the bedroom door, tell the "slag" that "You're nicked, son", then proceed to tell his semi-naked wife to "Put them away, luv".

Regan invariably referred to Carter by his first name, whilst Carter referred to Regan as 'Guv' (or Guv'nor).

Regan was driven around in a Ford Consul GT, which was one of the most recognisable sights on television during the 1970s and still has cult status some 30 years later. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Although he was seen driving various cars himself in the series, he always had a driver when using the Consul (and the similar Ford Granada models used in later series), which served as a Squad car: when the Squad travelled they always went 'mob handed'.

George Carter

We learn from numerous episodes that Detective Sergeant George Carter (played by Dennis Waterman) comes from South London, and Regan seeks him out in the pilot episode because of his knowledge of the South London area. Dennis Waterman (born February 24 1948 in Clapham, London) is an English Actor and Singer, best known for South London is the southern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes His age is given in the episode "Hit and Run" as 26. In the series' timeline we learn that George had previously been in the Squad, but had quit for family reasons (cf. Regan and "Jigsaw"). George was married to Alison Carter, a school teacher, but is widowed in the episode "Hit And Run", in which Alison is murdered by mistake by a gang of diamond smugglers. He is a former amateur boxer, as we see from the pilot "Regan", and is described as having professional boxing potential in the episode "Chalk and Cheese". Boxing (sometimes also known as English boxing or pugilism) is a Combat sport in which two participants generally of similar weight, Like his superior he is fond of drinking, football, and - after the death of his wife - womanising. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered

Frank Haskins

Frank Haskins (played by Garfield Morgan), married with 3 children at boarding schools, is Jack Regan's immediate superior. Garfield Morgan (born 19 April 1931) is an English Actor mostly on TV and occasional films Prior to the series timeline the character had done "National Service in the Signals Corps in a minor intelligence role" (as revealled in the episode "Stay Lucky, Eh?"). "National Service" redirects here For national service in other countries see National service. He is frequently seen at odds with Regan, preferring more conventional policing methods.

The main "Haskins episodes" are "Golden Fleece", where he is set up to be the victim of a corruption enquiry, and "Victims", where his wife suffers a mental breakdown due to memories of a miscarriage. Although he appeared in the opening titles of every episode, he did not air in all of them.

In later series, whenever Haskins was not present his role was taken by other superiors like Detective Chief Inspector Anderson, played by Richard Wilson. For other people named Richard Wilson see Richard Wilson (disambiguation Ian Colquhoun Wilson, better known as Richard Wilson,

Other characters

The Squad

In the early episodes the team has a variety of drivers including Len (the first 2 episodes) and Fred (in the episode "Jigsaw"). However, the episode "The Placer" in the first series introduces the character of Bill the driver (played by Tony Allen, who subsequently worked as wardrobe manager for many of John Thaw's later projects), and he remains a constant throughout the series, although he plays a peripheral, non-speaking role in most episodes.

Tom Daniels is the most prominent member of the supporting Squad. Other members include Sergeant Kent, DC Thorpe, and Matthews in the first series, Jerry Burtonshaw (Series 1-3), and Jellyneck (Series 4). Detective Chief Superintendent Maynon appears occasionally as a superior officer, and is seen as being more willing than Haskins to bend the rules in order to get a result in the episode "Queen's Pawn". With Haskins absent, a semi-regular superior officer named Braithwaite appears in Series 4.

Family

Other main characters include the close family of the three leads.

Regan's ex-wife Kate appears in the episode "Abduction", after previously featuring in the pilot; and his daughter Susie appears in several episodes, most notably "Abduction".

Carter's wife Alison is seen attempting to prise him away from the Squad in the episode "Jigsaw", while her hostility toward Regan is apparent in the episode "Abduction". She is murdered in a case of mistaken identity in the episode "Hit And Run". In the DVD commentary for "Abduction" it is mentioned that the reason for this was that the actress was asking for too much money to continue to appear in the series. Her death was convenient for the show, releasing Carter to play a more freewheeling role, 'on the pull'.

Doreen Haskins plays a minor role in some episodes, although the penultimate episode "Victims" deals with her deteriorating mental health and returns to the theme of the job's impact on family life. One of Haskins' three children, Richard, also appears in that episode.

Production

The filming of each episode normally took ten working days, shooting about five minutes of edited screen time per day. Because of this the number of different filming locations had to be restricted to ten, i. e. one location per day. At the Euston Films production office in Colet Court, there was a standing set of the Flying Squad offices, which provided an alternative option should the weather restrict a day's filming. Two days would normally be spent filming on the set, equalling 10 mins of any episode being set in the offices. Shooting took place through the summer, so exterior night shooting was expensive and was limited to 3 minutes of external night material in any episode.

Each episode had an eight and a half week production schedule: two weeks pre-production (for casting, finding locations etc), two weeks shooting, four weeks picture editing (the first two weeks of which overlapped with the shoot), two weeks sound editing, and two and a half days dubbing. Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is (usually poured into a mold which Editing Language, Images or Sound through correction condensation organization and other modifications in various media In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a Motion picture.

Filming Locations

Most of the locations used for filming The Sweeney were in West London - in particular in the Fulham, Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush districts, close to the Euston Films HQ at Colet Court in Hammersmith. West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Fulham (pronounced "fullum" is an area of south-west London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, (the successor to the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, approximately 5 miles (8km west of Charing Cross on Shepherd's Bush (also Shepherds Bush) is a district of West London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, situated 4 Colet Court is a preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes London However, other notable London loactions were also used for filming, including:

Episodes

A pilot episode, "Regan", was made as part of the "Armchair Cinema" series and shown in 1974. Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Battersea is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is an inner-city district located 2 Bermondsey (ˈbɜːmənzi or /ˈbɜːməndzi/ is an area in modern London on the southern bank of the river Thames, and presently part of the London Borough Heathrow was a small hamlet of Middlesex on the outskirts of London, that was demolished for construction of the London Heathrow Airport in 1945 Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough This article is about the South London town For the villages in Kent see East Peckham and West Peckham. Putney is a district of south-west London in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Putney Bridge is a Bridge crossing of the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north Roehampton is a large district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. The Bank of England (formally the Governor and Company of the Bank of England) is a state-owned institution and the Central bank of the United Kingdom Staines is a Thames -side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and part of the London Commuter Belt of South East England, Uxbridge is a university town in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, England. Brunel University is a University situated in West London, England. This article refers only to the town of Wandsworth For the wider area generally referred to as Wandsworth see the separate article on London Borough of Wandsworth. Wimbledon is a Suburb of London, part of the London Borough of Merton and located south west of Charing Cross. In all, four series were made with Series One being broadcast between January and March 1975 and Series Two following between September and December of the same year. Series Three was broadcast between September and December 1976, with the final series being shown two years later in 1978. Two 90-minute feature films, "Sweeney!" and "Sweeney 2", were made in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

Series 1

The promotional episode shown to the press was "Thin Ice", which featured a relatively lightweight and somewhat humorous story, some comedy, and international locations. It's generally seen by fans as being one of the weaker episodes from the first series.

Highlights of the first series were "Ringer", where the team were attempting to prevent a criminal being sprung from prison, "Jackpot", "Stoppo Driver", and "Abduction", in which Regan's daughter Susie was kidnapped, focussing on the strains which the job caused to family life. "Night Out" subtly illustrated the backgrounds and family lives of Regan and Carter; parallels are drawn between the unhappy situation of the main villain's family and Regan's own domestic situation.

The early episodes feature a great degree of hostility and mistrust between Regan and his superior, Haskins, who in one episode attempts to separate Carter from Regan in order to help Carter's career.

The episode "Queen's Pawn" is a classic display of how Regan is willing to bend the rules in order to get a result, as he fabricates evidence, illegally opens private mail, and even arranges the kidnapping of one of the criminals in order to get the desired result.

Series 1 Episodes

All episodes were broadcast on ITV, Thursdays 9. 00pm [1]

  1. Ringer broadcast 02/01/1975
  2. Jackpot broadcast 09/01/1975
  3. Thin Ice broadcast 16/01/1975
  4. Queen's Pawn broadcast 23/01/1975
  5. Jigsaw broadcast 30/01/1975
  6. Night Out broadcast 06/02/1975
  7. The Placer broadcast 13/02/1975
  8. Cover Story broadcast 20/02/1975
  9. Golden Boy broadcast 27/02/1975
  10. Stoppo Driver broadcast 06/03/1975
  11. Big Spender broadcast 13/03/1975
  12. Contact Breaker broadcast 23/03/1975
  13. Abduction broadcast 27/03/1975

Series 2

The episodes "Faces" and "Thou Shalt Not Kill" were among the highlights of the second series. In the former an anarchist group (which appears to be German-based, with echoes of the then contemporary Baader-Meinhof gang) is staging a number of robberies in order to raise funds for its cause. The Red Army Faction or RAF ( German Rote Armee Fraktion) (in its early stages commonly known as Baader-Meinhof Group ''Gang'' was one However, the group has been infiltrated by British intelligence, leading to complicated inter-departmental politics between the police and the security services. "Thou Shalt Not Kill" features a tense hostage situation inside a bank, with Haskins faced with the dilemma of whether to risk the hostages' lives by shooting the criminals.

Other highlights included a pair of tongue-in-cheek episodes, "Golden Fleece" and "Trojan Bus", featuring two cocky but likeable Australian villains, played by British actors Patrick Mower and George Layton; and the episode "Hit And Run", in which Carter's wife Alison is murdered. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Patrick Mower (born 12 September 1940, real name Patrick Archibald Mower) is an English Actor well known for his many television and George Layton (born March 2, 1943 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England) is an English Actor, director

Series 2 Episodes

All episodes were broadcast on ITV, Mondays 9. 00pm

  1. Chalk And Cheese broadcast 01/09/1975
  2. Faces broadcast 08/09/1975
  3. Supersnout broadcast 15/09/1975
  4. Big Brother broadcast 22/09/1975
  5. Hit And Run broadcast 29/09/1975
  6. Trap broadcast 06/10/1975
  7. Golden Fleece broadcast 13/10/1975
  8. Poppy broadcast 20/10/1975
  9. Stay Lucky Eh? broadcast 27/10/1975
  10. Trojan Bus broadcast 03/11/1975
  11. I Want The Man broadcast 10/11/1975
  12. Country Boy broadcast 17/11/1975
  13. Thou Shalt Not Kill broadcast 24/11/1975

Series 3

"In From The Cold" and "Taste Of Fear" were two of the highlights of the third series. The latter episode introduced violent psychopathic criminal Tim Cook, an army deserter whose experiences in Northern Ireland had left him embittered. Cook also appeared in the later and less successful episode "On The Run". "Taste of Fear" is in many ways the definitive episode of the series, featuring wonderfully humorous dialogue, genuinely frightening violence, excellent displays of Regan's courage, and a real sense of pathos in its portrayal of the victims left in the wake of crime. The story's closing scene is particularly impressive.

Other episodes explored different themes: "Tomorrow Man" focussed on the clash between traditional policing methods and newer more technological ways of solving crime, methods which, in the real world, have ironically made crimes such as those depicted in The Sweeney - of villains in stocking masks carrying out wages snatches - seem anachronistic. "Bad Apple" dealt with police corruption and here Regan, despite being seen to bend the rules in other episodes in order to achieve convictions, is shown to hold the deepest contempt for the corrupt officers. Leadership and corruption is a specific form of Leaders misconduct sometimes involving Political corruption, and generally designed to gain a financial or political

Series 3 Episodes

All episodes were broadcast on ITV, Mondays 9. 00pm

  1. Selected Target broadcast 06/09/1976
  2. In From The Cold broadcast 13/09/1976
  3. Visiting Fireman broadcast 20/09/1976
  4. Tomorrow Man broadcast 27/09/1976
  5. Taste Of Fear broadcast 04/10/1976
  6. Bad Apple broadcast 11/10/1976
  7. May broadcast 25/10/1976
  8. Sweet Smell Of Succession broadcast 08/10/1976
  9. Down To You Brother broadcast 22/11/1976
  10. Payoff broadcast 29/11/1976
  11. Loving Arms broadcast 06/12/1976
  12. Lady Luck broadcast 13/12/1976
  13. On The Run broadcast 20/12/1976

Series 4

There was a two year gap between the third and fourth series. The title sequence was changed, and a number of other changes were also made, with Haskins being absent from a number of episodes. The final series has been criticised as the weakest, with episodes such as "Latin Lady", "Drag Act", and "Hearts And Minds" being singled out for particular criticism. This falling off in quality led John Thaw and Dennis Waterman to the realisation that the show was now in danger of running out of steam, and to take the brave decision to end it whilst it was still at the peak of its popularity.

The opening episode of the series, "Messenger of the Gods", divides fans, with some seeing it as wonderfully tongue in cheek and others viewing it as moronic comedy.

Other notable episodes include "Nightmare", which features a slightly experimental dream sequence as part of the plot. This is also the episode with the highest body count, and features another then-contemporary plot of two ex-IRA men committing a major crime in order to buy their way back into the organisation. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the "Bait" featured a strong performance by George Sewell, who had starred in The Sweeney's Euston Films forerunner series, Special Branch, as well as in the film Get Carter, which was a major influence on The Sweeney, and whose main character Jack Carter may have been the inspiration for the names of the two main Sweeney characters. George Sewell ( 31 August 1924 &mdash 1 April 2007) was an English actor born in Tottenham, London. Special Branch is a British Television series made by Thames Television for ITV and shown between 1969 and 1974 Get Carter is a 1971 crime Film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter a mobster who sets out to

"Hearts And Minds", the last episode to be filmed, featured the popular comedians Morecambe and Wise, and was a quid pro quo for the appearance of Waterman and Thaw in a Sweeney-themed sketch in the 1976 Morecambe and Wise Christmas show on the BBC.

The final aired episode, "Jack or Knave", saw a slightly ambiguous ending, with the main character Jack Regan temporarily locked up after being implicated in a corruption scandal, of which he is finally exonerated. He then announces that he's had it with the Squad, and the series ends with him resigning in disgust.

The final scene left open the possibility of a further series, if the two stars could be talked into making it, but this was not to be. Both of them felt the high standards of the show could not be maintained over a fifth series. Dennis Waterman immediately walked into a new series with Euston Films, as co-star of Minder (with George Cole), which quickly became just as big a success. A minder is a person assigned by the government of a nation to accompany a foreign visitor George Edward Cole OBE (born April 22, 1925 in Tooting, London, England) is an English Actor.

Series 4 Episodes

All episodes were broadcast on ITV, Thursdays 9. 00pm

  1. Messenger Of The Gods broadcast 07/09/1978
  2. Hard Men broadcast 14/09/1978
  3. Drag Act broadcast 21/09/1978
  4. Trust Red broadcast 28/09/1978
  5. Nightmare broadcast 05/10/1978
  6. Money, Money, Money broadcast 12/10/1978
  7. Bait broadcast 19/10/1978
  8. The Bigger They Are broadcast 26/10/1978
  9. Feet Of Clay broadcast 02/11/1978
  10. One Of Your Own broadcast 09/11/1978
  11. Hearts And Minds broadcast 23/11/1978
  12. Latin Lady broadcast 30/11/1978
  13. Victims broadcast 14/12/1978
  14. Jack Or Knave broadcast 28/12/1978

Movie spin-offs

Like many successful British TV series of the time, such as Porridge and Rising Damp, film versions of The Sweeney were made featuring the same actors and characters. Porridge was a British situation comedy that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1973 to 1977 running for three series two Christmas specials as well as Rising Damp was a UK television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978

In Sweeney!, made in 1977, Regan and Carter get involved in a plot based on the Profumo Affair. The Profumo Affair was a political scandal from 1963 in the United Kingdom that is named after the then Secretary of State for War, John Profumo British actor Barry Foster guest-stars as an Americanised, and more deadly, version of Stephen Ward. (John Barry Foster ( 21 August 1927 – 11 February 2002) was a British actor who played numerous film roles and gained acclaim Stephen Thomas Ward ( 19 October 1912 &ndash 3 August 1963) was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British [2]

In Sweeney 2, made in 1978, they go to Malta in order to track down a group of vicious armed robbers. Sweeney 2 is a 1978 film that is a sequel to the 1977 film Sweeney which was itself a spin-off from the popular British TV show The Sweeney Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands [3]

A remake has recently been announced, to be produced by DNA Films and written and directed by Nick Love & starring Ray Winstone. DNA Films is a British Film production company founded by Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald. Nick Love (born 24 December 1969 is a British Film director and Writer. Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone Jr (born 19 February 1957) is an Emmy Award -winning English film and television actor See The Sweeney at the Internet Movie Database

Books

A total of seven books were written and released in 1977 published by Futura Publications Ltd. [1]

Guest stars

As well as making John Thaw and Dennis Waterman big names, The Sweeney also had an impressive list of guest stars, including Diana Dors, Brian Blessed, John Hurt, Warren Mitchell, Roy Kinnear, George Cole (whom Waterman went on to star alongside in hit follow-up vehicle Minder) and Maureen Lipman, as well as the writers Lynda La Plante and Colin Welland. John Edward Thaw CBE ( 3 January, 1942 &ndash 21 February, 2002) was an English Actor, who made his début Dennis Waterman (born February 24 1948 in Clapham, London) is an English Actor and Singer, best known for Diana Dors ( October 23, 1931 &ndash May 4, 1984) was an English actress and Sex symbol. Brian Blessed (pronounced /ˈblɛsɪd/ born 9 October 1937) is an English Actor, Author and Adventurer, widely recognised John Vincent Hurt, CBE (born 22 January 1940 is an English Actor. This is about the English actor For the college basketball coach go to Warren Mitchell (basketball. Roy Mitchell Kinnear ( January 8, 1934 &ndash September 20, 1988) was a prolific English Character actor. George Edward Cole OBE (born April 22, 1925 in Tooting, London, England) is an English Actor. Minder was a British Comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Maureen Diane Lipman CBE (born 10 May, 1946) is a British film Theatre and television actress, Columnist Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh on 15 March 1946) is an English Author, Screenwriter and former Colin Welland (born 4 July 1934 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire) is an English Actor and Screenwriter. Morecambe and Wise appeared late on, in return for Thaw and Waterman appearing on their show. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, were a British comic Double act, working in variety, radio Film Many up and coming actors such as Karl Howman, Ray Winstone,John Challis, Andrew Paul and Hywel Bennett also appeared in the show during its run. Karl Howman (born 13 December 1952) is an English Actor. He was born in Woolwich, London. Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone Jr (born 19 February 1957) is an Emmy Award -winning English film and television actor John Challis (born 16 August 1942 is an English Actor and Comedian. Andrew Paul (born Paul Andrew Herman 17 March 1961 in Mile End, London) is an English Actor best known for playing Hywel Thomas Bennett (born 8 April 1944 is a Welsh Actor. Bennett was born in Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of

Popular Culture

The Ford Consul GT 3.0 litre V6, used in The Sweeney, seen here in the series one episode Stoppo Driver.
The Ford Consul GT 3. 0 litre V6, used in The Sweeney, seen here in the series one episode Stoppo Driver.

Parodies

Comics

In the early 1980s the British comic Jackpot featured a strip called "The Teeny Sweeney" which was originally drawn by J Edward Oliver. Jackpot was a British Comic book that ran from the issues dated 5 May 1979 to 30 January 1982, when it merged with Buster Jack Edward Oliver ( 19 June 1942 &ndash 26 May 2007) was a British Cartoonist. A trio of schoolboys played at being plain-clothes policemen, with two of them looking like little versions of Regan and Carter. They even had "Flying Squad" written on the side of their cartie. Their attempts at being helpful however almost always ended in disaster.

Detectives on the edge of a nervous breakdown

The 1993 Comic Strip film Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown features a character introduced as "Shouting George from The Weeny" (played by Jim Broadbent). The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians known for their Television series The Comic Strip Presents Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown is a short comedy film made by The Comic Strip for the BBC, first broadcast in the UK in 1993 James "Jim" Broadbent (born 24 May 1949 is an English Academy Award -winning theatre film and television Actor. Despite the character's name, he is in fact a direct yet affectionate parody of Jack Regan.

TV ad

A post-modernist TV ad for the Nissan Almera car in the late 1990s had two characters similar to Carter and Regan racing through London to deal with a "bank job". Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism The Nissan Almera was a Small family car built by Nissan from 1995 to 2006 A suspicious group of men have entered a bank dressed as painters. As 'Carter' races the car through the streets, 'Regan' keeps bellowing at him and others to "Shut it!"

At one stage 'Regan' shouts "Mark it!", which is slang for following a suspect, but in this case means "market" as 'Carter' drives erratically through a market place. 'Carter' tells 'Regan' to stop shouting — to which 'Regan' barks the reply "I can't!".

When they burst into the bank it turns out that the men are genuine painters and that 'Regan', their guv (or boss), is there to tell them that they have the wrong sort of white paint(!) 'Carter' says, "Think we'd better go back to the yard, guv, and get some more. " "Shut up!" [7]

One of the painters talks in a squeaky-like voice and is called "Squealer", which is slang for informant.

(This ad was the follow up to a hugely popular one spoofing The Professionals a year or so previously. The Professionals was a British crime-action Television drama series that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983 filmed between 1977 )

DVD and CD releases

The complete series of The Sweeney was released by Network on 16 discs in 2005. The pilot episode "Regan" was also released on DVD in November 2005. Both films, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2 have also been released on DVD.

But of all releases, the best set is the 2007 18 Disc Network release, which contains all four series, the pilot and both of the spin-off films. Along with all this, the boxset contains exclusive extras.

Below is a list of all the extras of the boxset:

Regan:

Commentary with Dennis Waterman, producer Ted Childs and director Tom Clegg

Series One:

Commentaries with Dennis Waterman, Garfield Morgan, producer Ted Childs, writers Trevor Preston and Troy Kennedy-Martin, directors Tom Clegg and David Wickes and editor Chris Burt

Episode introductions by guest stars Warren Mitchell, Wanda Ventham, Prunella Gee, John Forgeham, Billy Murray, Tony Selby and Dudley Sutton

Series Two:

Episode introductions by guest stars Bill Maynard, Gwen Taylor, James Booth, Ken Hutchison and Lynda Bellingham

Series Three:

Series Four: 'The Electric Theatre Show' interviews with John Thaw, Dennis Waterman and Ted Childs 'This Is Your Life - John Thaw' extract 'This Is Your Life - Dennis Waterman' extract Series 4 textless titles with dual sound Episode introductions by guest stars James Warrior, George Sewell, Jenny Runacre, Nick Stringer, Gary Morecambe and Peter Wight 'Sweeney 2' film trailer with introduction by Ken Hutchison and James Warrior 'Sweeney 2' promotional gallery PDF Out-takes 'The Sweeney' 1978 Annual PDF Stills gallery Extract from 'Behind the Sunshine' PDF, recounting the making of 'Hearts and Minds'

'Sweeney!' and 'Sweeney 2':

Series one is now available as a Region 1 (North America) DVD, but there are no plans for anymore series in the US.

A soundtrack album "Shut it! The Music of The Sweeney" is also available and features much of the incidental music used in the programme as well as many classic pieces of dialogue.

References

  1. ^ THE SWEENEY - Episode Guide
  2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076788/ IMDB entry
  3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078351/ IMDB entry
  4. ^ THE SWEENEY - Motors
  5. ^ Pamela Green: Douglas Webb
  6. ^ The Sweeney Forum :: View topic - Fiat 850 Coupe (Red) - UJB 92G
  7. ^ YouTube - Nissan Almera Advert - Sweeney Spoof

See also

External links

Get Carter is a 1971 crime Film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter a mobster who sets out to The Long Good Friday is a British Gangster film starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. The Professionals was a British crime-action Television drama series that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983 filmed between 1977 Minder was a British Comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct Law & Order is an American Police procedural and Legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf. Life on Mars is Homicide Life on the Street is an American Television Police procedural series chronicling the work of a fictional Baltimore Thief Takers was a drama series made by Central Independent Television for the ITV network TVcom is a website owned by CNET Networks. The service was launched on June 1 2005 and replaced the popular TV Tome website
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