"The Professionals" (1977) TV series 1977-1983

Creator:

Brian Clemens

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

30 December 1977 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Plot:

This series chronicled the lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5)...

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Secret Agent

Cast

Gordon Jackson	...	George Cowley (57 episodes, 1977-1983)
Martin Shaw	...	Doyle (57 episodes, 1977-1983)
Lewis Collins	...	Bodie (57 episodes, 1977-1983)

Runtime:

60 min (57 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Iceland:12 (some epiosodes) | Iceland:16 (some epiosodes) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Beckton Gasworks, Beckton, London, England, UK

Company:

London Weekend Television (LWT)

Trivia:

Episode "The Professionals: Klansmen (#1.13)" (1977), in which black people are harassed by a group that has modelled itself on the Ku Klux Klan, was banned and never shown in the UK because of its racial content.

Quotes:

[scene-setting voiceover from Season 1 opening titles]
George Cowley: Anarchy, acts of terror, crimes against the public. To combat it I've got special men - experts from the army, the police, from every service - these are The Professionals.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jedna ruka netleská (2003)

A cut above the rest

I was only born a year after this series started production, so I only know it by re-runs, thanks largely to my mother who loves the series.

There are a great many TV series with the premise that you've got good guys running around trying to catch bad guys, and there are guns, cars and explosives thrown in for good measure. Some are good, some are not. The Professionals is a cut above the rest, not because of any trick or gimmick but simply because of superb writing, casting, directing and acting.

Shaw (Doyle), Collins (Bodie) and Jackson (Cowley) excel in their roles and are really the glue of the whole series. The constant jibing between Doyle and Bodie is an absolute delight to watch, as is Bodie's unashamed love for fast-driving and shooting stuff.

The action is very satisfying, with many shoot-outs, explosions and car chases. The plots are actually more varied and sophisticated than most people seem to remember, some of them require a very sharp mind to keep track of the wheeling and dealing. There's espionage, grand-theft, madmen with nerve-gas and more than a few personal vendettas. The characters, too, are deeper than most people seem to remember.

My favourite episodes are: "Discovered in a Graveyard" - Doyle is shot and seriously wounded by an unknown assasin. While Bodie and Cowley hunt down the shooter, we are given an insight into the thoughts going through Doyle's comatose mind.

"Blind Run" - what starts as a simple escort run for Doyle and Bodie turns into an urban war as their charge turns out to be much more significant than they thought. This is one of the most action-packed episodes, featuring multiple shootouts and car-chases.

"Mixed Doubles" - Bodie and Doyle are assigned to organise protection for a very high-level foreign diplomat who is almost certain to be an assasination target. As we see our two heroes making preparations, we also see the two hired assasins making theirs and we get an incredible insight into just how similar the two doubles are, and how sad it is that only one pair of them can survive the day.