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The Professionals (1977–1983)This series chronicled the lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism ... See full summary » Creator:Brian Clemens |
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Title: The Professionals (1977–1983)
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Cast
| Series cast summary: | |||
| Gordon Jackson | ... |
George Cowley
(57 episodes, 1977-1983)
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| Martin Shaw | ... |
Doyle
(57 episodes, 1977-1983)
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| Lewis Collins | ... |
Bodie
(57 episodes, 1977-1983)
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
This series chronicled the lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie was a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, came to CI5 from the regular police force, and was more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship was often contentious, but they were the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases. Written by Marg Baskin <marg@asd.raytheon.ca>
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
30 December 1977 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Los profesionales See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (57 episodes)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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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.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Ray Doyle's background was that he was born in Derby before moving to London at a young age. He describes himself as a 'right tearaway' as a teenager 'cutting up another kid when he was just a kid' himself. He joined the Metropolitan Police to 'get some discipline' and was their pistol shooting champion, rising to the rank of detective. He served in the forces' anti-drugs squad and in his spare time founded a martial arts club for local youths. In 'Mixed Doubles' he states that he was glad to join CI5 as the line between what he was doing and what the criminals were doing was becoming dangerously thin. In real life the Metropolitan Police was wracked by numerous corruption scandals in the late 1970s. See more »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.
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When 'The Professionals' was aired at first in Germany - I believe it must have been some when in the eighties - I *loved* this show. I had never seen anything that grim and realistic before. What I liked most about it was that the 'good guys' weren't really 'good', they were complex character- and morality- wise and, especially the Bodie character, could as well have played on the other side of the fence. The violence was portrayed rather realistic and unstylised and the characters looked gritty enough to feel real.
Feeling somewhat nostalgic (must be my old age) I just bought the complete DVD set and found that I still like it a lot - although I see it differently nowadays. Analysing my feelings for it I found that what I like most about it now is the interaction between the main characters, and on my second watching of the complete series I find myself often ff-ing through the story to the parts with the lads (MS and LC). For me it's all about seeing pretty (but undoubtedly male) men run, jump, fight, shoot, saving each other's lives and - banter with each other. No wonder that it still has a major following among females and inspires reams of fanfiction!
Nearly thirty years since it was first seen on TV and still highly enjoyable despite the outdated fashion, hairstyles, motors and technique (have a look at those computers!) - this is a true classic that has proved its erstwhile critics wrong. An endeavour all participants (including Martin Shaw) can and should be proud of, I think, because it is no small feat to inspire such love and loyalty in their fans.