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 "The Thin Blue Line" More at IMDbPro »

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16 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Old-fashioned farce, 26 October 2002
8/10
Author: budikavlan from Irving, TX

This series was a bit of a step back for Elton and Atkinson after the audaciously original Blackadder and Mr. Bean series. The Thin Blue Line is an old-fashioned farce set in a city police station. That's not to say it's bad--it's actually very funny, just not anything groundbreaking. A lot of the humor derives from playing stereotypes against themselves: our heroes are bumbling cops who manage to make fools of themselves while eventually solving the crimes and making fools of the bad guys (not to mention the detective division) in the end. Goody, who could be described as a flaming heterosexual, manages to combine a full repertoire of "nelly" mannerisms with a hopeless crush on Habib. Habib herself is both a stereotype (attractive young female character constantly pursued by almost every male character) and a skewerer of stereotypes. This show has its cake and eats it too, but the viewer is too busy laughing to question any of it. And in the tradition of the best British farces, it goes to unbelievable lengths to track down and hammer home every conceivable double entendre and smutty one-liner. When one finishes groaning and/or laughing, one can't help but admire such perseverance in the pursuit of craft.

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16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
This is a gem of a series !, 12 June 2005
9/10
Author: magicalmouse from Cuyahoga Falls, OH

I just got the series from Netflix after reading about it in one of my Brit-com books. I was sorry when the two discs were done. It is laugh out loud funny. Atkinson as Fowler is right on form and the rest of the ensemble cast matches him. Haig as Grimm is amazing he never falters even in his most tongue twisting lines ! Constable Goody is amazing the facial expressions alone are worth the rental cost. If you love Brit-coms this is a must see ! This is also one where you don't want to miss a word of the dialog. Sharp and witty. I noticed that in almost each episode there appear to be two- three distinct plot lines and how they do it is a mystery but everything comes together and is shown to be interconnected by the final fade out.

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14 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
HILIRIOUS COMEDY! THE CAST IS FANTASTIC!, 18 September 2001
Author: sixstringscouser from Liverpool, ENGLAND

I saw this on TV in 1995/96 and just loved it! The storylines and gags cackle with invention and are simply sheer genius. Ben Elton did a very good job here. The stars in this show are perfectly cast and hilirious to watch, particularly James Dreyfuss, Rowan Atkinson and also David Haig who plays D.I Grim is hilirious! There's a good range of personalities embedded into each character and it's great the way they interact so well. Some great double meanings and even some toilet humour gags will keep you more than satisfied while watching this. :-) 9/10

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14 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
No Fannying about!!!, 12 November 2002
Author: Mmyers2003 from England, UK

The best characters in this sitcom have to be Inspector Fowler and Inspector Grimm. Grimm cracks me up everytime with his bad use of speech and his catchphrase "No Fannying about". I like the idea of the CID and the Police officers not wanting to accept help from each other. Goody is also very funny as is Constable Kray (Series 1). A rare find in the 90's sitcom era thats actually good (Bottom, Vicar of Dibley and Men Behaving badly are the only other good comedies from the decade). British comedy at its best as always.

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12 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Mr Bean speaks, 14 July 2000
Author: LadyRoz from Perth, Australia

I had all the episodes of TTBL on tape at one stage. The whole family watched them over and over. Ben Elton must be one of the best writers going. To spoof a police station and have such a variety of characters is fantastic. Each episode a comic delight. This show suits just about any age group too.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
British comedy at its best, 30 November 2007
10/10
Author: mcw2112 from Alaska, United States

As an American I have no problem with saying that British sit-coms are light years ahead of the crap that plays well here in the U.S. After being a huge fan of "BlackAdder", I was reluctant to buy "Thin Blue Line" for fear of being let down because "Blackadder" was so incredibly good, especially "Blackadder Goes Fourth", but I was immediately taken with these characters and the crisp, witty writing. With America's lame sex-coms, uh... I mean sit-coms being so sophomoric and so completely predictable, it's always a breath of fresh air to watch a Brit-com. I'd rather watch "Red Dwarf" or "Thin Blue Line" repeatedly than most of the tripe offered on the major U.S. networks these days. Brit-coms are funnier, smarter and always more colorful. If you love brit-coms don't miss this little jewel!!

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Great Police Comedy!, 3 May 2001
Author: GrantCAGE from Liverpool, ENGLAND

This is a fantastic British police comedy! It's simply so funny with all the characters like Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson), Inspector Grim (David Haig), Constable Goody (James Dreyfuss), Constable Habib (Mina Anwar) and Constable Gladstone (Rudolph Walker). Each episode has individuality from 'Honey Trap' to 'Come On You Blues' and 'Yuletide Spirit', Ben Elton seems to cover all storyline areas with ease and brilliant invention. It's a great show that takes a light-hearted look at the life in a police station and beyond which I thoroughly enjoyed and watched over and over again. Great stuff!

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Some of the funniest British comedy ever, 5 September 1999
Author: Bubba-98

The Thin Blue Line is some of the funniest british comedy ever.This show stars Rowan Attkanson the man behind the very funny Black Adder and the really stupid Mr. Bean. The show is all about the comic misshaps which take place in a police station giving a very funny look on the life of a police officer. Another good thing about the show is that it spawned the very funny Mark Addy of the Full Monty Crew.It was a shame that this show was cancelled because it is one of the best british comedy I have ever seen.

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Inspector Fowler is not incompetent., 3 August 2005
Author: Sulla-2 from United Kingdom

I agree with another writer who states that Fowler is not incompetent, it's just his staff that make him appears so. He is, however, a bit eccentric. I have seen all the episodes several times and unfortunately it was axed after 2 series. It is one of my top 10 UK comedies. My favourite character has to be Detective Inspector Grimm and I just love his 'Oity Toity' rants. Other highlights are PC Gladstone doing his elephant impression and PC Goody later thinking Fowler was going to repeat it. My favourite episode is probably the football one, closely followed by the one where they have to deal with the protesters in the Woods.All the cast are still breathing. Please do another series.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A wonderful British sitcom, 23 August 2008
9/10
Author: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzx from United States

This show has Rowan Atkinson (Inspector Raymond "Feely" Fowler) at his very best, funnier than either Mr. Bean or Black Adder. He shares the screen with a delightful array of competent actors who all know how to deliver a funny line without squashing it, although sometimes I find David Haig's delivery of Detective Inspector Grimm's rants to be just a little too much.

I don't find much of what Ben Elton has written to be that funny, but this show has me laughing out loud time and again. Almost every episode in the two seasons available is well paced and loaded with double entendres. If only American sitcoms could match or come close to this!

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