"The Professionals" The Untouchables (TV Episode 1983) Poster

(TV Series)

(1983)

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7/10
U Can't Touch This...
canndyman24 October 2020
Arab diplomat Rahad, who is seemingly 'untouchable', becomes a target for CI5 after carrying out an assassination on behalf of his government.

Cowley wants loose cannon Rahad off British soil, but it won't be easy - as well as his diplomatic immunity, he is well-connected and enjoys a decadent western lifestyle - often in the regular company of High-class call-girls.

Cowley's response is to engineer a rather convoluted plan to finally rid himself of Rahad - reeling him in to think he has an inside man in CI5 (after Bodie loses heavily at a high-stakes poker game, and Rahad is 'sold' Bodie, along with the CI5 man's now-huge debt).

Doyle on the other hand gets to work on sophisticated call-girl Anna, paying her off to lure Rahad into her confidence - and a trap is set that leaves Rahad intent on having Anna killed when he is left to feel he has no other way out.

This is a rather complex and 'talky' episode - it does require some careful viewing to ascertain exactly what's going on, and where it's all leading.

Rather than the usual fan-pleasing banter, humour, and car chases, this feels much more serious and solemn, and isn't always completely clear in its execution.

The intricate plot is certainly clever, but does seem to fall a bit flat alongside the more traditional episodes that deliver a bigger quota of full-on action and excitement.
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6/10
The Untouchables
Prismark101 August 2019
Rahad is an Arab cultural attache who acts more like an assassin on behalf of his government. He also likes blonde bimbos as he goes with several of them in any week.

Cowley sets a complex trap to get rid of the meddlesome Rahad. It does involve Bodie losing big in a poker game and being in debt to some gangsters who now have an inside man in CI5.

Bodie can now give duff information to the gangsters who in turn sell it on to Rahad. Bodie tells Rahad that he might be subject to a kiss and tell story by one of the blondes he has been going out with. It might put Rahad in an embarrassing position and would also lead to protests outside his embassy by some feminists.

The Untouchables certainly has a complex but flawed plot. It also has some funny one liners. At one point Bodie is telling a black person called Nero that there is a law against discrimination when Nero tells him that he is not allowed in the house of the gangster. When Bodie tells Rahad the story about no blacks being allowed in the house, Rahad retorts that having oil makes him pure white.

Cowley's plan comes together well but you certainly do not want to think about it for too long because of all the plot holes but it is enjoyable with some nice repartee between Cowley, Bodie and Doyle.

Joseph Marcell plays Nero who later found fame as the butler in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Vicki Michelle plays a bimbo who became popular in Allo Allo.
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