The Professionals (TV Series) You'll Be All Right (1982) User Reviews

Come Out, Come Out, wherever you are...

[canndyman · 6/10 · 31 October 2020]

Doyle gets a desperate call from con-on-the-run Jack Stone - whom he remembers from his days back on the force.

Serial villain Jack has been in hiding since a big robbery job where his fellow gang members were captured and imprisoned - but where he managed escape justice.

Thought dead, Jack has actually been hiding in the loft of his family home - where he yearns to spend time with his wife and young children who share his secret with him.

But it seems his whereabouts has been rumbled by someone who had a massive grudge against him... after the family's pet cat and dog are poisoned, it appears his children may be next on the list, and he desperately needs Doyle and CI5's help.

As with many episodes from the final season, this is an unusual one that deviates from the familiar formula. It's not really a case for CI5 at all - but Cowley relents, and allows the squad (and Doyle) to help out his old 'buddy' from the past.

It does get to be a bit sentimental at times - the plaintive music score underlining this perhaps a bit too much, but isn't without some good twists and turns and set-pieces along the way.

The pre-credits sequence of the family's cat prowling around by night makes for an atmospheric and unusual introduction, and we get to see that Doyle really cares about the rascally Jack and wants to help him with all the CI5 resources at his disposal.

It maybe lacks the full-on action, wit and grit of some of the best stories, but definitely isn't the worst episode. Additionally, fans of the BBC's long-running Grange Hill series will recognize a young Melissa Wilks as Jack's daughter.

Bodie and Doyle play bodyguards

[McQueen1980 · 10/10 · 6 August 2020]

The title of the episode refers what the dad says to his son in the middle of the episode , I'll be doing porridge for my sins while you enjoy your life on the outside. That dad is played by the late Derrick o Connor most famous for being Mel Gibson's nemesis in Lethal Weapon 2 ( which he played brilliantly) . Here he hires our 2 heroes giving up himself up so that he can peace of mind while he will do his porridge. In fairness bodie and Doyle save the wife and kids on a couple of occasions and at the end it's violins 🎻 all round as Derrick finally leaves his hideaway and says bye bye to his kids with peace of mind and bodie and Doyle get their man basically on a plate. All's well that ends well

You'll Be Allright, as long as you call The Professionals.

[MrJRGO · 21 May 2020]

Jack Stone is a villain, holed up in the roof of his house, hiding from the law. His wife finds their cat's dead body, along with a cryptic note which suggests the unlucky moggie was killed deliberately as a warning. Stone decides he needs help so he phones Doyle to ask for CI5 protection for his family. Cowley later agrees, but as long as it's not at too much of a cost for his budget.

One of the main character themes of The Professionals is in strong evidence here when the hardman villain comes to Doyle for help, playing to the idea that Doyle is the softer touch of the pairing. Even Cowley insinuates this at the end of the episode.

'You'll Be Alright' highlights life for the criminal and his family, showing how even a hardman loves his wife and children. Scenes of his children going to school and playing games on the way home suggest that they're actually no different to anybody's else's children, even though Daddy is a nasty man.

There are some classic examples of the attitudes which typified the times as well. Bodie, working undercover as a school PE teacher, tells the class, 'Last one to that line and back is a sissy'. The boys run off to meet the challenge without a quibble, but this is the early 80s after all. You also have a pretty female CI5 agent who is asked by one of the criminal's children if she has a gun in her handbag, only to reply, 'Powder. Lipstick'. That said, she does have a gun and ably uses it, handling herself as competently as Bodie and Doyle would when she is shot at by the protagonist. This portrayal of women was increasingly becoming the norm on TV at the time, where they were as capable as a man, even though they still had those womanly traits.

One attribute of The Professionals is that they are never afraid to show Bodie and Doyle as being human. Here, we catch Bodie yawning as he carries out a nighttime surveillance and missing with his first shot when chasing the protagonist (albeit he shoots as he dives). He doesn't miss with his second though, he's not that imperfect. This human portrayal of the two leads, I think, is a big part of The Professionals' success. Although they are a cut above the rest, they have their off moments, just like everybody else. It helps us to empathise with the two alpha male leads.

Many of the usual Professionals' features are here too. Athletic sprinting down high streets, car chases and crashes, dry one liners from Bodie, casual banter with the opposite sex, children saved from being run over, nighttime surveillance and shots fired, but more of this episode is given over to the criminal and his family than perhaps you would normally expect. I couldn't see a US cop show from the 70s/80s doing the same for their villains, especially with such empathy.

The one criticism I would have is that sometimes the dialogue is hard to understand which means you can miss key parts of the storyline. I know you have to use colloquialisms to give the show an authentic feel, but I'm sure there are ways in which you can still make the key scenes' dialogue clearer.

Still, an enjoyable watch for fans of the show and the genre.

You'll Be All Right

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 12 May 2019]

Jack Stone is a notorious robber who was thought to be dead after a robbery. In fact he has been hiding out in the attic of his family home for some time.

However when his family is threatened he phones Doyle for help.

Doyle is surprised to hear from Stone and that he is still alive. It may not be the type of case CI5 gets involved in but Cowley authorises Bodie and Doyle to protect his family but Stone has to turn himself in.

The episode just peter out even though it starts interestingly enough. There is a nice action sequence at the end but what went on before it was dull.

Bodie and Doyle follow up on old lags who were part of Stone's gang to see if anyone of them could hold a grudge. The most interesting person is his father in law that Cowley goes to see.

There might had been an issue with production problems and an inexperienced director.