Z Cars 

A gritty drama which follows the work of the police force in the fictional town of Newtown in the North of England.

Stars:

James Ellis, John Slater, Douglas Fielding

2 wins.

Cast

Series cast summary:
James Ellis	...	Sgt. Lynch / ... 627 episodes, 1962-1978
John Slater	...	Det. Sgt. Stone 421 episodes, 1967-1974
Douglas Fielding	...	PC Quilley / ... 340 episodes, 1969-1978
Bernard Holley	...	PC Newcombe / ... 277 episodes, 1967-1971

Storyline

A gritty drama which follows the work of the police force in the fictional town of Newtown in the North of England.

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Plot Keywords:

british | police | 1960s | 1970s | england | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Z-Victor 1, reg. KTJ 578, was Smith and Weir; Z-Victor 2 (348 VTB) was Lynch and Steele, latterly Graham.

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Goofs

Whilst taping 'moving vehicle' shots in studio, as technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is currently, it was so much simpler to use a 'stripped' version of the vehicles involved. Many such were missing their entire front ends and windscreens to facilitate both filming and sound recording. Continuous film was played on the screen behind, to give the impression that the vehicle was actually on the move during recording. Immediately after one such shot, actor Brian Blessed (PC 'Fancy' Smith) stepped out of the Z-car, and, having left his cap on the dashboard, reached in through the vacant windscreen space to retrieve it. Blessed himself spoke of this during a talk show some years later, but apparently neither the film crew nor the director noticed.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Steptoe and Son: The Lead Man Cometh (1964)

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Soundtracks

Z Cars Theme
Composed by Bridget Fry

User Reviews

Huh? the most successful crime series on British TV and no-one's noticed?

Now I realise (finally) how old I am. Here we have the greatest crime serial/series ever screened in the UK, which ran for 667 episodes yet not ONE in 20 million visitors to IMDb has sought to comment on it? If ever the expression "F--- me" had relevance, this is it! (and I apologise for the profanity!)

"Z cars" was simply essential viewing. An innovative crime show like nothing had ever been seen on TV. Hard, raw, how it really WAS for Z-Victor One and two. Why "Z" cars? simple! because the cops drove Ford Zephyrs...at the time probably the quickest of the English sedans. For years, my own father lusted after a Zephyr but died long before he could ever own one. A quarter of a century later, I bought one in Australia for $295 and that car kept us mobile for three years. I called it Z-Victor 3!

"Z Cars" was a demographic of underworld life in the Midlands and the hands-on Police methods used to combat what was seen then as a spiralling crime-wave! Frank Windsor as Detective John Watt, James Ellis as PC Lynch, Brian Blessed as "Fancy" Smith, Jeremy Kemp as PC Bob Steele and Joseph Brady as "Jock" Weir became household names. So too was Stratford Johns as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow who was so popular, he ended up with his own spin-off series BARLOW AT LARGE.

This was the 60's and I tell you, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 January 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Freie Hand für Barlow

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min (462 episodes) 50 min (337 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (1962-1970) Color (1970-1978)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1