The Sweeney
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- This article is about the television series. For other uses of the name Sweeney, see Sweeney.
| The Sweeney | |
|---|---|
 A screenshot of one of The Sweeney's titles from series one |
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| Format | Drama |
| Run time | 60 minutes |
| Creator(s) | Ian Kennedy Martin |
| Starring | John Thaw Dennis Waterman |
| Channel | ITV |
| Production company | Thames Television |
| Air dates | 1975 – 1978 |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
The Sweeney is a British television police drama focusing on two crime-fighting members of the Flying Squad, an elite branch of the British police force specialising in armed robbery and violent crime. The programme title came from Cockney rhyming slang: Sweeney Todd = 'Flying Squad'. The programme, made by Thames Television Euston Films Limited subsidiary, was originally aired on ITV from 1975 until 1978 and starred John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as Detective Sergeant George Carter. Such was its popularity in the UK that it even spawned two theatrically-released feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2.
The Sweeney was the first really modern British TV police-based series. Previously, most dramas featuring the police had shied away from showing 'coppers' as fallible human beings. The police in The Sweeney were a world away from Dixon of Dock Green or Z Cars. They were brutal and violent in dealing with London's hardened criminals.
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[edit] Origins
The series was created by writer Ian Kennedy Martin, brother of the better-known Troy Kennedy Martin, who contributed several episodes and wrote the second film. The programme was born out of a one-off drama, called Regan, which Ian Kennedy Martin had written for Thames Television's Armchair Cinema series of one-offs in 1974. From the very beginning, the show was seen as having series potential. After it scored highly in the ratings, work began on the development of the series proper.
Writers were brought in and given quite strict guidelines to follow: "Each show will have an overall screen time (minus titles) of 48mins 40secs. Each film will open with a teaser of up to 3 minutes, which will be followed by the opening titles. The story will be played across three acts, each being no more than 19 minutes and no less than 8 minutes in length. Regan will appear in every episode, Carter in approximately 10 out of 13 episodes. In addition to these main characters, scripts should be based around three major speaking parts, with up to ten minor speaking parts."
[edit] Characters
The main two characters were Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Sergeant George Carter, their superior officer being Frank Haskins.
[edit] Jack Regan
Detective Inspector John 'Jack' Regan (played by John Thaw) is the Flying Squad's chief thief-taker. He's a tough no-nonsense copper, who is often frustrated by Scotland Yard red tape. Heavy drinking and smoking (comically, Jack is more often than not stealing other people's cigarettes), Regan also has some success with the ladies, although not as much as George Carter. He has an ex-wife, Kate, and a daughter, Susie. In the last episode of the first series, Abduction, Susie is kidnapped. Regan is a hardman but he is human: he helps out an ex-informer whose son is kidnapped in Feet of Clay (Series 4), and his sympathetic pushing enables his boss Haskins to ask for help when his wife goes missing after a breakdown in Victims (Series 4) - it is Regan who finds her. Regan repeatedly bends the rules in order to achieve the desired result, e.g. fabricating evidence and arranging for a criminal to be kidnapped in "Queen's Pawn" or illegally entering private properties and threatening to lie about being attacked by a prisoner in order to get information in "Regan." Despite this, he is unwilling to cheat for purely personal gain and delivers a sharp put down to a corrupt copper in "Bad Apple" and refuses to take advantage of the bung (bribe) in "Golden Fleece."
[edit] George Carter
We learn from numerous episodes that George Carter (played by Dennis Waterman) comes from South London, e.g. Regan seeks him out in the pilot episode based on his knowledge of the South London area. His age is given in the "Hit and Run" episode as 26. In the series' timeline we learn that George had previously been in the squad but had quit for family reasons (cf. Regan and Jigsaw). George was married to Alison Carter a school teacher but is widowed as of the episode "Hit And Run" when Alison is murdered by accident by a gang of diamond smugglers. He is a former amateur boxer as we see from the pilot "Regan" and is described as having professional boxing potential in the episode 'Chalk and Cheese'. Like his superior he is fond of drinking, football and womanising (after the death of his wife).
[edit] Frank Haskins
Frank Haskins (played by Garfield Morgan), married with 3 children at boarding schools, is Jack Regan's immediate superior. Prior to the series timeline the character had done "National Service in the Royal Navy in a minor intelligence role" ("Stay lucky, eh?" episode). He is frequently seen at odds with Regan in preferring more conventional policing methods.
The main "Haskins episodes" are "Golden Fleece", where he is set up to be the victim of a corruption enquiry, and "Victims", where his wife suffers a mental breakdown due to memories of a miscarriage. Although appearing in the credits of every episode, he did not air in all of them.
In later series, when Haskins was not present, his role was often taken by other superiors like Detective Chief Inspector Anderson, played by Richard Wilson.
[edit] Other characters
[edit] The Squad
In the early episodes the team has a variety of drivers including Len (the first 2 episodes) and Fred (the episode Jigsaw). However, the episode "The Placer" in the first series introduces the character of Bill the driver and he remains a constant throughout the series, although he plays a peripheral role in most episodes.
Tom Daniels is the most prominent member of the supporting squad. Other members include Sergeant Kent, DC Thorpe and Matthews in the first series, Jerry Burtinshaw (series 1-3) and Jellyneck (series 4). Detective Chief Superintendent Maynon appears occasionally as a superior officer, and is seen as more willing than Haskins to bend the rules to get a result in the episode "Queen's Pawn". With Haskins absent, a semi-regular superior officer Braithwaite appears in Series 4.
[edit] Family
Other main characters included the close family of the three leads.
Regan's ex-wife appears in the episode "Abduction" after previously featuring in the pilot, while his daughter appears in several episodes, most notably "Abduction".
Carter's wife Alison is seen attempting to prise him away from the Squad in the episode "Jigsaw", while her hostility towards Regan is apparent in the episode "Abduction". She is murdered in a case of mistaken identity in the episode "Hit And Run". In the DVD commentary for "Abduction" it is mentioned that the reason for this was that the actress was asking for too much money to continue to appear in the series.
Doreen Haskins plays a minor role in some episodes, although the penultimate episode "Victims" deals with her deteriorating mental health and returns to the theme of the job's impact on family life. One of Haskins' three children Richard appears in this episode.
[edit] Production
The filming of each episode normally took ten working days, shooting about five minutes of edited screen time per day. Because of this the number of different filming locations had to be restricted to ten, i.e. one location per day. There was a standing set built of the Flying Squad offices which provided an alternative option should the weather restrict a day's filming. Two days would normally be spent filming on the set, equalling 10 mins of any episode being set in the offices. Shooting took place through the summer, so exterior night shooting was expensive and limited to 3 minutes of external night material in any episode.
Each episode had an eight and a half week production schedule: two weeks pre-production (for casting, finding locations etc.), two weeks shooting, four weeks picture editing (the first two weeks of which overlap with the shoot), two weeks sound editing and two and a half days dubbing.
[edit] Filming Locations
Most of the show was filmed in the West London area, mainly in the Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush areas. However other areas included Chertsey Marina, Surrey ("Bad Apple", "Jack or Knave?") Staines, Surrey ("The Placer") Wimbledon ("May", "Lady Luck") Peckham ("Ringer") Battersea ("Jigsaw")
[edit] Episodes
In all four series were made with Series One being transmitted between January and March 1975 and Series Two following between September and December of the same year. Series three was transmitted between September and December 1976 with the final series being shown two years later. Two films were also made.
[edit] Series 1
The promotional episode shown to the press was "Thin Ice" which featured a relatively lightweight story featuring a somewhat humorous story, some comedy, and international locations. It is generally seen by series fans as being one of the weaker episodes from the first series.
Highlights of the first series were "Ringer" where the team were attempting to prevent a criminal being sprung from prison, "Jackpot", "Stoppo Driver" and "Abduction" in which Regan's daughter Suzy was kidnapped, focussing on the strains which the job caused on family life. "Night Out" subtely illustrates the backgrounds and family lives of Regan and Carter; parallels are drawn between the unhappy situation of the main villain's family and Regan's former domestic situation.
The early episodes featured a great degree of hostility and mistrust between Regan and his superior Haskins, who in one episode attempts to have Carter separated from Regan in order to help his career development.
Meanwhile the episode "Queen's Pawn" is a classic display of how Regan is willing to bend the rules in order to get a result as he fabricates evidence, illegally opens private mail and even arranges the kidnapping of one of the criminals in order to get the desired result.
[edit] Series 1 Episodes
All episodes were transmitted via ITV, Thurdays 9.00pm[1]
- Ringer transmitted 02/01/1975
- Jackpot transmitted 09/01/1975
- Thin Ice transmitted 16/01/1975
- Queen's Pawn transmitted 23/01/1975
- Jigsaw transmitted 30/01/1975
- Night Out transmitted 06/02/1975
- The Placer transmitted 13/02/1975
- Cover Story transmitted 20/02/1975
- Golden Boy transmitted 27/02/1975
- Stoppo Driver transmitted 06/03/1975
- Big Spender transmitted 13/03/1975
- Contact Breaker transmitted 23/03/1975
- Abduction transmitted 27/03/1975
[edit] Series 2
The episodes "Faces" and "Thou Shalt Not Kill" were among the highlights of the second series. In the former an anarchist group (which appears to be German-based in echoes of the then contemporary Baader-Meinhof gang) is staging a number of robberies in order to raise funds for its cause. However, the group has been infiltrated by British intelligence and this leads to complicated inter-departmental politics between the police and the security services. "Thou Shalt Not Kill" features a tense hostage situation inside a bank with the squad faced with the dilemma of whether to risk the hostages lives by a simultaneous shooting of the criminals.
Other episodes included a pair of slightly tongue-in-cheek episodes "Golden fleece" and "Trojan Bus" featuring two Australian villains played by UK actors Patrick Mower and George Layton. Carter's wife Alison is murdered in the episode "Hit And Run".
[edit] Series 2 Episodes
All episodes were transmitted via ITV, Mondays 9.00pm
- Chalk And Cheese transmitted 01/09/1975
- Faces transmitted 08/09/1975
- Supersnout transmitted 15/09/1975
- Big Brother transmitted 22/09/1975
- Hit And Run transmitted 29/09/1975
- Trap transmitted 06/10/1975
- Golden Fleece transmitted 13/10/1975
- Poppy transmitted 20/10/1975
- Stay Lucky, Eh? transmitted 27/10/1975
- Trojan Bus transmitted 03/11/1975
- I Want The Man transmitted 10/11/1975
- Country Boy transmitted 17/11/1975
- Thou Shalt Not Kill transmitted 24/11/1975
[edit] Series 3
"In From The Cold" and "Taste Of Fear" were two of the highlights of the third series. The latter introduced violent psychopathic criminal Tim Cook, an army deserter, whose experiences in Northern Ireland have left him embittered. Cook also appears in the later and less successful episode 'On The Run.' "Taste of Fear" is in many ways the definitive episode of the series, featuring some wonderful humorous dialogue, genuinely frightening violence, excellent displays of Regan's courage and a real sense of pathos in its portrayal of the victims left in the wake of criminal acts. The story's closing scene is particularly impressive.
Other episodes explored different themes: "Tomorrow Man" focussed on the clash between traditional policing methods and new more technological ways of solving crime, which ironically in the real world, have made crimes such as villains in stocking masks carrying out wages snatches in The Sweeney seem anachronistic. "Bad Apple" dealt with police corruption and here Regan, despite being seen to bend the rules in other episodes to achieve convictions, is seen holding the deepest contempt for the corrupt officers.
[edit] Series 3 Episodes
All episodes were transmitted via ITV, Mondays 9.00pm
- Selected Target transmitted 06/09/1976
- In From The Cold transmitted 13/09/1976
- Visiting Fireman transmitted 20/09/1976
- Tomorrow Man transmitted 27/09/1976
- Taste Of Fear transmitted 04/10/1976
- May transmitted 25/10/1976
- Sweet Smell Of Succession transmitted 08/10/1976
- Down To You Brother transmitted 22/11/1976
- Payoff transmitted 29/11/1976
- Loving Arms transmitted 06/12/1976
- Lady Luck transmitted 13/12/1976
- On The Run transmitted 20/12/1976
[edit] Series 4
There was a two year gap between the third and fourth series and the title sequence was changed for the final series. A number of other changes took place with the Haskins character being absent from a number of episodes. The final series has been criticised as the weakest by many with episodes such as "Latin Lady", "Drag Act", "Trust Red" and "Hearts And Minds" in particular being singled out for criticism.
The opening episode "Messenger of the Gods" divides fans with some seeing it as wonderfully tongue in cheek and others viewing it as moronic comedy.
Other notable episodes included "Nightmare", which features a slightly experimental dream sequence as part of the plot. This is also the episode with the highest body count and features another contemporary (for the time) plot of two ex-IRA men committing a major crime in order to buy their way back into the organisation (stealing modern machine guns with lasers attached). "Bait" featured a strong performance by George Sewell, who had starred in The Sweeney's Euston films forerunner Special Branch series as well as the film Get Carter which was a major influence on The Sweeney, and whose main character Jack Carter may have been the inspiration for the name of the two main Sweeney characters.
"Hearts And Minds", the last episode to be filmed, featured the popular comedians Morecambe and Wise and was intended as quid pro quo for the appearance of Waterman and Thaw in a Sweeney themed sketch in the 1976 Morecambe and Wise Christmas special.
The final episode "Jack or Knave" saw a slightly ambiguous ending with the main character Jack Regan being temporarily locked up after being implicated in a corruption scandal of which he was exonerated. He then announces that he's had it with the squad and the series ends with him quitting in disgust. The final scene left the possiblity of having an additional series, but there were none.
[edit] Series 4 Episodes
All episodes were transmitted via ITV, Thursdays 9.00pm
- Messenger Of The Gods transmitted 07/09/1978
- Hard Men transmitted 14/09/1978
- Drag Act transmitted 21/09/1978
- Trust Red transmitted 28/09/1978
- Nightmare transmitted 05/10/1978
- Money, Money, Money transmitted 12/10/1978
- Bait transmitted 19/10/1978
- The Bigger They Are transmitted 26/10/1978
- Feet Of Clay transmitted 02/11/1978
- One Of Your Own transmitted 09/11/1978
- Hearts And Minds transmitted 23/11/1978
- Latin Lady transmitted 30/11/1978
- Victims transmitted 14/12/1978
- Jack Or Knave transmitted 28/12/1978
[edit] Guest stars
As well as making John Thaw and Dennis Waterman big names, The Sweeney also had an impressive list of guest stars, including Morecambe and Wise, Diana Dors, Brian Blessed, Warren Mitchell, Roy Kinnear and Maureen Lipman, as well as the writers Lynda La Plante and Colin Welland. Many up and coming actors such as Karl Howman, Ray Winstone, Andrew Paul and Hywel Bennett also appeared in the show during its run.
[edit] Dialogue
The show was known for many memorable lines of dialogue which included:-
"Get yer trousers on, you're nicked." This line became synonymous with the show, although it was only ever used in the pilot episode. Despite the line's Sweeney associations it was actually first used in Euston films series "Special Branch", in the episode 'Date of Birth.'
"SHUT IT!" This line is most associated with The Sweeney, and is used by Regan in numerous episodes.
"We're The Sweeney, son, and we haven't had any dinner. You've kept us waiting, so unless you want a kicking you tell us where those photographs are." (Ringer)
"I hate this bastard place, it's a bloody holiday camp for thieves and weirdoes, all the rubbish. You nail a villain and some ponced up pin stripe Hampstead barrister screws it all up like an old fag packet and pops off for a game of squash and a glass of Madeira. He's taking home 30 grand a year and we can just about afford 10 days in Eastbourne and a second hand car. Nah, it's all bloody wrong, my son." (Abduction)
"You couldn't find an Irishman in a Harp Club." (Abduction)
"He's a weirdo and he's hard enough to rollerskate on." (Jackpot)
"If you weren't who you are, I'd kick your arse up to your shoulderblades." (May)
"Now the question is do I write my statement and then get drunk or get drunk then write it." (Taste of fear)
"The world does not revolve around your body. This bloke Galileo proved it, it goes around the sun." (Night out)
"You shall go to the ball" (when Carter gives Regan a pair of muddy shoes dredged up from a river as evidence - a mocking reference to Cinderella)
[edit] Trivia
- The repeat of the episode "Selected Target" in December 1978 had the highest viewing figure of the series with 19.05 million people watching.
- Dennis Waterman was cast after his performance in the Special Branch episode 'Stand and Deliver.' In the same episode Stephanie Turner (who played his wife in The Sweeney) played his sister.
- The Ford Granada used in series one and two was a Consul GT V6 3.0 litre. [2]
- The 1993 Comic Strip film Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown features a character introduced as "Shouting George from The Weeny" (played by Jim Broadbent). Despite the character's name, he is in fact a direct yet affectionate parody of Jack Regan.
- The Sweeney is referenced in the song "Wow" by Kate Bush.
- The fingerprint on the opening title sequence is that of actress and model Pamela Green. [3]
[edit] Movie spin-offs
Like many successful British TV series of the time, such as The Likely Lads and Rising Damp, film versions of The Sweeney were made featuring the same actors and characters. Like the other spins-offs the films were largely dismissed by the critics and the public.
In Sweeney! (1977), Regan and Carter got involved in a plot based on the Profumo Affair. British actor Barry Foster guest-starred as an Americanised, and more deadly, version of Stephen Ward. see Sweeney! at the Internet Movie Database
In Sweeney 2 (1978), they went to a Mediterranean island in order to track down a group of vicious armed robbers. see Sweeney 2 at the Internet Movie Database
[edit] Parodies
[edit] Comics
The British comic Jackpot featured a strip called "The Teeny Sweeney" which was originally drawn by J Edward Oliver. A trio of schoolboys played at being plain-clothes policemen, with two of them looking like little versions of Regan and Carter. They even had "Flying Squad" written on the side of their cartie. Their attempts at being helpful however almost always ended in disaster.
[edit] TV ad
A TV ad in the 1990s had two characters similar to Carter and Regan racing through London to deal with a "bank job". A suspicious group of men have entered a bank dressed as painters. As Carter races through the streets in the car that is the subject of the ad, Regan keeps bellowing at him to "Shut it!"
At one stage Regan shuts "Mark it!", which is slang for following a suspect, but in this case means "Market" as Carter smashes through a market stall.
When they burst into the bank it turns out that the men are genuine painters and that Regan, their guv (or boss), is there to tell them that they have the wrong sort of white paint! Carter says, "I'll go back to the yard, guv, and get some more."
[edit] DVD and CD releases
The complete series of The Sweeney is available on DVD (Region 2, UK) from Network. The pilot episode "Regan" was also released on DVD in November 2005. Both films, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2 have also been released on DVD.
A soundtrack album "Shut it! The Music of The Sweeney" is also available and features much of the incidental music used in the programme as well as many classic pieces of dialogue.
