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The Professionals - Series 1 To 4
RRP: £149.99
Our Price: £43.97 (subject to change)
Oh what memories
Review date: 2008-05-14 Rating: 10 out of 10
I watched an episode on tv recently and loved it so much I bought the boxset . This brings back so many memories of my youth it gave me a rush to hear the fantastic theme tune again and the realy cool acting . Worth 5***** of anybodys money....
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Reviews
Brilliant 70-80ies CI-5 Drama with Cowlie and the lads.
Review date: 2008-04-07 Rating: 10 out of 10
The Sweeney set the standard for police drama throughout the seventies and thankfully in late 1978 an equally impressive series starring long time actor Gordon jackson as George Cowlie head of the CI-5 criminal intelligence branch took charge.
We see police Sergent Ray Doyle specially chosen to become a new member of CI-5 and ex SAS mercenary William Bodie to become two of Cowlies agents- 37 and 45.
The series developed over five consecutive series eventually ending in 1981-82 due to lack of interest especially from Lewis collins.
Martin Shaw and Gordon Jackson were still eager to continue with the hugely successfull series but Lewis had wanted a change.
The scripts for The Professionals written by Raymond Lenmuir were gritty and pretty realistic in their treatment of issues.The comedy between Shaw and Collins was superb resulting in trully memorable episodes.
Of the 57 episodes made only one was never officially televised and this was number two in series one titled Klansmen.Thankfully it has been released on to these dvds but even i was shocked on my first viewing. Extreamly racial language and racial intollerance which was something the rest of the series never touched upon thankfully.
This episode is very untypical of the rest of the series and strangely enough the cronological order of televised episodes is now famous for its irregularities.Episodes were almost chosen from random.Check out the official chronological order of each episode and if you are familiar with the televised series they simply donot follow each other.
I eventually managed over a two year period to copy every episode to disc and was amazed to see episodes from series two being followed by an episode from series three and on the rare occasion series four.
On recollection i can never remember any episode following on from another and i think the series is almost unique in British broadcasting for this very fact.
According to television historians no explanation was given for the strange order of televised programmes.
Klansmen proved quite controversial and was never aired,on my first viewing i can now see why.
Both Doyle and Bodie grew up with the use of machinery previously used in the New Avengers series to cut production costs.Those of you familiar with the series will remember a Triumph Dolomite Sprint and Triumph TR7 being used.These very vehicles but with changed numberplates were used by the Professionals in series one and two.The lads eventually recieved those classic silver and Gold Ford Capri 3.0S cars.
Doyle also drove a factory special Escort RS2000 with an ultra rare factory fitted sunroof.According to information by the current owner of the vehicle this was a frightfully rare fittment on the factory cars and as the car was specially purchased for the series it may well have been an option not generally available.
The Capris and Escort still exist and are in private ownership.Gordon Jackson drove round in either that Rover SD1,yet again one of Steeds cast offs from the New Avengers or the various Granadas.
If you check out the series main website quite a few of the original cars still exist but one of Gordons granadas was traced to a scrap merchant in Sussex and when one fan returned to buy this piece of tv history he had missed it by only a day because it had been put in the crusher.
The Sweeney was to law enforcement in the seventies whilst the Professionals took things into the next decade.Both were magnificent series thanks to quality acting and above average script writing.
My only question regarding this famous series is "What is the full registration on that Ford Cortina that crashes through the window at the begining of the title sequence"? some episodes are of finer picture quality than others and its the last two digits i cannot make out.
Classic TV
Review date: 2007-10-07 Rating: 10 out of 10
I used to love this program when I was a kid and when I seen this I thought I must buy.
It brought the memories flooding back. This really is quality TV and it makes you realise just what utter crap we have on TV now.
I love the retro feel of the program i.e. the clothes, the cars etc but also the well written and well acted episodes.
A definite must buy.
No subtitles
Review date: 2007-07-28 Rating: 6 out of 10
I really liked to watch this series when it was broadcasted
here in Germany in the Eighties. But only 41 episodes were dubbed
and broadcasted, sometimes heavily cut.
(Later a private TV station dubbed the "missing" episodes for a rerun
that I missed)
So this box is a great opportunity for me to see all 57 episodes uncut and
hear the original voices.
But there are some drawbacks:
There are no subtitles, something I take for granted when buying
a british DVD.
The original recordings are now 30 years old, that might be the reason
for the moderate picture quality, but the box says "digitally remastered",
so I expected more.
Best 80's cop series?
Review date: 2006-07-10 Rating: 8 out of 10
What a steal this box set is, getting every episode of this classic series.
If you have seen The Professionals already, you know what you are getting - and these remastered discs present the episodes well with good sound and vision. Also included are some fun but relatively insubstantial extras, viewable as clunky page by page script, but interesting nonetheless, for the most part comprising 'where are they now' profiles of some of the many well known British actors who cameoed on the series.
If you have never seen the professionals, what a great way to start! Fasten your seatbelts for the duo who are taken into CI5 - a group who investigate terrorism and other national crimes, under the watchful eye of their mentor and boss, the Glaswegian Cowlie.
The chemistry between the cast is great, the scenes cutting edge for their time, and except for the cars and the fashions, the scripts and plots have hardly dated - the ideas are still as fresh as ever, especially in the later series where the characters of our heroes were explored more and more.
A Worthy box set for any collector of British TV, and for anyone who enjoys quality TV - dont be put off by the age, this is surprisingly fresh thanks to the talent involved.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Lewis Collins
Gordon Jackson
Martin Shaw
Recording label: Contender Entertainment Group
Manufacturer: Contender Entertainment Group
EAN: 5030305120269
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2006-02-13
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Language: English (Original Language)