The Professionals Episode Reviews – DVD set one


Reviewed July 2004
Jo
Time flies, and you all thought I was joking when I said it would take us till 2010 to finish reviewing all 57 episodes. Next up is Stakeout (yay!), and since no one else seems to want to open the batting, here I go.

The story starts at a bowling club, innocent enough you might think, were it not for the shady looking characters hanging around. "They think we're bluffing. They'll soon find out." Whatever is being plotted is to happen tonight. But the conversation is being eavesdropped on, and as he makes a sharp getaway, said eavesdropper is spotted.
"Someone was here."
"You think he heard?"
Love the assumption that it was a guy. Of course it was. This is seventies TV!
"This is not a night for taking chances." That line should have a dramatic drum roll attached. Love the melodrama, and the episode is barely two minutes old.

Eavesdropper makes it to a pay phone, and lo! He is a CI5 agent. Even more amazingly, he phones just as Cowley is shutting up shop for the day, thereby shattering all my illusions about the CI5 Controller. I didn't think he ever went home. But, dedicated as he is, when he hears the phone he comes back into the office to answer it, instead of ignoring it as I would have done had I just left for the day. To my amusement, he does, however, check his watch with an expression of disapproval as he answers the phone.
"Yes. Hello." Such a lovely abrupt greeting. I approve.

It appears our Eavesdropper, by the name of Fraser, has been working on a drugs case, which is puzzling. I didn't think drugs were CI5's remit. However, he has stumbled onto something else entirely, and arranges to meet Cowley at 'the usual place.' Cowley is not happy about this. Presumably he had other plans for the evening. However, Fraser hangs up on him, thus denying him the possibility of a good rant.

Fraser heads off, only to get dramatically stabbed in the gut by the Lead Dodgy Guy. Really, he should have been wearing a red shirt. Seems such a waste, after giving him a name and all.

Roll credits.

While Cowley hangs about in the cold looking cross, Fraser impresses me almost as much as the Agent On The Roof in Look After Annie by getting into his car and driving away even while bleeding to death from his stab wound. Maybe it was worth giving him a name after all. But since he can barely see, what with the losing consciousness and all, and has actual blood visible, he drives like a madman – and succeeds in making Cowley alarmed rather than cross by ploughing his car into a handily placed pile of boxes on arrival. Cowley gets in on some action, having to dig through these boxes to get him out of the car, but by then it is far too late. Fraser is already dead, and therefore unable to pass on a message of any kind about just what exactly he found out at the bowling alley. He really should have told Cowley over the phone, instead of being so coy. Plus, if he had died a few moments earlier, he could have caused a very serious accident, instead of merely destroying a few harmless cardboard boxes. Minus points for Fraser, sad to say.

Time clearly passes, as there are police cars in evidence when Bodie and Doyle turn up, somewhat upset at this bad news – Bodie especially.
"I had a drink with him just two nights ago. He had a premonition, you know."
"Oh yeah, what about?"
"Oh, what do you think? That he was going to die."
"Well that's the safest prediction I've heard in a long while, I hope you didn't take any bets on it."
It is a nice, bickering exchange – showing not only that both are upset at their colleague's demise, but their different reactions to it. Bodie is dwelling on it, more obviously upset; Doyle is prickly, more guarded. They pause for a moment as the stretcher is carried past, then Bodie mutters, "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Doyle replies, quietly. And clearly he does – and his remark about it being a 'safe prediction' is telling. They do a very dangerous job; any predictions about imminent death are all too likely to come true, for any of them.

Cowley joins them and they all shout at each other a bit – well, mostly Cowley and Bodie, actually. Bodie is angry that Fraser was working alone on this drugs ring, but Cowley is more concerned with whatever Fraser discovered, this 'something big' that cost him his life.

Back at HQ, with grim expressions, they listen to the tape of Fraser's last call, and Doyle sifts through his effects, discovering a scorecard from a bowling alley.
"Fraser? Calling from a bowling alley?" Bodie sounds amazed, which makes me somewhat curious to know more about Fraser.

"Get over there, the pair of you. Stake it out," Cowley commands. The troops are not Cowed.
"What are we looking for?" Bodie asks, clearly having no sense of self preservation.
"Well don't ask me, Bodie. That's your job, what you're paid for. Sniff hard, be alert, anything unusual…"
"Yes, sir. We understand, sir," Doyle chips in, playing Teacher's Pet to Bodie's Class Dunce.
"Stakeout," Bodie mutters morosely, looking depressed. But then he sees Cowley's expression and changes his tune quick smart. "Running all the way, sir."
Cowley has a little smile as they leave, having been cheered up by the conversation.
Got to love these exchanges. Every episode should consist entirely of either the two lads or all three, just bickering together like this.

Then Bodie and Doyle arrive, and promptly launch into another fantastic conversation. Bodie is doing his 'let's put a brave face on it' routine, pretending to be excited about the stakeout. Doyle is not impressed: this is all extremely old hat to him.
"How many stakeouts have you been on, Bodie?"
"Not many," Bodie confesses. And he has been with CI5 for how long now? Two, three years? How lucky, to have escaped with only a few stakeouts, and those all of houses. So is all Doyle's stakeout experience pre-CI5 then? Interesting.
"You just look, listen and observe."
"What? Do nothing, you mean?"
"Well, what do you want us to do? Announce we're on a stakeout? Maybe we should just yell out, 'anybody want to confess?'" Hah. Doyle seems just a tad fed up. Bodie, however, is still prepared to enjoy himself – he seems to have got over his 'Fraser's dead' funk rather quickly, having great fun eying up all the bowling customers, wondering which one is a potential suspect. Doyle is not amused. At least, he tries not to be. "Sometimes it takes forever," he warns.
"Can you see anyone acting suspiciously?" Bodie wants to know.
"Yeah," Doyle tells him. "Us." LOL. "Come on, let's play."
"For money?" Bodie calls after him. Doyle comes back.
"You played much?"
"You?"
"I asked first."
"Loser buys drinks."
"You haven't played … 'cause if you had, you'd have wanted larger stakes." LOL again. Marvellous.

While Bodie gets the gear (from the Lead Dodgy Guy, who works there), Doyle has a look around, and promptly gets on the wrong side of a tall, black man with an incredibly deep voice. Can't stay out of trouble for five minutes. And it seems that while Doyle takes shoe size 9, the taller Bodie is only a size 8. Interesting. Also interesting is Bodie paying for the game. Can he claim that back?

Either Bodie is playing games with Doyle, or he really hasn't ever been bowling before, as he appears bemused by the holes in the balls. He is also ever so slightly dismayed when Doyle demonstrates that he really does know what he is doing. Love the faint competitive edge. But then a blonde girl approaches.
"Have you got the time?"
"Yeah, if you've got the inclination." Bodie can't help himself.
It is almost 9pm.
"Bit edgy, wasn't she?" Bodie complains.
"Maybe she just didn't fancy you." LOL at Doyle getting a dig in, and at Bodie's face. He knows he set himself up for that one.

The bowling alley is simply chockfull of shifty looking characters. It is wonderful.

Lead Dodgy Guy has an edgy telephone conversation with an associate, assuring him that he dealt with the Eavesdropper and that it must be okay or they'd have heard something by now. This raises an interesting point. In order to silence the Eavesdropper, he stabbed him in the car park – and then left him there? For anyone to find and call the police? Surely having the police sniffing around is the last thing they'd want? He'd have made sure of the kill and then disposed of the body, or at least hidden it till later. Poor plotting.

Amusingly, Doyle might have been bowling before, and certainly knows how to hold and roll the balls – but that doesn't mean he is a good shot. His face at missing all but one is great, as is Bodie's delight. Such fun. Have they forgotten they are on stakeout? Stakeouts are not meant to be fun.
"How do you score?" Doyle is focusing on the game.
"Oh, just get lucky, I guess." Bodie is not, his attention wandering back to the blonde girl who spoke to them earlier. So typical: for Bodie to be more casual, while Doyle takes the game seriously. Or tries to.
"How should I know? Just add up the one you knocked down." Ha. Bodie gets his own back.

While the game continues, the Lead Dodgy Guy lifts the contents of the till and has a clandestine meeting in the gents to pass the money on to someone else, a very sickly looking guy.

Meanwhile, Bodie's good mood is evaporating.
"Stakeouts are a waste of time," he complains.
"Nine out of ten of them are," Doyle agrees. "Still, look on the bright side … I'm winning." Hehehe.

The night is then livened up considerably when Sickly Guy emerges from the gents, and promptly collapses. Bodie and Doyle rush to his side, brushing aside all other offers of help – "we're students. At Guys Hospital." LOL – and get the Sickly Chap away into CI5 hands quick smart. Very smooth. But although a crowd has gathered, Doyle notices that the Black Man he tangled with earlier has ignored the scene completely.

It is very quickly determined that the Sickly Man is in a very bad way. The doctor thinks it looks like poison.
"Self administered?" Cowley wants to know.
"Well, I'm not clairvoyant, I'd have to run tests."
Got to admire a man prepared to answer back to The Cow. Maybe CI5 breeds this kind of back-talking element?
But it is clear that the Sickly Man is dying. And with £5000 in his pocket. He manages to gasp out just one word, "Swallows," before passing out again. Very cryptic.

Cowley sends the lads back to the bowling alley, with instructions to take back up. "Anyone, just get back there." They take Benny. But leave him out in the car.
"If you're very good we'll send a lemonade out."

How late does this bowling alley stay open? If the Sickly Man collapsed after 9pm, and they've had time to take him to the CI5 medic, wait around for an examination, find Benny, and get back. Doyle tries to talk Bodie into another game. "You're not losing by much." Hehe. But oh! Just on cue we get another glimpse at the clock. 9.40pm. Wow. They crammed a lot into those 40 minutes! Bodie tries again with the Blonde, and she is still having none of it. This arouses Bodie's suspicions.
"I should go to work there."
"That's not what we're here for."
"Could be exactly what we're here for."
"Yeah, all right, go on then. Chat her up."
"That's a very coarse way of putting it!" Bodie actually sounds aghast there, which is hilarious. Doyle is not taken in by it.
"Oh, you mean there's another way?"
"Yes, I prefer interrogation, investigation, on account of the fact that I'm very conscientious about my work." Said with Bodie's best snooty voice. "Cheerio."
Doyle is in stitches. Why do they insist on splitting the lads up for so many episodes when they work together so well?

Left to his own devices, Doyle heads for the pool table. There, the Manager (Lead Dodgy Guy) quizzes him about the man who collapsed – very credibly, too, as he claims to be concerned about being sued. Doyle passes the Sickly Guy's ailment off as flu.

Bodie, meanwhile, is making headway with the Blonde – a dental receptionist, no less. Got to admire the man at work here: great technique in getting first her attention and then her confidence. She is clearly in trouble. So while Bodie heads off to sort her out, Doyle is minding his own business at the pool table. Only to find himself at the centre of a row between two other customers – a Fat Man, and the Black Man he tangled with earlier. His face is a picture. Doyle mediates a temporary truce by agreeing to make up a threesome – at bowls, that is.

While Doyle plays, the Blonde throws herself at Bodie, who is nicely Professional and pushes her off. "I hope you're a good dental receptionist, 'cause you're a lousy hooker."
She is desperate for a fix, and it turns out she was waiting for Fraser, John Fraser. Part of his drugs case. And she gives Bodie the same cryptic clue as the Sickly Man. Swallows. He hands her over to Benny.
"Don't waste your time on him, darling. He doesn't know what 20 quid looks like." Benny really is getting dumped on in this episode. Is this the same Benny that worked briefly with Doyle in Private Madness Public Danger?

Back inside, things are getting heated as Doyle finally gets all the pins down, only for the Black Man to accuse him of having his foot over the line. Got to love how Doyle has got so caught up in the game, while Bodie is off working. Bodie arrives back in the nick of time, as Doyle gets smacked in the nose by the Black Man. Bodie promptly hauls his partner away before a full blown fight can break out.
"Yeah, you had a ten pin strike and you blow your cover, don't you, eh? Little David like you smashing a Goliath into a jigsaw puzzle – how would that look?"
"Very good just now." Hah. Temper, temper.
"But on stakeout, Raymond, you are a seven stone weakling. You let people kick sand in your face."
Doyle gives in, and Bodie hauls him well away. Great stuff. And nothing whatsoever to do with the case.

"Ask me about the girl."
"I never encourage boasting," Doyle mutters, mopping his bloody nose. But his mind is promptly back on the case when Bodie tells all. While Cowley, back at HQ, tries to get information of any kind out of the Blonde, Bodie and Doyle puzzle over what their cryptic clue – swallow – could possibly mean.
"Fraser chasing birds," Bodie scoffs, providing the slash angle for the episode. Then the girl comes up with a place. Bedford.

It is now 10.15, and the Fat Man decides to leave without finishing his game, much to the annoyance of the Black Man. "Just remember, you can lose a battle but win the war, Mr Black Man," Fat Man tells him, thus proving his earlier complaints about racism quite correct.

"Why couldn't Fraser have been more specific?" Bodie bemoans.
"He didn't intend walking onto the point of a knife, that's why," Doyle points out. Nice to know that despite their apparent enjoyment of the evening they haven't forgotten their murdered colleague. Meanwhile, in the gents, the Fat Man strips off his jumper – to reveal a Swallows Bowling Club t-shirt underneath.

Bodie then has a bright idea. "Hey. Why don't we just, uh, run everybody in?" He grins. Doyle chuckles.
"We'd give Cowley a late night questioning them all."
"Yeah, that's right. We could go home."
"He'd be full of praise, too," Doyle adds.
"Praise?"
"Well, I wouldn't want to take the credit for an idea as good as that, would I?"
"Yeah, you'd admit it was me."
"Oh, yeah, regretfully. And with just the right touch of admiration."
"You know what you are, don't you?"
"I know what you think I am."
Fantastic.

Fat Guy (incriminating t-shirt now covered up once more) and Dodgy Guy say their final farewells. Both in it up to their necks. As Fat Guy leaves, the guy who has been standing around eating peanuts all night follows. Back inside, Bodie has actually nodded off with sheer boredom when Doyle spots the guy who has been taking sneaky photos of customers all night. Love Doyle knocking Bodie's arm out from under his chin to wake him. No delicacy there. Fantastic scissor movement as they collar the Photo Man from either side.
"Any noise or sudden movement could result in a broken arm."
"Two broken arms."
They frogmarch him out, only to find the Black Man waiting to pick another fight with Doyle.
"Oh, not now. I haven't got time." Doyle decides he no longer has to play at being a seven stone weakling and cleans the guy's clock.
"What's he trying to do?" Benny asks.
"Oh, he's making a jigsaw puzzle," Bodie tells him, calmly. Hehe.
Doyle finally shows his ID to his defeated opponent. "You're busted."
They blithely tell Benny to take both Black Man and Photo Man back to HQ, much to Benny's dismay. "It's not a coach, you know!"

Cowley gets Photo Man's film developed in record time. He tuts disapprovingly at the leg and bust shots. Betty has disappeared, to be replaced by a new and unknown secretary. I want Betty back. In the background of one of the photos, Cowley recognises the Peanut Man as Ray Kerrigan from Special Branch. The plot thickens. He decides to go over to Special Branch himself to find out what is going on from. And amazingly enough, he finds just the man he was looking for still hard at work. Do these civil servants never sleep?

Cowley is cross about the crossed wires, but Hunter of Special Branch proves quite helpful. Turns out Kerrigan has been tailing the Fat Man for weeks: he is Thomas Black, or Blackie – head of a nihilistic white African group. Full of vague threats, but Hunter doesn't seem to take them seriously. Which begs the question – just why then does he have a man tailing their leader? Then the nameless secretary phones over with an ID on the dying Sickly Man – he worked at a nuclear power plant. Cowley then phones the Doctor and asks him to make an educated guess – could the Sickly Man be suffering from plutonium poisoning. The answer is affirmative, and Cowley is worried. Especially when he hears that Kerrigan is now tailing Blackie back to Bedford.
"We'll need a chopper, and the nuclear bomb squad." Fantastic. Is there such a thing as a nuclear bomb squad?

Bodie and Doyle are hovering outside the bowling alley as it closes. It is now 11.30. Wow, that last hour just flew by. Bodie notices a man going in carrying a bag. Inside, the Dodgy Man hurries everyone along, keen to close up promptly. Bag Man hands him the bag, which he hides behind the counter. Inside is the bomb. "When this baby goes, it'll take everything within a radius of five miles." Nice. And there will be just 25 minutes once the bomb is primed.

For a nihilistic white African group, no one seems to have noticeably African accents. Always the case – someone has a cause, and a load of rabble-rousing louts jump on the bandwagon because (a) they want to get paid, or (b) they like causing big bangs.

But then Bodie and Doyle notice the bag man coming back out, minus his bag and wearing a Swallows Bowling Club t-shirt. Careless, that. They neatly apprehend him, and bundle him into their car before he can squeak. Doyle waves his ID in Bag Man's face, and he realises the jig is up.

In Bedford, on stakeout, Kerrigan is rather dismayed by the noisy arrival of a helicopter. His face is funny. Inside the house, Dodgy Guy is on the phone. Blackie tells him to push the button at midnight. This episode really is obsessed with telling the time. Outside, Kerrigan is further alarmed to see armed men scurrying around, so when he hears his name called whirls around, gun at the ready, only to see his boss standing there. Hah. Nearly gave the poor lad a heart attack. He'll never make CI5. As Cowley takes over completely and prepares to rush the place, Kerrigan is wonderfully bemused. It is great to see.

Bodie and Doyle have hauled Frank the Bag Man back to HQ, only to find Cowley missing. But his nameless secretary is still there, and only too happy to tell them where the Cow is.
"He's out. Chasing Atom Bombs." LOL. Takes a second for that one to register with Doyle.

In Bedford, Blackie's security is shockingly non-existent, and he is taken far too easily. The nuclear bomb squad have travelled to Bedford with Cowley and Hunter, and prepare to search the house. But Cowley finds a press release that Blackie has prepared for the following day, ironically titled 'Black Friday'. The bomb is in London. "Friday's tomorrow!" Kerrigan wails.
"The hell it is," His rather more astute boss points out. "Friday is 15 minutes away. It's 11.45."
The bomb squad major returns to demand more men for the search, only to hear that he is in the wrong town entirely. And the only other team equipped to deal with an a-bomb is in Scotland, for some reason. Cowley decides to take them all back to London – including Blackie. That wipes the smile off his face.

Back at HQ, Bodie and Doyle are circling Frank the Bag Man, but doing all the talking themselves as they puzzle things out perfectly. Frank arrived late, carrying a holdall, left a few minutes later without it. The holdall is about bomb sized …

They haul Frank back to his feet and out again, back to the bowling alley.

Up in the chopper, Cowley is issuing orders for all priority personnel to be evacuated from London. Nothing they can do for the little people, including himself and Hunter. Nice to see that grim reality that they will go up with the bomb, should it go off. Like his men, Cowley realises the bowling alley is key, and orders the pilot to head there.

Midnight comes. Dodgy Guy prepares to prime the bomb … but gets Doyle's gun pressed to his head at just the right moment.
"Don't move. Anything at all."
But did he press the button?

Up above, Hunter is freaking out about going back into the fallout zone, but Cowley and the Major calmly explain the facts of life to him. About how dangerous an a-bomb is in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to disarm it. Ah. Foreshadowing. It is now gone midnight, and Blackie blurts out that the bomb was primed at midnight. It is all very tense.

Back at the bowling alley, a panic-stricken Frank confirms that the bomb is primed, while Dodgy Guy remains cool as a cucumber: he really doesn't care. The cause is everything. Frank is less dedicated. He would rather stay alive.
"Then fix it," Doyle tells him. "Calm down. Start thinking."
Dodgy Guy reacts badly to this collaboration with the 'enemy' and kicks out at Frank, knocking him out cold. Oops.

Back on the ground at last, Cowley and Co. head for the cars to make a frantic dash, in the hopes of being right on top of the bomb when it goes off. They know they don't actually have time to disarm it, but still they live in hope. Ah. Such optimism.

Doyle revives Frank by the simple expedient of a bucket of water in the face. Nice. With Bodie guarding Dodgy Guy, it is up to Doyle to help Frank disarm the bomb. After it has already been explained to us just how dangerous this is for all but the chosen few who have been properly trained.

The bomb is about the size and shape of a bowling ball. I find that amusing.

Of course, it gets jammed, just to add further tension. This disarming of nuclear bombs is a tricky business.
"Have you got steady hands?" Frank asks.
"I don't know," replies a nervous Doyle.
"Would you like to find out?" Ha.

SNIP.

Between them Frank and Doyle get the bomb disarmed. And with almost an entire 30 seconds to spare.

Cowley and his nuclear bomb squad arrive. Too late, as it happens.
Doyle is practically collapsed with spent tension and relief, still holding that crucial but disarmed component, as the Major screams not to touch it.
"It's all right," he tells them. "He did it."
"But who's he?" It's like panto.
"A die hard for the cause, who wasn't quite ready to die yet," is Bodie's answer, as he comes over to pat his partner on the back.

Cowley is pleased. "Well I always say an organisation is only as good as the man at the top. And you two, you're pretty damn good." Wow. Praise from the Cow.

Overall, what a fantastic, entertaining episode. And did you all notice how pointedly I refrained from commenting on the outfits? Yes, yes, indeed. The plot works, overall, there is a nice build up of tension, and loads of great banter between the lads. Who could ask for more?

Food and drink.
No food that I can recall. Bodie bought cans of coke, first for himself and the Blonde, and then for himself and Doyle. No alcohol – even Cowley didn't break open the Scotch.



Gil:
-I always have this problem with Stakeout that I love the banter, I love the way the lads relate, I LOVE Bodie having to sit on Doyle to stop him beating that bloke up, but I just can't live with the plot. I have to watch it surreptitiously, while the rest of the family aren't there to point out the sheer implausibilities, and that way I can concentrate on the dialogue.

Fraser really should have told Cowley over the phone, instead of being so coy.

Or a hasty call to HQ while driving manically? They must train them to get the information back even in these eventualities.

Time clearly passes, as there are police cars in evidence when Bodie and Doyle turn up, somewhat upset at this bad news – Bodie especially. Bodie is dwelling on it, more obviously upset; Doyle is prickly, more guarded.

I like this as a contrast with Heroes, where it's Doyle who's really cut up about Tommy's death. Wonder why this one hits home to Bodie so much? I get the
impression he knew Fraser quite a lot better than Doyle did.

The scenes in the bowling alley are great, and I suppose Bodie spent a lot of his formative years at sea which might explain why he's unfamiliar with bowling. Did they have bowling alleys in Liverpool?

Benny is the same Benny as in Private Madness. I wish they'd used him more, but it's hard to imagine quite how he got into CI5... Good for undercover I suppose.

I find the whole 'swallows' thing a bit implausible, but maybe that's just me. I have a thing about people gasping out almost useless information.

Must go and watch it again and see if it seems a more convincing plot if I don't skip bits!
Gil


Jo again:
Oh, absolutely. The plot has huge, gaping holes and inconsistencies. But the basic scenario does work better than others I could name. And they do a pretty good job of transforming it from a reasonably routine evening on stakeout into a huge emergency with just minutes to save the whole of London. *g* The tension in the last few minutes works, in spite of the plot holes.


Birgit
Aw, that was fun, Jo, as always :) Ta!

I really like this ep in spite of every single plot hole and sartorial aberration, or maybe really because of them since they make the whole thing so surrealistic and incredibly funny. They don't make TV like that any more these days.

I even like Cowley's new - very saucy - secretary. She must be married with at least three kids, though, since neither of the lads tries to chat her up...

All in all, the ep is mostly a character study of the lads, imo. We get to know Doyle's temper and - literally - his steady hands at dealing with tricky situations, and Bodie's smooth, apparently careless side that all of a sudden turns into full-blown professionalism where it counts. Nice, that. And boy does he know his partner well!

Just why is it that Cowley never even considers getting his two top operatives out of that bowling alley and to safety once he knows what about the bomb?? He could have called HQ over his R/T - we know his secretary was still there. Perhaps she doesn't have any kids after all if she's on nights...

With respect to food, Jo, I think you might have missed Bodie wolfing down a sarnie before dropping off, just before they nick Peeping Tom. Well, who could expect him to stay awake with his tummy full and nothing happening?
Birgit

Jo

darn, knew I'd missed something. <g>


Sammi
WOW, Jo I have to say as I was reading the review I could honestly say that I could see it all again in my minds eye. Now as ya know I haven't been back here for long. So I will make this ultra brief. lol Only cause I have never replied to a review before. lol As usual it does capture the teamwork and the partnership between Doyle and
Bodie.
One thing I have to say is I just love the phrase * Lead Dodgy Guy*
Ok now its after midnight and I am tired!
Awesome job on the review! Was just like seeing it again :)
Cheers
Sammi




Sue:
My belated thoughts on Stakeout. Another highly amusing review, Jo. Thanks!

I watched this the other night with Chris. We chose to watch this one because we've been re-watching Sapphire and Steel lately and I offered to show the episode of Pros that Silver appears in. David Collings who played Silver, was Frank in this episode. And later on, Hunter from Special Branch was Tully from Adventure Two.

Enough of other programmes, back to this one!

I teased Chris with the old theory that men's shoe sizes are directly related to the size of ...um, other things. Being a Bodie fan he wasn't impressed with this idea. He also refused to believe that it could be possible Pamela Stephenson's character didn't fancy Bodie :)

"Have you got the time?" "If you've got the inclination." Honestly Bodie, that joke was old even back then. Was that really the best he could do? Doyle, I have to admit, did have his foot over the line for that throw. I wondered how many takes it took for Martin to get the strike. After all, they didn't cut the shot. The black guy I always think of as Chas Jarvis from Dempsey and Makepeace - ok, so maybe I haven't quite finished mentioning other programmes :)

I'm forced to admire Dodgy Man's commitment to his cause. All too often these people cave in when it's a question of their own safety – witness Blackie and Frank - but Dodgy man sticks it out, prepared to die for what he believes in. Shame he has such a poor choice of cause.

I love the whole defusing sequence. Lovely close ups and very tense even though we know our heroes have to come through ok.

And, dare I say it, Doyle looks great all the way through this.  Lots of yummy forearm shots and I like his clothes <said defiantly>. Yes, Chris, even the jacket. Although maybe not together with the rugby shirt :)

Fab episode with wonderfully quotable lines all the way through it!
Sue



Birgit
Oh, and Sue - you mentioned the bomb-defusing scene. Has it occurred to anyone else apart from this depraved mind that the thingamabob that needs to be coaxed out ever so delicately looks very much like... has a shape that reminds... oh, damn. It's a phallic item if I've ever seen one. No wonder Doyle looks rather distressed when it gets stuck <g>

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