Reviewed October 2004

Jo
Hey! It's disc 4 of the first box set. Only two more eps to go after this one, and we're onto box-set number two. How exciting.

I would like to say up front that this one is not a favourite. Just so's we're clear.

The episode sets its stall out early, opening with a black family (the Culvers) in distress, being harassed. All their furniture is being thrown out into the street by an unpleasant white man, until a more well-heeled looking black man approaches and challenges him. Unpleasant White Man is very offensive, calling him a 'nigger'. Very bold for the opening minute of the show. Well-Heeled Man remains calm.
"The term nigger does not offend me. It is a corruption of the word 'Negro', and I am certainly that."
Best way to approach bullies that, letting them know they have no power over you. He continues, threatening Unpleasant Man with the law.
"I'd like you to hit me. I already have you for harassment. I'd like to add assault to that. I really would."
Very cool. Shame about the bad acting.

He doesn't wait to make sure his order to return the furniture is complied with, though. And personally, I felt the scene would have more weight if more background was given. Why were they chucking out all the furniture in the first place, apart from sheer unpleasantness? Why did the family let them in? What had happened previously to bring them to this point? It all feels a bit too random and staged, and is not explained until much later.

Unpleasant Man and his crony are then approached by another blatantly racist white man. He offers them his calling card and the chance to do something about it.

The action shifts to the Miller Trust. Unpleasant Man is explaining by phone to his boss – Mr Miller – what happened. Here is at least some of the background that felt so lacking in the previous scene. He tells Miller about the other man's offer, thus telling us Calling Card's name – Holton. Miller tells them to join.

Well-Heeled Man is now at home, pouring over his books and having an amiable domestic discussion about what's for tea with his wife, who is white, which to me seems very normal but I'm guessing for TV in 1978 was less so. Skin colour is very important in this episode.
They get a brick thrown through the window, so Well-Heeled Man instantly goes and pulls the curtains wide open, thus framing himself in the window and presenting a perfect target for anyone wanting to cause personal damage. Luckily for him, they don't. Instead, he sees a garden full of white-robed men and a burning cross. Ku Klux Klan, anyone?

Like a fool, he rushes out to confront them, instead of sitting tight and calling the police as a sensible person would. They make with the pounding. Wifey rushes out to help, and makes a better job of it than he did, brandishing one of their burning brands and yelling furiously (and far more convincing it is than Hubby's silence). She calls them 'bastards'. This really is setting out to be a hard-hitting episode, isn't it? And I love that Wifey is so much harder than Hubby.

Opening credits happen at last.

Still with the couple, as Wifey helps her Well-Heeled but beaten Hubby back into the house.

And finally, we reach CI5. Cowley is ranting about how much he hates and despises something. Doyle and Bodie remain impassive.
"It's still police business," Doyle points out. Gotta admire the man, given Cowley's mood.
"Not any more. I'm making it our business, my business."
Interesting insight into how CI5 works. Can Cowley commandeer any case he chooses? How do the ethics of that work, I wonder?
And then Bodie puts his foot in it, and thus lets us know for sure that they are talking about the incident we've just seen.
"That's over-reacting a bit…all they did was burn a cross in a spade's garden."
Ouch. Quite aside from the distasteful racist element showing through there, which whether rightly or wrongly was done for a reason, this comment demonstrates quite appalling judgment on Bodie's part. He's just listened to his boss ranting, so knows how strongly he feels about it, and then he disses the subject Cowley has just been so passionate about, and both looks and sounds insolent with it, too. Hard to feel any sympathy for Bodie here, on any level.
We don't see Doyle's reaction, the camera cutting away at the wrong moment. But we do see Cowley's, and he is predictably incensed.
"Bodie. You're taller than me, and you're bigger, but if you ever use that word again in this office you'll find out that you're not tougher."
Bodie does not look impressed. In fact, he still looks downright sullen. Either he really hates the case, or something else is seriously bugging him. He seems out of character.
"Maybe I am over-reacting," Cowley admits. "But I've seen and fought prejudice my whole life and I intend to go on fighting it. Yes, I'm overreacting, but by God somebody's got to. Me, you, all of us!" Hurrah for the Cow, champion of the oppressed. He's very speechific in this scene.
"Fire spreads fast, and we're the fire-fighters. Now get to it and stamp it out."

Who wrote this stuff?
Have we ever seen Bodie having a problem with black people before this? I don't think so. Nor ever again.

Doyle and Bodie go round to interview the Well-Heeled Man, who finally gets a name. Mr Zadie. He tells them he has to disagree with their boss.
"Well, I think we'd rather you told him that," Doyle tells him, mildly.
Zadie tells them he doesn't see it as the start of a movement, and starts to tell them about his work, that he is a good lawyer and works with disadvantaged people. Bodie is rolling his eyes, absolutely unimpressed. He contributes to the questioning, but still looks and sounds mulish. Zadie speaks mostly to Doyle, who is doing the warm and approachable thing. Zadie plays the incident down, insisting that despite the symbols it is only a personal vendetta. "I believe in this country," he tells them, warmly.
"I hope you're right," Doyle replies.
Mrs Zadie then makes a brief appearance, purely so that Bodie can look shocked and Zadie can pull him up on it, displaying some emotion for almost the first time, which is interesting. He can suffer a racist attack like last night with equanimity, but it is disapproval of his marriage that stings.
"Mr Zadie," Doyle looks a bit heated now, too. "Our interest whether black, white or sky-blue-pink is with the law breakers."

I'm now trying to imagine exactly what sky-blue-pink would look like. Sounds purplish.

As they leave, Bodie's mood is not improved by the flash car Zadie has sitting in his drive. And now that they are alone, Doyle can vent at Bodie.
"Well, you played that nice, real nice."
"Didn't say a word."
"You didn't have to. Where are you, Bodie, cause this is England, now. Don't look behind you, cause there's no gunboat and Victoria's long gone."
Nice that Doyle can instantly put his finger on what's wrong with Bodie, and trace it back to source.
Bodie prickles. "See his car? More than I could afford. And that house. More than I could ever afford. And he's a spade. And I'm saying it outside of Cowley's office."
Doyle gives up.

Doyle takes them over to the Miller Trust, a good place to start as Zadie has recently prevented five evictions from properties owned by that company. See, that's what the opening scene was all about. Now we know.

Unpleasant Man is manhandling a black teenager, and finally tells us his name. Denny. The Kid, it seems, helped with a break in at the property and his accomplice, one Artie, has taken a book they are keen to get back. The plot thickens. Kid is sent packing.

Kid goes looking for Artie. We learn Kid's name, Tommy. Artie is on the phone to Zadie, to warn him – about something he saw in a book that concerns him. He gets Mrs Zadie instead and leaves a message.

Artie then heads for the roof to feed his pigeons, and instead comes face to face with more hooded men. They push him off the roof. Seems he lives close to the Miller Trust, since Bodie and Doyle – at the door but not having gone in – hear his yell and go running. Talk about robbing the neighbours. A crowd quickly gathers, and young Tommy looks distraught. Alas, Artie is no more. The Lads mingle with the crowd and ask questions. Then Bodie suggests that Doyle go tell Cowley while he noses around a bit more.

Back to Cowley's office, and he is ranting again. This case is really getting to him. Zadie is there, although I'm not entirely sure why. Doyle also. Zadie tells them of Artie's phone call, and Doyle tells his boss that Bodie is still snooping. "Maybe he had something on his conscience."

Meanwhile, Tommy and some friends are happily gaming, despite Artie's tragic demise. Where's the grief? Bodie breaks up the party and makes with the tough questioning, so Tommy makes a break for it, and before he can give chase, Bodie gets a knife in the ribs. And hams up the collapse horribly. As the men move off, he manages to call in his location.
"Water tower. Cock pit." Thank you, Bodie. Now I know where you are.

Bodie is rushed to hospital in a bad way. Doyle must have flown, because he is there too, all distraught.
"Bodie you half-Irish son of a bitch, what'd you want to go and do that for?"
Bodie stirs and says to tell Cowley a 'couple of spades' did this.

Yes, let us lay it on as thick as possible.

Where did this term 'spade' come from as a racist term? Because I grew up in a highly multi-cultural area and I never heard it before. Is it a London thing?

Cowley tries to pull Doyle off the case, telling him he's too keyed up, too involved. Doyle, though, is never afraid to challenge his boss.
"You pull me off, you suspend me, and you shall have to put a bullet through me cause I shall still be there, do you understand me, MR COWLEY?" Eek. Way to address the boss.
Cowley is so funny in response to this vehemence, remaining ever so mild in comparison.
"Well. I wouldn't want all that hot air working against me."
And then Doyle apologises. And Cowley goes and gets him a drink.
"Bodie was a good man – is a good man – even if he will call a spade a spade."
And then he goes off into another of his bizarre speeches, this one the Cow speech.
"I'm Cowley the Cow. Well, a cow gives milk; a cow looks after its young."

Who wrote this stuff? Honestly. But I do like the Doyle-Cowley exchanges.

They both drink. Doyle holds his glass out for a refill.
"No. You've got to keep a clear head." Ha.

Because the scriptwriters really, really wanted to overplay the race card, a feverish Bodie is being treated by a black doctor and nurse, and reacts badly, having hallucinations of his impassive attacker. They remain professional, however, and continue to treat him regardless of his delirious ravings against them.

Later, the Empire Society is meeting, and their leader is demanding to know 'who did it'. Ah. This is a clue that it was someone else entirely. Holton is not impressed by the negative press from Artie's murder. But he loses points for admitting part of him approves of what happened – just not without his say-so. And he is worried about the impact on the organisation. Denny is there, as ordered.

They then all go around to Zadie's house, throwing white paint over him and brown paint over the missus. Subtle, not. And out in the garden, hidden from sight, Doyle is watching. He reacts angrily but does not approach, instead following the jubilant men right back to the Empire Society.

Next morning, we see Doyle out jogging with fellow CI5 man, Jax. I like Jax. I love how Jax is out jogging in proper sports gear, and Doyle is jogging in his jeans and leather jacket. So my question is this: do they jog together as a regular thing, or is it just that Doyle wanted to speak to Jax and knows that he jogs, so went looking for him?
The conversation serves two purposes. Firstly, it establishes how friendly the two are, bearing in mind the prejudice displayed by Bodie and that Jax is black, because in this episode everything is black and white (pardon the pun) and Doyle is being portrayed as the voice of reason and tolerance here. Secondly, it lets us know that Doyle wants to infiltrate the Empire Society. Doyle arranges with Jax for a little 'demonstration' to get him in.
"It's all right. I won't hit where it shows."
And Jax thinks to ask after Bodie. No change. Still delirious and out of it. And still offending the nurse.

Doyle gets permission to go undercover and hands in his badge and gun, despite Cowley's warning that he'd be on his own.
"I'd be that anyway, with Bodie laid up."
Then he and Jax put on their little performance in a pub, right in front of Holton. Bad acting. And Doyle leaves without the G&T he'd ordered, so take that off the drinks list. The bait is taken – Holton invites him around.

Doyle meets the gang at the society, listens to their plans of harassment, and tries to find out more about Artie's murder, but gets nowhere. They know nothing. But Holton is just as speechy as Cowley, only for an opposite cause.

The white robes look ridiculous. Just saying.

But then things get serious. While the Empire Society are running around with their paint cans, another black man is shot dead.
Zadie is up in arms, but Doyle is convinced it wasn't the society.
"A man in a white robe was seen running away." Not necessarily a klansman. Semantics maybe, Doyle has a good eye for details like that. But the man who died was Zadie's partner, and he is upset, so Doyle agrees to dig some more.

In hospital, Bodie is still delirious, thrashing around in a way you'd think would do no good at all to a recently operated on wound. His nurse is still tending him diligently.

Doyle returns to the Empire Society. Learning that Mr Holton won't be back for an hour, he sweet-talks the secretary into letting him wait in the office. Silver-tongued Ray.

In the car, Denny is brushing off the murder last night as a good thing, while Holton is annoyed at being implicated again.

Doyle's clandestine perusal of Holton's filing cabinet, meanwhile, is momentarily disturbed by the oh-so pleasant and matronly secretary. Doyle has to hop back into the chair quick smart and act nonchalant, only to hear she is popping out, which is music to his ears.
Outside, she encounters Holton, back early, and lets him know Doyle is waiting in his office. Holton smells a rat. Oh-oh.

Doyle is browsing away contentedly when they sneak up on him, followed by lots of tastefully off-screen bangs and crashes. No yells or yelps, though.

While Bodie's fever seems to be breaking, Doyle is in big trouble. Tied up and beaten, he is at the mercy of Holton and cronies. Doyle thinks fast, telling them he is a freelance journalist on the hunt for a scoop. He lies most convincingly. And we learn that Holton keeps nothing important at the office.

Doyle is dumped at the old water tower, the same place that Bodie got stabbed, badly beaten and semi-conscious. Young Tommy happens along and finds him there. While at the hospital, the recovering Bodie seems to have taken a shine to his Florence Nightingale, regardless of her skin colour, young Tommy fetches water and tends to Doyle. Because calling an ambulance would be too obvious when discovering someone who has been badly beaten. Got to love the interaction between these two.
"Help me up," Doyle commands, when he can speak again.
"You're not going to walk for a week," Tommy protests.
Doyle insists and then whimpers in pain when Tommy complies. He is too stubborn to give in, though, and makes it to his feet.
"A week, eh?"
Martin Shaw's acting really does save this episode.

According to Tommy, he found Doyle a couple of hours ago. So – it took him that long to fetch a pail of water? The ambulance would have been so much quicker.
"You've proved your point, you'd better sit down now."
Tommy fetches a box for Doyle to sit on. I like this kid. He plays Doyle to Doyle's Cowley. And Doyle does not argue. He looks ghastly. Make up did a fantastic job.
Doyle wants to know Tommy's name.
"I might want to mention you in my will." Ha.
This scene is one of the best in the whole episode. Tommy gives Doyle a drink, then adds, "I never touch the stuff." Doyle takes several pulls of the bottle, but given how appalling he looks, he probably needs it to dull the pain.
"You're some kind of cop, aren't you?"
"Yeah, some kind." Nice cop out.
"Well, they were good – the best. I've never seen anyone so nicely beat up." Yeah, just what Doyle needs to hear. "They went over you like a roller. You're going to have an eye blacker than my arse!"
That does it. Doyle's sense of humour is tickled and he has to chuckle, in spite of the pain.
"Are you the kind of cop that handles murder, or are you just traffic?"
Doyle looks at him.
"You're not traffic!"
"Why, who got murdered? Apart from me." Got to love the morbid humour.

And then the connection is made: Artie. Doyle gets Tommy on side by telling him about his own friend, Bodie, and Tommy becomes quite willing to talk (unlike his unwillingness in the face of Bodie's belligerence earlier). Doyle learns that Artie was killed for the book he took from his little break-in at the Miller Trust.

"You either pick them right, or train them right, George. He's very fit, and tough," is the doctor's verdict on Bodie. Cowley has come to see him, how nice.
"I think you should change that nurse's roster," Cowley tells him. "Get an ugly one."

Tommy helps Doyle struggle to a phone box when, miracle of miracles, who should pass by but Jax. Doyle is after him like a shot, if a shot were all bashed up and hobbling.
Jax amuses me. "My God, Ray. What happened to you? You're blowing my cover." All in one breath. It also amuses me that while they make desperate conversation, passers by ignore them as if they were not there. Now me, I'd have had to glance across just to see what the lunatics were on about.
Doyle bellows at Jax to give him his gun, takes it from him, and orders him to call Cowley, tell him it's the Miller Trust; Doyle is heading there himself and needs backup. In which case, wouldn't it make more sense to make the call together and Jax to go with him? Jax looks completely nonplussed, unsurprisingly, and takes it all remarkably mildly. Either he is that mild-mannered anyway, or he's so horrified by the look of Doyle he'd agree to anything.
I love Jax's hat. It completely hides his eyes.

"I don't carry a gun to kill people; I carry it to stop them killing me."
The Doyle ethos on guns, said to curb Tommy's enthusiasm. Doyle tells the lad to go home.

At home playing poker with the Missus and friends, Zadie gets a phone call from Culver (from the opening scene) asking him to come over: he is being evicted. Zadie heads over. And then we see that Culver and his family are being held by klansmen.

Alone at the Miller Trust, Denny finds himself held at gunpoint by Doyle, who proceeds to give back a little of what was dished out to him. At Doyle's behest, Denny calls in Crony Merv, who is promptly smacked and knocked out way too easily. And then Tommy arrives, full of praise for Doyle.
"Thought you might need some help."

Doyle is clearly running on nothing but adrenaline and sheer bloody-mindedness. But that only makes him more dangerous, and he has figured it all out. Denny joined Holton's mob, but works for Miller. Holton's lot only play at the game, threats and intimidation only, but Miller is in it for real. Eviction and even murder, if he can get away with it – the klansmen providing a neat scapegoat.
"Now you would correct me if I went wrong, wouldn't you?"
And then the phone rings. Tommy runs and gets it for Doyle, and the person at the other end does not question the unfamiliar voice, just telling him that Zadie is on his way there.
Where?
"Tommy, have you ever seen a man gutshot?"
"No."
"Then I think you'd better wait outside." Ooh, fighting talk. He goes, too, and Denny caves and gives Doyle the address.

Tommy ties Denny up with the cord Doyle had previously been tied up with, just for the irony of it. And then Merv starts to wake up.
"Forgot about you." Then he asks if Tommy has any more cord.
"Only what's holding up me jeans."
"That'll do."
"But they'll drop off!"
"Well, it's all in a good cause." LOL.

Doyle gives Tommy his instructions.
"When my boss comes, tell him where I've gone, and that you're my assistant: acting, honorary, and therefore unpaid."
"He'll never believe me." Tommy really comes to life in the scenes with Doyle.
"All right. I'll give it to you in writing." It is just too funny.
"This Mr Cowley – is he white or black?"
Doyle stops to think. "I forgot to ask."

With Doyle gone, Denny tries to persuade Tommy to free him, first with bribes, then threats. And then Cowley arrives.
"I'm Mr Doyle's assistant. Temporary, honorary, and therefore unpaid. Here are my credentials." It is hilarious.
Jax is with Cowley. Why? Could he not have just followed Doyle straight away, and got there fast enough to help? He is still in his funny undercover outfit with the low brimmed hat. And Tommy refuses to go home and miss the pay off.

Cowley then plays good cop to Doyle's earlier bad. He makes Denny phone Miller and summon him to the office.

Zadie arrives at the Culver's and finds that a trap has been set for him. Doyle arrives in the nick of time and shoots his assailants.
"Mr Doyle, I was wrong. I've lost faith in this country. White trash."
And then the sting in the tail. One of the men hiding beneath klansmen's robes is black. Because this part of the story was only pretending to be about race – it is really about money and property. Zadie is stunned.

And Cowley is explaining it all to Denny. The land those slum houses are standing on is worth a fortune. And, to Denny's horror, it turns out that Mr Miller is black himself.

Time has passed.
A very smartly suited Bodie is preparing to leave hospital, graciously thanking the doctor and nurse who treated him, with no trace of his earlier prejudice about their skin colour. But it can't be all that much later, as Doyle is there with him still sporting some impressive bruising. In fact, he looks worse than Bodie. Jax is also there, and they are both merrily chomping away at a bunch of grapes. Doyle says he's promised to take the kid, Tommy, to a football game that afternoon. But Bodie can't make it – he heads off with the nurse, who apparently has completely forgiven him his feverish rantings.
"Jax? First thing is a drink. Then we plan our campaign."
"Campaign?"
"Yeah. How to get rid of some of these damn whites."

The end.

Ouch.
Overall, it is hard to work out exactly what point the writers were trying to make here. The race angle is horribly over-played, and then proves to not be the main issue after all. Talk about using a sledgehammer to make a point.
The acting is wooden most of the way through, with the actors seeming uncomfortable with some of their dialogue, unsurprisingly perhaps.
Bodie is pretty much out of character most of the time. I'm not even going to start on the bad there. A BB can handle that.
And all in all, the episode leaves a nasty aftertaste.
But there are good things in it. Doyle is great all the way through: patient, tolerant, stubbornly determined to get to the bottom of it, upset and worried about Bodie. His scenes with Cowley are great, and his interaction with Tommy superb.

Drinking: Doyle drinks twice – in Cowley's office, and when Tommy finds him beaten up. And he and Jax scoff grapes when collecting Bodie from hospital.


Chiara said:

Two small things to say if I may:

- Doyle is beaten pretty bad; how on earth does he manage to go around in that state? A recent private discussion suggested good training, but I still find it a bit unnerving and implausible

- Bodie thrashing around: no restraints, no IV for someone who underwent an important operation? The nurse does almost nothing to calm him, especially at the beginning: why?


Jo said:
Adrenaline, bloody-mindedness and the writer's whim!

>Sue said:
Hee, hee, works for me

Doyle is beaten pretty bad; how on earth does he manage to go around in that state? A recent private discussion suggested good training, but I still find it a bit unnerving and implausible

Adrenaline, bloody-mindedness, and the writer's whim.

Spade, I think, comes from 'black as the ace of spades' but I'm open to correction.


Carol said:

Episode Review time again. I can't put it off any longer.

I was thinking about this just the other day but didn't have any time to watch it... Not that I was in any rush either, Jo, I really find this episode hard to watch. Dislike of the emotions and racism make it hard for me to follow the plot, such as it is.

I know we've had discussions about this before and I'm still in a curious state of ambivalence over whether I feel it was well done or not.

The scriptwriter was clearly trying to illustrate some sort of background for Bodie's racism with Doyle being able to trace the source, but Bodie's apparently racist attitude has never shown up before and never appears again and it just feels so out of character. I always feel Lewis' awkward wooden acting is down to how he viewed the destruction of his character. I agree Martin's acting is what saves the episode but also find it hard to believe he could get up and carry on after that beating.

Where did this term 'spade' come from as a racist term? Because I grew up in a highly multi-cultural area and I never heard it before. Is it a London thing?

It could be - but it's just as likely to be an age thing, Jo. I don't think I had any reaction to the phrase first time I watched Klansman which means I was familiar with it.

I'm not medically qualified but I positively cringe at the hospital scenes. Bodie appears to receive little treatment other than mopping of a fevered brow and boy, is that overplayed!

Do they jog together as a regular thing, or is it just that Doyle wanted to speak to Jax and knows that he jogs, so went looking for him?
Definitely the latter. How often do you jog in jeans and jacket? <G>

The white robes look ridiculous. Just saying.
Deliberately, I suspect. Part of showing just how stupid the racist element is.

No, I don't like this episode. Even Martin suffering beautifully doesn't work for me. <G>


Bobby said:

Having re-watched the episode fairly recently, here are a few of my thoughts. It is difficult to know now the impact it would have had if it had been shown at the time it was made.
I agree one of the worst things about this episode was Bodie being so out of character.
I thought Doyle's concern for Bodie was very touching.
The bits I like most are Doyle's begrudging apology to Cowley, and the secretary's obvious pleasure at meeting Doyle again, not that you can blame her I suppose!
Given our recent discussions on the need to be accurate, this episode is a testament to the fact that scriptwriters research is sometimes lacking, or maybe just ignored for the sake of dramatic impact.
The other things of note in this one are that MS really does do suffering well, and some things never change greed is not an exclusive fault.


Sue said:
Not a favourite episode perhaps but it does give me, a feverent DD, some nice hi-lights.
As I think everybody is agreed on, Bodie is completely out of character and Lewis Collins' acting is extremely hammy almost all of the way through this episode. The writer clearly wanted to make some kind of point and rather than introduce a new character to hang this prejudice on, they used one of the leads with no regard to established characterisation or continuity. I wouldn't have so much of a problem if Bodie just came out with casual insults of the sort that are not acceptable now but which would have flowed freely back then. That would have felt more in character; no malice intended, no bitter anger and much more realistic than this prejudice which comes out of nowhere and disappears back there again when the story line is resolved.

The whole, a cow gives milk, thing always strikes me as bizarre but then quite a few lines throughout the series are crazy and the actors manage to carry them off. Full marks to Gordon Jackson in this case.

I hadn't thought about it especially, but Bobby is right, the secretary does seem very pleased to see Doyle again but then looking at the general appearance of the rest of this little club, who can blame her?

Until I watched the episode again a few days ago, I would have sworn that we at least saw the arms rising and falling as the thugs beat up Doyle even though the actual impact is off screen. It really surprised me that it is all off screen. What am I confusing this with?

Anyway, the episode kicks into high gear for me from here on in. The kid playing Tommy is an appalling actor but his scenes with Martin Shaw are far better than those without. I think Tommy doesn't call an ambulance (apart from the fact it would spoil the show to be seen to be too practical) is because to call in the authorities would not be the first thing to occur to somebody living on the fringes of lawlessness. I also get the impression that the cockpit is a place where a variety of crooked plans go down so they wouldn't be accustomed to friendly authorities there. Of course the timescale is ridiculous as Jo noted. Two hours to fetch some supplies! However it did give a slight reason for Doyle to be able to get on his feet at this point.

Love MS's convincing whimpers as Doyle struggles to prove he can stand, he does bring authenticity to the part of the superman/hero when he is allowed to.
"You've proved your point, you'd better sit down now." This makes me laugh as Tommy neatly punctures the macho posturing.

The scene with Jax outside the phone box is just too coincidental but it does get Doyle a gun which he badly needs and saves paying another actor to play another agent <g>
"Go home kid." tossed over his shoulder as our hero limps off to right wrongs.

I thoroughly enjoy the whole scene in Denny's office. I'm afraid I come over all fangirl watching MS here, particularly when he swings his body round to cover Denny again after hitting Merv when Denny makes a break for him. Wheeee, yum!

Ahem, where was I? Oh yes...
"...would correct me if I was wrong" and "...well you kicked the wrong one when you kicked me 'cause I'm gonna take you apart." This is my Doyle here, well one aspect of him anyway. Fierce, unrelenting, vicious, anger, thank goodness he's on our side because you'd have to kill him to stop him coming.
This is reinforced by Cowley when he says; "Doyle's angry at you, that's bad - that's the worst thing that can
happen to a man."

Then we get a quick shoot out and all is revealed. Run credits.

I think the message was it doesn't matter what colour you are, it's what you are and what you do that counts and even if the point is handled somewhat clumsily in hindsight, it's still a good message.

Two more things. I'm horribly afraid that the hat is Jax own choice <g>.
And, how odd that the Klan member calls "Zaaadie" in the same way the voice calls "Suuuusaaaaan" in Cry Wolf; and it's the same actress in both :)

Gosh what a lot I've written. Think I'll slink away again now.


Helen said:
G'day all,
Just a few random comments re Klansman. I am in the minority because I really liked Klansman. I found it suspenseful and intriguing and the pacing never flagged (apart from the execrable hospital scenes). For a non-Brit who only saw the series last year, it was a fascinating insight into the type of prejudices that went on in 70's London.

What sticks in my mind the most is MS's acting - he shines in this episode. The injury makeup is well done so of course he looks hurt, but in one scene with Tommy, Shaw's mouth is trembling and his body is shaking uncontrollably - it is so believable. Also I like the way both Bodie & Doyle function without each other ... but not very well!

I'll admit there are flaws but no more than in some other Pros episodes - and these have all been covered. I don't have the same issues re Bodie's prejudiced comments as many of you. Let's face it, as a plot device it had to be one of the main characters. Actually, it'd make a great debate as to who is more likely to be prejudiced out of the two. Please don't send me angry emails but I feel Lewis looks uncomfortable because of his acting – or lack thereof in a couple of scenes. If he'd felt strongly about the portrayal of his character when he first read the script surely he could have complained and had it changed. We're not talking major rewrites here. Those few lines could have been altered, or a line or two inserted to justify why Bodie felt this way. Don't you think we might be guilty of putting current mores onto a 70's character? As we love Bodie we hate to see him portraying such non PC views but he
often made non PC comments. That said, the bit I did have trouble with was his negative attitude to the wealth – that struck me as petty!

The hospital scenes did trouble me – they look as if they are in a rural base hospital, not central London. We have a seriously injured patient being assessed by a single doctor in a slow casual manner. And afterwards, Bodie's not in intensive care being
monitored by machines that go 'ping' but by a nurse who sits holding his hand … sheesh! Your National Health system is fantastic if nurses have the time to deal with patients like this. The closest I got was a male nurse washed my long hair – I loved him for it but he got told off!

The other thing that niggles is how both Cowley and Doyle speak of Bodie in the past tense. Cowley says: "Bodie was a good man" – then corrects himself to "is a good man" and Doyle tells Tommy that: "I had a friend" then also corrects himself. There is nothing inherently wrong with this and it shows how C15 must still function regardless of personal feelings but I felt here they were almost writing Bodie off because of the seriousness of his injuries, while meanwhile back at the hospital no-one was treating his injuries as critical.

Now I haven't seen Klansman for at least a year so the above is from memory and I may have scenes all wrong so forgive me.


'metabolick' said:
Helen, I enjoyed reading your thoughts about Klansmen and agree with your assessments.

I loved the way Ray was so concerned about Bodie, which really showed throughout. Of course there is the berating of his partner in the hospital corridor. But another scene I really love is the one in Cowley's office when he gets in C's face and yells at him. Then Cowley backs down, showing a lot of understanding, but warning him that if he goes under cover he'll be on his own. Ray replies that he would be anyway until Bodie was back on his feet. I guess Ray won't consider working with another partner at all.

And finally, it can't be bad when we get to hear Ray's evil laugh and his hurt whimper both in the same episode! Yeah, I'm shallow.

For an episode where the boys are apart for a fair amount of the time, this is a good one.


Birgit said:
It's definitely not one of my favourites. And that's *despite* MS whimpering so convincingly and Jax being such a nice bloke <g>

MS looks definitely tired, puffy and totally fed up in this one (even before his date with the make-up lady <g>), and seeing his eyes practically pop out of their sockets in the otherwise excellent scene where he yells at Cowley simply gives me the creeps.

Another thing that I hate is the way the black lawyer is portrayed. Someone should have told the script writers that making someone move their lips while reading is NOT the mark of a person who is used to processing huge heaps of paperwork every day...

Oh, and I don't know about you, but I didn't realise until recently that his wife is played by the same actress who was Susan Grant later although her lovely deep voice should have been a dead giveaway. Hmpf. Perhaps I was too busy feeling sorry for our Ray or flicking presto through the Bodie-and-the-nurse scenes? <g>

Back to top

Home