Sue & Carol
Episode Review: First Night

Just to give people a respite from reading all those stories before voting in the Cowleys, I thought I'd start us off on the next episode review, First Night. This won't be up to the standard of Jo's, but might spark a few thoughts from others. <G> And everyone should feel free to jump in, please!

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It's a pleasant sunny evening (other than the odd localised shower which seems to fall without anyone noticing - at one point the pavements are soaking!) and a VIP is off to a concert. We can tell it's someone important by the size of the police escort, none of whom seem able to counter the attack by the kidnappers who, with a lot of shooting and mayhem, bundle the important looking man into a hovercraft and take off down the Thames. Cowley might well sound surprised by it all <G>

Cowley wants everyone 'on the job' (seems particularly apt for our lads) and indeed, they were trying. Doyle unfortunately has hooked up with a very dense girl - although I'm unimpressed by his efforts to appease her. Bodie's girl on the other hand knows exactly what's happening when he does a bunk. The fact that he knows to send flowers means he'll probably get a second (third, fourth?) chance. <G>

This episode probably ranks among my favourites for banter. There are so many wonderful bits: in the car, the canteen and on the buses. The line from Doyle (or was it Martin's?) 'that's not where you got mine' always looks like an ad lib to me; Lewis seems genuinely confused by it, not recognising it as a scriptline. Given Lewis' real-life interest in guns, it could have been a reference to that.

Back at the centre of the action, Bodie looks especially scrummy in that cream poloneck - just to balance the view, Doyle looks good in everything <BG>

I'm always bemused by the Dad's Army scene with those squaddies searching the field a few yards apart. As Bodie says: 'you'd have a hard job to miss it' - were they expecting the helicopter to hide behind a few blades of grass? And as for the man guarding the shoe...

I think this is the only episode where the Capri appears to be fitted with a police siren. If they are fitted, why don't they get used more often?

The scene when Bodie and Doyle are waiting to break in on the Minister and Cowley contains one of those times that Sue mentioned a few emails ago. I spotted that Bodie can't keep his eyes off the girl going past down the stairs, and had to replay the scene several times before Sue saw it because she kept watching Doyle <G> Love the expressions over 'half an ear, perhaps'...

This episode has something you don't see very often: a phone box, not vandalised, no graffiti, no 'ring this number and ask for Fifi' cards – and full set of London phone directories! (And this happens not once, but twice: the call box the kidnapper uses later in the episode is also fully equipped, although Ruth's is missing the phone books. This one also bears a Buzby sticker.)

Although the coded message is very clever, I always wonder what they'd have done if the message the victim was given to read wasn't long enough? As it is, it's a remarkably clever person who can be given a piece of paper to read out and know exactly where to pause - they're hardly going to give him time to rehearse...

One of the bits I don't like about this episode is the woman (a very poor actress) and her irritating child. Friends of the producer, perhaps?

The inside of the house sports several reminders that this is the 70s in the form of some hideous wallpaper and curtains. For the youngsters among you, that was, unfortunately, just how it was...

The lad on a bike delivering papers annoys me. Anyone getting their paper delivered by having it slung at the front door would be cancelling that delivery pretty quickly; newspapers were and still are delivered through the letterbox.

There's a bit too much of the 'talking heads' in this episode, although quite a bit is interspersed nicely with the lads and Ruth doing their jobs. All the action is crammed into the last few minutes, with Bodie and Doyle rushing in and saving the day double-handedly - where on earth were the rest of those armed police? - and then we get a few seconds' worth of cheesy ending, which shows us how much Bodie (Lewis) loves swiss roll and Doyle is worrying about his overtime!

A lovely episode, the few niggles easily pushed aside when it comes to watching wonderful banter, and one which I can watch over and over again.




Linda:
> This episode probably ranks among my favourites for banter.

Yep, this is one of the all time greats for watching the two of them together. By cosmic fate, I watched this ep twice last week (it was so good the first time, had to do it again the next day).

Random thoughts: Love the 'keep taking the pills'

Maybe Doyle needs pills too? What is up with his, "What do you think of the philosphy of Kant?" Bodie totally ignores him, continuing to complain about
women who aren't thrilled to be hit on and Doyle says "Exactly" Huh? Put the crack pipe down, Ray.

Bodie is a sexy beast during most of the ep, but looks less so during the sped up parts when they are putting together that cherry picker thing. And all I can say is 'Please, Mary' to his comment when the man offers him the helmet and he replys "It will slow me down". More like it will mess up your hair. Talking of hair, Doyle's perm is a bit tight in this ep, but he's looking good anyway.

Love the 'going for an ice-cream' bit. Making the crims people not just cardboard targets for B and D to shoot each week is one of the reasons Pros works for me.

And totally agree about the helicopter in the field. How the hell can't you see a helicopter in a field a mile off? Maybe it had one of those cloaking things on it like the Enterprise in the movie with the whales?

Finally, this is the ep in which Doyle utters the line that had been bugging me for weeks because I couldn't recall which ep it came from:

"Listen. That man in Rome, the one with the red socks, he's the one that's infallible, mate, not me." (Thanks to the Proslib transcript for the exact words)

Yeah, the rest of us muddle on and ramble about Kant or Bodie's bum or whatever the random thought of the moment is.

Great ep.



Brenda:

>Finally, this is the ep in which Doyle utters the line that had been bugging me for weeks because I couldn't recall which ep it came from:
>"Listen. That man in Rome, the one with the red socks, he's the one that's infallible, mate, not me." (Thanks to the Proslib transcript for the exact words)

I presume he's talking about the Pope? Traditionally, it's the cardinals who get red socks when they're appointed... but not sure. At first I thought Doyle was talking about some sort of crack sniper or secret agent, mind *g*.

Good pointer that Doyle's Catholic, y'think?



Debs:

Is this the ep with the boys on the bus and Doyle mentions something about living with/off an older woman and that its very repetitive and Bodie says something like “you naughty boy”? Can't you just see Bodie's nosey nature coming to the fore in this one? He definitely wants to know more.

And Doyle in the back asking Bodie what else he got for Christmas? Or am I thinking of the wrong ep?


Sue:

Well then maybe Bodie should go and read Elizabeth by Carol and he'd know <g>


Birgit:
> And Doyle in the back asking Bodie what else he got for Christmas? Or am I thinking of the wrong ep?

That's the one, Debs - one of my fav scenes :) I think Bodie is most of all trying - successfully - to annoy Doyle.

At any rate, this is one of my all-time favourites, not because of the plot (that I still find hardly believable and at the same time fairly hackneyed), but because of the interaction between the three leads, especially the car scenes. I bet MS relished that "wouldn't be seen dead eating that" scene <g>

The bit at the police canteen is wonderful, too. To me it looks as if the grub Bodie is eating not much later on the bus is exactly the packaged stuff (biscuits? cream crackers?) that Doyle grabbed from his tray before dashing off. Meaning Doyle has a bleeding heart for his ever-hungry partner after all… <g>

I'm a sucker for sleeping Doyle – and in this one, we get to see him dead to the world twice in a row :) Bodie wakes him rather gently the second time around, don't you think? Or maybe he just wanted to keep him quiet.

Cowley comes across very well in this ep. He's full of energy and relentlessly drives everybody on and on. Surely as the oldest person involved he should feel tired at some point? Nah, not our George, not even after an uncomfortable night in the back of his car. The way he obviously resents Doyle's crack about the hijackers leaving the country is great – calling Doyle Goldilocks is probably some kind of retaliation, as Bodie suspects. <g>

Apart from the partnership thing in this ep, I am very pleased to see Ruth in "agent mode". It's hard to tell at times if she's just a secretary of a full-blown operative, but in this one she's clearly Doyle's peer. The interaction between Ruth and Doyle is nice and easy, they work well together. Ruth also looks much more at ease in this function (and in blue jeans) than in her clerical role (and that ugly dress she wore in Hunter). I also like her remark to Cowley about listening to the Police radio. Pity the script writers didn't use her more often. She could have been a splendid counterpart to all that walking, talking testosterone...

When I first watched the ep in English (I had never seen it in German before either), I didn't catch a lot of the dialogue, so had to watch over and over again (barely tolerable task, as you can imagine), but still had quite a few "aha!" moments when the transcript was thankfully posted.

There are two bits of dialogue that I still don't get, though. I thought maybe someone can enlighten me. (quotes taken from the transcript)

1. While B + D are climbing up the stairs to meet Cowley and the minister:

DOYLE: That's incredible. Look at the time. "The Minister cannot be
disturbed." If Smiler came through on the hotline, it would be the same story.

What/ who is Smiler??

2. The scene in the ablutions room. Doyle tells Cowley the team have identified one possible hideout in Neasden, and Bodie groans:

DOYLE: It's all right, it's not one of ours. It's one of Benny and Steve's. It's a small housing estate on Weston Avenue.

COWLEY: Well, didn't you check it out?

DOYLE: You told us to stay on the bus.

Now, who are Benny and Steve (or, if Benny is the Benny we know, who is Steve?) or does this mean something else altogether – I vaguely remember there's some slang expression in that vein?

Yet if it is meant literally and it wasn't one place B + D found, then why does Cowley assume they should have checked it out? Doyle's answer doesn't make a lot of sense either in that case.

Considering that Cowley had army, police and whatnot on buses, it would also be highly unlikely for another CI5 pair, of all teams, to discover this one.



Carol:

>Apart from the partnership thing in this ep, I am very pleased to see Ruth in "agent mode". Pity the script writers didn't use her more often. She could have been a splendid counterpart to all that walking, talking testosterone...

A lot of the writers have made up for that, Birgit. <G>

> 1. While B + D are climbing up the stairs to meet Cowley and the minister: What/ who is Smiler??

Guessing here, I have a feeling it's a reference to Soldier Sailor Taylor Spy by Le Carre. At least, I think that's what I've always assumed.

> 2. The scene in the ablutions room. Doyle tells Cowley the team have identified one possible hideout in Neasden, and Bodie groans:
> Now, who are Benny and Steve (or, if Benny is the Benny we know, who is Steve?) or does this mean something else altogether – I vaguely remember there's some slang expression in that vein?

No slang that I can think of. I assumed it's just another couple of agents - but yes, it is a coincidence that CI5 are the ones to find the hideout. Still, they are such efficient agents <BG>

…

I have obviously been struck down by a form of dyslexia today...

It should of course be "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", for anyone looking at that trying to work out what was wrong...



Birgit:
> I have obviously been struck down by a form of dyslexia today...

Oh, never mind. I know all about *those*, honestly <g>

Thanks for the info at any rate! I've never read that Le Carré book (or any other) so it didn't ring a bell. Gosh, what an erudite person Our Ray is, eh? <g>

I'm still struggling to find out what odd bit of rhyming slang got stuck in my mind regarding Benny, but can't find it. Knowing my brain, it was probably completely different, but something about it is definitely niggling. Trust it to turn up when I'm desperately looking for something else entirely sometime next year. But certainly at two in the morning.



Metabolick:
Great comments so far on First Night, which I just happen to have rewatched last week as well as read the novelization.

I love Ray's reaction when Bodie makes the "half an ear" comment. R is busting up laughing but trying not to show it in front of Cowley, who is definitely not amused: "There are times, Bodie, when I find your ribaldry quite distasteful." One thing I love about our Lads is the way they amuse each other.

I also love B's "touching the forelock" crack. His sense of humor marvelous.

Ray looks a bit surprised at C's calling him Goldilocks, doesn't he? Maybe only B is allowed to call him by those pet names.

Doesn't it seem like Ray is more commonly called upon to handle bombs and potential bombs? I'm also thinking of the nuclear bomb in Stakeout and the booby trapped telephone in B's flat- I forget the name of the ep- (admittedly, B had his hands full in that one).

And speaking of how erudite our Ray is don't forget what his bedtime reading material is in When The Heat Cools Off - Ten Years After Ivan Denisovich- hardly light reading material. Though I still think that may have been research for his job.

B's impatience with the bus assignment reminds me of his impatience with the Stakeout assignment. He really goes for the action, but R is more willing to put the time into methodical investigation and police work, even though he's always complaining that a job is one for the police.

And I STILL want to know the significance of the title!


Birgit:
> And I STILL want to know the significance of the title!

You mean "First night"? I've always assumed it's what Bieberman was thinking he was going to enjoy when he was snatched in front of the Royal Festival Hall...?

As far as I know, it simply refers "first night a show is on at a theatre", what we call a première. That's what they were all heading for in their smart evening outfits, weren't they?

My grandmother was half-Jewish, but I can't think of any other explanation. What do the British sibs make of it?



Rachel:
> Um... as far as I know, it simply refers "first night a show is on at a theatre", what we call a première. That's what they were all heading for in their smart evening outfits, weren't they?

That's what I thought it meant as well.


Carol:
> Um... as far as I know, it simply refers "first night a show is on at a theatre", what we call a première. That's what they were all heading for in their smart evening outfits, weren't they?


And me. I was even going to comment on it - as far as I'm aware the Royal Festival Hall only has concerts rather than plays, and I don't think I would use the term 'first night' for a concert, even if it was the first night... if you see what I mean <G> Looking at their forthcoming programme now, I can only see musical events.

It's another one of those cases where I wonder if the script was written before a location was found, and the fact that the title didn't make as much sense was overlooked...


Swellison:
> And I STILL want to know the significance of the title!

IIRC, First Night refers to the fact that the Israeli minister was snatched on opening night of the theatrical production (?) he was intending to see, and I think B & D make some allusion to this in a conversation that takes place early in the episode. Haven't watched this one in well over a year, tho, so take this info with a grain of salt;-)



Debs:
That's the one, Debs - one of my fav scenes :) I think Bodie is most of all trying - successfully - to annoy Doyle.

And doing a damn fine job of it too if I may say so. Mind you Birgit I reckon they'd both get great delight in winding the other up and somehow I definitely think it's more a Lew/Martin thing than a Bodie/Doyle one.


Meaning Doyle has a bleeding heart for his ever-hungry partner after all…
<g>

He's just a great big softie is our Doyle where Bodie is concerned.

Calling Doyle Goldilocks is probably some kind of retaliation, as Bodie
suspects. <g>

HE DOES?? I've definitely got to go and re-watch it now. Such a hardship that!



Lou:
"Maybe Doyle needs pills too? What is up with his, "What do you think of the philosphy of Kant?" Bodie > totally ignores him, continuing to complain about women who aren't thrilled to be hit on and Doyle says "Exactly" Huh? Put the crack pipe down, Ray"

That little exchange always makes me laugh.... although I'm always puzzled by Bodie's comment about feminism having a bad effect on what the Spanish call.... something???!!! I don't speak Spanish and am not quite sure what he's talking about there.... help anyone???!!!

I love this episode. I don't think it's that great from the action point of view- i watched it with my dad recently and i think he got bored cos it' more of a character/wordy episode which is great from the point of view of someone like me who likes watching the boys banter. Goodness I don't think that sentence made sense at all.... i'm tired.... i love the canteen scene with the ladies- has to be one of my favourite ever Pros scenes, especially the beginning bit

"Shouldn't you be in the private dining room?" "Isn't this the private dining room? This isn't the private dining room!" "What?! I've just got me spotted dick!"

Gets me every time and their facial expressions are priceless. Love Ruth and her extended role but find it a bit weird that neither her or Doyle speak at all whilst they are driving.... actually, I suppose it does fit their characters quite well. If Ruth had been in the car with Bodie, I'm sure he would have been chatting away to her.

All in all, a great fun episode with the best bits of banter from Ray and Bodie.... I could watch it over and over. *toddles off to watch it again*


Birgit:
> on what the Spanish call…something???!!! I don't speak Spanish and am not quite sure what he's talking about there… help anyone???!!!

Cojones, meaning "balls" and, by derivation, also what the British call "guts" (courage) :)

Birgit (aka the walking dictionary of dirty words for various body parts)


Jo:
Great discussion!

I re-watched First Night last night while half asleep having just arrived home from a long day in Aberystwyth, and made no notes at all, so we'll see how much I can remember of what I wanted to say.

First of all, as just about everybody has commented already, this is a fantastic ep for happy, chummy Laddish banter. They are actually together for most of the ep, nothing terrible happens to either; it is a solid working case. And there are some fantastic light-hearted moments between the two of them.

As for the actual case, well. Hmm. You could see what they were trying to do. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, because it goes so wrong at times. The opening sequence is a good example. You can see what the writers/producers were trying to achieve. They wanted to show this top-ranked diplomat or whatever being kidnapped. They wanted to show that it was a slick, well-planned, well-executed snatch, full of danger and drama. Sadly, they had neither the writing skill nor the budget to pull it off properly. The masked gunman popping out from *inside* the concert hall I find especially difficult to swallow.

Moving on swiftly…to another example. The first scenes of CI5's involvement. Again, you can see what they are trying to achieve. They want to show that all the agents (yes, even Cowley) have lives that are constantly being interrupted by the call of duty. So they show us examples of this. Cowley out on the streets buying a paper. Bodie and Doyle out with their girlfriends. Bodie is at a tennis club, but watching rather than playing; Doyle and his girl are going to an unspecified rock concert. His method of trying to appease said girl (a greetings telegram? Puh-lease!) is unimpressive, but I strongly suspect it was just a question of the writers wanting to show both Lads wanting to make amends to ditching their girls, but not wanting them to do the same thing. The result is clumsy, but then again, who cares? We get some pretty shots of the Lads out of it. <G>

And another example. Last one, honest. The 'Dad's Army' scene Carol commented on earlier. Yes. And again, you can see what they were trying to achieve. They needed a scene that would show the audience that a serious search was taking place, and they wanted a scene to demonstrate that progress was being made. So for some reason they decided that a line of soldiers striding across a field without actually looking at anything, apparently, would suffice for this. But they tried – if you watch, you'll see what just before the blindingly obvious helicopter is spotted the soldiers emerge from behind a copse of trees, which presumably were obscuring their view of the hard-to-miss craft before that. Or am I reaching here?

I like the police siren on the Capri. They really should have kept it. Or maybe the writers just forgot it was there?

This isn't an ep to watch if you want solid action. As I said before, it is rather a solid case-based story. The Bigwig is snatched, CI5 are drawn in because it is so hugely a political case, and the entire ep is based around them solving the case, slowly and methodically. If you are into methodology, it is probably a good insight (or not, depending on how you view the skills of the writers) into how CI5 works (and in partnership with other agencies, too).

I love Doyle and Bodie loving being able to roust their former superiors into action. Making the most of the clout being in CI5 gives them.

Um. Carol mentioned that scene where Bodie eyes up a girl while on their way to see the Minister. I'm with Sue on that one. I didn't notice Bodie at all? Was he there? <G> Doyle trying not to crack up in front of the minister is great. And I love Cowley rushing them away, telling them to hurry, hurry.

Doyle is definitely the potential-explosives-expert in this outfit. In several eps he is the one dealing with suspect devices that could possibly be rigged, like the package in the phone booth. I'm not entirely sure why. I'm sure it isn't a general police thing, and ex-army ex-merc Bodie would be more likely to know about explosives, wouldn't he? They were both more than happy to leave the helicopter to the bomb squad. But I love Doyle showing his police roots, and I love Doyle being all official and useful, like carefully checking the shoe before picking it up with his pen ("I shall want that pen back"!) and checking the package in the phone booth before opening it.

Ruth is great, as usual. I liked her working with Doyle as a fellow agent, although I find the lack of dialogue puzzling. Surely they'd talk to each other? Even if it was all about work, rather than flirtatious banter? When they do talk, it is great stuff ("You're as bad as Bodie." "Oh come on. No one's as bad as Bodie!" Hehe.) It is scenes like that that make you realise that this show really could have worked as an ensemble cast if they'd had the will to go for it, instead of just focusing on the very narrow cast of three regulars. The lead partnership could have remained the focus, but having a strong cast of recurring characters who lasted longer than a mere ep or two could have added so much to the show, as demonstrated by the strong performances of many other agents on the rare occasion we got to see them.

The final showdown is, um…yeah, okay. Bodie reckons a hard hat would slow him down? Yeah right. Worried about hat hair, more like. Doyle obviously had similar worries, since he was the only agent charging in not to wear a helmet and visor. Actually, none of his helmeted colleagues make it into the house before the oh-so swift Bodie and Doyle have already taken out three terrorists and take the fourth prisoner.

As Debs said, it is always nice to be allowed to get to know the Bad Guys as characters in their own right, instead of just being two-dimensional cardboard figures there to get shot at.

Food and drink. Bodie had a sip or two of something at the tennis club before being called away. And he ate plenty – Swiss roll, bacon sarnie, crackers, a bite or two in the police canteen (in that marvellous scene), etc. I think Doyle might have also managed a mouthful or two. I can't remember anything else.

Overall, big thumbs up, despite the flaws. Who cares about the quality of the writing, when the Lads sparkle so brightly?


Birgit:

Um. Carol mentioned that scene where Bodie eyes up a girl while on their way to see the Minister. I'm with Sue on that one. I didn't notice Bodie at all. Was he there? <G>

That's probably because Doyle (or rather MS, I suspect) trips on the stairs and like me, you enjoyed the sight of him looking at the unruly step with a slightly puzzled frown :) Never missing a cue, of course.

> Doyle is definitely the potential-explosives-expert in this outfit.

He probably has the steadier hands. Bodie's much too fidgety most of the time. But you're right, it *is* strange. Maybe the only rubber gloves they found on the set were size S so Bodie couldn't get his great big paws into them? <g>

> a bite or two in the police canteen (in that marvellous scene),

Sorry, but I beg to differ on this one: it's Doyle who manages 1 (in words: one) bite of whatever it is he has on his plate before his R/T bleeps and he answers it with his mouth full (he does that on other occasions, too, quite apart from the slurping <g>). Poor Bodie, however, is so busy chatting up the ladies that he doesn't get to grab a single chip. Aw.


Carol:
> Um. Carol mentioned that scene where Bodie eyes up a girl while on their way to see the Minister. I'm with Sue on that one. I didn't notice Bodie at all. Was he there?

LOL!

> That's probably because Doyle (or rather MS, I suspect) trips on the stairs and like me, you enjoyed the sight of him looking at the unruly step with a slightly puzzled frown :) Never missing a cue, of course.

On the way up the stairs? Will have to watch that again. No, I'm talking about at the top of the stairs while they're trying to interrupt Cowley and the Minister. Girl walks past, Bodie's eyes latch on and follow her...


Birgit:
> On the way up the stairs?

Yup.

> No, I'm talking about at the top of the stairs while they're trying to interrupt Cowley and the Minister.

Hmmmmm - I have a feeling I'd better pack the DVDs for some in-depth research while we're away. Considering that I'll have to take the laptop with me anyway, that's only fair, wouldn't you say? <g>

Must watch that scene again. Definitely. Thanks for the excuse :)


Sue:

I've finally got around to watching First Night.

Not sure if I can come up with anything new that people haven't already mentioned but it is always a pleasure to watch this episode. My husband was in the room at the same time – I wouldn't go quite so far as to say he was watching it as well - however he did drop the odd comment such as `this is where he dumps his bird' when he saw Bodie at the tennis club – he tends, like us, to slip into the vernacular when watching Pros. <g>

He also observed that always being on call like this is why Cowley is on his own – awww.

The police car was a Rover P6, by the way. All the panels come off individually so it's easy to replace just the one required, donchaknow? He's also a mine of useless information on various topics – we keep each other entertained for hours!

Anyway, back to the more interesting aspects of the episode. I find it most amusing that the police seem to have taken seriously, the angry pedestrian who reports the speed merchant. If we all did that today the police would never do anything else. Yes, I know Cowley has alerted all the police and so they probably picked up on this as
being pertinent but I still find it odd. It's much more likely that there has been too little time for the relevance of a speeding car in that area to have filter down to every desk sergeant in every station.

The bearded villain is very convincing, very menacing.

This time I forced myself to watch the half an ear scene very closely with regards to Bodie and the woman in pink. Honestly, this is the first time I've noticed that – he does watch her very closely.

The whole scene deserves replaying over and over just to relish the looks on each of the characters faces properly – so that's four viewings at least!

Doyle does trip slightly on the stairs, as Birgit mentioned. I had noticed it before but it is so slight, it hadn't really registered. I love that fact that Martin never steps out of character no matter what. I'm reminded of when he/Doyle gets caught on the rose bush in The Acorn Syndrome and doesn't miss a beat.

I agree with Carol about the paperboy simply throwing the papers. That simply would not have been tolerated; there would have been complaints to the newsagents. I used to get extra tips at Christmas because I always pushed the paper right through the letterbox instead of leaving it stuck half in and half out <g>

The canteen scene is another one that can be watched over and over. I do find it amusing how the two actresses played it differently. The dark haired one finds it all amusing but the blonde seems genuinely cross.

And did anybody else notice that it is Doyle who treats Bodie? He says he's tight? Not me.

The following scene on the bus is great too and I'm always amused by
the very hard look Lewis (rather than Bodie, I think) gives the woman sitting behind when she seems to be taking too much of an interest.

As for ad libbed bits, I wonder about the bit in the changing room when Doyle is trying to pass information onto Cowley and the person on the other end of the RT keeps chattering away.

An unfortunate lack of dialogue, scripted or ad libbed, as has already been commented on, in the car scenes with Ruth and Doyle. It's hard to say anything when you've not been given any lines but I prefer to take their silence and exchange of smiles as those of good friends and colleagues who are comfortable with each other. They have been talking but we've only been privy to the bits between conversations. The banter at the end would have been better if Doyle had remained in the car. Coming right around to her side of the car feels slightly forced.

The whole rescue at the end is quite funny with our heroes being the only ones allowed to actually achieve anything and being so brave, refusing all protective gear :) I actually think such wary villains just might have heard that truck lumbering into position but perhaps we won't mention little details like that.

Perhaps we also won't mention that Bodie uses the wrong call sign in the car – the scene where Doyle is asleep in the back.

All in all, an excellent episode – fantastic banter, marvellous looks and plenty of background material for we writers to build upon.

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