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Post by Arthur Pringle on Mar 15, 2019 15:27:42 GMT
I think other than squad members & superiors, only Regan, Carter & Haskins wives & Regan's daughter were ever mentioned or seen in more than 1 episode. Two other episodes Marshall wrote, 'Hit And Run' & 'Victims' are quite similar, dealing with wives.
I'm not a Roger Marshall expert but I did notice that he 'brought back' a set of characters ( played by the same actors mostly ) from an Armchair Theatre episode he wrote called 'Wednesday's Child' for an episode of 'Public Eye' called 'My Life's My Own', so maybe this is a thing of his.
It can be interesting to bring back characters like this, but I'm not sure it works in The Sweeney as I think one of the show's strengths is the fact that each episode starts from scratch, it was a series of individual films rather a serial.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Mar 15, 2019 15:37:10 GMT
I think other than squad members & superiors, only Regan, Carter & Haskins wives & Regan's daughter were ever mentioned or seen in more than 1 episode. Two other episodes Marshall wrote, 'Hit And Run' & 'Victims' are quite similar, dealing with wives.
I'm not a Roger Marshall expert but I did notice that he 'brought back' a set of characters ( played by the same actors mostly ) from an Armchair Theatre episode he wrote called 'Wednesday's Child' for an episode of 'Public Eye' called 'My Life's My Own', so maybe this is a thing of his.
It can be interesting to bring back characters like this, but I'm not sure it works in The Sweeney as I think one of the show's strengths is the fact that each episode starts from scratch, it was a series of individual films rather a serial.
You rarely see Regan with the same woman, think we see the actress playing his wife twice, in Regan and Abducion, does a different actress play her in another episode. As to girlfriends, they only last one episode! Does not mean his a rubbish lover or in great demand?
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The Saint
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Post by The Saint on Mar 15, 2019 17:09:43 GMT
I think other than squad members & superiors, only Regan, Carter & Haskins wives & Regan's daughter were ever mentioned or seen in more than 1 episode. Two other episodes Marshall wrote, 'Hit And Run' & 'Victims' are quite similar, dealing with wives.
I'm not a Roger Marshall expert but I did notice that he 'brought back' a set of characters ( played by the same actors mostly ) from an Armchair Theatre episode he wrote called 'Wednesday's Child' for an episode of 'Public Eye' called 'My Life's My Own', so maybe this is a thing of his.
It can be interesting to bring back characters like this, but I'm not sure it works in The Sweeney as I think one of the show's strengths is the fact that each episode starts from scratch, it was a series of individual films rather a serial.
You rarely see Regan with the same woman, think we see the actress playing his wife twice, in Regan and Abducion, does a different actress play her in another episode. As to girlfriends, they only last one episode! Does not mean his a rubbish lover or in great demand? Yes, we only see Regan's wife twice, she is played by Janet Key who sadly died very young. The Saint
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Mar 15, 2019 17:22:38 GMT
Yes, 47 is very young, especially when you're approaching 60 faster than Cooney on a pursuit.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Oct 30, 2019 20:16:24 GMT
I just watched On The Run - it doesn't really work for me
All too implausible
I'll have to rewatch Taste Of Fear to remember the backstory
Why does Pinder spring Cook? Especially as Pinder is all but out and is on to a good thing with "Uncle"
What is Cook's plan once he's out, other than trying to get Regan for nicking him in the first place.
Why does Pinder suddenly get sick in the woods?
None of it stacks up
George Sweeney certainly has a great face for a villain though and really hams up the psycho act in On The Run
Great ending mind....
“I’ll take what’s left but you are a terrible long term bet Jack.”
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Oct 30, 2019 21:03:35 GMT
I just watched On The Run - it doesn't really work for me
All too implausible
I'll have to rewatch Taste Of Fear to remember the backstory
Why does Pinder spring Cook? Especially as Pinder is all but out and is on to a good thing with "Uncle"
What is Cook's plan once he's out, other than trying to get Regan for nicking him in the first place.
Why does Pinder suddenly get sick in the woods?
None of it stacks up
George Sweeney certainly has a great face for a villain though and really hams up the psycho act in On The Run
Great ending mind....
“I’ll take what’s left but you are a terrible long term bet Jack.”
I don't hold this episode in high regard either, as you state its a bit nonsensical.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 30, 2019 21:46:37 GMT
I think the episode is too ambitious compared to 'Taste Of Fear' & suffers as a result, there's too much going on. Cook protecting Pinder in prison ( Cook mentions this & how he poured boiling water over Pinder's tormentor ) was probably reason enough to put up the money to spring him. As for Pinder feeling ill in the woods, I think this is part & parcel of him being portrayed as 'delicate'.
Delicate as it's not made explicit that Pinder is gay, rather that he's a 'good looking boy' ( as Regan describes him ) who is preyed upon in prison and has a 'special relationship' with Uncle, whose sexual preference is again not made explicit. We're obviously supposed to assume that Uncle is homosexual ( even though Regan oddly says 'homosapiens' ), but at the same time it's made to look as though he's abusing his position. It's all a bit dodgy by today's standards. In those days on tv you couldn't just have a gay character, the gay character had to be corrupt in some way or be a 'victim'.
Another thing is that in 'Taste Of Fear' there's no indication of Cook's 'king sized claustrophobia', in fact you see him enjoying being relatively 'cooped up' in the caravan when he talks about enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof. I think the idea is that his Army experience in Ulster ( mentioned in both episodes ) caused PTSD, but they turned it too far up in 'On The Run' I think. Was PTSD even recognised then? The psychiatrist doesn't even mention how his time in Ulster may have affected Cook, which seems crazy given what we know today about PTSD. In fact the psychiatrist is a figure of fun designed to wind no nonsense Regan up. I've not given it any thought until now but a story about a soldier returning damaged from a tour of Ulster would've had more depth, instead Cook is just written off as a 'nutter'.
You can definitely pick holes in this episode but yes, it is entertaining.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Oct 30, 2019 21:51:38 GMT
In depth analysis there AP!
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Oct 31, 2019 10:24:07 GMT
That's a stunning analysis Arthur.
Thanks.
I agree with everything you say too - all thoughts I'd had but you've articulated them, and some others, far more eloquently and insightfully than I could hope to do
Uncle washing Pinder's feet also hints at some kind of foot fetish - whilst both enjoy an intelligent and highbrow conversation that like of which is rarely heard in an episode of the Sweeney.
Despite the episode's overall incoherence there is still plenty to enjoy.
By the by, what's the big old Victorian boozer which features a couple of times?
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 31, 2019 12:31:07 GMT
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