Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 12, 2020 19:22:51 GMT
Just rewatched this one
A good, if slightly weird, episode. That it all takes place on location at Brunel adds to the sense that it's a bit out of the ordinary
A few queries....
Was Wands haivng a relationship with the student? That was hinted at but never made clear. If so, why bother with it as a plot point?
Why didn't Haskins shoot when he had the chance? Is it supposed to show that he's weak?
The protocol in hostage situation has come a long way since the mid 70s.
Can't quite decide whether its a three or a four out of five - probably not quite strong enough to be a four so it's...
3/5
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Jun 12, 2020 19:37:00 GMT
One of the best episodes this one, in my opinion. Love the locations and the heat haze of the summer of 75. Gets a 4 or maybe 4.5 out of 5 from me.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jun 12, 2020 20:25:50 GMT
I've always just assumed that the student was playing along with Wands, though under the circumstances she doesn't seem too bothered about being taken hostage at gunpoint. It is a cliche of siege & kidnap situations in films & tv though, the captor & hostage becoming friendly, not quite Stockholm Syndrome as that requires more time to develop, but something like it.
Regan is all in favour of killing Wands & Monk & the snipers practically lick their lips, 'beautiful!' says one as he has a clear shot at a head whilst Haskins listens in on the radio in distaste. There was a scene earlier where Haskins & Regan are choosing whether to kill them or let them go, Haskins looks like he's resigned to letting them go. I think Regan's rant at Haskins is unfair, there was no guarantee that the marksmen would kill both of them simultaneously, had either missed then Wands or Monk could've gone crazy & killed the hostages.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Jun 12, 2020 20:57:59 GMT
The episode seems to have been written to make Regan's tough approach the right one(as usual) and Haskins more careful approach wrong.
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Vienna
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Post by Vienna on Jun 13, 2020 13:12:44 GMT
One of the best episodes this one, in my opinion. Love the locations and the heat haze of the summer of 75. Gets a 4 or maybe 4.5 out of 5 from me. I think it was possibly the first (or one of the first) episodes I saw when repeated back in 1984. A bit more intense than others, but definitely in my Sweeney Top 5 episode list Vi
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 13, 2020 16:38:50 GMT
One of the best episodes this one, in my opinion. Love the locations and the heat haze of the summer of 75. Gets a 4 or maybe 4.5 out of 5 from me. Thanks Cartman
I agree with everything except the rating
I prefer the gritty London episodes though
You're right about that heat haze though. I was sweating just watching it. I reckon George Carter had the right idea when he delivered the Champagne and the takeaway
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 13, 2020 16:41:48 GMT
I've always just assumed that the student was playing along with Wands, though under the circumstances she doesn't seem too bothered about being taken hostage at gunpoint. It is a cliche of siege & kidnap situations in films & tv though, the captor & hostage becoming friendly, not quite Stockholm Syndrome as that requires more time to develop, but something like it.
Regan is all in favour of killing Wands & Monk & the snipers practically lick their lips, 'beautiful!' says one as he has a clear shot at a head whilst Haskins listens in on the radio in distaste. There was a scene earlier where Haskins & Regan are choosing whether to kill them or let them go, Haskins looks like he's resigned to letting them go. I think Regan's rant at Haskins is unfair, there was no guarantee that the marksmen would kill both of them simultaneously, had either missed then Wands or Monk could've gone crazy & killed the hostages.
I think you're probably right about Wands and the student - a bit of Stockholm Syndrome, plus he wanted to give her the loan
The series was during the Dirty Harry era when one of the narratives was that the wooly liberals were all for giving hardened criminals a slap on the wrist when the only language they understood was violence.
Regan is a bit of a Harry Callaghan figure, willing to bend a few rules to get a result - though not quite as extreme as Callaghan who will stop at nothing to stop a criminal
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 13, 2020 16:43:20 GMT
The episode seems to have been written to make Regan's tough approach the right one(as usual) and Haskins more careful approach wrong. Yes. I agree. See my reply to Arthur above.
Even the casting of Haskins seems to have been made with that in mind. Then again, theres a few episodes where Frank seems a bit more like Regan and the rest of the squad
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jun 13, 2020 16:47:24 GMT
The original idea for Shalt Not Kill was a Shopping Centre siege with Wandsworth Arndale being where it was going to be filmed, the logistics for it were too great so it switched to Brunel University and the bank siege. It's a good episode I enjoy... some good points made about it here too.
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Jun 13, 2020 17:17:19 GMT
The original idea for Shalt Not Kill was a Shopping Centre siege with Wandsworth Arndale being where it was going to be filmed, the logistics for it were too great so it switched to Brunel University and the bank siege. It's a good episode I enjoy... some good points made about it here too. Wandsworth Council and the local Police weren't keen on the idea of people running about a shopping centre with shooters - as it was a public place. Had it been shot in a shopping centre, it would have certainly made a decent episode.
Though - a great episode, one of my favourites alongside Abduction and Supersnout.
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