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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Perhaps the most easily parodied action series of its era, The Professionals was the one about the gruff but fatherly counter-terrorist top cop Cowley (Gordon Jackson) and his favourite surrogate sons, the curly haired ex-copper Ray Doyle (Martin Shaw) and taciturn-but-pouting ex-mercenary William Bodie (Lewis Collins). As set out by series creator Brian Clemens (veteran of the more fantastical Avengers) their job was to stop threats to the government, visiting dignitaries or the general public "by any means necessary". What this boiled down to was dashing about, leaping out of cars, getting into thump-happy fistfights, leering at every "bird" who passed by as if they were trying to prove something, wearing eye-abusing late-70s leisure wear well beyond the sell-by date, potting baddies with guns hauled out of their smart shoulder holsters and occasionally choking back manly tears when another of the trio was wounded.
The show was at once laughably solemn and deliriously stuck on its hairy homoerotic subtext (B&D, which also stands for bondage and discipline, are essentially married), but it could also be strong drama, occasionally tackling serious issues well ahead of news shows (one episode, "In the Public Interest", is about a provincial police chief whose zero tolerance methods have turned to vigilantism--it's also the one where B&D go undercover by running a gay youth group). All three leads were professionals of another stripe--the sort of actors who could soar with a good script and do their best to sell a weak one--and they were generally set against a parade of top-flight British character acting talent along with sundry sit-com/pin-up refugee disposable girlfriends and suspects.
One strange, if understandable, element of the premise is that CI5 tackle all manner of Greek, Middle Eastern, Soviet and radical nutcase groups--with the odd racist Klansman, corrupt civil servant and dubious big business tycoon thrown in to prove they aren't fascists--but almost never have anything to do with the Irish terrorist groups who were the main focus of the organisation's real-life counterparts from 1977 to 1983. --Kim Newman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
They Don't Make Them Like This Anymore,
By
This review is from: The Professionals - Complete Box Set [16 DVD] [1977] (DVD)
I was born in '76, and was 7 by the time the last season of The Professionals was aired in 1983. As a young boy I was obviously busting to watch this action packed cop drama but was never allowed to. So roll on 2004, I took the plunge and purchased the whole set. I was blown away. Expecting a campy, badly acted, horribly dated British cop TV serves, what I infact got was a well acted, tense, action packed series. Bodie & Doyle's relationship is very intriguing. Bodie being the all action man, loves the fights, and the chases ( ofcourse being an ex-army man ) Doyle is the more sensitive of the two, and is more interested in the human side of crime ( being an ex Copper ). In between the action scenes, there are some great comedy moments, mainly between those two. Great banter and humour in the script, and very very believable. Then ofcourse there is Cowley - The dour Scot with a quick temper, but he loves his boys and although he disciplines them now and again, he's also always willing to offer them a 'pure malt whiskey' after successfully taking out a terrorist. Gordon Jackson plays this role superbly and you really warm to him the more you watch. Martin Shaw is a fine actor, and his long curly locks, and campish scarf that he starts wearing really made me chuckle ( he's supposed to be a rock hard geezer! ) Ofcourse there's some poor episodes out of the 57, usually when Bodie, Doyle & Cowley are not on the screen together. As for the best season? Tough call - 1st series is great after the first 2 or 3 episodes. I also really enjoyed the 4th series, although many felt it started to slacken then. Just get it - you can watch a few episodes in a week. There's nothing like it on TV now, no flash effects or hand held camera approaches. No model-like actors pretending to be hard. Just gritty, 70's action/drama with a great script and loads of violence. All boys stuff!
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For A Fan It Makes A Super Gift !!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Professionals - Complete Box Set [16 DVD] [1977] (DVD)
This set was bought for me as a gift from my Boyfriend, and I can honestly say I couldn't have picked a better present if I had chosen it for myself. When I was a teenager I loved this series and never missed an episode. I now know why (because it's brilliant). From the Theme Music, to the Car Chases and of course the terrific acting from it's three main stars (Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson) this series is a winner from start to finish. They don't make TV like this anymore. I'd advise anyone who enjoyed watching it the first time around to buy it - it's always fun to re-live your youth.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still the most entertaining tough guys on the small screen!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Professionals - Box Set Issue 2 Vol. 1 - 4 [VHS] [1977] (VHS Tape)
It may be well over twenty years since they last strapped on a gun holster and chased a villain up a back alley, but Bodie and Doyle remain the most exciting and entertaining tough guys on the small screen. This boxed collection of 12 episodes is not only ideal for viewers like me who loved "The Professionals" first time around, but also a splendid initiation for those who have yet to experience this TV cult classic.Unlike their TV peers, Bodie and Doyle are neither regular coppers nor private detectives; they are far more sophisticated than that, being part of an elite government organisation called CI5. Cooler than "The Sweeney", harder than "Starsky and Hutch", "The Professionals" are part spy, part detective and all action! Bodie and Doyle investigate a range of crimes from terrorism to espionage. This makes for interesting and varied episodes with unusual and imaginative plots. I enjoyed every episode in this compilation set, but one of my favourites is "A Servant of Two Masters" in which Bodie and Doyle are forced to spy on their own commanding officer, the gritty George Cowley. Can the most honourable man in Britain really be selling a lethal nerve gas to oppressive foreign regimes?! There is plenty of action, including shoot-outs, fist fights and crazy driving. There is also a great deal of humour, the rapport between the central characters making for some very witty one-liners. A product of their time, it has to be said that Bodie and Doyle are not politically correct. But that is part of their charm. If you like your tough guys really tough, they don't get any better than "The Professionals"!
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