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The Professionals - Season 1 [DVD] [1977]
 
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The Professionals - Season 1 [DVD] [1977]

DVD ~ The Professionals
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 4
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: E1 Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 10 Jun 2002
  • Run Time: 700 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000667N7
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 48,719 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

An instant hit in 1977, The Professionals was a fast-moving and occasionally sharp-shooting action series about a couple of cool dudes in a fictional secret service organisation, CI5. The creation of Avengers veterans Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell it was often gritty stuff, leavened by the mildly subversive attitudes of Bodie (Lewis Collins) and Doyle (Martin Shaw) who ultimately are always loyal to their gruff boss George Cowley (Gordon Jackson). Helped by witty, if rampantly sexist, dialogue and trousers of sterility defying tightness, Bodie and Doyle enjoyed a good run as 1970s sex symbols. Jackson’s often exasperated Cowley kept them in line with just the right degree of Puritanical steel.

The first series set the standard for five successful years, milking the dramatic potential of a rich gamut of scenarios, from international espionage to racism and religious evangelism; Bodie and Doyle usually being called upon to protect a controversial figure from the assassin's bullet. Shaw would later dismiss The Professionals for its stereotypical violence and for a long time refused to allow reruns. In fact, as cult television goes, it has weathered well. Many of its themes are as relevant today as they were then. The constantly elliptical script ("I want you to see that he's… well taken care of") is tremendous fun. And despite the macho drive, the whole thing has a camp archness which betrays its Avengers pedigree. Great for a nostalgic wallow.

On the DVD: The Professionals on disc still displays the slightly ropey quality of late 1970s television film complete with brassy soundtrack. Presented in 4:3 format, the original production values disconcertingly recreate the original post-homework viewing experience. But the DVD extras are the thing here. Interactive menus allow you to drill down into the history of each of the 14 episodes, cross-referencing guest stars. And there's an appropriately camp fashion note.--Piers Ford



DVD Description

This double disc box set features all fourteen episodes from the first series, originally broadcsat in 1977.
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars At Last - The Professionals on DVD, 5 Aug 2002
By Martin Hore (Standish, Lancashire UK) - See all my reviews
This is the one I have been waiting for - Series 1 is suddenly made available on a package of 4 discs, no more hunting through the "Granada Plus" listings for re-runs, the package is well put together and allegedly in "production" order which makes viewing even more fascinating watching the styles and the vehicles change throughout the run. It is an absolute pleasure to be able to watch these programmes without advertisement breaks for the very first time... Marvellous. Season One had a couple of mediocre episodes but also it`s fair share of absolute classics as the characters and programme themes evolved. Still some unanswered questions though, two esquisitely crafted stories "When the heat cools off" and "Everest was also conquered" both feature a different intro with a very young looking Bodie and Doyle (Cowley looks the same) yet they weren`t pilot episodes according to the "Mission briefs". An extra bonus is the never before seen episode "Klansmen", a crying shame LWT/Granada didn`t broadcast this back in 78, it`s clever storyline hides a message that probably would have had an impact even then.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars From British television's Golden age., 17 Aug 2002
Feeling just as fresh as it must have done nigh on 25 years ago, The Professionals represents everything conspicuously lacking in much of today’s British drama series. Quality acting, high-octane action, and writing (as George Cowley would say) ‘as tight as a Scotsman on Burns Night’ are what make the tales of CI5 the very paragon of the genre. Regrettably, in an era of vapid long running serials based in the mundane surroundings of hospitals, police stations and pleasant English villages, it would appear the sense of adventure the likes of Brians Clemens brought to the small screen have been steamrollered by the needs of producers (no doubt under pressure from anxious Channel bosses) to worship the perfunctory pillars of populist television.
There is little doubt in my mind that The Professionals should be regarded as a classic example of the television art form. Whilst it could be argued that the characterisation of the central characters (particularly the pseudo-gay relationship of Bodie and Doyle) is sadly neglected, it is done so for one very deliberate, very worthwhile reason – to keep the tempo of the stories as pacy and punchy as possible. CI 5, at the end of the day, is not a place for sensitive characters of an indecisive disposition. It is an organisation designed to combat the most ingenious plots aimed at toppling civilised society, and as such it needs men who don’t consider there lives of great importance. This is not to say that the characters do not generate pathos. Indeed, the very fact that the programme rejects all the pretentious trimmings of most other dramas adds to the characters’ charms. Moreover, we get to like them through their work as a team, the acting of the central players (Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and most notably the superb Gordon Jackson) and their apparent infallibility. Just the way Cowley removes his glasses reeks of unimpeachable authority.
At its core however, The Professionals extols the virtues of imaginative screenwriting. Through a careful mix of comic book action and gritty realism the series had an uncanny ability to keep an audience on the very edge of its seat; particularly in these early episodes, in which the fears of a British nation very much aware of terrorism and organised crime, are expertly exploited. Plotlines of the likes of Private Madness, Public Danger, Close Quarters and Klansmen, in which Clemens took the brave decision to make Bodie a racist, were either uncomfortably close to home (Klansmen has never been aired on terrestrial television) or uncannily prophetic. The reassurance of the entire series though, was that thanks to a combination of British wit, cunning and ingenuity, the criminals never won out.
Bizarrely then (considering it attracted audiences of over 14 million), The Professionals has often been the subject of criticism..The Guinness Book of classic British television states “it’s difficult to find anyone with a kind word to say about The Professionals”. Well I hope I have gone someway to redress the balance. In a world of flawed, socially retarded television detectives this sort of escapist entertainment is the very thing British television needs to produce once again. Buy the first season on DVD and enjoy a piece of television drama from its halcyon days.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Like a particularly good pure malt scotch, 8 Aug 2002
I was very pleasantly surprised that these shows had dated as little as they had. Apart from the hair, clothes and cars they stories still stood up relatively well.

We had many fantastic evenings of nostalgia as up to 8 family members/friends wanted to be present for each evening we were watching the men from CI5.

There always could have been more in the special features, but they were OK. I spent my Saturday nights when younger religiously watching the Professionals, and now I can do it again. I ordered this item all the way from Australia as the version released here had only 4 episodes and I am extremely glad I did.

The screen tension between Bodie(Lewis Collins) and Doyle (Martin Shaw) crackles delightfully after all these years and Cowley (Gordon Jackson) is just the same as I remember him. The human side keeps trying break through and occasionally looks like it might succeed. The lovely window sticker was delightfully surprising touch.

I have just gone ahead and ordered Season 2 and look forward to much more action!

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