MovieChat Forums > The Professionals (1977) Discussion > A piece of history.

A piece of history.

posted 13 years ago by roo1
15 replies | jump to latest

No stunning insights, merely a few thoughts prompted by an episode I watched today.

I was eight years old when The Professionals began in 1977 and was never allowed to watch it, even the later series. This was in the days before multiple television sets in houses in the UK, please note. Oh, how I missed out on the playground games based on and reviews of the preceding night's episode (broadcast on a Sunday, I believe)...

Anyway, I now have the chance to watch it (I'm 43, after all) and aside from realising what a rollicking good programme it is, which I had suspected all along, I am quite taken by the scenes of "Old London".

Few, relatively, cars on the roads, buildings - especially around the docks - before the mass gentrification (and resulting massive price increases) of the '80s onwards, how the shops looked, no London Eye, Gherkin, or Canary Wharf building, with the Post Office Tower the tallest structure on the skyline. A similar sense of wistful reminiscing descends when watching The Sweeney or Minder.

A thought about the clothes, too, perhaps. Was The Professionals the Miami Vice of its day re style? Some of the collections, especially Bodie's, it must be said, now seem a trifle wide of collar. However, I must confess that I quite like an outfit worn by Doyle of a grey tweed jacket, a shirt, faded, slightly-flared jeans and - God forgive me - cowboy boots. Actually, aside from the cowboy boots, it's an outfit not dissimilar to some worn by James May... Not a lot different to what I wear, either...

Still can't decide between the RS2000 and one of the Capris. Probably a Capri, even with a vinyl roof, although I prefer the 3.0S to the 3.0 Ghia.

http://bit.ly/CI5Capri

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 13 years ago

The Professionals was one of my favourite programs. Still is. Although it's only about 30 years old it might as well be set on a different planet. The things they got away with... :)

Apart from the fact that London of course looks completely different now, I thought it was interesting that mostly its gritty side was displayed. There were barely any glamour shots of the city. London looked very gloomy in this show.

It's easy to make fun of the clothes nowadays (it's easy to make fun of Don Johnson's clothes too), but I liked them, for the most part. I couldn't say if the lads were style icons or not.

There is a great website about The Professionals:
http://www.personal.u-net.com/~carnfort/Professionals/

P.S.: James May likes to dress up his outfits with flowery shirts though.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] nina_glyndwr 13 years ago

What is also interesting to note is the speed of the story, too. Much slower. The language - no swearing. How wonderful. No fancy tricks. More banter and humour. And the banter also seems to be more educated than today - Croesus, Beckett?

Yesterday I watched the first episode of The Body Farm (UK series) and, boy, was that different. More gruesome, darker. A lot of modern TV crime series are also literally darker. I want to scream "Put a light on so I can see your face."

[–] Jason_Radley 13 years ago

I bet they never even had a serial killer to catch.

[–] Freedom_Spark 13 years ago

I was born long after the show had finished but I'm a recent convert (a young Martin Shaw first got me interested )but it is such a superbly written and acted show, as for the shots of 'Old London' I find them really intriguing and atmospheric, my brother and I had a debate about it the other day, I suggested that most of the outdoors shots of the profs must have been filmed at dawn to get that quietness on the roads etc. it often looks a little dull but hazy as if it was filmed in the summer before the sun came out. My brother however, thinks that in the late 70s early 80s it may have actually been less manic and busy in general; surely not this quiet though? I love the old fashioned phones and phoneboxes as well.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail-R.W Emerson

[–] Jason_Radley 13 years ago

This site (http://www.personal.u-net.com/~carnfort/Professionals/epslist.htm)has plenty of details of locations used in the various episodes. Fans of the pre-Thatcherite London era, should check out The Long, Good Friday.

[–] buckaroobanzai50 12 years ago

I bet they never even had a serial killer to catch.

I think you are wrong there:

* Hunter Hunted
* Private Madness Public Danger

Just a few eps I can think of, with a serial killer...

[–] nina_glyndwr 13 years ago

I'm watching the episodes on youtube and have noticed a few things:

1. The accents that could cut glass. Does anyone speak so clearly these days? There's so much mumbling.

2. Our heroes get beaten up a lot more and it all looks painful. I remember wincing a lot when watching my favourite detectives (of various series) being beaten up by the bad guys.

3. They don't even seem to make use of the phones that they could use. So there they are... racing along to a building site when they could ring Cowley to ring through to the nearest station and get the nearest police car to go there instead of racing through half of the country themselves.

4. It's all less flashy than these days. Grimier. Grittier.

[–] k.m.bunting 10 years ago

2. Our heroes get beaten up a lot more and it all looks painful. I remember wincing a lot when watching my favourite detectives (of various series) being beaten up by the bad guys.

Yes, I remember that in the 60s, if the hero of an action drama was in a punch-up, he would merely have a token slight mark on his face for a few scenes. Later they started to give characters realistic and painful-looking injuries from the violence they were involved in.

[–] roo1 13 years ago

Many thanks to all who took the trouble to reply. Fascinating insights and memories.

The only thing I'd take any issue with is:

"It's all less flashy than these days. Grimier. Grittier."

Not so sure...

I'm not convinced that The Professionals was flashy. Quite the opposite; I feel The Professionals is rather grimy, dirty and sleazy, whereas so much of today's crime/espionage drama is, for want of a better phrase, "forensic porn": slick, perversely... well, I won't use the term "attractive", but near erotic depictions of death and an unrealistically superficial attitude coupled with more than a touch of voyuerism.

However, and perhaps equally oddly, I like Miami Vice.

TTFN

[–] karlshaw29 13 years ago

Being of a similar age I grew up with the trinity of 70's/80's British classics - The Sweeney, The Professionals, Minder and being from oop North, London always fascinated me with how grimy and gritty it appeared on film. Years later I walked the same streets, photographing Terry's flat, walking up Colet Gardens where the opening scenes of The Sweeney TV series was filmed and generally rooting out all those (what appeared to be) dodgy areas. But unfortunately everything has now been given a coat of paint - even Trellick Tower contains very expensive apartments. But I digress; I now have every Sweeney, Minder and Professionals (as well as Miami Vice ;) )on DVD and can happily waste hours, even days at a time re-watching my favourite episodes, re-walking my steps around 'gritty' London and generally losing myself in days gone by. Oh... not forgetting The New Avengers!! Well... the ones that weren't set in Canada ;)

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] roo1 13 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share those memories.

Although slightly more lighthearted than even Minder, I recall recently watching either the film or an episode of "Man About the House", in which George Roper was trying to sell the house in question, but without Mildred or Robin et al upstairs knowing.

Not sure which part of London it was set, but possibly north and west-ish (I may be completely wrong!). Anyway, along the terrace of similar three- or four-storey late Victorian or early Edwardian houses were many boarded-up properties and the whole area looked rather run down. I think George was offered something like £15,000 for the house.

Silly me; should have looked before I started this reply!

It was the film (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071804/locations) and the areas in question are St John's Wood and Maida Vale (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl).

Three-storey properties in the area, long since "gentrified", are now on the market for £6-8 million! What would Mildred have said?

Have you seen the superb film, "Defence of the Realm"? The links only make sense if you have (and I strongly advise you to) seen the film. Locations again and things have changed surprisingly little.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089009/board/thread/153116490

Miami Vice? Good grief! What a world away from the grimy London of our youth! I have been fortunate enough to visit the US three times, but oddly only ever Florida. Being a young subaltern on the first visit in 1992, I parted with extreme amounts of money to rent a '67 (I think) Mustang convertible which I drove nigh-on non-stop for my four days in Miami.

I probably looked like a twat, but drove it a la Crockett, loafers with no socks, linen jacket and trews with a T-shirt, and a Marlboro on the go. I may even have rolled up the sleeves of my jacket...

Miami was, by then, much improved compared to some of the areas shown in MV, and it was sheer fantasy-come-true to drive around there.

"Prodigal Son" was, I feel, the best episode.

[–] LocoHero 12 years ago

The only thing I'd take any issue with is:

"It's all less flashy than these days. Grimier. Grittier."

Not so sure...

I'm not convinced that The Professionals was flashy. Quite the opposite; I feel The Professionals is rather grimy, dirty and sleazy

Errm that's what the person you originally quoted said. Note the word "than" in the line you quoted.

[–] offramp_tavanipupu 13 years ago

The most puzzling thing is when they identify themselves to people...

"It's all right Love; CI5."

WHO!!??!

[–] buckaroobanzai50 12 years ago

Few, relatively, cars on the roads, buildings - especially around the docks - before the mass gentrification (and resulting massive price increases) of the '80s onwards, how the shops looked, no London Eye, Gherkin, or Canary Wharf building, with the Post Office Tower the tallest structure on the skyline. A similar sense of wistful reminiscing descends when watching The Sweeney or Minder.

All those things you mentioned, AND no mobile phones (Thank god!). If you didn't have a telephone at home, you had to go and use a public one in the street, and maybe join a queue in front of it first.

There were hardly any fast food takeaway places that stayed open all night. Kentucky Fried Chicken - as it was called then - and Macdonalds would close around 10 or 11pm. There would only be the odd bakery or pizza place open really late.

And yes, the only skyscraper we had, was the PO Tower, and Big Ben of course.

As far as cars go, around the early '80s they started to get cheaper to buy - that's new and used. So there were more of them on the roads.