Why did it end - The Thin Blue Line (1995) Discussion

[–] clubhonda 19 years ago

Yes I wish it would have continued as well. According to the bonus interview with Ben Elton on the DVD release it seemed that Ben Elton was tired of the bad press he was constantly getting and the reviews that found the series not as "outrageous" and silly as his other works. Thus there was a decision to discontinue it. Pity I think, because this was probably his best work in my opinion, a balanced, intelligent comedy.

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[–] martin23579 19 years ago

I agree with the post above in assuming it was due to the bad press. I loved this show but I do recall it got quite a mauling from the critics at the time. I remember one constant criticism was that it simply stole from 'dad's army' and as any fellow fans of Ben will know, he was a huge fan of 'Dad's Army'. There are some strong parallels between the two, for example, PC Goody and Private Pike, Inspector Fowlers meetings descending into whimsy and distraction just like Captain Mainwarings church parades, and his uncouth nemesis in inspector Grim and Captain Mainwarings counterpart in ARP Warden hodges. But, so what? In my opinion it wore its influences on its sleeve and was no worse for it.

I think it also suffered from the awful BBC prime time comedy slot curse. Ok, so it was never going to be edgy or anarchic like 'the young ones' or 'blackadder' but it never tried to be. It was safe, but funny. And although it wasn't the funniest show on TV, it did end far to early in my opinon.

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[–] IridescentTranquility 19 years ago

Although I can see the similarities now you've mentioned it, I would never have thought to compare The Thin Blue Line with Dad's Army. I always liked it when it was on - now I have to wait for it to be on UK Gold. I haven't got round to getting the DVD yet.

You wouldn't know a joke if it got up and gave you a haircut - Edmund Blackadder

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[–] Klein_Returns 19 years ago

Why is it the BBC always mess up their best shows like The Thin Blue Line and Doctor Who???

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[–] jequick 19 years ago

Ah, and now you know how we in the USA feel about Fox and the way they treat their best shows.

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[–] General_G 19 years ago

Damn straight! I banned Fox after they canceled Arrested Development. I'm also mad at them about canceling Oliver Beene, The Jury, Head Cases, The Pitts, The Critic and a few other shows as well. Jackass executives at Fox!

Class of '76 Rules! USA
ELO, Ford Pintos & All in the Family

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[–] pyramus-3 15 years ago

Yes, I think Elton's arse was on the line and he didn't want anybody else sticking their noses in and sniffing around. :)

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[–] koriandr_star 16 years ago

I don't know where the sour note of the reviews come from, its doublestandards really, slate a comedy because it has a connection with a previous comedy but give full PR to big brother or whatever other x factor or ice skating celeb show that comes on TV. I was always aware of the dad's army connection but it was never really much of a bother, everything is copied or styled from another, however the thin blue line had its own style if farcical humour. It should have gone on for more seasons, but so should have fawlty towers.
Such is the way of the world...

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[–] jackmcglen 16 years ago

I agree with all the positive comments about TTBL, but I actually think it was right to "quit while it was ahead" so to speak. A lot of the jokes become repetative, especially Grims little rants so I think if it continued they'd have to bring in some new material or start expanding the cast, which is always a risky strategy and was perhaps not worth it consdiering the press were never going to give the show a fighting chance in the first place.

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[–] gregbarnes 16 years ago

But Grimm's rants were some of the show's funniest lines.

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[–] Sonatine97 16 years ago

I think you're right: sometimes quality should always come first over quantity.

I would imagine also that the lead actors and writers may have had committments elsewhere, preventing them from continuing the show; or perhaps they didn't want to get too type-cast.

Its funny but even now whenever I think of Rowan Atkinson I think of Mr Bean, BlackAdder and Not The Nine O'clock News. Whereas his role TTBL, on the other hand, always escapes me as a major character.

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[–] jajceboy 9 years ago

As been mentioned, Elton was fed up with constantly getting bad press about the show so he decided to pull the plug early on this one.
The BBC and the audience didn't seem to mind the show though. It had decent ratings, people thought it was funny and the BBC didn't mind having it on.
But Elton apparently couldn't deal with it.

I think the show had the potential to squeeze out at least two more series with decent ratings and plots. It was a very intelligent show with and not as hysterical as some British sit-coms tend to get.
I wish it could get repeated, I never see it on T.V.

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[–] paul_italy 9 years ago

You guys are joking, right? This is just another cookie-cutter laugh-tracked BBC lobotomized sitcom. I rotted my brain on too many of these 40 years ago, everything is so formulaic and predictable. After what they did in the 80s how did Atkinson and Elton stoop to the level of this dross? Clearly Elton had to stop writing this to avoid killing himself.

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