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The Professionals - Old Dog with New Tricks
episode 1.3
UK 1978
produced by Albert Fennell, Brian Clemens for Mark One/London Weekend Television
directed by Sydney Hayers
starring Lewis Collins, Martin Shaw, Gordon Jackson, Anthony Morton, Johnny Shannon, Philip Davis, Pamela Stephenson, Howard Bell, Basil Hoskins, Edward Dentith, Richard Hampton, Stephen Chase, John Judd
written & created by Brian Clemens, music by Laurie Johnson
TV-series The Professionals
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Charley Turkel (Johnny Shannon) finds his brother Henry (Anthony Morton),
the once bigshot gangster boss, has become a broken man in prison. So he
decides to break him out, but nowadays you don't do such things the old way
anymore, so he adapts the methods of terrorists & plans to take the home
secretary hostage to exchange for his brother ... but every big journey begins
with the first step, so he has his gang hold up a gang of IRA terrorists who
have just held up a weapons transport, just to get the right arsenal ... &
that's what puts Bodie (Martin Shaw), Doyle (Lewis Collins) & their boss
Cowley (Gordon Jackson) - the boys from CI5, an all powerful crime prevention
unit that will prevent crime whatever the cost - on their guards. Soon, too
they come up with a first clue to the weapons, when Billie Turner (Philip
Davis), one of Charley's gang & an ex-mental patient, uses one of the
stolen grenades to take a nurse (Pamela Stephenson) hostage - a situation that
it seems can only be saved by ripping the nurse's blouse open - & when
captured & interrogated, he gives CI5 a clue to Charley, & from here on
it's jsut a simple piece of guesswork to guess Charley's plan ... & soon,
boss Cowley & Doyle become Charley's hostages disguised as the home
secretary & his bodyguard, while Bodie fetches Henry from the prison &
presents him to Charley ... at gunpoint, turning Charley's hostage-game against
himself. Finally, Charley & gang have to give up,being gravely outsmarted
by CI5. It's hard not to like 1970's crime-series from Great Britain
for their sheer inventiveness compared to their American counterparts, &
this one is one of the more lively & also ruthless ones. This episode
does actually feature wuite a number of pöottwists not usually found in such
shows, which keeps the whole story tight & entertaining even if the main
plot is essentially laid bare in the first 5 minutes.
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