Blu-ray Review: Lewis Collins And Martin Shaw Are Bodie And Doyle THE PROFESSIONALS MkIV
Get ready to roll over the bonnet of your Ford Capri – the fourth season of The Professionals MkIV has hit blu-ray! The Brian Clemons created show is a must for nostalgists – and this digitally spruced up disc set from Network is an absolute corker. The catchy theme tune will get the pulse going and you’ll be gearing up for hand-break turns by the time you’ve made it through all five discs.
Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw are Bodie and Doyle, no-nonsense members of CI5, an elite undercover unit which is called in when the going gets tough. The duo’s approach to law enforcement leaves much to be desired and it’s often much to the chagrin of their long-suffering boss George Cowley (Gordon Jackson).
The success of the show is all down to the casting – and Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw make for a winning duo. Shaw’s perm may grab the glory but Collins was the man whose name was thrown into the ring for James Bond once the show became a hit. Collins went on to star in a variety of action movies (starting with Who Dares Wins) and Shaw became a perennial favourite on British TV.
Is The Professionals a little dated? Sure it is (how could it not be, it’s almost 40 years old), but that only adds to the charm of this show, which is very much a product of its time. It’s a wonderfully retro piece from a time when Margaret Thatcher ruled with an iron fist. The politics might be on the dodgy side and the action might not match the budgets of what you see on TV today, but there’s enough tension and ingenuity in each of the episodes to keep you hooked. On the surface this may look like the UK version of Starsky And Hutch (and that’s how it was purposed) but this has its own merits. At times the show deals with some big themes and it can be a touch on the violent side, but it all makes for damn good television.
Special Features
On the surface this set may seem a touch on the light side, but sound and audio have been remastered, while you also get music only tracks from Laurie Johnson. You get PDFs of the original scripts and a booklet by TV historian Andrew Pixley. It might not be all singing and dancing, but there’s enough here for serious fans.
