Bodie and Doyle, senior agents of the British intelligence service CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their handler George Cowley fight terrorism and similar high-level crimes.Bodie and Doyle, senior agents of the British intelligence service CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their handler George Cowley fight terrorism and similar high-level crimes.Bodie and Doyle, senior agents of the British intelligence service CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their handler George Cowley fight terrorism and similar high-level crimes.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFor many years, Martin Shaw (Doyle) blocked repeat television showings of the series, disowning it almost immediately after it had finished. Although he gave his reason as not being able to negotiate fees for television repeats with program makers London Weekend Television, it was also alleged that he didn't want to be typecast with the "hard man" image the show portrayed him to have. He only eventually relented to repeat showings in the mid 1990s, when it was discreetly pointed out to him that the widow of Gordon Jackson (Cowley) could do with the income generated by repeat fees.
- Quotes
[scene-setting voiceover from Season 1 opening titles]
George Cowley: Anarchy, acts of terror, crimes against the public. To combat it I've got special men - experts from the army, the police, from every service - these are The Professionals.
- Alternate versionsThe Season 1 episodes were originally shown with an opening title sequence which included scenes of Bodie and Doyle on an assault course, intercut with a stopwatch. However for repeats and DVD release, the more familiar Season 2-5 title sequence which started with car crashing through a plate glass window was retro-fitted onto the Season 1 episodes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in It'll Be Alright on the Night 2 (1979)
Unfortunately , at the time the show was mauled by critics , being cited as "moronic" and overly violent.It is undoubtedly fair to say that the show most certainly was the latter of these two things , being primarily a contemporary crime/drama series.It is also fair to say that whenever there was violence present on the screen it was handled with a certain flair and portrayed realistically.However , the reason the vitriolic attack from the critics didnt sour the publics appetite for the show was this - excellent acting from the trio of Gordon jackson (Cowley) , Lewis Collins (Bodie) and Martin Shaw (Doyle) in the lead roles , first class writing and production , the special atmosphere that permeated every episode , the memorable chemistry between Bodie and Doyle and the music , which spawned a theme which is now a signature within the genre itself and incidental music which managed magnificently to capture many differing moods and emotions , some normally found outside the often narrowly viewed crime/drama division section of television entertainment.The Professionals was and still is different and set new standards in many areas that television today is still catching up to.BUGS , anyone ?
- olomax
- Feb 8, 2001
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color