A great "scene-setting" episode quickly giving viewers an insight into the unconventional methods employed by CI5. The first story to be filmed and ridiculous how it wasn't actually shown first.

The storyline works well EXCEPT it seems incredulous that the villains don't know what their intended hostage actually looks like!

Favourite bits are the showdown in the carpark (and NOT just 'cos it involves Pam Stephenson - honest!), the "new recruits" lecture (Granada Plus chopped some of this, BTW) and the interrogation of young Billy ("I want to see my lawyer!" / "Why, son? Do you want to make a will?"). And the scene where Doyle arrives at Bodie's flat and tells Clare "You must be Betty!" is a great early example of the series' off-the-wall humour.

The pre-titles scene where all we see is the camera slowly panning away from huge door and hear the gunshots is extremely effective, IMO. This seems indicative of Brian Clemens' belief that violence and death should be implied rather than seen. Wonder what happened to that idea?! <G>

I love that funky burst of music that accompanies the lads arriving at the hospital - nice one, Laurie!

Bodie's attitude to "lowly" coppers is demonstrated with his humorous confrontation with the CID sergeant and, as we come to expect, Doyle apologises for his partner's arrogance.

Sharon notes that Martin's dialogue seems "off" and too theatrical. Yes, I would agree this is true to an extent. BUT this was the first episode and the actors needed time to find their roles (though Lew and Gordon certainly settled in very quickly indeed). I also suspect that having to redub their lines later on didn't help, either - it can't be easy to sound spontaneous when you're no longer actually there.

Johnny Shannon tends to overact slightly in the tenser parts of the story, IMO.

Although the finale to the adventure is hardly action-packed (see the BTW section), it is rounded off with more biting humour - Bodie's observation of Cowley being a "brave old bastard". Ah... if you've only seen the Granada Plus repeat then you'll wonder what on earth I'm talking about!

Fave line: "You CI5 boys think your the cat's whiskers, don't you?" / "Well at least we're at the right end of the cat!"

The plot is well done, multilevelled and nicely resolved. Far more complex than most American cop shows! It needs several viewing to appreciate fully.

Doyle seems more understanding of Cowley at the beginning. Both are concerned about him and both offer their advice and expertise as cop and soldier without stint when in conference with their boss. Bodie does a bit of digging at cops, clearly annoying Doyle. Bodie's flat has no security - Doyle behaves rather oddly with the girl, almost as if he resents her. Throughout Doyle drives while Bodie rides as passenger. The episode closes with them walking off together.

The furry blanket on Bodie's bed is, um, remarkable! Also one of the few times we see his hair mussed and a bit of skin. <G> Nice, that!

One of my favorite parts of the entire series is the interrogation scene with Billy: LOVELY stuff with the macho posturing and the implied physical threats. And Bodie's comment to Cowley about "just stimulating his imagination..." Terrific writing and acting there!

The prison's visiting room in the opening scene looks suspiciously like a squash court! Indeed it was probably the one by the productions team's Harefield Grove studios. The SuperPam defusing scene was shot in the grounds of Amersham Hospital. This particular area is still recognisable, though has since been converted into retirement apartments. The first pic shows the entrance that the lads drive through in the brown Rover. The second shows the very spot where Billy was holding a Webley and - much to Master Bodie's approval - "a 34B cup!" CONFIRMED (Thanks to Kevin Bricknall and Paul Fletcher-Ridley.)

Harefield Hospital doubled as the military base from which the Irish group steal the weapons.

The interrogation of Billy and Bodie's flat were studio sets at Harefield Grove studios. The prison's exterior was, however, Eton College just off Keats Lane, Eton.

The railway yard in which C, B & D meet up to discuss the Home Secretary's itinerary is by Arthur Road, Windsor - just south of Eton railway station.

The police station used in the final scenes is located at the north end of St Leonard's Road, Windsor. Well done to Paul F-R for finally tracking this down! CONFIRMED

More of a "budgetry efficiency", really: the van the gang use to hi-jack the police station in Windsor is the same van Doyle uses as a mobile HQ (thanks to John Hammond).

According to Bodie, Turkel's mob have made off with .44-calibre Webley revolvers and Armalite rifles, yet the villains use Brownings, Colts and British Army SLRs in the subsequent siege. (Thanks to "Ashley".)

In the police station scenes, a blue Triumph near Cowley's Rover keeps moving about!

I have a suspicion the police station scenes were (re-)shot much later as several incidental characters are wearing clothes one wouldn't expect to see during summer. The lady who brings in her driving license wears a thick coat and a woman and young boy entering a shop wear coats - the latter with his hood up! The radio operator in the van wears a thick roll-neck sweater and jacket and, of course, Cowley himself wears his heavy topcoat. In the current absence of any decent production notes for the first season, has anyone any ideas on this?

Phil Davis (Billy) continues to appear quite regularly in lead roles of TV dramas - such as Births, Marriages and Deaths and Face (with Robert Carlyle), though has also turned to directing in recent years (eg Prime Suspect V). Older productions include Quadrophenia and Robin of Sherwood.

John Judd (Inspector) seems to be forever playing police officers (as he did in 'In the Public Interest') but also appeared in the highly controversial juvenile prison drama Scum and the recent BBC remake of Little Lord Fauntleroy.

Pamela Stephenson (Nurse Emma) reappeared in 'Stakeout' and 'Rogue'. She went on to great success with the comedy series Not the Nine O'Clock News and later married comedian Billy Connolly. Unfortunately she was then landed with bimbo-ish roles - eg the daffy blonde in Superman III. She dropped out of acting in the late 1980s (a great loss to us all!) and took up psychiatry.

Johnny Shannon - wearing a toupe and actually having his voice redubbed by a different actor! - would reappear briefly in 'A Man Called Quinn'. He also appeared in both Sweeney movies.

Anthony Morton appeared as a regular in the laughable Crossroads, I think (played a chef?).

Sammie Winmill (lady at the Police Station) appeared in the early seasons of the cult kids show The Tomorrow People. Coincidentally she also appeared (for about two seconds!) in the first episode of The New Avengers but was uncredited - I suspect her scenes were snipped during final edit.

The "grafting" join between the second-season title sequence and the first post-titles scene manifests itself as a white-coloured mark (in the brief black section between the two). This appears to indicate that the grafting was actually carried out on the episode's negative or inter-negative, which is rather surprising!