Story
Action
Pace
Humour
Violence

This excellent episode had its transmission banned in the UK because its subject matter was deemed to be potentially offensive to some viewers. The story ends with a real sting.

The plot is very solid indeed... until the last minute: I find it impossible to believe that Dinny and Merv have never actually met their boss, Miller. Still, if we can overlook that little flaw, it is indeed a tremendous episode.

Many people consider Bodie as being portrayed out-of-character here. I'm not sure: it's certainly plausible that his experiences in Africa could have tainted him, rightly or wrongly. As Sharon says, though, it is a side of him that we haven't seen previously, although it reappears very briefly in 'Involvement'. (again, written by Brian).

The script is indeed peppered with racist terms but I don't feel this was in any way over-the-top or gratuitous. The script tackles a tricky subject and handles it very well indeed. Bodie's prejudicial comments are all countered by Doyle and Cowley in order to bring "balance" to the story.

There are some terrific scenes in this ep. For example the opening with Zadie outwitting Merv and Dinny; Zadie being attacked and Helen rushing out to help him (a superb build-up to the titles); Doyle shouting at Cowley, insisting he be kept on the case.

The scenes of wounded Bodie writhing around in his hospital bed and shouting his insults, with the young black nurse trying to calm him down, are the most disturbing to watch of any episode.

Hulton's secretary, Miss Pearce - a delightful cameo by Madeleine Newbury - is an intriguing addition to the mix: she seems such a nice, kind-hearted person, so why is she mixed up with all this? I suppose the intention was to throw the viewer a bit and ask themselves whether she really understands or is aware of the society's modus operandi. Great bit of writing depth there!

The make-up effects on Martin Shaw after Doyle's beating are awesome!!

One note of disappointment: the actor Lawrie Mark, who plays Tommy, is awful! An extremely wooden performance most of the way through - as Sharon notes below, though, he's at his best in watertower scene he shares with Martin Shaw. The part should have been re-cast but the production was behind schedule.

The "fairy-tale" ending with Bodie walking off "into the sunset" with the black nurse is a little too sweet but the scene is rounded off on a humorous note as a jealous Doyle decides it's time to "get rid of some of these damned whites!"

For a much more detailed breakdown of the story, click here.

Good plot, nice twisty one. Plenty of holes and flaws, but it still works. I like the idea that bad guys exist in all areas of society and that preconceived notions can backfire once truth is revealed.

My copy has the original opening.

Bodie is shown out-of-character here. Bodie can be annoying and thick, but he is not petty. To make him racist and jealous without serious explanation was a silly move. It doesn't take much depth of viewing to see that Lewis is uncomfortable with the role as well. Bodie-the-character may well be touchy on account of experiences in Africa but there ought to have been more indication of actual racism before giving him the "cross in a spade's garden" line. Oh, he does make the odd out-of-good-taste joke, but this time he seems too serious. Given that there were opportunites in 'Annie' and with Jax even earlier, the character flaw does not work, imo. This is an issue that's easy to beat to death, so I won't.

Could also beat up on the way the seriously wounded/ill Bodie is portrayed. Medical reality was tossed aside for effect here. C'mon, guys. And to drop a deep prejudice because a black doc treated him and a pretty black nurse held his hand? Gosh.

'Nuff said.

On to the positive:

Doyle shines here. Even when his partner acts and speaks like a prejudiced, small-minded idiot, Doyle believes in him: the line to Cowley, delivered with a nice smile: "maybe he has something on his conscience" shows that Doyle knows Bodie is trying to change. Doyle crying over the wounded Bodie while he berates him is a high point of male bonding. Doyle really cares as demonstrated by the unaware tears on his face, but instead of saying so he fusses: "...you half-Irish son-of-a..." I like that. And Doyle is a pit-bull about the case - no way is even George Cowley going to take him away from it! This scene gives Cowley the opportunity to deliver his "a cow gives milk, a cow looks after its own" speech. A nice Doyle line here, too: Cowley says something about Ray being on his own and Ray responds: "..be that anyway, sir, while Bodie's laid up."

The best part of the show is the section where the black kid, Tommy, and Doyle interact. While the kid is wooden before, once he begins to work with MS, his dialogue & character become alive! Great line from Doyle when Tommy asks if Cowley is black: "I forgot to ask."

Doyle suffers marvelously here. Nice make-up job, and the whimpers and grunts of pain are very believable. No stoic silence for Our Ray! And I love how his voice breaks when he talks about Bodie.

Something to note here: The Lads are quite vulnerable when they are separated. Together, they are unbeatable.

Jax is back and has some good parts, though his showing up Just When Doyle Needs Him by the telephone booth is a bit much.

A strange episode but well worth viewing just to see Doyle at his best.

In an interview for BBC Radio 4 in December 2009, Tony Booth (Dinny) recalled that during filming, several of his black co-stars felt that he played his role with such conviction that they suspected he was a racist in real life. Tony seems pleased that his performance was so convincing!

Tony Booth (Dinny) is best remembered for his portrayal of "randy Scouse git" Mike in the long-running controversial sitcom 'Til Death Us Do Part. However alcoholism saw him sink into the "Confessions" sex comedies of the mid-to-late 70s and a career that soon fizzled out. However he has been a tireless campaigner for elderly people's rights and occasionally clashes with his son-in-law, Prime Minister Tony Blair! In the late 1990s he began to be offered new acting parts, most recently in the Channel 5 soap Family Affairs.

George Harris (Arty) appeared in the first (1986) season of Casualty and recently had a small role in the action blockbuster Black Hawk Down.

Sheila Ruskin (Helen Zadie) guested in many shows as diverse as I, Claudius, The Sweeney (in which she was the intended target of the hit-and-run which killed Carter's wife), Blake's 7, Doctor Who and Rumpole of the Bailey but never won a leading role. She returned to The Professionals in 'Cry Wolf'.

Lawrie Mark (Tommy) had previously starred in the 1976 sitcom The Fosters, Britain's first ever television series written for an ensemble of black lead characters. Quit acting at the end of the 70s.

Much of this episode was shot in a small area of Southall. Some key locations were filmed along White Street, shortly before its crumbling properties were completely demolished. Although the road still exists, it is now swallowed up by British Gas and cannot be navigated by Google Street View.

Harefield Grove was used for CI5 headquarters, Doyle and Jax jogging and the home of Zadie's business partner.

Zadie puts a stop to the illegal eviction of Josh Culver. Both this and the Miller Trust office was on the aforementioned White Street, Southall. In the screengrab here you can see the gas holder under construction in 1977.

Zadie comes under attack from Klansmen at his home, 3 Wood Lane, Iver Heath. It can't be seen clearly from the road and, although I took a photograph in 2012, I later realised I had actually snapped the similar-looking house next door - d'oh!

After interviewing Zadie, the lads take the roundabout onto the Slough Road, Iver Heath.

Petty thief Arty Pymar telephones Zadie to reveal he has found some sort of incriminating evidence. His location is not documented but the Klan find him on the rooftop of 39 The Green, Southall. The chimneys of the building behind him can be seen in the Google Street View shot. Bodie was wrong about Arty's inability to fly: he "lands" in White Street! (Clearly a location "cheat".)

Although the exterior isn't seen until later - and, even then, only partially, Bodie interrogates Arty's associates in the Water Tower on The Straight, Southall. (It has since been converted into private residences.)

Bodie is attacked and taken to Harefield Hospital, though we only see interior shots - and it's undergone extensive redevelopment since 1977.

Doyle suspects the The Empire Society, run by Hulton, is behind the campaign. Its office is to the rear of 68 The Green, Southall, with the car park filmed at neighbouring St Anselm's Church. The Google Street View here is the "reverse-angle" of the screenshot - the funny little building we see behind Doyle still stands!

Doyle inveigles his way into the society by staging a punch-up with Jax in the White Hart pub, 49 High Street, Southall - later renamed 'The Victory' with some slight cosmetic changes. Unfortunately it was pulled down some time in 2012 and there do not appear to be any readily available photos of it in anything but its derelict state. (Photograph copyright and reproduced by kind permission of Ewan M.)

Hulton's mob continues its compaign, dawbing on the garage door of 28 Wood Lane Close, Iver Heath. The brief "reverse angle" shot of the Klansman shows an ornamental streetlamp behind him: this is still present in the garden of 28. The telephone box was a prop set up outside the same house.

The gang drives to the Empire Society office via Randolph Road, Southall. It's a little difficult to recognise as many of the houses have had a "makeover" - or been replaced entirely. However the one seen in the background remains unchanged since 1977.

In the next shot, they are driving past the park area on Norwood Road, Southall.

Caught and badly beaten by Hulton's crew, Doyle muisters support. The telephone box he uses to call Cowley was a prop set up outside Southall Library on Osterley Park Road. Due to the boardings in place at the time Google took their shot, I've used the "reverse angle" to highlight the odd design of the wall.

Meanwhile Josh Culver calls Zadie to say that he is once again being evicted. Zadie heads to Culver's house via Randolph Road, Southall. The house on the corner with the "arch" design over the front door is easily recognisable.