Review of Professionals, The: Vol. 2 (Remastered)

Introduction

The first series of The Professionals really made an impact on UK television audiences and a second was soon in production. The boys from CI5 were soon skidding their way across London, bashing the living daylights out of any villain or spy who got in their way. Headed by Cowley (Gordon Jackson in possibly his finest role), the main action is provided by his right hand men Bodie (Lewis Collins) and Doyle (Martin Shaw).

This season saw the violence ramp up and a number of episodes end on a downbeat note, which differed somewhat from the first series.

Hunter Hunted - Doyle gets to keep a new toy for the weekend, a new American rifle with laser sights that can hit a target from over a mile away. After being followed for a while for no apparent reason by a purple Porsche, Doyle gets off with potential new secretary Miss Mason but finds his rifle has been nicked when he gets home. Bodie and Doyle must move fast to recover this rifle before Doyle is killed by an unknown assassin.

First Night - An Israeli Minister is kidnapped in broad daylight in London by a quartet of criminals using hovercraft, a helicopter and reasonably fast cars. Bodie and Doyle are forced to dump their completely understanding girlfriends as every CI5 operative is called in to assist. For the dynamic duo, this involves riding buses much to Bodie`s disgust. Things get a little brighter for him later as The Professionals pre-empts The A-Team by a couple of years…

The Rack - A tip off leads the whole of CI5 to raid the house of ex-boxer John Coogan. Breaking down doors and ripping up furniture, the gang take John and his well `ard brother Paul into custody. A misguided attempt at machismo by Paul ends in tragedy when an attack on Doyle leads to him eventually dying from a single blow. The Coogan lawyer manages to swing a public enquiry and persuades misguided lawyer Geraldine Mather to prosecute the case. With Cowley up to defend his organisation, it appears that the very future of CI5 is at stake.

Man Without A Past - A bomb is set off in a restaurant where Bodie and his latest beau are enjoying a quiet meal. Splinters and dust in his soup seriously annoy him and despite being suspended for having a bad temper, Bodie attempts to find out what is behind his spoiled meal. Meanwhile Doyle gets a little too close to a somewhat disturbed small-time villain and has a rather close call with a big car…

In The Public Interest - The torching of a Gay Youth organisation and the torture of its non-homosexual secretary leads to a CI5 investigation into the policing methods of a big city. Bodie and Doyle blend seamlessly into the background but it`s not long before they attract the attention of the local plod and soon find themselves being pulled over for the most inauspicious of things. Things quickly turn nasty though, and the deadly duo find themselves the targets of a massive police search operation.

Not A Very Civil Civil Servant - When Cowley is called in to oversee a corruption trial involving building contractors, he suspects his organisation is being used to aid in a whitewash. The death of the firm`s chief accountant in a greenhouse turns up the heat and both public servants and contractors alike feel the wrath of the man they call `The Cow`.

A Stirring Of Dust - One of the big three defectors, Thomas Darby, has left Moscow to return to Britain for reasons unknown. Darby left many enemies in his wake, but also knows the mysterious fourth man, the `banker` who effectively ran all three double agents before they fled East. Cowley sets his men loose to find Darby and bring him in before he is knocked off…

Blind Run - Bodie and Doyle receive a special assignment from Cowley, and an unexpected handshake. The duo are to escort a mysterious visitor and his bodyguard, nicknamed Tinkerbell by the pair, to a series of addresses. It quickly becomes apparent, though, that a number of people know about their secret mission and will do anything to stop them…

Fall Girl - Bodie catches a glimpse of an old flame, an East German film star, whilst driving with Doyle. Unsurprisingly his mind is elsewhere for a few days, as he tries to get close to her. The two finally get the chance to meet up for an afternoon of unbridled passion, but unknown to either, Bodie is being set up to take the fall in an assassination.

Backtrack - A cat burglar called Sammy is chased from a house he broke into, and is relieved to be collared by two passing policemen. Sammy is scared and wants to make a deal with info about the place he burgled, word that reaches Cowley. Sammy and his police handler are both assassinated when meeting with CI5, so Cowley is no wiser as to what he found. Bodie and Doyle find themselves backtracking over Sammy`s activities that evening and go burgling themselves in an attempt to find out what he found that got him killed…

Servant Of Two Masters - It seems as if Cowley has turned traitor and is selling a top secret nerve gas called PS2 to an East German power. Bodie and Doyle are put onto Cowley`s trail by a man in a bowler hat, and the duo soon find themselves in hot water and potential guinea pigs for the new weapon…

The Madness Of Mickey Hamilton - A diplomat for a small African nation is shot and wounded outside a London hospital. Whilst CI5 are running in circles trying to work out why, Mickey Hamilton is busy killing doctors in the same hospital. What started as a potential political assassination soon turns into a private crusade against the medical profession…

Stopover - An agent who disappeared two years previously suddenly arrives in Britain as a stowaway, having escaped from the Khmer Rouge. Meredith, for that is his name, tells Cowley that he was aided in his escape by a top man for the other side who wants to trade the name of a top mole in British Intelligence for a passport and wads of dosh. On the trail though is a top assassin who seems to be able to second guess every move that CI5 makes…

Runner - An armed robbery of a gun store has all the marking of an Organisation job. CI5 and the Organisation face each other in a Mexican stand-off, but who is pulling the strings and why is Doyle so important?

Video

The picture is a remastered 4:3, the colours look a lot deeper in places than the first DVD release but the work isn`t perfect. Flesh tones look a bit strange and dark scenes look a little too dark. The first few scenes of the episode Runner shows where the remastering work hasn`t quite had the desired effect as the colour tones flicker for a few minutes. There is print damage, although nothing too discernable.

Audio

The soundtrack is Mono, as is the first DVD set, split across both channels. The sound seems to have been boosted a bit though as Laurie Johnson`s memorable theme tune with the legendary brass riffs, hi-hats and stuttering guitar blasts out of the speakers. His incidental music isn`t bad either, although it is virtually the same across both series so far. There is also some noise on the soundtrack of the episode The Rack.

No subtitles.

Features

None, although curiously there are a number printed on the artwork of the release I received. The stated extras are the same as those seen of the original release so they were either copied across by mistake or they were missed off for some unknown reason.

Conclusion

It`s essentially more of the same, although this series sees the violence quotient rise significantly. More chases, more gunfights and more fistfights. This series also saw the moralising of Raymond Doyle rise substantially, which was surely an influence from the actor himself. It works to a degree as an opposite to his partner Bodie, but he does go on a bit sometimes…

The thing to remember about this series is that in its heyday, this was peak time viewing and drew in about 14 million viewers. Quite impressive. In spite of that, it was never the most sophisticated of TV programmes. There are some real howlers in terms of plot if you look back in hindsight, but probably seemed reasonable at the time (I was a big fanboy at 10-13 and never noticed these things…). The first episode sees Doyle entrusted to look after and test a prototype rifle with laser sight. So where does he store it? In his cupboard next to the mop bucket. And it`s a surprise when the thing is stolen? This episode also sees the use of a laser sight tracking a target half way across London as a means of racking up the tension. This same sight also blinds a man and makes him fall into a pool of waiting water despite his hand being over his face before the dreaded red dot even touches him.

The critics had a great time bashing the series and Clemens, the exec producer, came up with an answer of sorts. The Rack put the concept of the series and the rules under which CI5 operates on trial after a death in custody. They were, of course, exonerated. In The Public Interest attempted to show what could really happen in a police state, with the police force of an unnamed city running unchecked until Bodie and Doyle turn up to spoil the party. Subtle they aren`t, but why should they be? The UK viewing audience lapped it up.

The good thing about being a secret organisation that everyone knows about and has an open brief is that they can go anywhere and do anything. This means that over the course of the series we get drugs busts, organised crime, corrupt police, and private vendettas mixed in with the more usual Cold War stuff. The strongest episode this series is Blind Run where Bodie and Doyle are effectively off the payroll trying to protect an Arab visitor and his bodyguard Tinkerbell from a veritable horde of armed assailants.

All this said, this release is just like the recent re-release of Series One. A good purchase for those who don`t have the initial sets, but not really worth replacing for a slightly cleaned up picture and slightly better artwork. And talking of artwork, I can`t believe that no-one thought to incorporate the ID Card credits from the title sequence or even the Granada coming through the window onto the artwork. These are defining images of one of the best TV series of its time…