I enjoyed the Shoestring TV Series which was also written by Robert Banks Stewart also with a theme tune by George Fenton.
When Shoestring abruptly ceased, Bergerac came into being. The iconic Sweeney TV series on ITV had just need after 4 years and Bergerac was likely being brought to television to fill the BBC's slot with the recent demise of its own Z Cars Police drama series.
Bergerac was quite different, the scripts were tight and the drama was good. With great acting, scripts, cast and crew in a location unused in a long term Police drama, it became an instant hit.
The Z Cars series had been around since 1963 and Bergerac was a breath of fresh air. The series had future length Christmas special episodes in some series and these were really good.
Sometime there would be guest actors such as David Schofield who appeared as different characters in different episodes, Schofield in two episodes and played the criminal mastermind in Second time around, a Christmas Special where he had a larger role.
Watching any of the episodes across the collection, you'll fid some really top drawer household name actors as well as players who would find greater fame in years to come.
Like the Sweeney, Bergerac was around 45 minutes per episode and the story and drama was fast moving, tightly acted, well written and had a great variety of storylines.
Its no wonder that it is still something that I can go back to again and again to watch, like any classic and well made television.
Later episodes perhaps suffered towards the end of the run of programs, but it is likely after a decade that some of the players wanted to move on to other roles, as John Nettles did to Midsomer Murders, again he stayed in this series for some years.
Some of the film quality may look a bit grainy now, in the days of 4K HD filming, but the backdrops, locations and now old fashions and vehicles are interesting to look out for.
I don't think you would be disappointed in watching any of the episodes some 30+ years after the last was made.
When Shoestring abruptly ceased, Bergerac came into being. The iconic Sweeney TV series on ITV had just need after 4 years and Bergerac was likely being brought to television to fill the BBC's slot with the recent demise of its own Z Cars Police drama series.
Bergerac was quite different, the scripts were tight and the drama was good. With great acting, scripts, cast and crew in a location unused in a long term Police drama, it became an instant hit.
The Z Cars series had been around since 1963 and Bergerac was a breath of fresh air. The series had future length Christmas special episodes in some series and these were really good.
Sometime there would be guest actors such as David Schofield who appeared as different characters in different episodes, Schofield in two episodes and played the criminal mastermind in Second time around, a Christmas Special where he had a larger role.
Watching any of the episodes across the collection, you'll fid some really top drawer household name actors as well as players who would find greater fame in years to come.
Like the Sweeney, Bergerac was around 45 minutes per episode and the story and drama was fast moving, tightly acted, well written and had a great variety of storylines.
Its no wonder that it is still something that I can go back to again and again to watch, like any classic and well made television.
Later episodes perhaps suffered towards the end of the run of programs, but it is likely after a decade that some of the players wanted to move on to other roles, as John Nettles did to Midsomer Murders, again he stayed in this series for some years.
Some of the film quality may look a bit grainy now, in the days of 4K HD filming, but the backdrops, locations and now old fashions and vehicles are interesting to look out for.
I don't think you would be disappointed in watching any of the episodes some 30+ years after the last was made.