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Thoughts from re-bingewatching (mostly series 18 onwards recently) The Bill

Smithy is a bloody idiot if he thinks he's in love and puts himself in serious danger. He's literally seconds away from being killed for both Louise and Kerry and if his colleagues hadn't burst in each time he'd not be there no more. He is loyal to an absolute fault as long as he likes you! 💗 His bravery is second to none - as well as being bloody stupid! Literal Super!Sarge.

I don't hate Kerry as much as I did watching as an adult rather than when I was late teens/early 20's. As discussed with @everythingisdragons, a lot of what she does is understandable when you look from her position. Her station-best friend is murdered just before she's due to get married. Gina has to spend her and Luke's wedding day stopping Craig from telling her that he spent the night with Luke. She's strung along whilst Luke and Craig do lots of angst and staring across the room at each other and then is gaslit by Gina, Craig and Luke when she asks him if he's gay. She finds out she's pregnant and they split. She has a miscarriage just as they 'get back together'. She's dumped by the love of her life because he's gay, she finds out he spent the night before they got married with a man who she thinks is her friend and then he walks out on her again when she literally begs him to stay and says it doesn't matter that he's gay they can deal with it. After a few one night stands with Smithy she then falls for Cameron who starts being calm and kind and understanding and then slut shames her (along with Smithy for that!) and dumps her. She has a drunken one night stand with Smithy and hides it from Cameron when he wants to get back together. She then ends up being manipulated by a psychopath, told everything she thinks she knows about a man she's known and trusted for a while is wrong and that he raped her. Said psycho uses her further vulnerability to keep the pressure up and everyone at work is pressuring her to either make the complaint official or stfu with others telling her how wrong she is because Smithy wouldn't do that. Cameron is a tit who can't keep his mouth shut when they get back together (Who the fuck brings up a rape allegation in the middle of an ARMED ROBBERY? and then demands his girlfriend tell him if it's the truth or not as she's trying to keep a man with a FUCKING BOMB strapped to him calm and secure whilst the disposal team arrive?) and makes the situation worse by lying on official documents and to the investigators and tries to cover it up and make her lie. Gabriel keeps put the pressure by telling her he's got the CCTV and will protect her because he's her 'guardian angel' and the only one looking out for her. Gabriel then goes on and rape her (unknowingly impregnating her which adds to further hormones) knowing people wouldn't believe her after she accused Smithy and then withdrew it when she finally talked to him. Cameron cheats on her with Honey (her good friend!) and they have an illfated 'thing' when he and Kerry split up. She's in complete freefall and desperate for someone to love her and look after her. She's almost killed by the Radfords yet returns to David the same night that he was going to shoot her (and Smithy!) and almost gives up her job for him until she sees he ALSO cheats on her. Gabriel's still hanging around, Gina's got it in for her cos of the rape allegation against Smithy even though they sorted it out between themselves and she realised her didn't rape her. Cameron leaves her and returns to Australia despite her literally running after him and begging him to stay like she did Luke, David and Irene are promising her a new life, Gina's threatening to get her out of the station. She comes to her senses and uses David's trust in her to set him up - and then is about to be arrested for conspiracy to commit armed robbery (Irene taped it all). On top of all THAT, her dad goes on to have a heart attack. Despite it all there's only one person she can trust who is still there when the chips are down... Smithy! He tells her he loves her but there's too much going on to process it until she knows her dad will be ok. When he is - she returns to the station to tell Smithy she loves him too... only to get shot and essentially die in his arms. Phew.

I actually hated Andrea more this time around. I never liked her and hated her character first time but I think this time the deceit and lies really really fucked me off on top of the whole 'I'm such an innocent little flower who is really fucking stupid despite noone realising how obvious she's being.' She shit on every single one of them and betrayed them yet wouldn't have it at the end that she was the one in the wrong.

I found Phil Hunter and Rod Skase more odious than I did first time round too. Teenage me had a crush on Rod yet watching again I really don't know why (other than hormones!). He was still watchable though and enjoyable for the dick that he is at least. Phil was always slimy and smug but this time watching again - ugh. He should have had his downfall - not be allowed to walk off into the sunset 'redeemed'. The stuff he did to Nick... ugh.And the underage daughter of his lover too! I also enjoyed Danny Pearce less too, much for the same reasons as Rod I think.

Geoff Daly was more of a dick than I remembered. I didn't mind him first time around but this time he did nothing but moan, cause problems for others, use his rank be a dick.

I love the 90's way of the - mostly CID - boys calling each other by their full names when being snarky with each other. "Geoffrey." "Donald!"

The 80's/90's girls were a thousand times better than the 00's girls. On the whole they got stuck in and did the job and told the men where to stick it which was even more impressive given the time and not all this batting their eyes at them. Viv, Suzi (Croft), June, Kerry (Holmes), Cass, Liz, Vicky, Jamila, Norika, Sally (Johnson), Christine etc. The only exception being Gina, obv. (There's some 00's girls I don't mind, Mel, Millie, Kirsty, Stevie, Amber (for the wrong reasons), but most of them were problematic for various reasons or just plain poorly written.

I miss Derek! :( Even now! Him and Gina bitching together with Jack - probably about Heaton would have been hilarious.

Mickey's rape still remains IMO one of the strongest storylines on the show in its history and uses a backing of its strongest cast at the time to play it out so well and sympathetically. Even Delaney's actor is one you can believe in and want to kill through the screen. It's one of few that continued down into other storylines too and was remembered when necessary.

The Target trilogy is another that is an incredible story telling trip from start to end and so well done.

Will Fletcher is a horrible character who showed no loyalty to anyone. He knew Emma had a boyfriend/fiancé/husband and didn't back off. Even when he knew or at least suspected Matt was an abuser he still kept digging and digging away and antagonising him purposely despite that putting Emma in further danger of harm. He played with Honey's feelings, messed her around and even when she literally TOLD him she didn't want anything serious but was inviting him on a holiday of essentially sun, sea, sand and sex he still turned her down (after saying he was going until the night before) and as we know she went off to meet Eva and ended up being killed rather than getting on that plane. It was a good week before anyone realised she was missing. He treated Dan like crap too despite him supposedly being his best friend. When both men liked Emma when she first arrived, Dan stepped aside and let Will try his look. However when the petrol station woman decided she liked Dan rather than Will, Will swapped the petrol pump from a Diesel to unleaded (despite Dan having put the right one to the car) so that Dan would get bollocked and be the cause of the car having to be towed back to the police garage, emptied, flushed and then refueled and he'd get points on his licence - points that ended up stopping him going on the advanced driving course he'd applied for (that Will knew nothing about till Dan applied for it!) so that Will got his place - and then when Dan asked if he was going to turn it down given the situation when Will admitted what he'd done, Will essentially laughed at him and called him stupid in a roundabout way. He also indirectly is the reason that Dan hurt his shoulder and began the steroid journey because instead of following him to arrest the man who stole it as he should have done, he stayed with the motorbike he'd been about to buy before it was stolen, which meant that Dan had to arrest him solo and got hurt. He also took the credit for finding the missing baby in Deadly Secrets when it was Dan. He's also incredibly petulant, sulky and thinks he's the best copper at the station. I couldn't help by being amused when Callum called him out on it within 12 hours of knowing him. Speaking of Callum, Will was also stuck straight up his arse and sucking up when he knew that he was low level bullying Dan, telling him to stick where he was and that he'd never be anything more than a PC when he was asking to progress onto a course.

There's several points where multi-episode mini-stories really struggled, assuming it was because of each part having a different writer and them not seeming to collaborate or at least read other peoples episodes before writing their own. For example Conviction 6 makes out like Smithy and Stevie continued things after the last episode of Gun Runner when they really really didn't. It's quite a confusing episode in some respects because of that.

Towards the end there's a lot of 'because of the reboot' decisions in stories rather than it feeling true to the character. Without going into too much detail because the recap will be up soon, the last episode of the Conviction six parter is a great example of this and also the point above.

Why did Des fire bomb the station to retrieve the counterfeit fifty? I know why but like... what part of that action makes sense? Surely you play dumb until it's mentioned - if it is mentioned - and then say you must have been scammed somehow and put in another amount?

Dan Casper is a special precious cinnamon roll and I will fight to the death anyone who says otherwise! He's sweet, kind, generous, does not like injustice or people picking on others (ie: telling Emma she doesn't have to be mean to Beth and act all hard because of what happened to her, they still love her either way). He's super sensitive too. If he loves you he pretty much forgives you anything and everything. He's adoooooooorable! (Same for Leon pretty much!)

TPTB missed a trick not having Dan, Will, Leon, Nate and Ben all onscreen at the same time and living together in a big house share.

Speaking of Ben, I enjoyed him a lot more this time too. The first time round he was too involved in the possé stuff of Callum, Sally and Will and I used to not pay as much attention as I could during those parts but he also proved himself to be very sweet and a proper gentleman who went above and beyond with the tropey-hidden!anger stuff for a little bit.

There's a good few characters who have decent arcs through the series looking back. Gina's move from all seeing, all knowing fearless ball breaker to human and terrified of losing more officers after her thousandth one died (I jest but it started to feel that way sometimes!) was very human and believable. Neil's transformation was understandable given everything he experienced over the years, even if it was the hideous Andrea stuff in the middle. Smithy from cocky PC, Sgt who wasn't to dissimilar but had obvious hints of Uncle!Bob's moulding and influence through to mature and responsible grown up Sgt and then Inspector was wonderful.

Gina and Smithy's friendship was a thing of beauty. Other than Louise, Gina was the only other person he cried in front of - the other times he'd run off to be by himself. I still laugh at Jonathan's reaction to Smithy having a key to Gina's.

Jack and Mickey's wasn't too far behind either, though Jack had an awful tendency to be lead by another brain that wasn't in his head - ala Rachel Heath time and abandon Mickey when he needed him the most.

If there needed to be another Sgt in uniform, why couldn't Kirsty have been promoted (as a newcomer not with much background they wouldn't have to know how long she'd been a PC etc) or one of the others if not keeping Diane? Why move Jo across? She could have become a DS alongside Max and fill the gap there.

Gina's ex, Harry, does not come across like any sort of man that Gina would ever allow near her! Infact he seems the absolute opposite that she'd go for! (Episode 181)

Speaking of Gina's exes, we all know I'm bias for Gina and Jonathan, but the little reveals here and there of Adam and Gina's relationship were lovely, especially her obvious heartbreak when she spots his kids for the first time (The open day where Eva's daughter Joanna goes missing). The only reason they broke up is because she couldn't give him the kids she knew he wanted so she ended it and he didn't know why until they reunited at Sun Hill. It was beautifully done and you could get them being together.

Ugh, i wish she'd told Jonathan at the wedding (Jim/June) that she was ready to commit like she was going to! Or at the station the day after when she found him about to leave!

Although I love the end of the show as in the episodes themselves (Respect 1 and 2) I really dislike the way a lot of the storylines were rounded off. Callum post his dad's funeral and his assault and his jostling with Jo and his suspension were forgotten about for Respect 1 and 2. Max's drugs stuff was left ambiguous after his return as it wasn't mentioned and he had calmed down a bit and was less argy bargy and more wind up merchant. (And why didn't Mickey tell Jack rather than make a big song and dance about telling Neil instead!) It was a shame because it makes people totally forget how decent a person Max was from Assault On Sun Hill to In The Know a lot of the time as well as being an occasional dick. He was absolutely gutted he had to arrest Noah (Backlash) and had really bonded with him and took the time to help him and see things from his level despite his initial thoughts. He threatens a dangerous dealer to keep Fran safe. He also gave Noah his PSP to keep! (Brings back memories of Smithy giving TIm his gameboy in Lullaby). He went looking for Pavel in Righteous Kill despite it meaning he got held at gunpoint and looked out for Julie and her uncle as much as he could. He was impressed by Smithy in Gun Runner and told him and offered to help him through the DPS and other PCC interviews and sit with him if he needed someone. He was impressed by Beth in Beth Undercover and told her so. He had a really fun friendship with Eddie - or "Edmundo!". Cowboy Country - he was adorable as well as a little bugger for telling everyone about Terry's love of country music.

Speaking of Max - his and Millie's 'relationship' (not in the actual terms as in a couple) always intrigued me. Purely for the fact that she was so obviously swoony over him and all heart eyes and he never let on that he was aware (though obviously was!), however in Righteous Kill he says to her at the vending machine - after he's nobbled some money off her to take Pavel some food and drink where he's hiding out) that "it doesn't have to be a big thing." and it sort of... seems out of place as nothing linked was mentioned before it and nothing was said after (and then there's Smash and Grab a few episodes after and Millie loses the crush for a few episodes) Is this 'big thing' her crush? Is he telling her to back off? Or telling her it could be something casual... it goes unanswered and it's always bugged me why it was said because nothing came of it or was building up to it and she doesn't say anything in response other than "Sure."! Unless he's meaning not wanting to talk like she offers? Or the thing he's checking up on? (that he's going off to find Pavel without telling anyone?)

There'll likely be more as I remember it haha!

When it came to duos in The Bill, I adored the bromance of Des Taviner and Reg Hollis. Reg spent most of his time at the station as the guy no one wanted to know unless it was fed rep business during his time in the position. No one wanted to hear about his bloody trains, gardening or any other random fact dumping he may inflict upon them.

Des was quite a hot head at the best of times, but there were times like the S18 E38 episode when the station's lottery syndicate lost out on the jackpot due to Reg changing a number on his own line (which had he left it alone would have been a winning line) and then this scene from E39 where he was the best friend Reg could have been given until the station fire plot line then came along and ruined it.

#The Bill #Reg Hollis #Des Taviner

Oh Cass! 💔

The Cop Idol Storyline/Cass' murder was one of those rare PM storylines that was properly paced and shocking - not least given the time of the year (Christmas) and the light hearted fun of the Cop Idol/Christmas party in contrast with Cass' kidnap attack, the girls getting annoyed at Cass for not turning up and what was actually happening to her at time. Poor Cass being tied up, literally waiting and even begging to know why she was going to die. Poor poor girl 😭😭 (Could have done without even more of the Carl/Craig/Luke/Kerry rubbish during it though!)

#cass rickman #suzanne maddock #rene zagger #nick klein #gina gold #roberta taylor #george rossi #duncan lennox #jack meadows #simon rouse #kerry young #beth cordingly #robbie cryer #moya brady #des taviner #paul usher #the bill

How a guilty feeling Des says goodbye to his bestie whilst he's in hospital... (admittedly Des is a large part of the reason he's there - Reg was taken hostage by Simpson's goons to put pressure on Des whilst he was giving evidence against him in the station firebombing trial)

#des taviner #paul usher #reg hollis #jeff stewart #episode 038 #reggiebabe #not homoerotic in the slightest #i'm most amused that Reg doesn't seem in the slightest bit surprised or confused - it's a common goodbye for them ;)#the bill

"These are for you, you gorgeous hunk.

Give me your-

I'm not going to read the rest of it!"

#craig gilmore #hywel simons #des taviner #paul usher #big gay cop show