Oct 14, 2024
New Scotland Yard: Papa Charlie (2.7, LWT, 1972)
"You realise, of course, that anybody, no matter what their rank or position, anybody who was at that meeting - who had sight of this - is now under suspicion of passing information to that gang, don't you?"
"Yes, of course."
"Someone's working on the inside. Could be anybody. Could even be Sergeant Ward - or perhaps you?"
"No."
"Well, we'll see. I intend to find out who it is. And I'm going to give myself one hour in which to do it."
#new scotland yard#stuart douglass#john reardon#john woodvine#john carlisle#sally home#tony melody#michael turner#alison king#michael stainton#john caesar#victor brooks#susan brown#ken barker#les clark#derek ware#john hartley#dave carter#max faulkner#alan chuntz#clearly an attempt to do.. if not a 'bigger' episode exactly‚ then one with greater impact. shot entirely on film‚ we follow Kingdom during#the transport of a high profile prisoner (a gang boss) whilst simultaneously we see that his wife (hello Mrs Kingdom! back after her sole#previous appearance way back in 1.9) being kidnapped and held to ransom. it's...hmm. it's fine enough i suppose but it feels very unlike#the show to date; actually this feels almost like a watershed moment‚ the point at which heavily scripted‚ thoughtful cop drama ceased to#exist in the UK and was gradually replaced by greater emphasis on action and violence and hardness: the start of things like the second#iteration of Special Branch‚ into The Sweeney‚ into The Professionals. those shows were all capable of intelligence and nuance at times but#the focus became unmistakably Action and Spectacle (imo to the detriment of the genre). i might be egging this too much bc the ep still#finds some time to wrestle with moral quandries (but again‚ rather waves over Kingdom's unusual brutality in 'interviewing' a prisoner#suffering from Chekhov's Heart Complaint). Turner guests as another Chief Super‚ and would replace Woodvine in the 4th season#not as the same character i believe‚ but it's a safe bet this guest spot was instrumental in his later casting
