People take the pi*s out of 'The Professionals', but it's by and large very good, especially the first series.Someone above said Martin Shaw was so embarrassed by it all, he wouldn't allow repeats; not true. He wouldn't allow repeats because the repeat fee structure they were offered was rubbish. His position was "if you think you can make money out of repeating it, then the actors want a fair piece of that profit". Sensible and rational. The repeat fees were sorted, and it's now being repeated. The "embarrassment" story is sexier, but I'm afraid, not true.You would never know the actors did not like one another throughout the whole of filming, though. They're both really good in this; the Doyle character with his muesli with natural yoghurt and honey (edgy stuff in '79), and Bodie with his bacon sandwiches. There's a blu-ray on the way shortly, and the sneak previews look terrific. The picture quality on the DVDs is poor, with the broadcast masters even worse, in the toilet...

First of all, I just can't believe how many fans. Great, most of all for those like me, who grew up so far away.I remember the series being broadcast in my country, madly in love with both, I adore Doyle's curly hair, I think it was perfect for him. The clothes? maybe I would have changed his tight jeans but that's it. There is a look of his with a white jacket (or is it a knit vest?) with a blue shirt and he looks fantastic. Bodie? adorable, I wouldn't change anything.....except for that red shirt he used in one episode. Love them cause they were part of my youth and of course there were other series at the time but The Pros got something (the camaraderie and friendship in spite of the difficulties of the daily work, no matter what, including some disagreements and hard facts, they will take care of each other).Besides, the series resume the 70's in all of the senses (colors, style, etc).

This is a 'rootin - tootin," shoot-em-up, no holds barred, action filled cops and robbers show, with the occasional touch of male chauvinism and with vintage 1977 class. It's Dempsdy and Makepeace meets John Thaw's The Sweeny done with panache and verve. It's notable for the presence of a very young Martin Shaw who, in his 50's, went on to play the erudite, gentleman detective Inspector George Gently. The show's appeal and popularity are attested to by the fact that it ran five seasons.CI5 (Criminal Investigations 5) is a specially formed police group tasked to tackle those criminal enterprises that prove beyond the reach of New Scotland Yard and the Special Operations Branch. Its commander George Cowley (played by Gordon Jackson) and its two chief operatives Doyle (played by Martin Shaw) and Bodie (played by Lewis Collins) comprise the staple team that undertakes a range of special police assignments under a broad mandate and with sometimes less than scrupulous observance of the niceties of British Due Process but always focused on defeating the criminals others can't touch and achieving justice. Cowley barks orders and runs interference with the lordly, upper political classes embarrassed by the teams non-gentile methods. Doyle and Brodie provide the muscle and street smarts brought to bear on the situation at hand.This format effectively sustained the series during its five season run from 1977 to 1982. It's a great piece of police action drama that aficionados of the genre should not miss.

The Professionals is an extremely high quality cult t.v series that well and truly deserves its tag of "t.v legend".This is due to its excellent writing courtesy of Brian Clemens and co. and the outstanding theme and incidental scores of the incomparable Laurie Johnson.The series itself has a truly filmic quality due to the varied locations used - from beautiful shots of the English countryside with the immortal Ford Capris speeding by to the sweeping panning camera shots of the city of London.Everything about this series is memorable , from the exhilarating opening theme complete with wahwah guitar and "Shaft" style hihats to the abrasive , yet humorous relationship between the two leads.Even though most people seem to remember this series as so-called standard crime/adventure viewing , in reality , it is more than that.Particular episodes , such as "Wild Justice" , is about the character Bodie (Lewis Collins) in particular and asks whether he is able to continue working effectively under the stress placed on him by the demands of a job in an organisation such as Ci5.This sounds a reasonably formal premise for a plot , but on viewing the episode itself we see that unusual elements (such as Bodie going to an oriental martial arts/medical expert for help and advice) have been thoughtfully added by the writer to give an extra edge.To enhance this interesting angle further , the oriental character then proceeds to give Cowley - Bodies boss (Gordon Jackson) a lecture about where the soul might be placed in the body , definetly an unusual and welcome aspect to proceedings and it is precisely these element that make the Professionals linger in the mind long after an episode is over.Unfortunately , at the time the show was mauled by critics , being cited as "moronic" and overly violent.It is undoubtedly fair to say that the show most certainly was the latter of these two things , being primarily a contemporary crime/drama series.It is also fair to say that whenever there was violence present on the screen it was handled with a certain flair and portrayed realistically.However , the reason the vitriolic attack from the critics didnt sour the publics appetite for the show was this - excellent acting from the trio of Gordon jackson (Cowley) , Lewis Collins (Bodie) and Martin Shaw (Doyle) in the lead roles , first class writing and production , the special atmosphere that permeated every episode , the memorable chemistry between Bodie and Doyle and the music , which spawned a theme which is now a signature within the genre itself and incidental music which managed magnificently to capture many differing moods and emotions , some normally found outside the often narrowly viewed crime/drama division section of television entertainment.The Professionals was and still is different and set new standards in many areas that television today is still catching up to.BUGS , anyone ?