Rowan Atkinson is a talented actor and comedian, I can't recall any works with his participation being dull or benighted. Sitcom The Thin Blue Line is another fine example where he and his co-actors fill in witty scripts by Ben Elton. There is no totally positive police character, each and every has odd views/comprehensions, personal problems at home, difficulties with opposite sex etc; for me, Rowan Atkinson as Inspector Raymond Fowler, James Dreyfus as Constable Kevin Goody, Mina Anwar as Constable Maggie Habib, and David Haig as Detective Inspector Derek Grim are the best and funniest (well, one might say at times exaggeration is too intense, bearing in mind that the policemen are depicted), but - as a good and strong sign of British comedies - it is no total buffoonery, but various important topics are handled, such as racism, different minorities, lack of state funding, new types of crimes, role of the police in society - to name a few. And last but not least: you will hear abundant British English, with dozens of words not in daily use.

The Thin Blue Line is a very enjoyable comedy to watch due to the variety of different characters created by Ben Elton whom are extremely different to one another and also very funny in their own ways. The show is based in the fictional town of Gasforth which is suppose to be located around London.Inspector Fowler (played by Atkinson) is the well-spoken police officer who is best described by his girlfriend police Sargeant Dawkins as a "man who was born middle aged". Atkinson is superb in the role, and my favourite moments involving Inspector Fowler include his views and attitudes towards current society in which he would rather stay in his office and read a book whilst eating a chocolate frog than queueing up in the bank to renew his standing order. There are also great moments in the show when Fowler has to interact with other members of the police force including Constable Goody and Inspector Grimm.Inspector Grimm has to be the highlight of the show, he is played wonderfully by David Haig who unfortunately has not be on TV much after his excellent performance on this show. Grimm gets frustrated easily by Fowler, police work and anything in general. He works in CID in the Gasforth police station and yearns for real police work involving thugs and drug dealers. But in most cases he gets tricked by students who cause pranks during rag week, gets foiled in a honey trap operation which he took accountability for and becomes an undercover football fan where he arrests the football players rather than the fans. Inspector Grimm just cant take "fannying about".Another brilliant character is Constable Goody who joined the police force to "strut around in a nice uniform and stop crime". He unintentionally gets under Inspector Fowler's skin who finds him quite annoying. He also fancies the feminist Constable Maggie Habib, who he has no chance in winning over but still tries relentlessly to impress her.The show is worth checking out if you are a fan of British comedy and/or Rowan Atkinson and writer Ben Elton. Both seasons one and two are enjoyable with all episodes worth watching. My favourite episode is the finale to season two in which Fowler upsets Sargeant Dawkins after his terrible marriage proposal and he therefore is asked to come out on the pull by the other officers (a term Fowler is not familiar with). Also in the episode Inspector Grimm believes his time has come to be promoted in CID.

This is British comedy at its best,lots of double entendres and comic characters.Rownan Atkinsons delivery is a delight.Inspecter Grims raves and rants about the boredom of his job are classic, hoping to catch a big time criminal but just not being able to do it.Mina antiwar is good as young police woman who is fancied by Kevin Goody a hopeless young policeman, who is very camp.Inspector Fowlers love life with Sgt Dawkins is the source of much amusement, as his idea of fun in the bedroom is to read a Biggles book or reminisce about meccanno. Rudolf Walker co stars as old copper full of amusing stories which always seem to side track Inspector Fowler.So do yourself a favour and watch the thin blue line

This series was a bit of a step back for Elton and Atkinson after the audaciously original Blackadder and Mr. Bean series. The Thin Blue Line is an old-fashioned farce set in a city police station. That's not to say it's bad--it's actually very funny, just not anything groundbreaking. A lot of the humor derives from playing stereotypes against themselves: our heroes are bumbling cops who manage to make fools of themselves while eventually solving the crimes and making fools of the bad guys (not to mention the detective division) in the end. Goody, who could be described as a flaming heterosexual, manages to combine a full repertoire of "nelly" mannerisms with a hopeless crush on Habib. Habib herself is both a stereotype (attractive young female character constantly pursued by almost every male character) and a skewerer of stereotypes. This show has its cake and eats it too, but the viewer is too busy laughing to question any of it. And in the tradition of the best British farces, it goes to unbelievable lengths to track down and hammer home every conceivable double entendre and smutty one-liner. When one finishes groaning and/or laughing, one can't help but admire such perseverance in the pursuit of craft.