Police Surgeon (UK TV series)

Police Surgeon
Created by	Sydney Newman
Starring	Ian Hendry ; John Warwick ; Ingrid Hafner
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	13 [1]
Production
Producer(s)	Julian Bond; Leonard White
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	10 September –; 3 December 1960

Last updated May 02, 2019

Police Surgeon is a television series made by the Associated British Corporation and starring Ian Hendry as Dr Geoffrey Brent. Its 13 half-hour episodes were broadcast on ITV at 7 pm on Saturday nights from 10 September to 3 December 1960. It is seen as a precursor to the much more famous series The Avengers , although there is no narrative connection.

Ian Mackendrick Hendry was an English film, television and stage actor. He was best known for his work on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of The Avengers and The Lotus Eaters, as well as for his roles in films such as The Hill (1965), Repulsion (1965), Get Carter (1971), and Theatre of Blood (1973).

ITV is a British free-to-air television network with its headquarters in London, it was launched in 1955 as Independent Television under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to BBC Television, that was established in 1932. ITV is also the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, namely BBC 1, BBC 2 and Channel 4. In part, the number 3 was assigned because television sets would usually be tuned so that the regional ITV station would be on the third button, with the other stations being allocated to the number within their name.

The Avengers is a British espionage television series created in 1961. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel, aided by John Steed. Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered by a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King. The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 21 May 1969 in the United Kingdom.

Episodes

Easy Money
Under the Influence
Lag on the Run
Smash But No Grab
Wilful Neglect
You Won't Feel a Thing
A Home of Her Own
Sunday Morning Story
Three's a Crowd
Man Overboard
Operation Mangle
The Bigger They Are

Production

The series was created for ABC by Sydney Newman. The series was first broadcast in September 1960 and starred Ian Hendry as a police surgeon who worked for the Metropolitan Police. The series was originally produced by Julian Bond who was effectively co-creator of the series having had the idea from meeting a GP in the Notting Hill area of London whilst working on another television series. This doctor also worked as a police surgeon and Bond was interested in writing a series of "low key" dramas which would be distinct from the BBC's "police drama" output at that time in the shape of series like Dixon of Dock Green , and would deal with "social misfits". Sydney Newman had reservations about this concept but supported the creation of the series and Bond cast Ian Hendry in the lead role. Julian Bond felt uncomfortable as a TV producer, being more interested in the creative side and felt that he was not a robust manager. Leonard White took over as producer on the direction of Sydney Newman. A generous commercial deal had been struck with the police surgeon who was the inspiration for the series and had financial and creative rights in the series, aside from the script writing and just before the first episode was to be transmitted legal action was threatened by this individual, unless he could write the scripts and ABC television's legal department became involved. The series ran for merely 13 episodes and was then cancelled by Sydney Newman. It is possible that the reason for this was the legal and financial disputes surrounding the original concept, as The Avengers appears to have been devised as a hasty replacement that could also serve as a vehicle for its star, Ian Hendry.

Sydney Cecil Newman, OC was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State.

<i>Julian Bond: Reflections from the Frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement</i> 2012 film by Eduardo Montes-Bradley

Julian Bond: Reflections from the Frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement is a documentary film by Eduardo Montes-Bradley for Heritage Film Project, a portrait of social activist and former Georgia legislator Julian Bond. In the film Bond approaches the Civil Rights Movement from a personal perspective. "Bond's father was the first African-American president of Pennsylvania's Lincoln University, and the family hosted black luminaries in education and the arts, but Bond recalls growing up in the era of "separate but equal" laws". Bond also talks about his early involvement with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), his nomination at the age of 28 for vice president of the United States, and the Georgia legislature's efforts to prevent him from being seated as a representative on the grounds that he had not supported the Vietnam War. The film explores the 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., the assassinations of King and John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson's impact on U.S. race relations. Bond also offers his own insights, and adds some personal revelations, such as the fact that he was a published poet during his college years. The film closes with a montage of major African-American figures from Frederick Douglass and Karl Marx, to Abraham Lincoln and Spike Lee. Julian Bond, premiered at the Virginia Film Festival on November 4, 2012.

<i>Dixon of Dock Green</i> BBC television series

Dixon of Dock Green was a BBC television series about daily life at a London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. The central character was a mature and sympathetic police constable, George Dixon, played by Jack Warner in all of the 432 episodes, from 1955 to 1976.

When Police Surgeon was cancelled, Newman took both Hendry and co-star Ingrid Hafner to this series, and this may be why it is sometimes mistakenly claimed that The Avengers was a direct sequel to Police Surgeon, with Hendry playing the same character in both. Although there were similarities, this was in fact not the case. This myth has possibly been encouraged because material relating to Police Surgeon is scarce, and that the first episode of The Avengers aired only one month after the final episode of Police Surgeon.

Ingrid Hafner was a British actress, born in London. Her father was Raoul Hafner, an Austrian helicopter pioneer, and her mother Eileen Myra McAdam was a descendant of Scottish-born John Loudon McAdam, the road builder.

Cast and crew

John Warwick played the regular character of Inspector Langdon, and Hafner played Nurse Gibbs. Guest actors who appeared in Police Surgeon include Michael Crawford, Bernard Archard, Harry H. Corbett, Geoffrey Palmer, and Nigel Stock.

Michael Patrick Smith,, known by the professional stage name of Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian, singer, voice artist and philanthropist.

Bernard Joseph Archard was an English actor who made numerous film and television appearances.

Harry H. Corbett, OBE was an English actor and comedian. Corbett is best known for his co-starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son which was first broadcast from 1962–1965 and 1970–1974.

Scriptwriters included Julian Bond, who was also story editor and, initially, producer. He was succeeded as producer by Leonard White, who went on to produce The Avengers.

A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, and ensuring that scripts are suitable for production. The script editor will work closely with the writer at each draft of the script, giving the writer feedback on the quality of the work, suggesting improvements that can be made whilst also ensuring that practical issues like show continuity and correct running time are adhered to. Unlike the writers, script editors will usually be full-time members of the production team, working closely with the producer, if the script writer is not a producer.

A television producer is a person who oversees all aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acceptance they focus on business matters, such as budgets and contracts. Other producers are more involved with the day-to-day workings, participating in activities such as screenwriting, set design, casting and directing.

Leonard White was a British actor and television producer. In the latter role he was responsible for The Avengers and Armchair Theatre.

Archival Status and Availability

Only one episode of the series, "Easy Money", featuring Crawford, is known to exist. This episode was shown as part of Channel 4's TV Heaven season, introduced by Frank Muir, on 28 March 1992 and is included on the Season 2 Box-set of The Avengers as an extra.

Channel 4 is a British public-service free-to-air television network that began transmission on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially-self-funded, it is ultimately publicly-owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital terrestrial broadcasting on 31 March 2010, Channel 4 became a UK-wide TV channel for the first time.

TV Heaven is a series of 13 theme nights shown on Channel 4 in early 1992, celebrating the best of archive British television. Twelve of the evenings each focused on programmes from a particular year from the 1960s or 1970s, with one evening focussing on programmes from the 1950s.

Frank Muir English comedy scriptwriter and radio personality

Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC Radio's Take It From Here for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio quizzes My Word! and My Music for another 35. Muir became Assistant Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC in the 1960s, and was then London Weekend Television's founding Head of Entertainment. His many writing credits include editorship of The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose.

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References

↑ "Police Surgeon - Episode Guide" . Retrieved 2014-08-23.

External links

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[1] "Police Surgeon - Episode Guide" . Retrieved 2014-08-23.