Target (UK TV series)

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Target
Genre Action
Created by Graham Williams
Written by Bob Baker
Dave Martin
David Wickes
Starring Patrick Mower
Philip Madoc
Brendan Price
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 17
Production
Producer(s) Philip Hinchcliffe
Location(s) Southampton 13th Regional Crime Squad
Running time 50 minutes
Release
Original network BBC1
Original release 9 September 1977 – 10 November 1978

Target was a police drama series, which ran from 1977–78, on BBC1. The series was the BBC's response to ITV's successful series, The Sweeney , but received criticism for its levels of violence and lasted for just two seasons.

Police Law enforcement body

A police service is a constituted body of persons empowered by a state to enforce the law, to protect people and property, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their powers include the power of arrest and the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. The police force is usually a public sector service, funded through taxes.

<i>The Sweeney</i> 1970s British television police drama

The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It was made by Thames Television for broadcast on the ITV network. The programme's title derives from 'Sweeney Todd', which is Cockney rhyming slang for "Flying Squad". It starred John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. Such was its popularity in the UK that it spawned two feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2.

Contents

Synopsis

Target was set in Southampton, as the 13th Regional Crime Squad. The series was originally developed under the title Hackett, by producer Graham Williams but he was asked to swap roles with the outgoing producer of Doctor Who , Philip Hinchcliffe, who retitled the show Target.

Southampton City and unitary authority area in England

Southampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. It is 69 miles (111 km) south-west of London and 15 miles (24 km) west north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south of the urban area. The city, which is a unitary authority, has an estimated population of 253,651. The city's name is sometimes abbreviated in writing to "So'ton" or "Soton", and a resident of Southampton is called a Sotonian.

<i>Doctor Who</i> British science fiction TV series

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "the Doctor", an extraterrestrial being, to all appearances human, from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Accompanied by a number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes while working to save civilisations and help people in need.

Philip Michael Hinchcliffe is a retired English television producer, writer and script editor.

It starred Patrick Mower as Det. Supt. Steve Hackett, Brendan Price as Det. Sgt. Frank Bonney, Vivien Heilbron as Det. Sgt. Louise Colbert and Philip Madoc as Det. Chief Supt. Tate. Seventeen fifty-minute episodes were produced, over two series. The theme music was by Dudley Simpson.

Patrick Mower is an English actor well known for his various television and occasional film roles, often as a detective or secret agent, and more recently as Rodney Blackstock in ITV soap opera Emmerdale, a role he has played since 2000.

Brendan Price is a British theatre, movie, and television actor. He graduated, winning the prize for outstanding Dialect work and began his career, like so many other successful actors, learning his trade in the regional theatres of England. He worked in a number of the major theatres, playing a diverse range of parts in the plays of Anton Chekhov, Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, and in those of many other writers, both classical and modern.

Vivien Heilbron is a Scottish actress.

Initial Reaction

At the time, the show was criticised for its level of violence. The BBC's Director of Programmes, Alasdair Milne, reportedly received 5,000 letters of complaint from Mary Whitehouse's League of Light. [1] Its release also coincided with the publication of the Belson Report (Television violence and the adolescent boy). The first series was curtailed and the second series toned down the level of violence.

Alasdair David Gordon Milne was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by The Independent as "one of the most original and talented programme-makers to emerge during television's formative years".

Mary Whitehouse British activist

Constance Mary Whitehouse, known as Mary Whitehouse, was an English social activist who opposed social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permissive society. She was the founder and first president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, through which she led a longstanding campaign against the BBC. A social conservative, she was disparagingly termed a reactionary by her socially liberal opponents. Her motivation derived from her traditional Christian beliefs, her aversion to the rapid social and political changes in British society of the 1960s and her work as a teacher of sex education.

Cancellation

A third series was mooted, with Robert Banks Stewart taking over as producer. He spent two weeks in the producer's role, during which he planned to change the supporting cast, reduce the violence and steer the show further away from The Sweeney . Banks Stewart wanted James Bolam as the new lead but Bolam preferred to do one final series of When the Boat Comes In first.

Robert Banks Stewart was a Scottish screenwriter, television producer and former journalist. He was sometimes credited as Robert Stewart early in his career. Banks Stewart contributed extensively to drama for the BBC and ITV for several decades.

James Christopher Bolam, is an English actor, best known for his roles as Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Dr Arthur Gilder in Born and Bred, Jack Halford in New Tricks and the title character of Grandpa in the CBeebies programme Grandpa in My Pocket.

When the Boat Comes In is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshield in the North East of England. The series dramatises the political struggles of the 1920s and 1930s and explores the impact of national and international politics upon Ford and the people around him.

Different reasons have been given for the cancellation of Target. According to Philip Hinchcliffe's account on the DVD commentary for Doctor Who serial The Seeds of Doom , the series was ultimately cancelled because Alasdair Milne didn't like it. [2] Banks Stewart claimed he was asked by Graeme MacDonald, the BBC's Head of Series and Serials, whether he would prefer to scrap Target altogether and produce a new series. [3] He then devised the private eye drama Shoestring . However, Patrick Mower offered a view which was slightly different: he wanted to terminate his commitment anyway. With reference to the rather unfortunate fate of Professionals lead, Lewis Collins, he emphasized in the late 1990s that he did not like to be identified with one particular role and, for this reason, he had made it his policy never to appear in a series for more than two years. [4]

<i>The Seeds of Doom</i> Doctor Who serial

The Seeds of Doom is the sixth and final serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 31 January to 6 March 1976.

Graeme Patrick David MacDonald, known as Graeme MacDonald and sometimes credited as Graeme McDonald or Graham McDonald, was a British television producer and executive.

<i>Shoestring</i> (TV series) television series

Shoestring is a British detective fiction drama series, set in an unnamed city in the west of England and filmed in Bristol, featuring the down-at-heel private detective Eddie Shoestring, who presents his own show on Radio West, a local radio station. Broadcast on BBC1 between 30 September 1979 and 21 December 1980, the programme lasted for two series featuring a total of 21 episodes. After the second series was broadcast, Eve decided not to return to the role, as he "wanted to diversify into theatre roles". Subsequently, the production team began taking popular elements of the series and revising them into a new format, which was to be based in Jersey, and 1981 saw the first broadcast of Bergerac, a series starring John Nettles as the titular detective, who returns to work after a bad period in his life.

Some of the episodes were written by David Wickes, who also wrote scripts for The Professionals and his production company, David Wickes Productions, produced The New Professionals , in 1999.

Cars

Like The Sweeney, the cars used were Fords, mostly Cortinas and Granadas. However, Hackett's personal car, seen in several episodes, is a 1969 Mercury Cougar.

Official Releases

In 1983, the BBC tried to relaunch the series on the then-soaring video market, releasing the pilot, Shipment, on VHS tape. However, no further releases were forthcoming. [5]

The first series was last aired on TV on the now-defunct British Satellite Broadcasting cable channel, Galaxy, in 1990. The second series has not been aired since 1978.

All seventeen episodes survive in C1 format (16 mm film), in the BBC archives. Some sources, such as Halliwell/Purser, claim that there were twenty-two episodes but this is simply a mistake. [6]

Novels

Two Target novels were published. It seems that writers, Michael Feeney Callan and Simon Masters, were asked to turn their scripts into novels, so that the BBC could put them on the market. [7]

Series One 1977

# Title Writer Director Airdate
1"Shipment"David Wickes & Philip Hinchcliffe David Wickes9 September 1977
Hackett follows up on information about dodgy dealings aboard an international cargo ship provided by a murdered snitch.
2"Blow Out" Roger Marshall Douglas Camfield 16 September 1977
Hackett is baffled by a series of jewel thefts and turns to a prisoner awaiting release for help.
3"Big Elephant" Bob Baker & Dave Martin Douglas Camfield23 September 1977
A sailor tries to sell a package of stolen drugs he believes to be hashish, but it is actually heroin.
4"Hunting Parties"Bob Baker & Dave Martin Christopher Menaul 30 September 1977
A revolutionary action group interrupts a burglary at a former villain's home. Hackett and the victim's family try to track them down.
5"Vandraggers"Bernie Cooper & Francis MegahyFrancis Megahy14 October 1977
An electronics shipment has been hi-jacked, prompting Hackett to empty a bank's safety deposit boxes.
6"Lady Luck"Ray JenkinsTerry Green21 October 1977
Hackett quits the force in disgrace after being accused of accepting a bribe. He arranges to sell police files to people traffickers to pay for his enforced retirement.
7"Set Up"Ray Jenkins Jim Goddard 28 October 1977
Hackett is suspended for alleged corruption. "If you're innocent, stand and fight" pleads Ros. So why's Hackett on the run?
8"Roadrunner"James ClareMike Vardy4 November 1977
Hackett investigates the hijacking of a truck and the subsequent murder of its driver by a hitchhiker and uncovers pilfering at an electronics plant.
9"Carve Up"Bob Baker & Dave MartinBen Bolt11 November 1977
Hackett investigates possible police corruption in relation to bids for a city development project and is led into an embarrassing triangle with the daughter of a chief superintendent.

Series Two 1978

# Title Writer Director Airdate
1"Rouges' Gallery"Bob Baker & Dave MartinMike Vardy15 September 1978
Hackett investigates the curious theft of rare old paintings from wealthy homes and finds a dedicated young woman determined to advance the careers of several young artists.
2"A Good and Faithful Woman"Richard HarrisBen Bolt22 September 1978
Hackett investigates the curious theft of rare old paintings from wealthy homes and finds a dedicated young woman determined to advance the careers of several young artists.
3"Queen's Pardon"David WickesDavid Wickes29 September 1978
Hackett has to deal with a hostage situation when a disturbed father demands a pardon for his son who was executed for murder fifteen years before.
4"Fringe Banking" Ken Follett Terry Green13 October 1978
Hackett stumbles onto a scheme to acquire a struggling construction company that is in line to win a lucrative government contract.
5"Promises"Tony Hoare Gordon Flemyng 20 October 1978
A young squad member is murdered when accompanying a key witness to the trial of a prominent gangster.
6"The Trouble with Charlie"Dave HumphriesPeter Smith27 October 1978
Hackett meets an old flame at the airport but her current boyfriend gets involved in a cocaine deal that goes wrong.
7"Figures of Importance"Christopher MenaulChristopher Menaul3 November 1978
Hackett's former fiancée is killed by a strong arm man. He and her delinquent son want to find out who killed her and why.
8"The Run" Peter J. Hammond Terry Green10 November 1978
Hackett uses an accountant to get evidence against a porn publisher who is buying drugs with smuggled gold.

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References

  1. ↑ Mower, Patrick (2007). Patrick Mower, My Story. John Blake. p. 221. ISBN   978-1-84454-447-9.
  2. ↑ Voice-over commentary on the BBC DVD "The Seeds of Doom" (1976, 2010)
  3. ↑ "Target". Media Gems. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  4. ↑ "Target". Media Gems. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  5. ↑ "Target". Media Gems. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  6. ↑ "Target". Media Gems. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  7. ↑ "Target". Media Gems. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
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