Sergeant Cork

Last updated

Sergeant Cork
Sergeant Cork tv series titlecard.jpg
GenrePolice drama
Created by Ted Willis
Starring John Barrie
William Gaunt
Charles Morgan
Freddie Fowler
Edward Ogden
Arnold Diamond
John Richmond
Barry Raymond
Peter Sallis
Donald Morley [1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes66
Production
ProducerJack Williams
Running time50 minutes
Production company ATV
Original release
Network ITV
Release1963 (1963) 
1968 (1968)

Sergeant Cork is a British detective television series which first aired between 1963 and 1968 on ITV. It was a police procedural show that followed the efforts of two police officers and their battle against crime in Victorian London. In all 66 hour-long episodes were aired during the five-year run, although the last episode was not broadcast until January 1968, 16 months after the others. [2] Journalist Tom Sutcliffe has credited it as a first example of the use of the Victorian-era policeman in a television crime series. [3]

Contents

A 1969 review in The Age opined that rather than suspense, the strengths of the series were its "[e]xcellent period settings and wonderfully thick pea-soupers" which "add up to splendid evocative stuff", as well as the performance of star John Barrie. [4]

At no time during the whole series is Sergeant Cork's first name given.

Cast

Notable guest stars included Carmen Silvera, Alan Haines and Peter Sallis.

DVD Releases

Network has released the entire series on Region 2, PAL DVD in the UK. The second series was an exclusive two-disc set on their website which has since been re-released on 3 September 2012. The third set was also a four disc set and is available through the Network website. Series 4 became available from both the Network website and other retailers on 6 August 2012. [5] Series 5 was released on 19 November 2012, and Series 6 on 18 March 2013.

Related Research Articles

<i>Phoenix</i> (Australian TV series) Australian police drama television series

Phoenix is a Logie Award-winning Australian crime drama television series broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1992 to 1993. It was created by Alison Nisselle and Tony McDonald.

<i>Dragnet</i> (franchise) Radio, television, and film series, mostly about LAPD detective Joe Friday

Dragnet is an American media franchise created by actor and producer Jack Webb, following Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Joe Friday and his partners as they conduct by-the-book police work and solve crimes in Los Angeles. Originating as a radio drama on NBC in 1949, Dragnet has been adapted into several successful television shows and films, though the franchise's popularity has reduced since Webb's death in 1982. Its name is derived from the police term "dragnet", a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.

<i>Prime Suspect</i> British police procedural TV series (1991–2006)

Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who rises to the rank of Detective Superintendent while confronting institutionalised sexism within the police force.

<i>Bergerac</i> (TV series) British crime drama television series (1981–1991)

Bergerac is a British crime drama television series. Set in Jersey, it ran from 18 October 1981 to 26 December 1991. Produced by the BBC in association with the Australian Seven Network, and first screened on BBC1, it stars John Nettles as the title character Jim Bergerac, who is initially a detective sergeant in Le Bureau des Étrangers, within the States of Jersey Police, but later leaves the force and becomes a private investigator.

<i>The Sweeney</i> British television crime drama series (1975–1978)

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 stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as his partner, Detective Sergeant George Carter. It was produced by the Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films for broadcast on the ITV network in the UK between 2 January 1975 and 28 December 1978.

The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators such as private investigators.

<i>Adam-12</i> American police procedural television series, 1968–1975

Adam-12 is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol Los Angeles in their police cruiser, assigned the call sign "1-Adam-12". Adam-12 stars Martin Milner and Kent McCord, with several recurring co-stars, the most frequent being William Boyett and Gary Crosby. The series ran over seven seasons from September 21, 1968, until May 20, 1975.

<i>Midsomer Murders</i> British television detective drama series

Midsomer Murders is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the Chief Inspector Barnaby book series created by Caroline Graham, and broadcasts on the ITV Network since its premiere on 23 March 1997. The series focuses on various murder cases that take place within small country villages across the fictional English county of Midsomer, and the efforts of the senior police detective and his partner within the fictional Midsomer Constabulary to solve the crime by determining who the culprit is and the motive for their actions. It differs from other detective dramas in featuring a mixture of lighthearted whimsy and dark humour, as well as a notable soundtrack with a title theme that includes a theremin.

<i>Dempsey and Makepeace</i> British television drama series (1985–1986)

Dempsey and Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by LWT for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. Lead roles were played by Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber, who later married each other in real life in 1989.

William Charles Anthony Gaunt is an English actor. He became widely known for television roles such as Richard Barrett in The Champions (1968–1969), Arthur Crabtree in No Place Like Home (1983–87) and Andrew Prentice in Next of Kin (1995–97). He has had many other roles on television and also an extensive stage career as an actor and director, including performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<i>Special Branch</i> (TV series) British television crime drama series (1969–1974)

Special Branch is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV and shown between 1969-1970 and 1973-1974. A police drama series, the action was centred on members of the Special Branch counterintelligence and counterterrorism department of the London Metropolitan Police. The first two series starred Derren Nesbitt, before the programme went through an overhaul, with George Sewell taking over as the new lead.

Matlock Police is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Matlock and the surrounding district, and the backgrounds and personal lives of the main policemen.

<i>No Hiding Place</i> Television series

No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967.

<i>The Felony Squad</i> American TV crime drama (1966–1969)

The Felony Squad is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lovesey</span> British writer (b. 1936)

Peter Harmer Lovesey, also known by his pen name Peter Lear, is a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath.

<i>Cribb</i> British police drama television series

Cribb is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 to 1981.

<i>Maigret</i> (1960 TV series) British TV series or programme

Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Barrie (actor)</span> English actor

John Barrie was an English actor who appeared in a number of television shows and films. He became well known for playing the title character on the police series Sergeant Cork from 1963–1968 and playing Detective Inspector Hudson on Z-Cars from 1967–1968. He was born in New Brighton, Cheshire in 1917 and made his screen debut in the 1954 film Yankee Pasha. He retired from acting in the 1970s, and latterly owned a number of grocery shops around York.

<i>Ripper Street</i> 2012 British mystery drama television series

Ripper Street is a British mystery drama television series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, and MyAnna Buring. It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The first episode was broadcast on 30 December 2012, during BBC One's Christmas schedule, and was first broadcast in the United States on BBC America on 19 January 2013. Ripper Street returned for a second eight-part series on 28 October 2013.

<i>Motive</i> (TV series) Canadian police procedural crime drama television series

Motive is a Canadian police procedural television series that aired for four seasons on CTV from February 3, 2013, to August 30, 2016. The series premiere had 1.23 million viewers, making it the number one Canadian series premiere of the 2012–13 season.

References

  1. "Sergeant Cork (1963-1968)".
  2. "Sergeant Cork". IMDb. 9 June 1963.
  3. Thomas Sutcliffe, "New idea for a cop show? No, it's been nicked", The Independent , 17 April 1995.
  4. "Crime fizz", The Age TV Radio Guide, 16–22 May 1969, p. 3.
  5. http://www.networkdvd.net/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=cork&x=0&y=0