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.
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.