Underrated corker...
People take the pi*s out of 'The Professionals', but it's by and large very good, especially the first series.Someone above said Martin Shaw was so embarrassed by it all, he wouldn't allow repeats; not true. He wouldn't allow repeats because the repeat fee structure they were offered was rubbish. His position was "if you think you can make money out of repeating it, then the actors want a fair piece of that profit". Sensible and rational. The repeat fees were sorted, and it's now being repeated. The "embarrassment" story is sexier, but I'm afraid, not true.
You would never know the actors did not like one another throughout the whole of filming, though. They're both really good in this; the Doyle character with his muesli with natural yoghurt and honey (edgy stuff in '79), and Bodie with his bacon sandwiches. There's a blu-ray on the way shortly, and the sneak previews look terrific. The picture quality on the DVDs is poor, with the broadcast masters even worse, in the toilet...
score /10
johngerardmatthew 21 January 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2946337/14824
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