This series was a bit of a step back for Elton and Atkinson after the audaciously original Blackadder and Mr. Bean series. The Thin Blue Line is an old-fashioned farce set in a city police station. That's not to say it's bad--it's actually very funny, just not anything groundbreaking. A lot of the humor derives from playing stereotypes against themselves: our heroes are bumbling cops who manage to make fools of themselves while eventually solving the crimes and making fools of the bad guys (not to mention the detective division) in the end. Goody, who could be described as a flaming heterosexual, manages to combine a full repertoire of "nelly" mannerisms with a hopeless crush on Habib. Habib herself is both a stereotype (attractive young female character constantly pursued by almost every male character) and a skewerer of stereotypes. This show has its cake and eats it too, but the viewer is too busy laughing to question any of it. And in the tradition of the best British farces, it goes to unbelievable lengths to track down and hammer home every conceivable double entendre and smutty one-liner. When one finishes groaning and/or laughing, one can't help but admire such perseverance in the pursuit of craft.
41 Reviews
Fine series in a much lower key than Elton's earlier work.
dave13-110 February 2012
Ben Elton, one of the creators of Blackadder, got back together with Rowan Atkinson for two seasons and twelve episodes of this unexpectedly low key situation comedy about life at a police station in a sleepy section of the U.K. Beyond arresting the occasional shoplifter or student prankster, they have next to nothing to do. This does not sit well with the action-starved CID man Grimm (whose insane tirades on the state of Great Britain are an every episode treat) but does not seem to worry anybody else. The emphasis here is, for once, not on the outrageous or the farcical, but at finding the humor in small everyday happenings.
Atkinson's comedy skills are as impeccable as ever, although after playing the Machiavellian Blackadder for years, followed by apocalyptic silent cinema throwback Bean, Atkinson had to grope around a little for the first couple of episodes to get the right subtle note with his middle aged public servant Insp. Fowler. The racially and gender mixed ensemble worked right away, and this is one of the show's strengths, along with Elton's scripts. It was as if Elton and Atkinson decided to show the world that although they had spent years redefining the boundaries of TV comedy, they could do traditional forms too, so there. This is a small gem of a series and worth discovering, especially since it is so little known beside Atkinson's other series.
Atkinson's comedy skills are as impeccable as ever, although after playing the Machiavellian Blackadder for years, followed by apocalyptic silent cinema throwback Bean, Atkinson had to grope around a little for the first couple of episodes to get the right subtle note with his middle aged public servant Insp. Fowler. The racially and gender mixed ensemble worked right away, and this is one of the show's strengths, along with Elton's scripts. It was as if Elton and Atkinson decided to show the world that although they had spent years redefining the boundaries of TV comedy, they could do traditional forms too, so there. This is a small gem of a series and worth discovering, especially since it is so little known beside Atkinson's other series.
A good old comedy
toonnnnn9 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is British comedy at its best,lots of double entendres and comic characters.Rownan Atkinsons delivery is a delight.Inspecter Grims raves and rants about the boredom of his job are classic, hoping to catch a big time criminal but just not being able to do it.Mina antiwar is good as young police woman who is fancied by Kevin Goody a hopeless young policeman, who is very camp.Inspector Fowlers love life with Sgt Dawkins is the source of much amusement, as his idea of fun in the bedroom is to read a Biggles book or reminisce about meccanno. Rudolf Walker co stars as old copper full of amusing stories which always seem to side track Inspector Fowler.So do yourself a favour and watch the thin blue line
British comedy at its best
mcw211230 November 2007
As an American I have no problem with saying that British sit-coms are light years ahead of the crap that plays well here in the U.S. After being a huge fan of "BlackAdder", I was reluctant to buy "Thin Blue Line" for fear of being let down because "Blackadder" was so incredibly good, especially "Blackadder Goes Fourth", but I was immediately taken with these characters and the crisp, witty writing. With America's lame sex-coms, uh... I mean sit-coms being so sophomoric and so completely predictable, it's always a breath of fresh air to watch a Brit-com. I'd rather watch "Red Dwarf" or "Thin Blue Line" repeatedly than most of the tripe offered on the major U.S. networks these days. Brit-coms are funnier, smarter and always more colorful. If you love brit-coms don't miss this little jewel!!
Absolutely Hoity Toity Fun
thekuruptx19 July 2010
I have heard that English Comedy is excellent , so has been proved by the masterpieces throughout the years "Monty Python" , "Fawlty Towers" and "Black Adder", but recently i was lucky enough to watch this series , and it was lovely . It was almost the feel i had when i saw blackadder that "Wish the Print was a bit better" although i am not a slightest bit annoyed by the darkness in the lighting, in fact it is almost ironic for it truly portrays British "Dark" Comedy.
The thin Blue Line is a series which sets up in a small town of england called Gasforth where the cast resides mostly at their work station i.e. Police Station, The police consists of two parties The Uniformed "Bell Topped" Coppers and the upto date and rather modern Criminal Investigation Dept. "CID" The Main Characters in the Series are the Uniformed coppers 1.Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson) 2.Constable Goody 3. Constable Gladstone 4.Constable Maggie Habib and Sargeant Dawkins and the CID consists of Derek Grim and Inspector Garry Boyle.
The Whole plot is actually the constant arguments and differences b/w the CID and the Blues and ever episode is based on both sides constant bafoonaries.
The comedy in this series is unique and tummy hurting till the very end, the best thing about it is that unlike black adder where edmund black adder is the one with the last laugh in jokes , here every character has his punch line and laughs i love it and hope that everyone appreciate the true art of Humour, the editors and writers are same as of black adder which includes Rowan Atkinson and Ben elton.
The biggest mistake that the bbc made after almost canceling black adder was that to cut the thin blue line into only 14 epis and then hack the show of ....................
Buch of egg heads.
Love the show and recommend it to any decent man or woman , who wants to view elegant , "CLEAN" humor (by clean i mean its totally absent from any nudity) but the material is hilarious " Two things that an American cannot beat the British at........ Clean and unique Humor and Rock and Roll"
The thin Blue Line is a series which sets up in a small town of england called Gasforth where the cast resides mostly at their work station i.e. Police Station, The police consists of two parties The Uniformed "Bell Topped" Coppers and the upto date and rather modern Criminal Investigation Dept. "CID" The Main Characters in the Series are the Uniformed coppers 1.Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson) 2.Constable Goody 3. Constable Gladstone 4.Constable Maggie Habib and Sargeant Dawkins and the CID consists of Derek Grim and Inspector Garry Boyle.
The Whole plot is actually the constant arguments and differences b/w the CID and the Blues and ever episode is based on both sides constant bafoonaries.
The comedy in this series is unique and tummy hurting till the very end, the best thing about it is that unlike black adder where edmund black adder is the one with the last laugh in jokes , here every character has his punch line and laughs i love it and hope that everyone appreciate the true art of Humour, the editors and writers are same as of black adder which includes Rowan Atkinson and Ben elton.
The biggest mistake that the bbc made after almost canceling black adder was that to cut the thin blue line into only 14 epis and then hack the show of ....................
Buch of egg heads.
Love the show and recommend it to any decent man or woman , who wants to view elegant , "CLEAN" humor (by clean i mean its totally absent from any nudity) but the material is hilarious " Two things that an American cannot beat the British at........ Clean and unique Humor and Rock and Roll"
HILIRIOUS COMEDY! THE CAST IS FANTASTIC!
sixstringscouser18 September 2001
I saw this on TV in 1995/96 and just loved it! The storylines and gags cackle with invention and are simply sheer genius. Ben Elton did a very good job here. The stars in this show are perfectly cast and hilirious to watch, particularly James Dreyfuss, Rowan Atkinson and also David Haig who plays D.I Grim is hilirious! There's a good range of personalities embedded into each character and it's great the way they interact so well. Some great double meanings and even some toilet humour gags will keep you more than satisfied while watching this. :-) 9/10
Holds up well
Leofwine_draca28 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
THE THIN BLUE LINE is a generally likeable sitcom set in a small police station and written by the ubiquitous Ben Elton. It lasted for two series and a total of fourteen episodes, not long enough to outstay its welcome, and despite being low budget I remember finding it very funny when I first saw it at the time as a teenager. In retrospect, it holds up well today, despite some obviously dated aspects of the production.
Rowan Atkinson's portrayal of the fussy Fowler is a neat counterpoint to Mr Bean, the usual kind of repressed loser character that the British love. I think this thunder is stolen by the excellent David Haig, whose soliloquies are the funniest part of each episode. The other comic interplay generally works well thanks to the talents of the cast, including a youthful James Dreyfus at his most amusing. The plots are nothing special, but there's the occasional strong theme and bit of controversy that you feel the BBC wouldn't risk today. The jokes tend to be funny, particularly with the endless CARRY ON style innuendo, and generally this is likeable, amiable viewing.
Rowan Atkinson's portrayal of the fussy Fowler is a neat counterpoint to Mr Bean, the usual kind of repressed loser character that the British love. I think this thunder is stolen by the excellent David Haig, whose soliloquies are the funniest part of each episode. The other comic interplay generally works well thanks to the talents of the cast, including a youthful James Dreyfus at his most amusing. The plots are nothing special, but there's the occasional strong theme and bit of controversy that you feel the BBC wouldn't risk today. The jokes tend to be funny, particularly with the endless CARRY ON style innuendo, and generally this is likeable, amiable viewing.
A wonderful British sitcom
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzx23 August 2008
This show has Rowan Atkinson (Inspector Raymond "Feely" Fowler) at his very best, funnier than either Mr. Bean or Black Adder. He shares the screen with a delightful array of competent actors who all know how to deliver a funny line without squashing it, although sometimes I find David Haig's delivery of Detective Inspector Grimm's rants to be just a little too much.
I don't find much of what Ben Elton has written to be that funny, but this show has me laughing out loud time and again. Almost every episode in the two seasons available is well paced and loaded with double entendres. If only American sitcoms could match or come close to this!
I don't find much of what Ben Elton has written to be that funny, but this show has me laughing out loud time and again. Almost every episode in the two seasons available is well paced and loaded with double entendres. If only American sitcoms could match or come close to this!
homage to Dad's Army
janet_m_reynolds28 December 2006
This is Ben Elton's homage to Croft & Perry's 'Dad's Army'. the very first episode shows Inspector Fowler coming out of a shop called Mainwaring's, looking very similar to Hodges in his ARP helmet. As the series progresses and the characters develop, you can see the similarities to the characters of Captain Mainwaring (Fowler) Pikey (goody) and Jonesey (Gladsone). Ben Elton makes a cameo appearance as a new age traveller in the first series. Although there are bound to be comparisons made with Blackadder, these are unfair as they are both in differrent classes. However, there are obvious similarities in the topical satire and digs at modern establishment. Fowler is not incompetent, nor do his staff make him appear to be so. in fact, they very rarely get it wrong in the pursuit of justice. (except when they arrested the wrong carol singers). The episode on Sir Paul Condon's press release, racism and asylum seekers ( Ism Ism Ism) was particularly relevant to the times, not to mention hilarious (Fowler pretending to be an asylum seeking martian)
This is a gem of a series !
magicalmouse12 June 2005
I just got the series from Netflix after reading about it in one of my Brit-com books. I was sorry when the two discs were done. It is laugh out loud funny. Atkinson as Fowler is right on form and the rest of the ensemble cast matches him. Haig as Grimm is amazing he never falters even in his most tongue twisting lines ! Constable Goody is amazing the facial expressions alone are worth the rental cost. If you love Brit-coms this is a must see ! This is also one where you don't want to miss a word of the dialog. Sharp and witty. I noticed that in almost each episode there appear to be two- three distinct plot lines and how they do it is a mystery but everything comes together and is shown to be interconnected by the final fade out.
Very disappointing
AndreiPavlov13 March 2006
On the whole the series is very funny. But there is one serious complaint from my side: those background giggles are real spoilers. Why should they exist at all? Don't the people, who watch the show, know themselves where to laugh? Even some phrases of the main characters are being overdubbed by stupid "ha ha". Let them exist on TV - all right, but not on DVDs.
If some people from TV entertaining industry are reading this, please pay attention what is mentioned here. I repeat: background giggles are no good because they interfere immensely, robbing the viewers of following and enjoying the action and words on the screen. In that respect "Jeeves and Wooster" comedy is much superior (even the switch of the characters is not so bad if compared to stupid off-screen giggles).
I can give it 6 out of 10 (only because of that background stupid laughter). Shame on the film-makers who destroyed the classic piece of cinema by one little but interfering detail. Thanks for attention.
If some people from TV entertaining industry are reading this, please pay attention what is mentioned here. I repeat: background giggles are no good because they interfere immensely, robbing the viewers of following and enjoying the action and words on the screen. In that respect "Jeeves and Wooster" comedy is much superior (even the switch of the characters is not so bad if compared to stupid off-screen giggles).
I can give it 6 out of 10 (only because of that background stupid laughter). Shame on the film-makers who destroyed the classic piece of cinema by one little but interfering detail. Thanks for attention.
Daft & Witty Mixed Into A Very British Comedy
deepfrieddodo24 August 2022
A very British comedy series revolving around the work within a police station, led by Inspector Fowler, a character akin to Atkinson's well known Blackadder. The same sharp-tongue wit drives a good group of diverse characters always staying on the lightside of the law.
Episodes each follow a distinct plot relying on a dysfunctional group of officers to get by together. Each have their own distinguishable traits, and mix well for the comedy. Particular note goes to Anwar's WPC Habib who perfectly keeps the show grounded whilst having some of the best lines.
By the second series, DI Grim's regular and repeated rants really wear thin. Many may appreciate this trait as comedic, but having a catchphrase in this type of comedy does not work, so there are only so many times you can hear "Hoity Toity" and "Fannying About". In a similar vein, PC Goody utilises funny faces at regular intervals as a form of identifiable trait. Whilst part of a funny character very well performed, it does take away from some of the authenticity of the series, as silly as it may be.
That's not to say there aren't positive additions to the second series, notably Addy's introduction as the gruff DC Boyle who adds another avenue of humour.
Easily identifiable as 90s British, fans of the genre and Atkinson are sure to enjoy this.
Episodes each follow a distinct plot relying on a dysfunctional group of officers to get by together. Each have their own distinguishable traits, and mix well for the comedy. Particular note goes to Anwar's WPC Habib who perfectly keeps the show grounded whilst having some of the best lines.
By the second series, DI Grim's regular and repeated rants really wear thin. Many may appreciate this trait as comedic, but having a catchphrase in this type of comedy does not work, so there are only so many times you can hear "Hoity Toity" and "Fannying About". In a similar vein, PC Goody utilises funny faces at regular intervals as a form of identifiable trait. Whilst part of a funny character very well performed, it does take away from some of the authenticity of the series, as silly as it may be.
That's not to say there aren't positive additions to the second series, notably Addy's introduction as the gruff DC Boyle who adds another avenue of humour.
Easily identifiable as 90s British, fans of the genre and Atkinson are sure to enjoy this.
DVDs In US Heavily Edited
bossofbigtown6 February 2007
I was introduced to TBL with a VHS double-feature tape that included the episodes "ISM ISM ISM" and "ALTERNATE CULTURE". I thought both episodes were fantastic (10 out of 10) and purchased the DVD set as soon as it was available in the US. I was shocked (not to mention disappointed) to discover that both the episodes were heavily edited on the DVD. I mean CHUNKS of footage and dialog were removed when compared to the VHS tape versions. Not being familiar with the other episodes (which is why I purchased the DVD set) I must assume that they all have been edited. Has anyone else noticed this? Is there an explanation for this hack-job? I can't imagine why the creators of this great show would allow such a thing. Still, I suppose a hacked up TBL is better than no TBL.
Great Police Comedy!
GrantCAGE3 May 2001
This is a fantastic British police comedy! It's simply so funny with all the characters like Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson), Inspector Grim (David Haig), Constable Goody (James Dreyfuss), Constable Habib (Mina Anwar) and Constable Gladstone (Rudolph Walker). Each episode has individuality from 'Honey Trap' to 'Come On You Blues' and 'Yuletide Spirit', Ben Elton seems to cover all storyline areas with ease and brilliant invention. It's a great show that takes a light-hearted look at the life in a police station and beyond which I thoroughly enjoyed and watched over and over again. Great stuff!
Sophisticated farce - with colourful language
BeneCumb27 December 2013
Rowan Atkinson is a talented actor and comedian, I can't recall any works with his participation being dull or benighted. Sitcom The Thin Blue Line is another fine example where he and his co-actors fill in witty scripts by Ben Elton. There is no totally positive police character, each and every has odd views/comprehensions, personal problems at home, difficulties with opposite sex etc; for me, Rowan Atkinson as Inspector Raymond Fowler, James Dreyfus as Constable Kevin Goody, Mina Anwar as Constable Maggie Habib, and David Haig as Detective Inspector Derek Grim are the best and funniest (well, one might say at times exaggeration is too intense, bearing in mind that the policemen are depicted), but - as a good and strong sign of British comedies - it is no total buffoonery, but various important topics are handled, such as racism, different minorities, lack of state funding, new types of crimes, role of the police in society - to name a few. And last but not least: you will hear abundant British English, with dozens of words not in daily use.
My favourite show
emmarosepollard10 August 2019
Something different, but still timeless.
big_trev815 June 2007
The "Thin Blue Line" does it for me through a combination of the actors and Elton's writing. Atkinson is always great to watch, being a milestone in recent Brit comedy, and the combination of Kevin Allen and David Haig in series 1 is in my opinion one of the funniest comedy duo's in recent sitcom history. David Haig especially does an absolutely brilliant job at the bitter CID inspector, exaggerating everything under the sun, using his voice and facial expressions to maximum comedic effect on a consistent basis. I'm amazed he wasn't asked to do more acting in the aftermath. Kevin Allen, with a distinct lack of lines, still manages to create a memorable and hilarious impression often with just one cockney laugh or euphemism. Credit to Elton for some top-notch lines, too. A classic series, just wish they'd do a reunion similar to "Goes Forth".
Shafee's review: The Thin Blue Line (14 Episodes, 1995-1996)
shafeemsa30 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I grew up on Mr. Bean, and "Rowan Atkinson" was superb in this series! Entertaining English humor! Spoiler alert (sort of): He's in charge as the head authoritative figure, but is he really in charge? Sometimes his duties and matters seem to escalate thanks to his team, within an instant, and out of no where. Keep in mind, this is not Br. Bean, but Rowan playing another character called Inspector Fowler. I watched all the episodes back-to-back with some breaks in between- all I can say is, I enjoyed it greatly, as it was nice to see Rowan play the part of a completely different character. It was like watching his play from Boston, but this being a TV show, the humor was evident. Limited, but still provides the classic facial expressions of "Mr. Bean" here and there throughout the 14 episodes/2 seasons. Quite the viewing, old school and worthy of many laughs! - S.
Gone too quickly
mareah-palmer20 November 2019
Not exactly TV gold....
lordmelbury16 October 2008
It's incredibly odd how Ben Elton's writing went so seriously downhill with this series. It's not written with Richard Curtis as Black Adder was and this must be one of the reasons it's so clunky & old fashioned. Rowan Atkinson was brilliant throughout all of the Blackadder series' and his performance here is still quite impressive but the overall effect leaves one feeling immensely underwhelmed. The end-of-the-pier humour sounds like it was taken from an episode of Terry & June circa 1979 - probably funny to some people but in an era with shows like Seinfeld for competition it's just not good enough. I'm quite surprised how many people think it's funny. If you are a fan of more modern shows like Partridge / Nighty Night / Curb etc then you're really not going to be at all impressed.
Mr Bean speaks
LadyRoz14 July 2000
I had all the episodes of TTBL on tape at one stage. The whole family watched them over and over. Ben Elton must be one of the best writers going. To spoof a police station and have such a variety of characters is fantastic. Each episode a comic delight. This show suits just about any age group too.
Very funny comedy
nicholls_les8 November 2018
This very funny comedy makes a change from many modern so called comedies, for one thing this actually makes me laugh out loud.
Every character is great James Dreyfuss as Goodie has me in hysterics, Rowan Atkinson as Inspector Fowler is perfect and also David Haig who plays D.I Grim is also hilarious!
But all of the cast are great, Rudolf Walker is under used but his contribution is genuinely funny. Mina Anwar as Habib is also brilliant.
This comedy is before the political correct brigade spoiled comedy.
The only irony is that the writer, Ben Elton was a very vocal critic of the very funny politically incorrect comedian, Benny Hill and yet this comedy has many scenes that could be considered Benny Hill-like.
The only irony is that the writer, Ben Elton was a very vocal critic of the very funny politically incorrect comedian, Benny Hill and yet this comedy has many scenes that could be considered Benny Hill-like.
Classic Comedy
tommysettle17 October 2021
Why don't they keep brilliant series like these? Rather than the "Oity Toity, finny fanny, wishy Washy, Clap trap CRAP Like what is spewed on our screens nowadays.
The cast were brilliant. The jokes parallel to Blackadder but still hilarious. Inspector Grimm pitting wits against Rowan Atkinson had My wife and Myself in stiches. Not forgetting the "Fannying About"
We are currently watching this brilliant series again on BBC IPLAYER.👍👍🤣🤣😁😁.
The cast were brilliant. The jokes parallel to Blackadder but still hilarious. Inspector Grimm pitting wits against Rowan Atkinson had My wife and Myself in stiches. Not forgetting the "Fannying About"
We are currently watching this brilliant series again on BBC IPLAYER.👍👍🤣🤣😁😁.
Antique antics from a humor antiquarian
Dr_Coulardeau22 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
It was a time when hard-of-hearing people were not respected. So, sorry folks, no subtitles. Apart from that lack of empathy it is a typical comedian act from Great Britain. They have never been within the limits of anything in the world and they dare exhibit pure, intense and dense bigotry that is supposed to make you laugh. At times it is funny. Ah! Ah! or Strange? I can't say. In other words hilarious humorous Brexit fifteen years ago. Advanced, ain't they?
We are within a police station in Gasford, or something like that, in London and it is the population of this police station that is at stake. Rowan Atkinson is the boss and he is a grimacing, twitchy old hetero (though not sexual) male chauvinist pig, and he deserves this animal personification, though the animal does not deserve the police- gentrification of that character. Ex-married with a grown up student-son or son-student whose only part we see is his bottom in his underwear – quite a limited vision though slightly too chubby, or is it wrapped up or fat, for 20 or so – this police chief lives with a girlfriend who is more satisfied by her dog than by her boyfriend. Interesting! The old spinster revisited here as an old neglected unmarried home-feature piece of human furniture. She should try the plumber, strangely absent in this series.
Then you have a constable who is openly heterosexual lusting on his female Asian colleague and behaving like a gay cliché strutting around in all kinds of supposedly homosexual antics. Openly anti-gay in its humorous covering of extreme behavior that even children under five would consider slightly off the point and unacceptable. Certainly not funny!
Then you have another one who is black because you need to have a black man on a series, but he is also a male chauvinist pig in his own way with crazy stories at times about his wife and how he ordered her around till he was led to submit to her authority which meant more or less putting herself and him at a mutual shared distance. Then you can add in the same line the female Asian constable who is supposed to bring some feminine sexy charm in this comedy and of course the necessary Asian coloration for the series to be racially correct.
Add to these the girlfriend of the boss. She is at the desk all the time, or nearly, since she must be a sergeant or something like that. But the CID (is it Crime Investigating Department?) of this police station is a pair of fat slobs pretending to be male and masculine and sports-like and beer-guzzling and farting all the time and burping in- between farts and of course testicular male chauvinist hogs, not to overuse pigs.
The main charm though is none of these caricatures. It is the delirium linguistica of some if not all the characters. They speak in a lingua – not franca at all – that has nothing to do with standard civilized English, certainly not the Queen's type. It is a completely revisited cockney reinvention based on accumulation of words that mean nothing really except that they play on echoing sounds and gross, frankly at times sickening, innuendo and implied meaning though they have little meaning per se. If you want it could be qualified as cop-minded wife- beating universally-incorrect white-shaded cockney-colored gangster rap, at least if cops can use gangster slang.
You might find it funny at times though it is more sickeningly exuberant and closer to the Tourette scatological syndrome than to any sane discursive expression.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
We are within a police station in Gasford, or something like that, in London and it is the population of this police station that is at stake. Rowan Atkinson is the boss and he is a grimacing, twitchy old hetero (though not sexual) male chauvinist pig, and he deserves this animal personification, though the animal does not deserve the police- gentrification of that character. Ex-married with a grown up student-son or son-student whose only part we see is his bottom in his underwear – quite a limited vision though slightly too chubby, or is it wrapped up or fat, for 20 or so – this police chief lives with a girlfriend who is more satisfied by her dog than by her boyfriend. Interesting! The old spinster revisited here as an old neglected unmarried home-feature piece of human furniture. She should try the plumber, strangely absent in this series.
Then you have a constable who is openly heterosexual lusting on his female Asian colleague and behaving like a gay cliché strutting around in all kinds of supposedly homosexual antics. Openly anti-gay in its humorous covering of extreme behavior that even children under five would consider slightly off the point and unacceptable. Certainly not funny!
Then you have another one who is black because you need to have a black man on a series, but he is also a male chauvinist pig in his own way with crazy stories at times about his wife and how he ordered her around till he was led to submit to her authority which meant more or less putting herself and him at a mutual shared distance. Then you can add in the same line the female Asian constable who is supposed to bring some feminine sexy charm in this comedy and of course the necessary Asian coloration for the series to be racially correct.
Add to these the girlfriend of the boss. She is at the desk all the time, or nearly, since she must be a sergeant or something like that. But the CID (is it Crime Investigating Department?) of this police station is a pair of fat slobs pretending to be male and masculine and sports-like and beer-guzzling and farting all the time and burping in- between farts and of course testicular male chauvinist hogs, not to overuse pigs.
The main charm though is none of these caricatures. It is the delirium linguistica of some if not all the characters. They speak in a lingua – not franca at all – that has nothing to do with standard civilized English, certainly not the Queen's type. It is a completely revisited cockney reinvention based on accumulation of words that mean nothing really except that they play on echoing sounds and gross, frankly at times sickening, innuendo and implied meaning though they have little meaning per se. If you want it could be qualified as cop-minded wife- beating universally-incorrect white-shaded cockney-colored gangster rap, at least if cops can use gangster slang.
You might find it funny at times though it is more sickeningly exuberant and closer to the Tourette scatological syndrome than to any sane discursive expression.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
See also
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