The Sweeney: Series 3 – Review

By Sarah Morgan

They still haven’t had their dinner, but John Thaw and Dennis Waterman are exploding back onto our screens as DI Jack Regan and DS George Carter as the third series of the seminal British cop show arrives newly restored on Blu-ray, just in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

What’s wonderful about these box sets is that the tech team behind them haven’t made everything look bright and colourful. Instead, London remains as we imagine it was during the dreary 1970s – all muted tones of grey and brown, with rundown buildings ripe for gentrification a decade later everywhere. What’s different is that we can see all the murk and decay in pin-sharp detail.

Thaw/Regan and Waterman/Carter fit perfectly into this landscape – they’re rough and ready, with the only sniff of luxury about them the rather swanky navy blue corduroy suit Regan wears in several episodes.

“Moves quickly”

If you’ve seen the previous two runs, you’ll already know the score – the action follows members of the capital’s Flying Squad as they investigate various crimes and bring down the perpetrators with a compelling mix of instinct, intelligence and, at times, brute force. The action moves quickly across each 50-minute episode; there is certainly no time to get bored.

There are 13 tales in all, each featuring some wonderful guest performances. The likes of John Hurt (then fresh from his success in The Naked Civil Servant and just before he shocked viewers as Caligula in I, Claudius), Ronald Fraser, Nadim Sawalha, a very young Ray Winstone, Karl Howman and, making her TV debut, Geraldine James, are among them.

The latter pops up in the special features to introduce her episode, revealing how she got the role and the impact it had on her career. Tina Heath, who some will remember fondly from her time on Blue Peter, also discusses her episode, recalling how gentlemanly Thaw behaved throughout.

“Plenty of anecdotes”

But perhaps the most intriguing interviewee is the aptly named George Sweeney – he appears in two episodes as the same criminal, and has plenty of anecdotes, even revealing that some people felt he was rather too convincing at playing a clearly unhinged character!

The set probably won’t convert any new fans, but if you’re a longstanding viewer, just shut it, sit back and enjoy.

Roll on season four’s release too!

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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