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"The Bill" (1984)

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37 comments in total

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34 out of 43 people found the following comment useful :-
This was once a high quality and wonderful TV series but no longer, 27 January 2004
Author: president242007 from Australia

A few years ago I would not have hesitated to state that this was beyond the shadow of a doubt the most wonderful and high quality show on television. The realistic and hard hitting nature of the show, the believable dimensions of genuine police work that were incorporated into the script, the strict attention to police procedures and protocol in the show and the wonderful and comprehensive portrayal of the characters all made this show a pleasure to watch. The storylines were, more often then not, very intriguing and interesting and the script was second to none. Characters such as DI Frank Burnside, DS Ted Roach, DCI Jack Meadows, DCI Kim Reid and several others provided the show with an intriguing and very gripping dimension and the acting was superb and also second to none. It stood in a category of its own as a police drama and was far better than the American (and even British) police dramas in the same genre

Unfortunately, in recent years, the show has taken a dramatic turn for the worse and now would have to be categorized as one of the worst shows that is presently on TV. For some reason that I'll never quite understand, the TV executives decided that they had to dumb down the show and all of its characters to a primitive soap level and make a perfectly good show into a sleazy and pathetic joke. Now the scripts are appalling, quite a lot of the acting weak and disjointed (probably because good actors are being provided with pathetic scripts), the storylines thoroughly boring and there is almost no serious police work at all in the show. It is exceedingly painful to watch for the reasons outlined above and it unfortunately cannot even be taken seriously as a TV show. Every aspect of the show has become so juvenile and pathetic and I would now have to concede that the American TV police dramas are now much better than the present format of `The Bill' ever could be. It is a disappointing turnaround for such a wonderful show. Whatever happened to high quality television?

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Unrecognisable from the original "Bill", 3 September 2003
Author: Imnozy from Sydney, Australia

I have followed this series from its earliest episodes and have rarely found it hard going until recently. Although it still delivers good entertainment, the show has lost much of its grittiness (although in many ways it is probably more realistic).Up until the recent dramatic changes (the bombing of Sun Hill and resultant death of many of the main characters)there was little shown of the violence, blood etc that is part and parcel of real police work. The show has suffered considerably for those of us who remember the good old days of Burnside, Tosh Lines et al. Serialising the episodes is not in itself a bad thing, for that makes it more believable than the old concept that each case was tied up in the half hour - or one hour episode, it does however mean that much of the crispness of the show is lost in the process. For the undedicated, the focus on private lives (and romances in the station)turns it very much into a "soap" and less of a serious show. I am still recovering from the first time Jim kissed June - it was a bit like watching someone kiss his sister! I suppose that the Old Bill is gone for good, but it still is good entertainment - and I suppose this is what we watch TV for.

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
A good series spiralling into absurdity, 12 January 2003
Author: Mark Hone from Bury, England

'The Bill', along with the BBC's medical shows 'Holby City' and 'Casualty' has been transformed from a popular drama series into a straightforward soap opera. The clearest sign of this is the steady replacement of the old cast over recent years with refugees from 'East Enders', 'Coronation Street' and 'Brookside'. The problem with this is that instead of the old format where crimes would be investigated each week with characters' personal lives providing occasional subplots, the two have become merged. Each crime in Sun Hill now involves one of the regular's wife/lover/child/brother etc. Long lost friends and relatives appear out of the blue to be gunned down or abducted. Like Holby City in particular the plots have become ever more sensational and ludicrous. Several of the cast who were to be written out perished in a fire at the Police Station-started by one of the other characters!This character is still in the show and his crime has now been quietly forgotten. Another character was kidnapped and murdered by a female serial killer who was so over the top she practically foamed at the mouth.The Superintendent went mad and shot himself, but not before getting another of the characters pregnant. Every regular is having an affair with or secretly fancies one of the others. At least three of the regular characters are seriously deranged, one is a drug addict and another a complete crook. Some of the characters, including the new ones are engaging and well acted-my interest in the show always revives when Suprintendent Okaro, Inspector Gina Gold or DCI Jack Meadows are involved and actually carrying out police work. The Bill's revamp has apparently increased its audience significantly, but can it avoid sinking under the weight of its increasingly top-heavy and absurd plotlines?

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13 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
The Bill RIP, 2 August 2005
Author: Mark Hone from United Kingdom

I wrote a review a couple of years ago regretting the direction the programme had taken. I note that several other readers have also commented on The Bill's headlong descent into pantomime soap-opera. I cannot believe that many of the show's long-time fans (which included the eminent historian Andrew Roberts) now bother to watch. Very occasionally I steel myself to tune in for part of an episode but end up watching through my fingers. My most recent visits coincided with the police station being blown up for the second time in five years, the exposure of yet another psychopathic deranged serial-killer police officer, Superintentent Okaro's entire family being wiped out and the poor man going doolally and a regular character being held hostage for the umpteenth time. Not to mention yet another series regular being involved in a relationship with a criminal and struggling with divided loyalties. Enough already! Let Sun Hill join Dock Green and Newtown in that great police beat in the sky.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Long running British TV Police Drama, 4 May 2003
Author: cwpaul70 from Sussex, UK

Created by Geoff McQueen, The Bill began life in 1983 as the pilot 'Woodentop', which centered on PC Jimmy (Mark Wingett) Carver on his first day at fictional Sun Hill. Other characters included WPC June Ackland, PC Taffy Morgan and Sgt Wilding. The following year it returned, slightly changed and with McQueen's original title of The Bill. For its first three years it had three series of one hour episodes, before it went into a half hour format in 1988, a format to stay for ten years.

Many say that the show was at its best in the nineties (my favourite era was 1995-2000) with the familiar 'plodding feet credits', great detective storys and such characters as DI Frank Burnside, Insp Andrew Monroe, DC Liz Rawton, PC Vicky Hagen, DS Don Beech and many other greats.

Although the show went through some changes from 1998, including a revert back to hour episodes, and some delving into personal lives, the show changed beyond all recognition in 2002, when new producer Paul Marquess killed off much of the cast and took to a permanant serialised format. For many fans of the show, that was the end of The Bill...

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Plot Mislaid, 25 October 2004
Author: bancrows from Brisbane, Australia

The Bill was compulsory viewing for its first decade or so, but its relatively-new executive producer and his team of gossip-writers have conspired to reduce it almost to farce, presumably driven by a desire to attract those who habitually switch off after the serial soaps.

That is sad enough, but even sadder is the fact that even its degraded form, The Bill remains one of the better current offerings on television, purely for the two or three minutes per episode now devoted to the original concept.

Perhaps we should be grateful for those few minutes, which those attracted to the programme for other reasons may ignore while making or taking bets on which of the Sun Hill staff will soon have a child kidnapped, or prove to be corrupt, have a serious problem with alcohol or drug abuse, turn out to be either adopted or the parent of a long-lost illegitimate child, become unfaithful or a bigamist, go mad or murder several colleagues.

If only we'd known.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Yes, THE BILL made me into a pathetic television junkie., 7 September 2000
Author: gmr-4 from Lowell, Mich. U.S.A.

THE BILL is very hard to come by in the States, and even when it was running on CBC-Windsor, it was impossible to see it this far from the border. No cable CBC around here (do not have it anyway). I got hooked around seven years ago; it was aired one episode per day starting with 1988 episodes, which I viewed from Detroit. Eventually the station ran them all again in sequence.

At very first I avoided it. I never, for example, watched HILL STREET BLUES, which I thought THE BILL would be like. Wrong! Straightaway I was hopelessly hooked, even arranging my day so I could be home in late afternoon.

Keeping in mind that I have not seen an episode newer than perhaps 1995, I thought (think) THE BILL was an excellent programme, calling it my "soap opera." Some friends thought my being so devoted to a "cop show" was out of character, and perhaps yes, but it was the exotic setting . . . yet more: The stories' construction, occasionally running three tales in a mere half-hour, the dialogue, the character development and interactions, all for the most part top notch. I picked up a lot of obnoxious British lower-class slang, too. One also notes how most of the outdoor scenes are uncharacteristically sunny and warm, but surely that cannot be London?

The cheek: I once wrote offering to do a part for nothing if I could depict an obnoxious North American who gets punched out by D.I. Burnside. (P.C. Loxton would be unacceptable.)I was never favoured with a reply.

I have seen negative comment in this forum and else-where that THE BILL is turning into a real "soap," but cannot comment. All I can say to my mates over here is that British "prime time" drama as represented by THE BILL is as good as anything done in the States -- but without the bigger-than-life, distracting, razmatazz. To coin the proverbial phrase, Good Show.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Show But Needs To Improve To Retain It's Fans, 11 December 2002
Author: Big Movie Fan from England

I have been watching The Bill since it started back in 1983. It is always hard commenting on a long running show because most shows have their good and bad patches.

The early Bill episodes were fantastic. Unlike the 21st century Bill, the early Bill focused entirely on the officer's work lives-you never got to see their private lives except in rare cases where their work impacted on their private lives. There were several different stories within each hourly episode usually split between the beat officers, C.I.D. cases and the politics of being a copper in the Met Police. The stories focused on all ranks from the constables to the Chief Superintendent. The first Chief Superintendent was Charles Brownlow, a man more interested in politics and PR and ensuring that justice was seen to be done. The first head of C.I.D. was Detective Inspector Galloway, a short tempered and stern cop who didn't think twice about shouting at his men but who was a good copper underneath. The early Sergeants were Alec Peters, Tom Penny and Bob Cryer. Bob Cryer was a veteran copper who the officers looked up to-he didn't suffer fools gladly but would support his men through and through. The constables included Jim Carver, a naive young probationer whose heart was in the right place but ended up putting his foot in it on occasion. Each of the early episodes were self contained.

In the 80's the Bill switched to a half hour format. Whilst there were some good stories, half an hour doesn't allow for much character development and at times, investigations seemed rushed. It would not revert to an hourly show until 1998.

There have been many memorable characters at Sun Hill Police Station. After D.I. Galloway left, he was replaced by D.I. Burnside, a copper who did whatever he could to achieve a result and would happily rough up a suspect to ensure justice was done. Other great D.I.'s include D.I. Deakin, a veteran old school copper and the intense D.I. Cullen. Let's not forget the old school copper Chief Inspector Conway whose job was mainly desk based but who got his hands dirty when necessary. Conway was killed off in 2002 when a petrol bomb was thrown into his car.There have been three bosses in the series, first there was Chief Superintendent Brownlow. He left in 2000 and was replaced by Superintendent Tom Chandler who seemed the right man to lead Sun Hill but who left in 2002 after he shot himself dead after being caught up in a scandal. The current boss is Superintendent Adam Okaro who is set to clean up Sun Hill and isn't afraid to go out on the streets with the troops.

The current Bill is far different to the early episodes. The show is now more of a soap and there are not really any self contained stories. The show, in my opinion, has suffered due to it's heavy emphasis on the officers private lives and the constant sexual liasons between officers. Another thing that has not helped The Bill is the constant axing of popular characters such as the crooked D.S. Beech, the intense D.I. Cullen and Supt. Chandler. Whilst their replacements have on the whole been good, The Bill needs to take more time to listen to it's fans and to give newer characters a chance before axing them.

Where does The Bill go from here? I definitely think it needs to tone down on the officers private lives and have less sex and more police work. It needs to give new characters a chance to find their feet before deciding they need to go. And it needs to be bold and have the odd self contained story as well.

All in all, The Bill is a decent enough programme which can steadily improve it it takes note of the above points. I hope it continues for a long time.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Ah the good ol' days and How the mighty do fall!, 17 November 2006

Author: PinkPurple from United Kingdom

I don't care what anyone says, for me the 90s was the best time to be a Bill fan.

It was a treasured era for me, the peak of the Bill's existence, and the cream of the Sun Hill crop. It was a pure magic time for me, when I watch those episodes I'm in heaven. Tiss bliss. The show had captured lightning in a bottle in the form of what evolved into the CID of the 90s. Never before or since could the Bill ever enjoy such an electric dynamic.

The shows makers and creators I doubt could ever have imagined in all there wildest dreams, the gold they found in their then ever growing collection of new CID players. They could never have predicted the lasting mark some would leave.

It was a rather controversial time as well, the time some would call the turning point in the shows history where the generally straight crime stories original premise of the show would change to become a more character driven series. Although while some will use the dreaded "soap" word, I wouldn't quite go that far. True it was the start of the delving into more of the character's private lives, but I say it walked a thin line but never entirely crossed it. They always knew when to remind themselves that they were a police show. I say the actual crossing of that said thin line was in the 2000s, hell thats when even the episode titles changed to just numbers as soaps do. That was when the show truly sunk into a police show trying to be a soap.

Another thing is that back in the 90s they had the most interesting characters that the show had ever been lucky enough to produce rather than the walking planks of wood and soapish cardboard totty of later years. So becoming more character driven was a large part of what made that time the arguably most thrilling time of the shows history. The characters were so dynamic that they practically demanded that extra freedom to be fleshed out to their full potential.

Always at its core were John Boulton and Don Beech, two characters so powerful, that in a way, they couldn't be contained within a show of the Bill's size. Their characters forced their story lines beyond the normal levels of excitement that such a show can usually reach. There was such a spark to them and it seemed to influence everything around them too, elevating the other characters, even the boring ones to levels that were out of their usual limits. Even when only used in little nothing scenes, they could light up the smallest of episodes. There was so much twists and turns through out their history and both Russell (Boulton) and Billy (Beech) were masters of facial expression.

There were so many different shades and sides for Billy to have to show with his mannerisms and it must have been even harder for Russell, since Boulton was so much more of a very private man. I'm always amazed at how much he can do with just those eyes. How his eyes could always say so much more than lines or big speeches.

I also felt Russell and Billy shared an amazing chemistry, which only got brighter once Claire Stanton entered the picture. From their show was on fire. Hands down one of the most compelling story lines ever to grace UK Television.

In retro aspect, it's wonderfully fitting that Don's final two episodes were called "All Fall Down" as thats what I regard as the true turning point when the Bill would never truly recover.

Certainly was for me extra personally, since by then, one by one each of my favourites was gone. My only other favourites besides John and Don were Skase, Lennox, Meadows and Burnside. Skase mainly because of what his interaction with Boulton could bring out in him, yes actual hidden depths and Lennox because of his jolly easy going nature, a shining example of how to get a comedy character right. Burnside for much of the same reasons as Boulton/Beech, sort of a mix of both and it was bliss to finally see him get to meet Boulton and Beech. Hell I'd even say, he's better in those mid-90s episodes than he was even in his own hey day since back then he didn't have such equals of the likes of Boulton/Beech. Meadows cause he's always been such a great, strong backbone of the show and like most others, the Boulton/Beech magic of the 90s CID brought out the best in him and allowed him to shine where as later eras shackled him. So by the 2000s, only big daddy Meadows of my favourites remained but eventually I had to except that Jack was in his prime in the 90s.

So in closing, they may take my freedom but they'll never take the memories! Now weren't you lot all nicked!? Get back to your cells you slaaaaaags!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Used to be a great police program but has turned into a bad unrealistic soap, 25 October 2006

Author: RalphTG from United Kingdom

I used to always love the bill because of its great script and characters, but lately i feel as though it has turned into an emotional type of soap. If you look at promotional pictures/posters of the bill now you will see either two of the officers hugging/kissing or something to do with friendships whereas promotional pictures of the bill a long time ago would have shown something to do with crime. This proves that it has changed a lot from being an absolutely amazing Police drama to an average type of television soap. When i watch it i feel like I'm watching a police version of Coronation Street or something similar. I have to say i still like the bill as I'm interested in Police work and that type of thing but i really miss the greatness that The Bill used to have. I want to rate it as 2 out of ten because you have to admit it has been totally ruined by the people who took the bill over.

As for the script and characters they have both gone downhill, most of the great characters are gone now (although a few still remain i think) and I'm not saying that the newer characters are poor or anything because they definitely aren't, its just that they lack the tough looks, personalities and script lines that all of the old characters used to have because most of the new ones are at the moment involved with silly relationships and family trouble.

Overall being one of the only Police programs on television these days, The Bill will always be a crappily interesting thing to watch, but like i say it has lost a lot of its uniqueness (if thats the right spelling) and would now be classed as a terrible, unreal television soap.

Recommended to watch for a good laugh over the stupidity of the police officers involved - 2/10

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