Hazell

You will notice Season 1 has ten episodes while Season 2 has twelve.

This is because at the time that Season 1 was being broadcast the actor John Bindon, who was playing a gangster in the episode "Hazell and the Public Enemy", was up at the Old Bailey on trial for the murder of Johnny Darke in a pub in Putney (improbably named Ranelagh Yacht Club).

At the request of Bindons defence team, who felt that a jury might confuse the character with Bindon in real life, Thames Television 'pulled' the episode from the schedule.

During the trial fellow actor Bob Hoskins was one of those who appeared as a character witness for Bindon.

By the time Season 2 of Hazell was broadcast, Bindon had been acquitted of the murder, so Thames just tagged the episode "Hazell and the Public Enemy" on to the end of Season 2.

'Hazell' was the creation of Gordon Williams and Terry Venables ( yes, that Terry Venables! ). A sort of Cockney version of 'Philip Marlowe', James Hazell looked cool driving around '70's London in his Triumph Stag. His main adversary was Detective-Inspector 'Choc' Minty, a hard-faced Scotsman who acted as a kind of 'Teal' to Hazell's 'Saint'. With its brassy opening theme and Bond-style titles, 'Hazell' blasted onto I.T.V. with the force of a howitzer. The plots ran the gamut of '70's crime show clichés ( missing children, drug smuggling, bank raids ), with Hazell often on the receiving end of a good hiding from some underworld felon. What lifted it above the average were the witty scripts and Nicholas Ball's laconic performance in the title role. At the time, he was married to 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' star Pamela Stephenson. 'Hazell' made him a star, but alas the fame it brought him was fleeting. Allegedly the series ended after only two seasons because Ball issued an ultimatum - do it on film or else. The prospect of 'Hazell' becoming a Euston Films Production was certainly intriguing, but alas it wasn't to be. Williams and Venables later confessed that they thought him too young for the role anyway, their preferred choices were John Bindon and Michael Elphick. I.T.V. briefly considered reviving the series a few years ago, but decided against it on the grounds that it was 'dated and sexist'. Haven't times changed!

i have recently acquired all episodes of this series on DVD and am thoroughly enjoying them all over again. if it is true that Nicholas ball wanted it to be shot on film otherwise he would quit then it is a real shame, but i can see his point. the series suffers only through being on tape, everything else is spot on. some of the stories are, indeed, a bit clichéd but the performances and scripts are excellent right the way through two series. i was thinking about if a revival was to occur who could do it .... four names came into my head:

Craig Fairbrass (tough) Leslie Grantham (edgy) Nigel Harmon (sexy) and Nicholas Ball (venables/williams thought him too young at the time .. well, he's a lot older now and still looking good)

.... i think a 21st century update would be great. To not consider it because it is sexist is ridiculous, a good screenwriter could turn the novels into superb TV, much better than the likes of 'vincent' or 'murder city'.

gives this series a look, it is great!!!!

In an era of reality TV and Netflix it's probably strange that I can be bothered to write a review? The show was created a long time ago but it's utterly brilliant. Kids would scoff at the fashions and everything else but this show portrays London and all its filthy dead end locations and weaves it into a fascinating PI detective show. Nicholas Ball was wonderful and it's a shame he didn't get a massive break from this. Raw, gritty and a little bit strange at times it represents London in the 70s In all of its glory with fascinating characters and story lines. Watch for nostalgia but definitely watch.

Writing this in late 2020...and now in my late 50s...I had very little recall of this show. The particular episode on now features some very poor American accents, some wooden acting, and low budget sets and filming. And for all that, it's still better than the virtue signalling woke clap trap produced today. Would have been better for the Euston films treatment...The Sweeney has aged much better IMHO. I can't believe Nick Ball was considered too young, that's a passage of time thing, he'd have been about 30 at time of filming, which these days would seem about right. Terry 'El Tel' Venables co-wrote this. The corny bits I assume, after all El Tel, when in his 20s, a pro footballer at the time, at the height of Beatlemania made a version of Waddaya Wanna Make Those Eyes at me For'.