Die Füchse

"The Sweeney" is one of the best, if not THE best, British Television crime drama ever made.

The scripts, directors, producers and not forgetting the actors are all of the highest calibre especially Messrs. Thaw & Waterman with their great characterisations of Regan & Carter.

"The Sweeney" portrayed the real 'Flying Squad' as it apparently was in real life, and thus caused the controversy that it did in the mid-70's. The guys didn't always catch the villains either, so it never held that fantasy element like every other series of the time.

It was the seventies equipped with flared trousers, kipper ties, dodgy hairdos and moustaches along with Ford Cortinas and all. But, it is the most entertaining hour from the seventies produced in the most hard-hitting way.

There's A Pilot feature entitled "Regan", Four glorious TV series and 2 Award-Winning Feature Films - ENJOY!!!

When it first hit the screens in the mid 70s, "The Sweeney" was the first in a line of gritty, violent British cop shows which also included such series as "The Professionals" and "Dempsey and Makepeace". "The Sweeney" was a radical departure from the comparative coziness and tranquility of long-established shows like "Z Cars" and "Dixon of Dock Green" and portrayed a London full of violent villains brandishing sawn-off shotguns, pick axe handles, sideburns and flared trousers being pursued and often violently brought to justice by John Thaw's no-nonsense Detective Inspector Jack Regan and his sidekick Detective Sergeant George Carter, played by Dennis Waterman. Punch-ups, gunfights and car wrecks abounded, Thaw and Waterman frequently getting blood and grime on their enormous, tasteless ties and winged shirt collars as they strove to uphold law and order on the funky streets of Seventies London. Sometimes they'd introduce themselves to their quarry with lines like "we're The Sweeney, son - and we haven't had our dinner yet" before piling in, fists flying, to make the arrest. Violent, politically incorrect and still great entertainment, even after all these years.

Don your kipper tie and bell bottoms, chug yer glass of scotch and screech off in yer Mk1 Granada (ok, consul GT) and take a trip back to the '70s. This series was Brilliant.

and the actual catchphrase is "we're the sweeney, son, and we haven't had any dinner." NOT "we haven't had out dinner yet." it's in the episode "ringer" with Ian Hendry and Brian "shouty bloke" Blessed.

John Thaw was born to play this role, I could not fault his performance at all;

I did start to wonder if a remake would be a good idea, but no, they don't make granadas any more. wouldn't be the same with a mondeo.

Ian and Troy Kennedy-Martin were the brothers who revolutionised crime drama on British TV in the 1970s. While Troy was a far more political animal, Ian concentrated on commercial TV.

However, that doesn't make The Sweeney any less authentic. In fact, many ex-Flying Squad officers have commented on its authenticity, helped by the fact that the producers used to pay real policeman in used fivers as 'technical advisors'.

The Sweeney represents Scotland Yard's first proper attempt to stem the rise of violent robberies following the oil crisis and economic slump of the 1970s. It represents the time before the Police And Criminal Evidence Acts changed the face of policing for ever in Britain - a far more free-wheeling, corruption laden time.

Policing is shown as hard, tedious work where moral dilemmas must be confronted all the time and there are no sudden leaps in detection, just stress and danger.

Particularly impressive in the Sweeney are the number of times that firearms are used - this was really true in the Flying Squad - even back in the good old days...

After a hard day at work, I like nothing better than to pour myself a large Scotch, settle down on the sofa, switch on the DVD player and tell the bird to shut it as I watch those diamond geezers from the flying squad getting all tooled up for another blag. This series is without a doubt an absolute classic and if you remember the seventies - this was essential viewing. John Thaw's Regan and Dennis Waterman's Carter were no nonsense coppers who went up against a London full of well dodgy villains. Sawn-off shotguns, pick axe handles, car chases, fights, flared trousers and sideburns galore as our heros battle and bring to justice the various blaggers operating on their manor while at the same time drowning themselves in booze, smoking like chimneys and chatting up the birds. Gloriously politically incorrect this was a series which we will sadly never see the like again. In a word, magnificent!