The Bill

I can honestly say that I have never missed an episode bar one, the episode with Honey in the casino about four years ago. During this time I have seen the highs and lows and yes some very 'soapy' episodes. I agree wholeheartedly with people who say it has been at a definite low from about 2002, maybe even a little before that, but even in it's more trashy period it retained my interest. I have cringed at many of the story lines from around 2002 onwards, but while a lot of silly stories were going on there were still some good characters. Gabriel Kent and Cathy Bradshaw were not one of these! I have to say that within the last half a year to a year the show has gone through a dramatic about turn and now more concentration on the very real pressures that the British police have to endure has ensured that an air of quality has returned. if you have stayed away for a few years then now is definitely a good period to return to it. There are characters that stand along side the best of the past, such as Gina Gold, Sam Nixon (gorgeous as she is!), DI Manson, plus there's still a crop of the old stalwarts such as the wonderfully flawed Reg Hollis. I hope the show's producers can keep this current good period going, and if they have to raise the ratings in future, to find a good solid talking point of a storyline, rather than resort to Tabloid style cheap ratings grabbers. These attempts to tempt people in may initially bring in a lot of people who like that kind of thing but they will lose many more of the more discerning audience. May this show go on and on...please!

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...

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.

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.

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.