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Filmed in 1969 in Bolton, Lancashire, this was one of the last of those Northern kitchen sink dramas that charted the ups & downs of working class life in a fast changing society.

James Mason plays Rafe Crompton, an old school, Bible quoting patriarch who finds his authority being challenged by the more liberal attitudes of his children, as his family becomes embroiled in such issues as teenage pregnancy and 'living in sin' in the permissive 60s. Crompton acts like a benevolent dictator, but deep down he's just an old softy who's being over- protective towards his family. Hannah Gordon, Susan George (who was dating footballer George Best at the time), and Rodney Bewes (during the hiatus in The Likely Lads) are the rebellious offspring, and Diana Coupland is 'mother', who manages to bridge the generation gap with warmth and understanding. Honourable mentions to Frank Windsor and Adrienne Posta, who seemed to pop up everywhere during the late 60s/early 70s.

For me, Spring And Port Wine works well as both a gritty drama and an interesting snapshot of a time when pre decimal currency was in its final days as Britain prepared to enter the Common Market.

Amazingly, 'In' is the first episode to show Arthur Daley selling a dodgy motor to a mug punter, and maybe the first in which George Cole became the main star, with Dennis Waterman being relegated to a supporting role - perhaps they should've renamed it 'The Arthur Daley Comedy Hour' at this point.

'In' is a great finale in which the German police (though not Sgt Rycott) are convinced that Arthur Daley is the ringleader of a trans European drug smuggling gang - cue lots of pompous jibes from Arthur about WW2 and the German's liking for documents and interrogating people. As usual, Terry does all the hard graft in trying to prove his innocence, but typically Arthur shows scant gratitude and thinks it's all down to him. Brian Cox does a great turn as the Scottish hard nut who lands Arthur right in it, and the fight scene between him and Terry McCann is arguably the best in 'Minder' history.

Series 3 cemented Minder's status as both a ratings behemoth and comedy classic; interestingly, the Charles & Diana wedding poster on Arthur's wall gives a clue as to when this fine episode was made.

Maintaining the high standard of series 3, Pay Off starts with one of the best ever pre-credit scenes, involving a wages snatch by an armed gang wearing sinister looking masks. The Sweeney (minus Regan & Carter who aren't on this case) are on their tail, and in the ensuing shoot-out the stoppo driver panics and makes off with the loot, leaving Frank Haskins with egg on his face.

Fast forward a year, and George Carter starts going out with an attractive croupier called Shirley who works in a low rent casino run (unknowingly to her) by three of the gang; she asks Carter to try and find the whereabouts of an old boyfriend called Eddie Glass who'd vanished without trace about a year before. Further enquiries reveal that Glass might've been in on the blag, which leads Haskins to reopen the investigation into the as yet unsolved crime. Carter and Shirley are kept in the dark about the latest developments, including the discovery of a body, and are unaware that the gang have tumbled them, putting their lives in grave danger - is Haskins using them as bait in order to settle an old score?

A very good episode from start to finish with an excellent performance by Geraldine James; notice how sunburned everyone looks in this one - Pay Off was filmed during the great heatwave of 1976.