CI5: The New Professionals

I had the misfortune of coming across this one boring evening. The two leading characters are totally characterless, Edward Woodward is not much better, and having a pretty gun toting female cannot save it. Very disappointing. The 'old' Professionals worked well because the two leading characters were interesting, they were likeable, they had some depth, and that's why it worked. This doesn't.

This Nineties update of a Seventies show is very enjoyable, although not as good as the original.The new cast take a few episodes to fit into their characters and Edward Woodward,excellent as he is, never matches the inventiveness of Gordon Jackson's Cowley.The first few episodes are very similar to the old series but the new crew develop a different and original style as the series progresses.Later episodes are more in the James Bond mould but boast impressive action sequences and an excellent score by Hywel Maggs and Chris Winter.As with the old series no one watches the Professionals for the writing but the spectacular action and the enjoyable interplay between the characters.

Apparently, CI5 is no longer hiring members from the police or armed forces, and has started recruiting at modelling agencies. The plot-lines are ludicrous, the scripts are laughable and the cast, supposedly portraying the dangerous, highly-trained peak of global law enforcement, have all the menace of rice pudding and are about as attractive. A pathetic attempt to relive the original series of "The Professionals", this latest series is totally lacking any drama, suspense, wit or talent. George Cowley would eat this bunch for breakfast.

The original late 70s / early 80s "Professionals" was all British, politically incorrect, often mindless and frequently placed more emphasis on gunfights and loud explosions than it did on character development. Yet strangely this was part of its appeal and it was (and still is) hugely popular all over the world. The "New Professionals" tries to be a more international and more politically correct show than its predecessor, and that's its main downfall. Two of the main four characters are Americans - one can only assume that these characters were cast with one eye on the American export market. We also now have the male head of CI5 reporting to a female minister and a young and savvy "anything the boys can do I can do too" female sidekick on hand to get the two main (male) leads out of assorted sticky situations. In short, like so many other modern series, pandering to the politically correct lobby. This wouldn't be so bad if the plots weren't so thin and the dialog so weak and corny. "Who are CI5?" asks an FBI man in the pilot episode. "They're the best", replies his colleague, sounding suitably impressed. And so it goes on. A shame - the idea of continuing the CI5 story was a good one. Shame that the end result was such a let-down.

This series probably tries to capture some of the spark that BUGS had - two beefcake male leads, a spunky female sidekick, hi-tec gadgetry, and an added bonus of around-the-world locations. Well, the scripts were weak, the leads had to struggle with piss-poor dialogue and ludicrous situations - and the worst of it is - they were expected to take themselves seriously. Something that should have been a seventies send-up that ended up like a seventies remake.