Watching the Detectives: Notes on Special Branch and The Sweeney

George Sewell and Patrick Mower as Craven and Haggerty in Special Branch

John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as Regan and Carter in The Sweeney

I suppose every generation is convinced that the TV crime dramas of their youth were the best. For me, for example, as a child of the seventies, nothing before or after can touch The Sweeney (1975-78).

However, I do have a growing affection for the show that was in many ways its direct predecessor; Special Branch (1969-74), which was also made by Thames Television and which, like The Sweeney, ran for 53 episodes over four series.

Actually, when I say I have an increasing amount of affection for Special Branch, I'm only referring to series 3 and 4, starring George Sewell (as DCI Alan Craven) and Patrick Mower (as DCI Tom Haggerty). I have little familiarity with the earlier episodes and, despite the presence of Derren Nesbitt as dandyish DCI Jordan - the copper with a kipper tie - no great interest in them.   

For me, the show only really took off in 1973. And the reason for this - apart from the change of cast - was because Euston Films* took charge of the production and pioneered a technique of fast shooting on location using 16mm film for a grittier, more realistic look (a technique and a look they would later perfect on The Sweeney).

Craven and Haggerty were harder, more cynical characters than previously seen and Special Branch storylines became more complex; often dealing with social and political issues, for example, and revealing the sometimes dubious relationship between police and criminals (it's amusing to note that both George Sewell and Patrick Mower would later appear as villians in The Sweeney). 

So, here we are in 2020 ... What's the appeal of Craven and Haggerty, Regan and Carter, today?

Is it just nostalgia for unreconstructed seventies masculinity? Perhaps - though we are of course now invited to view such through an ironic lens whilst passing moral judgement on the racism and sexism and bad fashion choices, etc. 

Or is it, perhaps, that Special Branch and The Sweeney remain massively entertaining and that they still have something important to teach viewers; not about policing or political correctness, but about how to make memorable (well-written, well-acted) television.     

Notes

*Note: Euston Films was originally a subsidary of Thames Television, founded in 1971 by Lloyd Shirley (Controller of Drama), George Taylor (Head of Film Facilities), and Brian Tesler (Director of Programmes). As well as Special Branch and The Sweeney, they also gave us Van der Valk and Minder. 

Bonus: to listen to the Special Branch theme tune (composed by Robert Early): click here. And to watch the original opening and closing credits to The Sweeney (music composed by Harry South): click here.