Jamesfilmfan905 The Sweeney was televisions toughest hardest most violent of its decade in the 70s well at least in the early seasons when in the later seasons it got toned down considerably but despite that criticism aside if u like solid writing story-lines first class acting car chases shootouts and the incredible john thaw and Dennis water-man as the two main characters Detective inspector Reagan and detective Sargent carter . And not forgetting the tough nonsense superior played by Garfield Morgan . I recommend u go for the earlier seasons preferably seasons 1 and 2 where the gritty and some doses of humor whereas the later seasons mid way through season 3 to 4 just lose their grit and become to comedic .

Sulla-2 They operated in the days before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act emasculated the Police. No need for Solicitors and taped interviews in those days! It is interesting to compare Jack the lad Reagan with Morse. Two excellent Police characters and a blind viewer might think they were being played by two totally different actors. John Thaw is much missed. George Carter was probably a bit young and baby faced for a hard bitten Flying Squad Sergeant. Dennis Waterman has made a good living playing the same part in all his subsequent roles. I actually liked the much maligned Haskins who did his very best to keep them in check. In the last episode, Reagan resigned. Was it really the end for him or did he just change his name and transfer to Oxford.

andy-1047 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!

Theo Robertson THE SWEENEY is a television series I remember very well from my childhood , and is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest shows to have come out of Britain , and I enjoyed rewatching the show on cable TV a couple of years ago . One thing I did notice during the daily repeats was that the show`s episodes fall between " Comedic " episodes and " violent " episodes. For example a comedic episode revolved around a gangland boss living in Spain trying to get his dog back from his home in London only to have his righthand man bring the wrong dog over ! Cut to right hand man leaving Gatwick airport heavily bandaged and in a wheelchair .Many of the violent episodes also featured a healthy dose of humour. For instance a big butch heavy would be getting interrogated by Jack Regan: " Listen slag we know you done the robbery , you`re going down for fifteen years son . Got that slag ? " To which the big butch heavy would reply " I don`t know what you mean Mister Regan ? " in the most effeminate tones imaginable ! It`s also entertaining to watch scenes where the villain is deliberately played in a completely wooden manner while his victim deliberately goes OTT. But having said that many of the episodes are violent , most notably the episode NIGHTMARE that involves a man being shot in the guts and then has him slowly bleed to death , and later a cold blooded execution. Tarantino couldn`t have made this episode more bloody.Perhaps we should judge the episodes on how memorable they are in which case I`ll recount the repeat I saw where two middle aged parents recieve a telephone call late at night from a man who has kidnapped their son and they have to listen as the son is tortured . I hadn`t seen this episode for over 20 years but seeing that opening scene reminded me of the plot. !!!!SPOILER !!!!! Their son hasn`t been kidnapped at all , it`s just a scam to rip off his rich parents. The penny drops when the kidnapper phoning from a public call box hands the son the phone who starts screaming down the line to his parents