Dixon of Dock Green

""Good evening all" Sergeant George Dixon (first words of each episode)"

Dixon of Dock Green was a long-running Police Procedural from The BBC. It ran from 1955 to 1976. Set in the fictional Dock Green police station and area of London, the series focused on Sgt. George Dixon, Old-Fashioned Copper in every sense of the word that doesn't involve Gene Hunt and The Sweeney-style shenanigans. In short: a British Bobby.

Although it occasionally dealt with corruption and "bent coppers", the portrayal of the police was overwhelmingly sympathetic (and the criminals usually caught and 'banged up'). This niceness left the show open to criticism and its supremacy as top UK cop show was eventually challenged by the altogether grittier ZCars and downright violent The Sweeney.

A key feature of the show was the Framing Device of an opening to-camera narration by Dixon which always began, "Good evening, all," (shortened in popular usage to "Evening, all,") and a closing narration-cum-homily which nearly always ended, "Goodnight, all."

The character of George Dixon was originally encountered in the 1950 movie The Blue Lamp, in which he was shot to death (by Dirk Bogarde's young tough). The final moments of the Ashes to Ashes finale (after the end credits have rolled) feature a Dixon homily,.


 * Back from the Dead: George Dixon was shot dead in the original movie.
 * Catch Phrase: "Good evening, all" (the good has been dropped in popular usage)
 * Framing Device: The opening and closing narrations
 * Missing Episode: Only about 30 episodes remains after the great BBC tape-wiping scandal.
 * Old-Fashioned Copper: Dixon is most definitely one of these, but in the positive sense: incorruptible. Indeed, he's the Trope Codifier for that version.
 * Spin-Off: From a movie, in this case