The Bill: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

Britain's longest running police drama (1983 pilot called "Woodentop", then a regular series which ran from 1984 until 2010), ''The Bill'' told the story of A-Relief, one of the regular shifts in the divisional police station of Sun Hill, located in the fictional borough of Canley, East London. The series followed both uniform and plain clothes officers -- though the storylines were usually skewed more towards the uniform branch -- as they investigated crimes around "the manor". These crimes could be anything from high-end drug deals and gun running, right down to petty shoplifting, or relatively minor domestic squabbles between neighbours.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Jo Masters.

** Of course, the legendary DCI Frank Burnside was the ''original'' deadpan snarker in the series. Just look at the quotes [http://www.burnsidefiles.com/statements.html on this fansite] to see what I mean.

* [[Desk Jockey]]: The entire purpose of the various Superintendents and Chief Inspectors seen in the series. Only seldom do they leave the office and "get involved" in cases, and usually a big fuss is made out of it when they do. The decision to kill off the character of Chief Inspector Conway after 14 years was made when a new producer came in and decided that Conway didn't really have a dramatic function to play in the series... his role was ''too'' desk bound.

* [[Devil in Plain Sight]]: Matt Hinckley, Emma Keane's ex. Will Fletcher was the [[Only Sane Man]] to spot him.

* [[The Great British Copper Capture]]: Frequently played straight.

* [[Hello Again, Officer]]: In the episode "Killer On The Run", the episode begins this way.

* [[IC Number]]: ''"Sierra Oscar, we're looking for an IC-3, medium build, wearing a red baseball cap and grey sweatshirt..."''

* [[Jittercam]]: An early user.