In my head, I always have The Thin Blue Line down as a modern sit-com. So I have to be mindful that it is in fact nearly twelve years since it was first shown in the UK. And in my opinion it is a gem of a comedy and regrettably one that has been overlooked by many people of my age. I have discussed this often with friends who share my memories of earlier sit-com series but have little or no knowledge of The Thin Blue Line. Which really is a shame, because there are few comedies, before or since, that produced as many funny moments in a thirty minute time slot as this one did.
It was written and produced by Ben Elton, and through the casting of Rowan Atkinson, re-formed the hugely successful Blackadder partnership. The setting was a police station in the fictional town of Gasforth, which was one heck of a bad place. In the fourteen episodes, we saw terrorism, violent robberies, teenage delinquency, entrapment, racist skinheads, road protesters and drugs raids. These crimes were investigated by CID, headed by Detective Inspector Derek Grim (David Haig), whilst the uniformed officers, led by Inspector Raymond Fowler (Rowan Atkinson) were left to merely uphold Her Majesties peace. It is this scenario which provides the main storyline in most episodes, through marvellous characterisation. Fowler is an old fashioned policeman, well turned out, a man of routine who plays life by the rule book of decency and patriotism. He is a staunch supporter of the Queen. And, when reminiscing about Meccano and Biggles, ultimately boring. Grim on the other hand is a scruffy plain clothes cop, obviously proud of his elevation to CID and always out to make a name for himself. He is a chancer and provides many a funny moment with his ranting and terrible use of the English language ( hoity toity, lardey dardey........I can't even start to put this into words, and will have to post a clip soon if I can). This battle of styles carries on through each show with the loyal Fowler often winning the day over the conceited Grim.
The supporting characters are also excellent. The station, despite the problems in the local community, was not a busy place, and many scenes took place with the officers behind their desks, working. Many days started with Inspector Fowler wheeling his bike through the front door, looking a right twerp in his white cycling helmet and fluorescent jacket. Behind the front desk was Sergeant Patricia Dawkins (Serena Evans), his girlfriend of ten years. Raymond's total lack of interest in sex was a subject of continual frustration for the simmering and broody Patricia. In one episode he admitted how he was looking forward to getting home to his bed - for ' a chapter of John Buchan and a chocolate Hob Nob'. Sgt Dawkins was well used to the disappointment and often showed her fiery side, always directed at Inspector Fowler. The three uniformed officers were Constable Frank Gladstone (Rudolph Walker of Love Thy Neighbour fame), Constable Maggie Habib (Mina Anwar) and Constable Kevin Goody (James Dreyfus). Frank was a slow moving veteran who often dealt with the most mundane matters. But the relationship of Maggie and Kevin was a constant storyline. She was bright and feisty. He was dim and grotesquely camp. And the two provided some great comedy moments with PC Goody often dangerously aroused when in the company of the WPC. Maggie was in no way interested in Kevin's feeble attempts to score (on one occasion she tells him he is the last turkey in the shop).Gormless Goody was also often on the wrong side of Inspector Fowler. Their relationship was akin to that of Captain Mainwaring and Private Pike in Dad's Army. Ben Elton was a huge fan of the 70's sit-com and many commentators have drawn comparisons with the characterisations of that show and The Thin Blue Line.
Unlike the uniformed officers, CID were not desk bound. They were high energy. Happy to follow their erratic leader Grim, they enjoyed their perceived superiority over the others. There were two Detective Constables, in the first series Robert Kray (Kevin Allen and missing from the above photograph) who was always eating or on the phone ordering, a take-away meal, and Gary Boyle (Mark Addy) in the second. Kray was lazy and liked to laugh at his own jokes whilst Boyle fancied himself as a bit of a hard nut. Both were largely useless at their jobs and generally irritating. They were however vital components in Grim's mis-guided operations and added much to the detective versus plod skirmishes. They dealt with the real crime but not very well !
Many of the laughter moments in The Thin Blue Line were earthy, at times quite explicit, and always high on innuendo. But it was very sharp, funny, and quirky. Critics were not altogether complimentary of the show, pointing at inconsistencies in the characters. Personally I can just take it for what it is - a relatively modern sit-com with an old fashioned format that makes me laugh a lot. It's content is essentially 90's but it's style is probably more 70's. Considering the series was made up of only a short number of episodes , I think the writer and cast did a great job in establishing such a funny group of characters, all of whom made for some memorable TV moments. Like the episode where Goody buys Inspector Fowler a puncture repair kit and WPC Habib sexy underwear for Christmas............then manages to get the parcels mixed up. And the occasion where a film crew arrives at Gasforth Police Station to make a fly on the wall documentary...........and the unfortunate Raymond accidentally brushes his teeth with black polish just before his big moment.
Perhaps the biggest shame in sit-com lies in the fact that the best has often lasted for far too short a time, and I am sure The Thin Blue Line had another series or two in it. I watch the episodes over and over again and wish there were more. It was just too good to manage only 14 episodes.
This man might seem a strange choice in a tribute to people who have made me laugh. But he did provide me with one of the funniest stories for my very limited party piece repertoire. More of that in a moment. First, a little more background on a great man and legend of broadcasting.
