"Between the Lines" (1992) TV series 1992-1994

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Creator:

J.C. Wilsher

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

4 September 1992 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

"Between The Lines" is set in the Complaints Investigation Bureau (CIB) - the department responsible for investigating other police officers...

Plot Keywords:

Police

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Neil Pearson	...	Det. Supt. Tony Clark (35 episodes, 1992-1994)
Tom Georgeson	...	Det. Insp. Harry Naylor (35 episodes, 1992-1994)
Siobhan Redmond	...	Det. Sgt. Maureen Connell (35 episodes, 1992-1994)
Robin Lermitte	...	Det. Supt. David Graves / ... (18 episodes, 1992-1994)
Tony Doyle	...	Chief Supt. John Deakin / ... (17 episodes, 1992-1994)

Also Known As:

Inside the Line

Runtime:

50 min (35 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Comedy Connections: Drop the Dead Donkey (#4.3)" (2006)

Oh those nasty police

"Between the Lines" was a show which reflected British television's attitude to the police in the Thatcher years...namely, that the police are brutal, corrupt and fascist. If the show was merely about corrupt officers, then it could have made for gripping drama, but it had a heavy political agenda so corruption was always from up on high and institutionalised. One or two episodes of this might have been gripping, but it was constant and often Neil Pearson's character would often act as an apologist for the criminals. One of the more ludicrous episodes featured Pete Postlethwaite as a senior Metropolitan Police commander putting down a riot (by good lefties or course) which he agitated and he ends up quoting the speech made in the Falklands War: "The flag is flying over Port Stanley"...oh, is this a dig at Thatcher? But apart from the student level politics, the show gained notoriety and earned the nickname "Between the Loins" for its preponderance for sex scenes bang on the stroke of the 9 o'clock watershed. Any chance for Pearson to drop his trousers (but always in a sensitive way) and he'd grab it. Sometimes it seemed he'd abandon a case to get some more sex...can't say I blame him.