Warningand opinions some people might find offensive but for which I won’t apologise.
Don’t read any further unless you are open-minded.
As hard as I try not to give away too much, I can't guarantee there are no spoilers.
The Thin Blue Line - Comedy Series 1995-6 UK 2 Seasons
Brilliant comedy series about a British Police Station
This show has all the staples of traditional British comedy – clever word play including smutty double entendres and talking at cross purposes; effeminate but definitely heterosexual males, sex-starved females, incompetent superiors (a variation on the tradition of Plautus) and an insane middle-class reverence for upper classes.
Stereotypes have been upgraded so that discrimination is not “awful” as it once traditionally was.
No surprise - it was written by Ben Elton who cut his teeth on The Young Ones and Black Adder scripts and has since gone on to bigger and better things, including writing and publishing 15 novels.
Rowan Atkinson stars as the pompous Police Inspector Raymond Fowler. Though I never really warmed to his Mr Bean character Atkinson has a wonderful, plastic face and has always been rather brilliant in sketch comedy, especially with clever, wordy dialogue so he is perfect in this part.
Fowler is shocked when Constable Habib suggests literary hero Biggles and his sidekick Ginger are lovers.
Constable Goody longs to win the heart and hand of Constable Habib. Although he’s convinced he’s irresistibly virile and butch, he’s as camp as a row of tents. He’s also rather dull-witted but not bright enough to realise it. When Fowler announces he has bought the Queen a birthday present and would like everyone to chip in, Goody promptly raises his hand to announce he doesn’t want to buy her a present because she’s an anti-Christ.
The Thin Blue Line features word-play at its best – a rare treat for a lexophile like me. Every member of the cast is also a consummate character actor, which brings me to one last special mention – David Haig who plays Detective Inspector Derek Grim.
The Wikipedia description of his character refers to Grim’s “butchery of English phraseology” as special – I have to admit it is definitely a big part of his appeal. I can’t think of any actor other than Haig who might be able to make this part work so well.
- “It’s my arse on the line – so you’d better pull your finger out!”
- “My cockup – your arse!”
- “It’s my backside on the line, and I’m right up to my neck in it!”
Bingeability: Very High
