"The Thin Blue Line" (1995) TV series 1995-1996

Creator:

Ben Elton

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

13 November 1995 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Plot:

Various mishaps at a police station in an English Hamlet. The main character is the anachronistic, yet charming and funny Inspector Fowler. CID foil to Fowler, Inspector Grim is a bumbling, seething idiot!

Plot Keywords:

Police | Police Station | Sergeant | Britain | Sitcom

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Inspector Fowler / ... (14 episodes, 1995-1996)
Mina Anwar	...	W.P.C. Habib / ... (14 episodes, 1995-1996)
James Dreyfus	...	P.C. Goody / ... (14 episodes, 1995-1996)
Serena Evans	...	Sergeant Dawkins / ... (14 episodes, 1995-1996)
David Haig	...	D.I. Grim / ... (14 episodes, 1995-1996)
Rudolph Walker	...	P.C. Gladstone / ... (14 episodes, 1995-1996)
Mark Addy	...	D.C. Boyle (7 episodes, 1996)
Kevin Allen	...	D.C. Kray / ... (7 episodes, 1995)
Joy Brook	...	D.C. Crockett (6 episodes, 1995)

Runtime:

30 min (14 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 (video rating) | Singapore:PG

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Detective Inspector Derek Grim: This can be summed up in one word - organised crime.

Old-fashioned farce

This series was a bit of a step back for Elton and Atkinson after the audaciously original Blackadder and Mr. Bean series. The Thin Blue Line is an old-fashioned farce set in a city police station. That's not to say it's bad--it's actually very funny, just not anything groundbreaking. A lot of the humor derives from playing stereotypes against themselves: our heroes are bumbling cops who manage to make fools of themselves while eventually solving the crimes and making fools of the bad guys (not to mention the detective division) in the end. Goody, who could be described as a flaming heterosexual, manages to combine a full repertoire of "nelly" mannerisms with a hopeless crush on Habib. Habib herself is both a stereotype (attractive young female character constantly pursued by almost every male character) and a skewerer of stereotypes. This show has its cake and eats it too, but the viewer is too busy laughing to question any of it. And in the tradition of the best British farces, it goes to unbelievable lengths to track down and hammer home every conceivable double entendre and smutty one-liner. When one finishes groaning and/or laughing, one can't help but admire such perseverance in the pursuit of craft.