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Top Gear: £1,200 British Leyland Cheap-Car Challenge (2007)
Comedy Classic
One of the funniest challenges, the trio's quest to find a decent British Leyland produced vehicle ended up - as always - being a comedy series of failures and disaster. The Rover SD1's constant door problems were a great source of laughter, notably the moment of Jeremy splitting his door into two. The suspension test and hill climb handbrake test provided James and Richard's own funniest moments of the episode. Aston Martin's DBS or the upgraded DB9 as it was deemed was a solid road test, didn't feel too long when the BL challenge was what you wanted to see most. Jennifer Saunders added some great scenes as the star in the reasonably priced car, all in all it was an episode you didn't want to end.
The Bill: The Tunnel: Part 2 (2004)
The Forming of the Phil and Sam Dynamic
Seems almost unthinkable of a time when future best friends Phil and Sam were enemies, they were phenomenal together during the mid 2000s, but this was where that friendship formed. The soapy era was overall quite disappointing, but this had quite a 90s era where strong characters were primary and plot was built around them, rather than this era where characters were shoe horned into what quite often were inconceivable plots. Seeing Phil and Sam first confront their past rivalry and ultimately establish their bond for future plots... great what a near death experience can do to a partnership. It serves as a terrific ending to the Weaver plot but also serves as the beginning of the difficult to watch (in more ways than one) plot with Kerry and the menacing Gabriel. Shame the beloved Nick didn't come back after Weaver was gone.
9-1-1: In Another Life (2023)
Buck's Nightmare Life
It's quite relatable to many that a family you choose is more preferable than the family you were born into. The most significant part of Buck's parallel universe coma dream/nightmare is the presence of his late brother Daniel, making his parents seem more warm and loving than they had been in his life in a world where Daniel died. Maddie's problems with Doug remaining was a key element in Buck's desire not to be stuck in that world. The realization that without him the fates of Bobby and Eddie, who besides Maddie are the two most significant people in his life, was completely different. Making that the key was perfection, although the only issue was an apparent parental redemption arc by two characters who had been subject to neglect their entire lives.
The Bill: Controversial Approach (2003)
A Powerful Message on Drugs
The death of a child in a drug related drive-by shooting leads to a shocking statement from Adam Okaro about decriminalization. An episode full of powerful scenes including the boy's mother finding him dead in the arms of a shell shocked Danny Glaze, Adam walking through a deprived neighbourhood to see the effect of drugs or his passionate speech about how proper education and insight into drugs could've prevented the little boy's death. An episode ahead of its time with decriminalization a more approachable topic almost 20 years later. Rated 7/10 due to Cathy's lies about HIV as her full blown Batty Madford era began.
The Bill: Falling (2002)
Why, Just Why?
The Bill lost an icon in Cass Rickman. We all watched this episode through our fingers because we knew after the previous episode's cliffhanger that our beloved Cass was going to be found dead. Best friend Nick finding her body destroyed so many of us and you could see how devastating her loss was when even hard-faced characters like Des Taviner and Gina Gold were rocked by gobby and gregarious copper's demise. The plot seemed so needless to kill off such an iconic character after barely four years with the show, especially when nine other characters had been killed off in this one year - as many as in the previous 17 years the series had been running for at this point. It was pointless, a waste of Suzanne Maddock's talent and a character death many of us aren't over even 20 years after the episode originally aired.
The Bill: No Signs of Life (2002)
Awful
I was all for a station fire plot, but this was so badly done. We went from explosion and fire to the morning after between the end of the previous episode and the start of this one; it was as if an episode was skipped. That lack of live aftermath robbed the viewers of so much: even Kate was dying in hospital for half the episode and there was no scene with her. Des being seen also ruined all suspense in the investigation plot, quite out of character for the series after always viewing it from a police perspective not a criminal's - even if a working cop was the criminal. I agreed with Kate being axed, likewise so were the awful characters of Paul, Ben & Di, but Sam was criminally underused and Andrew Monroe never should've been axed; one scene of him in his office in the previous ep and a death announcement at the start of this was atrocious after 12 years of service by the late great Colin Tarrant.
The Bill: Turning the Tables: Part 1 (2006)
Redemption for Roger... and the Rest
The Bill really felt back to its best after this episode. A year or so after the soap era ended, this episode followed Tony's dad dying and the Romania 2-parter in the half dozen episodes before this one, but this pulled no punches. The mundane to that point Max Little plot exploded as we learned of Heaton's past with menacing villain Barry Green, Yvonne had her moment of inflicting restorative justice on a yob (which developed into a strong final plot a few weeks later). However, Roger finally accepting his PTSD in a truly harrowing scene was so beautifully portrayed by John Bowler and redeemed the character of Roger after two years of ignorance and very little in terms of redeeming qualities. It felt like a force again after this and was worth watching week in, week out.
The Bill: A Bad Call: Part 1 (2006)
A Hint of Classics
After so many pointless and cast involved stunts under Paul Marquess, executive producer Johnathan Young made an impact in his early days with this one. He showed Marquess that disasters could involve the public and have police responding to them, rather than the main cast being caught up in their own disaster. The scenes inside the club were so shocking and served as a brutal reality check to newbies Lewis and Emma. Of course one of their own had to get caught up in it but there was no pointless death and the PTSD plot that followed was so moving. This episode was also midway through the best year for the Phil and Sam dynamic as they bet on Phil making three charges stick by morning, ahead of episodes like the Romania trip that really cemented that glorious friendship. One downer was Lewis and Roger's mercifully short-lived and "taken out of context" squabble.
The Bill: Afternoon Rendezvous (2002)
A Disgrace
I am amazed how much of his era I generally liked because when I read at the time Paul Marquess had axed Derek Conway I was on the verge of stopping support for this show. His cruel ending was hard to watch and has been more so since Ben Roberts passed away a few years ago. With the fire soon after his exit felt quite pointless and a huge disrespect to an actor who served the series with comedic quips and no-nonsense management on screen for 14 years. There were strong plots that came out of the soap era like Eva Sharpe's daughter disappearing, Terry Perkins reliving his childhood and Mickey Webb's attack but Marquess had no respect for the established and talented icons he inherited. Conway, Monroe, Boyden, Carver, all wasted under his reign. The premise of this episode is quite comedic with Des losing his shiny new motor to armed robbers but I just don't like this episode at all.
The Bill: All Fall Down: Part Two (2000)
All Good Things Come to an End
1990s Sun Hill CID is without a doubt its best era, and the cast assembled heading into 2000 was rather hastily ripped up by executive producer Richard Handford - whose exit from the series a year later showed how damaging this plot really was to his previously unblemished (in my opinion) era prior to late 2000 early 2001. That said, the entire Beech debacle was a fantastic conclusion to a plot that had been in the pipes before Handford even arrived in 1998. Beech finally came unstuck but still had the door left open for a return, some icons met harsh endings and things were never the same again. 1990s CID was terrific and this plot tied up all the loose ends in wiping out the old cast. It was a shame to see so many like Deakin and Beech go in 2000, but what a way for the era to end.
The Bill: The Short Straw (1993)
Nostalgia in the Modern Era
This episode is a total throwback of what we miss in the modern era. It came at a time when advanced spoilers were rare if not non-existent, so plot twists like Viv's farewell were so shocking to the millions watching at home. It wasn't a typical soap style plot twist and there was virtually no hint of it happening. It gave an iconic original cast member an exit worthy of her iconic status even if we were all sad to see Nula Colwell bow out for good. A bonus for this episode was another "Sierra classic" police chase as arguably the most synonymous area car took centre stage again in a dramatic car chase bettered only by 1994 episode Instant Response. The aftermath of the episode's events felt so much more real than it did under future producers.
The Bill: Confessions of a Killer (2005)
Ludicrous with Redeeming Scenes
This second station fire summed up how dull and repetitive the "soapy era" was under Paul Marquess. Two station fires, countless abductions and romances plus soap style twists along the way that just ruin plots - and its such a shame given the quality of the cast at the time. The exits were cruel and pointless, while Gabriel's plot rumbled on yet again when it would've been a good ending point here. However, Todd Carty's sinister confession scenes with Natalie J Robb were a huge redeeming point for the episode but it was very poor overall. Weird as it may sound, his distinctive and dark low voice made him such a terrific villain.
The Bill: Beyond Conviction (2000)
A Terrific Change to the Norm
The Bill exploring a plot about escaped war criminals was equal parts enlightening and gripping. The tie-in to Nick Klein's Jewish family past with genocide was a key element, and Rene Zagger delivered a terrific performance. Cyril Nri, the future Superintendent Adam Okaro, was also fantastic in this moving guest role - and the same can be said about the fantastic Hugh Quarshie as the villain Ngeze/Kabanga.
The Bill: Cracked Up (1999)
A Famous Thriller
Obviously this episode is famous for The Who's Roger Daltrey guest starring, but wow what a performance. Larry's mood swung from crazy to angry on constant occasions, but his emotional finale was fantastic - what a terrific range he had in this performance. It definitely came at the worst time for poor Luke Ashton, but it was a nice tie-in for his first exit to have a traumatic experience, given that was a common occurrence in his original stint. Quite sad to see him bow out but his return helped answer some pertinent questions - albeit three years later.
The Bill: The River (2000)
Don Beech the Teflon Man
The denouement of the Beech scandal as the wonderful DS Beech tried to get even with Fallon and rub Stanton's face in it. Pure drama from first to last with Boulton's funeral, Beech's deal with Fallon and the multiple plot twists - none of which were topped the finale. Billy Murray smashed his scenes and channeled his full blown villainous side.
The Bill: Ring-a-Ring O'Roses (1999)
Liz Rawton's Finest Hour (and a Half)
A powerful and harrowing performance by Libby Davison as DC Liz Rawton, who sadly only appeared in a few more regular episodes after this before becoming a recurring cast member. Libby's real-life husband Michael Hodgson makes an excellent villain in Andy Marshall, as he also did in the Too Hot to Handle plot in 2008. What makes this episode stellar is Richard Handford's era as executive producer brought some truly dark endings and I personally feel no other episode topped this one for its conclusion. A fantastic 90 minutes of viewing.