wvmcl
Joined Sep 2003
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Reviews31
wvmcl's rating
I discovered Tightrope on You Tube recently (most of the episodes are available there, although in varying levels of video quality). It was a revelation. This may be the very best from an age that brought many hard-boiled heroes to the small screen. Superbly written in a Chandleresque mode. Not a moment of the 24-minute running time is wasted and every line of dialogue propels the story. Conners the undercover man comes off as an American counterpart to James Bond, three years before "Dr. No" was released. In fact, the opening sequence is very Bond-like, with Conners in evening dress pulling his gun and firing, just like the iconic opening of the Bond films.
A brilliant series that deserves a re-release.
A brilliant series that deserves a re-release.
The complete Taggart series, every single episode including all the the post-Mark McManus episodes, is currently (2022) available for streaming in the U. S. on Britbox. I've been working my way through the series and, you know what, this may be not only my favorite cop series, it may be my favorite TV series full stop.
Why do I like it so much? I love the gritty cinema-verite settings in Glasgow, the wonderful accents (you might want to turn on the optional English subtitles), the intriguing characters, the sardonic humor, the teriffic music and theme song. But what I love most of all is the writing. Glenn Chandler's scripts are exceptional - movie length twisty-turny mysteries filled with red herrings and unexpected plot shifts, and usually leading to a payoff you didn't see coming. Later scripts by other writers mostly conformed to Chandler's unique style.
The crusty title character played by Mark McManus was in the first 28 or so feature-length episodes (they were originally shown in three parts). After McManus died of a pickled liver at age 54 (in the series, he just "died in his sleep"), his assistants Mike and Jackie became the central characters but the format remained much the same for several more years. I actually think many of the Mike and Jackie episodes compare favorably with the best Jim Taggart episodes - for example, Season 14 Ep3 Dead Reckoning is one of the very best episodes in the entire series, imo.
Eventually the series went to a shorter episode format and had an ensemble cast of four, with Jackie (Blythe Duff) being the only holdover from the early series. These episodes are not quite at the level of the early ones, imo, but are still mostly fine police drama.
If you don't get Britbox, do yourself a favor and sign up for this 7 buck a month service (half the cost of Netflix) which includes almost every classic British cop/detective show from the 1970s on, and lots of other good stuff besides. I don't miss Netflix a bit. In addition to Taggart, you can enjoy the complete Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, Prime Suspect, Dalziel and Pascoe, Jonathan Creek, Cracker, and much more.
"Search that hoose!"
Why do I like it so much? I love the gritty cinema-verite settings in Glasgow, the wonderful accents (you might want to turn on the optional English subtitles), the intriguing characters, the sardonic humor, the teriffic music and theme song. But what I love most of all is the writing. Glenn Chandler's scripts are exceptional - movie length twisty-turny mysteries filled with red herrings and unexpected plot shifts, and usually leading to a payoff you didn't see coming. Later scripts by other writers mostly conformed to Chandler's unique style.
The crusty title character played by Mark McManus was in the first 28 or so feature-length episodes (they were originally shown in three parts). After McManus died of a pickled liver at age 54 (in the series, he just "died in his sleep"), his assistants Mike and Jackie became the central characters but the format remained much the same for several more years. I actually think many of the Mike and Jackie episodes compare favorably with the best Jim Taggart episodes - for example, Season 14 Ep3 Dead Reckoning is one of the very best episodes in the entire series, imo.
Eventually the series went to a shorter episode format and had an ensemble cast of four, with Jackie (Blythe Duff) being the only holdover from the early series. These episodes are not quite at the level of the early ones, imo, but are still mostly fine police drama.
If you don't get Britbox, do yourself a favor and sign up for this 7 buck a month service (half the cost of Netflix) which includes almost every classic British cop/detective show from the 1970s on, and lots of other good stuff besides. I don't miss Netflix a bit. In addition to Taggart, you can enjoy the complete Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, Prime Suspect, Dalziel and Pascoe, Jonathan Creek, Cracker, and much more.
"Search that hoose!"
