Customer Reviews

Special Branch

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One of the strangest series ever to grace British television, 'Special Branch' stripped the glamour often depicted in police series and replaced it with cold hard mundanity and weary cynicism.

George Sewell plays Alan Craven, a dour, seen-it-all 70's cop, taken to walking round in a mac stubbornly looking at things.

Sewell's performance is so low-key it barely exists. Craven's no womanising, action hero al la Regan from 'the Sweeney' (incredibly the two shows are closely related: same production crews and casting, same tv company..) but he's barely awake. He seems to just drift unenthusiastically from one unpleasant scenario to another, bucking every cliche and tv trend as he goes.

Whether chasing down bombers, assassins, smugglers or kidnappers, his resolute demeanor doesn't change. He's craggy, his dress sense is uninspired, he's just there, rule book in hand, stoic to the last.

By modern police drama standards(ie, ANYTHING post 'Special Branch'), it's a complete plod.(!)

There's very few car-chases, a sore lack of demented, sweaty villains, Craven and his bosses get on just fine and the only hint of animosity comes with the introduction of Haggerty, an uppity inspector who represents everything Craven is not.

Even then, once the two of them get to 'understand' each other, the 'mutual respect' thing goes down, and we're back to fingerprint logging and filing cabinets.

Haggerty in his spiv waistcoats and classy flares, Craven in his mac.

So why does 'Special Branch' win? How does it overcome all it's surface drawbacks and turn out a fine series?

Well, you don't always need a dashing hero as Hitchcock proved, and while I'm name-dropping, Craven can be seen as some sort of sub-Kubrickian public servant. He's one of the nameless suits following the wry politician around on the prison yard.

Matter-of-fact and bland - there's more than a hint of William Sylvester's character in '2001,' in his focussed methodicalism.

It's brilliantly filmed (as opposed to studio): grainy film-stock gives the impression that the London skyline is perpetually gloomy and drizzly. There's a level of realism not encountered before which works brilliantly - and as in real police work - Craven and co don't always get their man.

And hey, I've just discovered something thrillingly absorbing: Craven has TWO macs! One navy the other beige - that'll bring the raw-edge excitement to quite a head, won't it?

Episodes end weirdly, sharply, leaving you thinking 'What!?' It reminds of the X-Files, with bogus Russian defectors and hippy fire-bombers instead of aliens.

Truth is, I hope we do have the likes of Craven, Haggerty and co attending to our country's security, instead of the CCTV obsessed internet sleuths I suspect we really do.

Perhaps that's it. Craven is a bloke, a real identifiable person despite his faults. Run that Union Jack and he'll salute it, play that anthem and he'll stand.

He'll look tired and completely disinterested, but he'll do it.

AND, he's got a black girlfriend - in the early 70's !?!

Unfortunately, we just don't have enough 'heroes' like that.