Softly, Softly: Taskforce

Softly, Softly: Taskforce
Created by Troy Kennedy Martin
Elwyn Jones
Starring Stratford Johns
Frank Windsor
Terence Rigby
Norman Bowler
Walter Gotell
David Lloyd Meredith
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 8
No. of episodes 149
Production
Running time 50 minutes
Release
Original network BBC1
Original release 20 November 1969 (1969-11-20) – 15 December 1976 (1976-12-15)

Softly, Softly: Taskforce is a police based drama series which ran on BBC 1 from 1969 to 1976. It was a revamp of Softly, Softly, itself a spin-off from Z-Cars. The change was made partly to coincide with the coming of colour broadcasting to the BBC's main channel BBC1. The programme was due to be called simply Taskforce, but reluctant to sacrifice a much-loved brand the BBC compromised this so it became Softly, Softly: Taskforce.

Outline

At the end of Softly Softly, the main characters - Detective Chief Inspector Barlow (Stratford Johns) and Detective Inspector Watt (Frank Windsor) - were promoted to control 'taskforces', a new (at the time) development in regional police divisions wherein expertise and manpower could be drawn together when needed for special operations. Joining them from Softly, Softly would be DS Harry Hawkins (Norman Bowler), also on promotion. The stories were set in the fictional south-eastern English borough of Thamesford (played by the City of Rochester and the Medway area), where the team were under the baleful eye of Chief Constable Cullen (Walter Gotell).

The continuing storyline of the series saw Barlow widowed in 1972, after which he was headhunted by the Home Office to work on special cases (this became the series Barlow at Large). This left the way clear for Watt to come out of Barlow's shadow and take command in his own right, with the reliable assistance of Hawkins. Regulars included Terence Rigby as PC Snow (the dog handler, with his dogs Inky and Radar), David Lloyd Meredith (Sgt Evans) and Walter Gotell (Chief Con. Cullen).

By the mid 1970s, the show was beginning to look rather dated and drab alongside the new dynamic series appearing on ITV (such as The Sweeney). With its increasing reliance on police procedural issues and squeaky-clean officers (with the odd 'rotten apple' for them to condemn), it began to look as stiff as Dixon of Dock Green had when its forerunner Z-Cars had appeared to blow away the cobwebs. The final series introduced a new theme tune and some new characters, but the series had had its day and was a far cry from the dynamic and edgy team of professionals introduced in the first Softly, Softly ten years earlier.

Series run down

Series From To Episodes Duration
1 20 Nov 1969 12 Mar 1970 16 50 minutes
2 16 Sept 1970 10 Mar 1971 26 50 minutes
3 6 Oct 1971 29 Mar 1972 26 50 minutes
4 13 Sept 1972 31 Jan 1973 20 50 minutes
5 12 Sept 1973 16 Jan 1974 18 50 minutes
6 4 Sept 1974 27 Nov 1974 13 50 minutes
7 27 Aug 1975 3 Dec 1975 15 50 minutes
8 8 Sept 1976 15 Dec 1976 15 50 minutes

Cast

Actor Character Years Active Series Active Episode Count
Stratford Johns DCS Charlie Barlow 1969–1972 1–4 56
Frank Windsor D Sup./DCS John Watt 1969–1976 1–8 123
Norman Bowler Insp./DI/CI/DCI Harry Hawkins 1969–1976 1–8 113
Walter Gotell Chief Con. Arthur Cullen 1969–1975 1–7 55
David Lloyd Meredith Sgt./DS/DI Bob Evans 1969–1976 1–8 106
David Allister Sgt./Insp Richard Jackson 1969–1971 1–2 22
Susan Tebbs P/W DC Betty Donald 1969–1971 1–2 26
Terence Rigby PC Henry Snow 1969–1976 1-8 83
Inky (police dog) Inky 1969–70 1 N/A
Gay Hamilton Dr. Jean Morrow/Watt 1970–1974 1–4, 6 12
Radar (police dog) Radar 1970–72 2–3 N/A
Brian Hall PC Ted Drake 1971–1972 3 16
Martin C. Thurley PC Knowles * 1972–1974 4–5 23
Grahame Mallard PC Terry Nesbitt 1972–1974 4–6 29
Nigel Humphreys PC Pete Dodds 1974–1975 6–7 20
Malcolm Rennie PC Ted Perry 1975 7 12
Philippa Howell WPC Betty Arthur 1975–1976 7–8 12
Peter Clough PC Joe Lincoln 1975–1976 7–8 17
Peter Childs DS Don Grant 1976 8 15
John Flanagan PC Will Pearson 1976 8 15

Others

Actor Character Years Active Series Active Episode Count
Terrence Hardiman Insp. Thomas Armstrong 1971 2 7
Julie Hallam P/W DC Maggie Forest 1971–1972 2 7
Heather Stoney P/W DS Mary Green 1971–1973 2 7
Jenny Hanley Sara Jameson/Hawkins 1972–1975 4-7 8
John Franklyn-Robbins CI/D Sup. Bill Adler 1972–1973 4 9
Warren Clarke DS Jack Stirling 1973 5 4

* PC Knowles is never given a first name on-screen.

Archive status

All episodes of Taskforce survive on their original 2" Quad VT except for the episode "Welcome to the Club" which is a b/w 16mm telerecording.

DVD release

Series 1 received a Region 2 DVD release from Simply Media. This was released on 18 November 2013.

Simply Media will be releasing Series 2 on Region 2 DVD in September 2016.

Series development

Barlow & Watt appeared again in a 6-part series in 1973, which saw Barlow & Watt re-appraising the Jack the Ripper murders. The pair would state all the known facts and with the aid of specially staged reconstructions, attempt to work out how the crimes were committed, though usually, nothing new was conclusively proven.

They were spun off into one further outing, Second Verdict. Over six weeks, they re-investigated some of the most baffling historic criminal cases, including the Lindbergh kidnappings and the murders of the Princes in the Tower by King Richard III. The characters sparring off each other to get to the truth made for entertaining television, but with the exception of the final episode, it was hampered by a lack of actual evidence to offer real 'second verdicts'. A comparable ITV series Killers featuring detailed reconstructions of notorious crime trials used much dialogue based on actual transcripts, which at the time didn't help Second Verdict. In a contemporary interview, Stratford Johns remarked that: "I did not like the title. It was too limiting. I would have preferred 'Second Opinion'".

The character of John Watt would see one final solo appearance in the last ever Z-Cars, in September 1978.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.