Sunday Fun: "The Sweeney" Front and End Titles

The British copper show The Sweeney (1975 - 1978) was known to me for years in title only. Little did I know, until I did get to see it, that I would be so impressed by its acting, stories, and street vibe.

The two leads, John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, played off one another as though they were real policemen who could act and were cast primarily on that basis. Thaw is no longer with us, but Waterman is still acting. He was a regular in New Tricks (2003 - 2015), of which I've seen a few episodes -- while good, certainly by today's standards, it's not in the same league.

One of the draws for me is The Sweeney's lineup of guest stars: George Sewell; Brian Blessed; Patrick Troughton; Ian Hendry; Lesley-Anne Down; Julian Glover; John Rhys-Davies; Diana Dors; John Hurt; and the list goes on.

As just about any Brit telly viewer of a certain vintage can tell you, the opening and end title music bits were the cop show cues; and they were actual melodies. Imagine that. (Yesterday I posted a piece about the score to the classic Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine". I'm detecting a theme here....)

Retained for your viewing pleasure is the classic Thames Television introduction card.

By the way: Put your trousers on, you're nicked!