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The Professionals (1977)

1977 · Classic TV series

  • Drama
  • Crime
  • Action
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Synopsis

The Professionals is a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mark1 Productions for London Weekend Television (LWT) that aired on the ITV network from 30 December 1977 to 6 February 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson as agents of the fictional "CI5" (Criminal Intelligence 5, alluding to the real-life MI5 and CID ). Criminal Intelligence 5 (CI5) is a British law enforcement department, instructed by the Home Secretary to use any means to deal with crimes of a serious nature that go beyond the capacity of the police, but which are not tasks for the Security Service or the military. The choice of CI5's name is inspired by CID and MI5. The premise allowed the programme makers to involve a wide variety of villains, including terrorists, hitmen, hate groups and espionage suspects, with plots sometimes relating to the Cold War. Led by George Cowley ( Gordon Jackson ), CI5 is known for using unconventional and sometimes illegal methods to beat criminals, or as Cowley put it, "Fight fire with fire!" The use of a fictitious force in this context was somewhat less controversial than the portrayal of the real Flying Squad in The Sweeney. Cowley's two best agents are Ray Doyle ( Martin Shaw ) and William Bodie ( Lewis Collins ). Doyle is an ex– detective constable who has worked the seedier parts of London, while Bodie is an ex- paratrooper, mercenary and SAS sergeant.…

Synopsis from TVmaze

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Language
English

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Episodes