Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie was a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary, while his partner, Doyle, came to CI5 from the regular police force. They are the top men in their field and the ones to whom Cowley always assigns the toughest cases. The Professionals is a show like no other. Whilst it falls under a similar group of shows following action, police drama, and comedic elements like, for example, Starsky & Hutch (TV Series 1975-1979), it takes this miscellany of genres to a new height with a grittier and more realistic style, unmatched by other products of the time. It subsequently made shows like Starsky & Hutch feel more comical and in a way, tame, despite themselves having darker-themed episodes but nothing to the level of this series. I first watched this show with my family, which coincidently, coincided with our watching of Starsky and Hutch, where we could see the drastic differences between the American series and this British one. The professionals blew me away with its rich stories that varied from all sorts of crimes, terrorist acts, international incidents, personal vendettas, dangers of varying proportions and magnitudes, plus many more exciting plots. Such stories held many villainous antagonists that CI5 are pinned against from terrorists, hit-men, hate groups, gangsters, espionage suspects, gunmen and many more. But these episodes are only as good as those leading them and there are none finer than our main trio. We follow two of CI5's best operatives, William Bodie and Ray Doyle, as well as their boss and leader of the organisation, Major George Cowley, as they work to put a stop to all crimes in their country no matter the danger or risk. We spend a great deal of time with Bodie and Doyle through thick and thin throughout all sorts of complex and explosive missions. Their relationship may edge on the side of contentiousness, but they still care enough for one another and exchange plenty of delightful banter. I never got tired of their quick remarks that were flung back and forth through their adventures and their playful mannerisms (regardless of the current dangers they were in or around) are equally entertaining. They also come from different backgrounds as CI5 is made up of, well, professionals from all areas of her Royal Majesty's services with Bodie being from the army and Doyle from the police force, which gives them an edge in those fields and paired together, there is little they can't accomplish. Cowley keeps this duo and his many operatives in line as he governs for a safer neighbourhood, being up for anything thrown at him. Whilst he may send out his men to these extreme situations, he isn't afraid to get involved himself taking charge on the scene on many occasions (when not enjoying a malt Scotch whisky). The organisation of CI5 may be a fictitious one but they really sell you on the idea of such a force existing, one that uses uncustomary methods in cracking down on criminal groups. One of the all-time highlights of the show is the intros. The first season features Cowley conducting a test on his men on a trial course (sometimes with a voiceover) that is overwhelmingly exciting. Later seasons featured one singular intro featuring collective clips in a phenomenally energetic manner that really gets the blood pumping. If you could sit still without moving an inch to this magnificent piece, then there is something wrong! I personally, own a boxset that saw an overhaul in visual upscaling that has breathed new life into the show, making it look so much crisper (I've linked a video below comparing such visuals). Equally, there are loads of special features and an inclusion of the original banned episode 'Klansmen'. Overall, The Professionals is an outstanding piece of television and of a British one at that. Fast cars, explosions, gritty, realistic stories, a banter-filled duo and a killer theme. This show is undoubtedly worth watching. There isn't one episode that misses the mark with quality residing in each one.
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