User Reviews

The Professionals was penned by a host of different writers. Sometimes at its worst it could be ho-hum hokum but some episodes, perhaps no accident, were good in everything. A good story with good parts for the regulars perhaps motivated everyone and this episode is a belter in all respects - and the edgiest of the entire run. Indeed some parts of plot and script would grace a feature film. The episode throws out the convention of the duo being bullet-proof. It also throws out the macho convention that men do the shooting and women make the coffee or that if the baddie is a woman she has the look of an East German female athlete. The cunning agile baddie here is fanatical, very homicidal, small and looks rather sweet. Also it cleverly inverts the usual relationship between the duo and the baddie.

This episode is edgy in other ways - Cowley, man of moral certainties who deals with people has to deal with amoral Ministerial real-politik from a man who deals with policies. Perhaps the crowning even savagely cynical real-politik is though from the killer's sponsors at the end. It has has a whiff of reality.

Finally the story gives the duo also probably their strongest parts - and perhaps the best payoff line.

As with many stories from the final season, this one attempts to do something a bit different, and ends up being a memorable and highly-unusual episode.

It starts off at straightforwardly enough - Bodie and Doyle on the trail of an eastern terror group intent on planting a bomb in London, and coming close to apprehending the suspects.

But, when a defenseless Doyle is shot at point-blank range by an unseen assassin in his own apartment, the plot takes a turn and the race is on - not only for Doyle's would-be assassin, but for the hope that his life can be saved as he lies in intensive care, seemingly on the brink of life and death.

This turns out to be a very atmospheric story - the flashbacks from Doyle being particularly poignant and effective. Bodie's concern for his partner is convincingly portrayed by Lewis Collins too - desperate for him to pull through, and to track down those responsible.

It makes for an edgy and intriguing episode, and the dream sequences add a unique and uncomfortable atmosphere, shot through a fish-eye type lens to emphasize their other worldliness.

A good, strong episode that dares to do something a bit different with the usual formula, and leaves a lasting impression.

An interesting episode for The Professionals towards the end of the show's run. A change of direction allows the viewer to see Bodie and Doyle from a different angle.

Doyle is shot by an unknown assailant and lies in hospital fighting for his life. At the same time, Bodie and Cowley are trying to work out who the attacker is before they strike again.

A large chunk of the show comes from within Doyle's mind, in a series of ghostly sequences, as he talks with both Bodie and Cowley in different imagined locations, the suggestion being that he is trying to work out whether to live or die. We know the end result because there's still more episodes to be filmed, but we see the imaginary Bodie and Cowley give Doyle reasons to live whilst he argues the case for himself to just give up. If you don't already know that Doyle is very tough on himself, you will do after this episode.

Back in the real world, a rather ambiguous link gives Bodie a clue as to who shot Doyle and who the next intended target is. Bodie is even more driven than normal with his pal fighting for his life in hospital, whilst Cowley deals with the politics of the situation and many will assume this fictional story has more than a sliver of truth to it.

Cowley reads a poem called 'Desiderata' by Max Ehrmann that he finds in Doyle's flat, a work that provides worthwhile views on how to live life and a big insight into Doyle's outlook. Cowley also calls Doyle 'an idealist' but then tempers his comment by saying 'as much as he can be in this job'. Perhaps Doyle is in the wrong job or perhaps it makes him the perfect contrast to Bodie's blunt force?

It was probably a shock in the early 1980s when the assailant was identified. Many would have been expecting someone totally different. As a then ten year old, I'd have probably found it unfathomable. Interestingly, this unusual assailant is given an acceptable reason to hold grievances but the show asks if it is justice or revenge they're seeking?

Not one of my favourite episodes because I like my Professionals chasing after the bad guys in the Ford Capri and winning the shoot outs, with Cowley barking orders. There's a little bit of the latter here but, basically, this episode gives us a deeper insight into Ray Doyle as a character, as well as showing tough guy Bodie is genuinely worried for his partner.