User Reviews

In the 1976 episode of The Sweeney titled "Selected Target", Lee Montague's role is that of Colly Kibber, the same name as the murdered journalist and central character in the 1947 classic prototype British gangster film "Brighton Rock". In Graham Green's original novel this character was named Colley Cibber, after the 18th Century English actor/playwright. Some inexperienced script assistants on the '47 film mis-spelled the name with Ks instead of Cs. Now that The Sweeney is out on DVD it would seem that the spelling error has been perpetuated, at least in part, for almost 60 years to a whole new generation of viewers. It seems a nice compromise between putting the spelling back to what it should have been, while paying tribute to one of the great British thrillers.

In the same episode, Ronald Fraser's character and "Colly Kibber's" partner in crime, is called "Titus Oates", named for the 17th Century perjurer, traitor and sodomite and the man voted "The worst Briton of the 17th Century" and "The third worst Briton of all time" behind Jack The Ripper and British Nazi leader Oswald Moseley.

"Selected Target" is a highly enjoyable and very cleverly plotted episode from The Sweeney's 3rd season.

With so much going on in THE SWEENEY season three's kickoff SELECTED TARGET... including two veteran criminal cellmates feigning a last-minute spat when they're really teaming for a big score outside... happens in the 11th hour as Dennis Waterman's affable young Sgt. Carter winds up in a seemingly mild suburban house to get secondhand information from Maureen Lipman's Mrs. Smedley, a possible swinger dressed in bright counter-culture colors and stealing the show outright...

Crime-wise TARGET is a bit of a let-down but does feature the more outright-gorgeous starlet Judy Matheson as a sexy yet pouting moll of the leader, Lee Montague, with more screen-time than moon-faced partner Ronald Coleman in an episode with some memorable action including a gang in motorcycle helmets literally crashing a hotel that, except for that inevitable suburban home, is where much of the sparse, pulpy plot-line takes place.