The Professionals

 The Professionals

Best dramatic opening TV sequence ever ( In my opinion)

Fantastic prog - great hair and nice cars . You can't beat that Lewis Collins look
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Collins

What makes you think I'm a Professionals Fan?
Ah yes them two lads I have err what's their names?
 
 
Action Bodie and Action Doyle.


I wonder who did the flocking on them?

I have been watching The Professionals episodes from scratch since September or October last year.  Still a terrific show and moves at a rollicking pace.  Plotlines are intriguing, too, which is what most people, including critics, don't seem to remember, dismissing the show as a dated and violent mess .
Just finished watching Kickback, the last of the episodes filmed in early 1980.  An entertaining, all-action affair with Bodie being doublecrossed by an old SAS war buddy.  There's a great stunt involving a helicopter and a bad guy's car, followed by a shootout / fistfight inside a disused warehouse.  Lewis Collins ruled!

Right *rubs hands gleefully* where do I start. For anyone that knows me from the Lounge you will know I have been a fan since I was 5yrs, I was allowed to stay up late on a Friday to watch it!
I love everything about it from the opening titles and fantastic theme tune to the humour and banter between Bodie and Doyle (and sometimes Cowley), to the gun fights and the car chases, not to mention the delectable Lewis Collins!
Unfortunately some of the episodes aren't as strong as others IMO, my favourite being Mixed Doubles and my least favourite being The Gun, but never-the-less all episodes are something that I would recommend to anyone to buy. I think it's great that ITV4 are showing them (with the exception of Klansman which has never been shown in Britain) however I do have issues with the fact that they chop them to fit the adverts in, the chopped bits are usually none relevant bits but I feel the episodes are in some cases the poorer for it. Any first time viewer tends to miss out on the humourous one liners because ITV4 simply don't have time to keep them in.
So if you like non-pc and your men to be men, The Professionals is for you! 

Excellent summery of the show BG

Being such a fan of the show for so many years have you ever got to meet any of the cast and have you collected any interesting memorabilia from the show?

And whatever happened to Lewis Collins...Its a shame he's not acting anymore.

Are any of the series out on DVD?

I'm a recent convert to the Pros, relatively speaking - I've been a fan for about 10 months! I have the DVD box set and watch them all in order over and over again (three or four a week sort of pace), and I have to say that it's a brilliant series and much better than most things you see on TV today (e.g. Spooks - though I do love Spooks, but it's inferior to the Pros in many ways!). Proper stories to get your teeth into, a well developed team of main characters with convincing and excellently acted relationships, hundreds of 'Ooh, that was so-and-so from thingy' guest stars, plenty of action, and not a single shaky camera 'this is what it would really look like if you were running' shot in sight. Perfect viewing!
People sometimes complain that it was too violent, or that it undermined women, and so on - but it was of its time, and it was real entertainment. None of your reality nonsense here!
P.S. If you want to buy the DVDs of the Professionals, have a look at this thread over on the Professionals TV Lounge:
http://www.thetvlounge.co.uk/professionals/viewtopic.php?t=173

Thanks for the heads up on the DVD set. I've just ordered the complete set.

Excellent summery of the show BGBeing such a fan of the show for so many years have you ever got to meet any of the cast and have you collected any interesting memorabilia from the show?
And whatever happened to Lewis Collins...Its a shame he's not acting anymore.

-action-burt1

Thanks AB. Have I ever got to meet any of the cast? Well I wish is the answer to that I'm sad to say. Had I been an adult in the 70's 80's I'm sure I would have got myself down to London PDQ, however the nearest I've been to anything Pro's related was about a month back on a trip to London where there is a Pro's shin dig every year in the pub used in the FallGirl episode, which was great btw.

As for Lewis Collins he's in America where his wife owns a Montessori school (at least I think it's Montessori - maybe Rochvelleth can put me right on that). According to his British agent he's still offered parts but they have to fit in with other commitments, as i'm pretty sure at one point he owned or maybe still does own a computer business. All I know is it's a crying shame that he's not on stage or screen anymore (his most recent being in an episode of The Bill in 2002) as IMO he's a damned fine actor.
On the memorabilia front, unfortunately I haven't anything from childhood even though I had the annuals and some books and posters and a CI5 agents kit type thing which had a replica gun, an I.D card and some handcuffs IIRC. 

Another Pros fan here. Was an impressionable teenager when it started and still love watching the DVDs.

Woo Hoo my DVD's have just arrived, now for some serious Professionals Watching.

Loved the proffesionals,the music at the begining and those cars especially the capri.
many a time i could be found rolling around the floor when this came on pretending i had a shooter and poppin the bad guys,until one day when the roll went to far and ended up smashing the glass in the china cabinet.

Watched the first episode last night. Funny thing is that's the first time I've seen in in however many years and I still remember it exactly as though it were only yesterday (oh it WAS only yesterday )

The Professionals Documentary.

Part 1

Part 2



Part 3

I first saw that Pros documentary in 1996.  It must have been in the Easter hols.  The week before, they did one on Starsky & Hutch.  That was a good one.  Soul, Glaser, Bernie Hamilton (RIP) and Antonio Fargas were all interviewed.  There was a bit about the show's violence and they even produced a tabloid piece from '77 which had the headline, 'do you know what your kids watch every Saturday night?' David Soul's intelligent response was that S&H wasn't graphic at all and more violent programmes are being made today which is true.
I taped the Pros one and my brother saw some of it.  He said he thought the lads' hairstyles were weird.  That was the '70s for you, pal.

Woo Hoo my DVD's have just arrived, now for some serious Professionals Watching. [image]

-gene-hunt

Here is a little tester for my new competition coming soon
The Price is Right
This is taken from a early 80's Argos Catalogue...



Check out the top right hand corner...

6 Thomas Salter  "Professionals"  Action Pack. Includes revolver, holster and belt, plus rub-down transfers to complete action scene on box.
 
 





How much was it ???

great stuff mike.if you take a look at the evel knievel bike you will see that the bike and figure is not the original,the box stayed the same for a while,this was due to the fact that evel was dropped by ideal toys for his arrest for the assult on a reporter who he battered with a base ball bat.
 
They changed it to team america later.it didnt last to long after that as they were just using up the packaging.
 
They felt they could not continue with him as it would show a bad example to children,even though he revitilised the toy industry and saved ideal toy corp by selling over $100 million of merchandise.....UNGRATEFULL B******S.

I uploaded this clip of The Pros recently.  Taken from the excellent series 4 episode MIXED DOUBLES.  Enjoy!