The Thin Blue Line
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The Thin Blue Line
In the town of Gasforth, one man must lead his team of detectives against the criminal element. Unfortunately, he also has to deal with squabbling underlings, malfunctioning toilet facilities, idiotic CID men and one very, very sexually frustrated girlfriend. Welcome to the world of Inspector Raymond Fowler, hero of The Thin Blue Line...
The Thin Blue Line takes us to the fictitious but highly unremarkable town of Gasforth, where law and order is inexplicably maintained despite the staggering ineptness of the local police force (the thinness of the "blue line" is neatly balanced by the thickness of most of the officers).
The action takes place in Gasforth's police station, the unruly court of Inspector Raymond C. Fowler – a man so straight-laced and old-fashioned, he'd make Dixon of Dock Green look hip. Fowler is seemingly immune to sexual thoughts, much to the frustration of his girlfriend and colleague Sergeant Patricia Dawkins. Fowler's life is also made difficult by the flabbergastingly thick CID officer Derek Grim (a rival for station supremacy) as well as the accident-prone Constable Kevin Goody, who, despite rivalling Graham Norton in the campness stakes, has a ragingly heterosexual crush on Constable Maggie Habib – one of the rare Gasforth officers with any common sense at all. Unless we count the wily old Trinidadian copper Frank Gladstone – possibly the least PC PC in the business.
What inspired it?
The Thin Blue Line is the brainchild of Ben Elton – the man who had previously worked on such subversive, mold-breaking sitcoms as The Young Ones, Blackadder and Filthy Rich and Catflap. Which is why quite a few eyebrows were raised in 1995 when the king of sweary alternative comedy unveiled the resolutely un-alternative and non-sweary Thin Blue Line.
But, contrary to what many assumed, Elton wasn't going "conventional" for the sake of it. In writing his comic tale of a motley bunch of coppers, Elton was actually paying homage to the cosy sitcoms of the 70s which – despite his own "alternative" credentials – Elton had always loved. Indeed, The Thin Blue Line is a direct homage to Dad's Army, and there are many parallels between the shows.
For example, the rivalry between Fowler and Grim mirrors the frosty relationship between Captain Mainwaring and Warden Hodges. And PC Gladstone's tendency to drone on about his life in Trinidad will remind Dad's Army fans of Lance Corporal Jones's endless tales of the Sudan. Elton even owns up to the connection by including a scene in which Fowler strolls out of a shop called Mainwaring's. (Eagle-eyed viewers should also look out for the "wanted" poster behind Fowler's desk – if the e-fit photo looks familiar, that's because it's of Ben Elton's face.)
Who's in it?
The big stars of The Thin Blue Line are Rowan Atkinson (as Fowler) and James Dreyfus (as Goody), but what of the other bods and sods?
The action takes place in Gasforth's police station, the unruly court of Inspector Raymond C. Fowler – a man so straight-laced and old-fashioned, he'd make Dixon of Dock Green look hip. Fowler is seemingly immune to sexual thoughts, much to the frustration of his girlfriend and colleague Sergeant Patricia Dawkins. Fowler's life is also made difficult by the flabbergastingly thick CID officer Derek Grim (a rival for station supremacy) as well as the accident-prone Constable Kevin Goody, who, despite rivalling Graham Norton in the campness stakes, has a ragingly heterosexual crush on Constable Maggie Habib – one of the rare Gasforth officers with any common sense at all. Unless we count the wily old Trinidadian copper Frank Gladstone – possibly the least PC PC in the business.
What inspired it?
The Thin Blue Line is the brainchild of Ben Elton – the man who had previously worked on such subversive, mold-breaking sitcoms as The Young Ones, Blackadder and Filthy Rich and Catflap. Which is why quite a few eyebrows were raised in 1995 when the king of sweary alternative comedy unveiled the resolutely un-alternative and non-sweary Thin Blue Line.
But, contrary to what many assumed, Elton wasn't going "conventional" for the sake of it. In writing his comic tale of a motley bunch of coppers, Elton was actually paying homage to the cosy sitcoms of the 70s which – despite his own "alternative" credentials – Elton had always loved. Indeed, The Thin Blue Line is a direct homage to Dad's Army, and there are many parallels between the shows.
For example, the rivalry between Fowler and Grim mirrors the frosty relationship between Captain Mainwaring and Warden Hodges. And PC Gladstone's tendency to drone on about his life in Trinidad will remind Dad's Army fans of Lance Corporal Jones's endless tales of the Sudan. Elton even owns up to the connection by including a scene in which Fowler strolls out of a shop called Mainwaring's. (Eagle-eyed viewers should also look out for the "wanted" poster behind Fowler's desk – if the e-fit photo looks familiar, that's because it's of Ben Elton's face.)
Who's in it?
The big stars of The Thin Blue Line are Rowan Atkinson (as Fowler) and James Dreyfus (as Goody), but what of the other bods and sods?
Serena Evans (Sergeant Patricia Dawkins) is a gifted comic actor who for a time was a member of the Comic Strip – the group of influential (and slightly unhinged) comedians which included Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson and French and Saunders. And here's an interesting bit of trivia: Serena happens to be a direct descendant of the great novelist George Eliot – which is really rather cool.
Rudolph Walker (PC Frank Gladstone) is, like his character, originally from Trinidad and Tobego. He's best known nowadays for playing Patrick on EastEnders, but Rudolph has been on our screens for decades. In fact, he was one of the first black actors to have major roles on British telly, and achieved fame in the controversial 70s race relations sitcom, Love Thy Neighbour.
David Haig (DI Derek Grim) is an acclaimed actor particularly known for his Olivier award-winning stage performances. You'll probably recognise him as one of the grooms in Four Weddings and a Funeral, and he'll soon be starring as Rudyard Kipling in a TV adaptation of his own play My Boy Jack (which will also star Kim Cattrall and Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe).
Mina Anwar (PC Maggie Habib) was most recently seen playing Ravinder in Coronation Street, but her varied career has encompassed Holby City, Doctors and The Bill. Rather impressively, she's also a trained opera singer and once ran a company marketing a line of special lingerie containing secret pockets for storing condoms!
Kevin Allen (DC Robert Kray) is a member of the famous Allen clan – his brother is Keith Allen and his niece is Lily. Having started out as an actor (appearing in everything from Bottom to Trainspotting), he's since become a top director. His films include Twin Town (aka the "Welsh Trainspotting") and the Hollywood romp Agent Cody Banks 2.
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