We’re havin’ hoops! Robert Fairclough takes an inside look at the ’70s lawman beating up the wrong guy...
From Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court to the Hot Tub Time Machine films, marooning characters from one era in another, usually more primitive one has been a popular staple of science fiction, fantasy and comedy. In 1992, The Comic Strip spoof Detectives On The Edge Of A Nervous Breakdown went the other way: “Shouting George of The Weeney” – a spoof of womanising, fist-throwing, alcohol-fuelled Flying Squad Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) from The Sweeney, 1975-78) – was brought out of retirement, the show relishing stranding him in a 1990s London lacking derelict warehouses, car chases and shouting.
Eight years later, three TV professionals descended on Blackpool for a Sweeney-esque, boozy weekend of chip suppers to brainstorm ideas for new television dramas. “Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharaoh and myself were sent away by [the production company] Kudos,” writer Matthew Graham tells SFX. “We realised that we were all a bit bored with police shows. Tony had done a series called City Central, which was a fairly traditional cop show… Inspector Morse and A Touch Of Frost were really good, but they weren’t naturally our thing. As a result, we all agreed The Sweeney was great and said, ‘Let’s do that!’
Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av SFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av SFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Making Alien - Jaws in Space - Forty-five years on from its original release, Alien continues to terrify. We dissect what arguably remains the most chilling instalment in the saga
The seven-strong crew of the commercial mining spacecraft the Nostromo seal their fate after reluctantly responding to a mysterious distress signal on a hostile planet. Here, a face-hugging alien from a derelict ship impregnates and later kills executive officer Kane (John Hurt) after its offspring is birthed onboard. After being unleashed, the fearsome newborn with acid for blood proceeds to dispatch the remainder of the crew.Ridley Scott's much more convoluted prequels have yet to reveal how the knowledge that led to this initial interception was acquired. However, the premise of the original Alien is perfect in its uncomplicated purity.
PURE AND SIMPLE
IN THE FINAL PART OF OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, SHOWRUNNER RUSSELL T DAVIES TALKS RELAUNCHING DOCTOR WHO
TO CAP IT ALL OFF
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE BBC SERIES THE TRIPODS
FRENCH REVOLUTION
THE WALKING DEAD SPIN-OFF SHOWRUNNER DAVID ZABEL ON BEING GIVEN THE TOUGH TASK OF REUNITING DARYL AND CAROL IN FRANCE
SILENT KILLERS
THE DIRECTOR OF HOLLYWOOD'S SPEAK NO EVIL REMAKE ON HORROR, COMEDY AND JAMES MCAVOY
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
THE GHOST WITH THE MOST RETURNS FINALLY - IN BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
TEENAGE DREAM
JOE LOCKE HITS THE ROAD RUNNING
MOB RULE THE PENGUIN
GOTHAM'S UP FOR GRABS IN BRUISING NEW CRIME SAGA BUT WHERE IS THE BATMAN?
SEASON OF THE WITCH
AS MARVEL TELEVISION CARVES OUT A NEW PATH FOR ITSELF, WE SPEAK TO CREATOR JAC SCHAEFFER, PLUS A CAST OF STARS LED BY KATHRYN HAHN AND JOE LOCKE, ABOUT THE MAGIC OF WANDAVISION'S SPIN-OFF AGATHA ALL ALONG
Ghouls Allowed
Even silence can't save you at this year's Halloween Horror Nights