cop shop, first four episodes

So I ripped off the bandaid of mourning for D4 by jumping straight into Cop Shop.

Here, we're heading into terrain I actually personally remember. I was 12 when CS started in 1977 and we watched it in our household, though whether we started from the first episode I don't recall (in fact, I don't recall much). Now, I'm looking at it from the POV of Crawfords having all their police shows cancelled on them in rapid succession (for no particular good reason) and then three years later they start another one up, now with everything they've learned about soap opera laid upon everything they already knew about police/crime shows. It's a good blend of cast members with the old (George Mallaby as a very key figure) and the new (OK, not much of the new, really, so far). The actor who might feel the most jangled by the new show is Rowena Wallace who was the rookie WPC in the final year of D4, all youth and inexperience and idealism, and who is now three years later in CS the bored housewife mother of a 14-year-old (and married to George M's character). 

Peter Adams is the firstnamed actor in the credits, perhaps because his last name starts with 'A', but his JJ is a major character from the outset. Adams had quite a bit of tv presence in the 70s including a lot of petty crim characters in Crawfords shows. One thing I found intriguing was that JJ was generally called 'Double J' in the early episodes, presumably at some point (once the show went to air perhaps?) someone told them about 2JJ in Sydney. 

Double J is an interesting character because he brings elements of the wisecracking vaudeville star and he's also on the make like a British tv comedy character with the bizarre added extra that he does actually succeed, well, he has sex at least once in the first couple of weeks of the show. That's a fine balance - he's a comedy figure, you're not meant to envy him (I don't think so, anyway), it's not women want him men want to be him exactly... hmmm... I'll think about it further. 

Meanwhile, just want to note a marginally interesting element of the first show. The poster for the Saints' I'm Stranded on the wall. 

I continue to be intrigued by the dichotomy between Ed Kuepper's testimony that the Saints never had any profile in Australia and the fact that this kind of thing happened. I admit in and of itself this kind of thing (blink and you miss it promo albeit on a major mainstream show) is probably pretty minor. The fact that they were on big K-Tel style hits compilations in the mid-to-late 70s is more of a challenge to that narrative. But it makes me think. 

Oh also, that picture above with Adams, Mallaby and Tommy Dysart. Dysart is playing an evil gangster and guess what his name is? Dimonicus. Brilliant.

Oh and also also, the storyline in the first couple of episodes features a policeman named Tom Foster (the eminent Peter Sumner) who is bashing gay men trying to find the teacher who seduced his son Gary  (played by Andrew McKaige). It's just sign-of-the-times stuff - Mallaby's character Glenn Taylor tells Tom at the end of the storyline that ultimately he's unlikely to be charged with bashing all those men, and Gary is of the opinion that his teacher shouldn't be blamed for anything because he (Gary) started it. All pretty gross really.

Also #3: This show debuted in November 1977. November?!