#Peter Litten

[pierppasolini]

Slaughter High (1986) // dir. George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter Litten

[moviesandmania]

LIVING DOLL Obsessive love for a rotting corpse - reviews and trailer

‘Wanted dead or alive…’ Living Doll is a 1990 horror film about a shy morgue worker who falls in love with a young woman who is then accidentally killed. But he doesn’t let that stop his obsession. Directed by George Dugdale and Peter Litten (Slaughter High) from a screenplay by Dugdale, Mark Ezra and [uncredited] Bob Greenberg based on a story by Paul Hart-Wilden. Produced by Dick Randall…

[80shorrorfilmedits]

SLAUGHTER HIGH (1986) dir. Mark Ezra, George Dugdale, Peter Mackenzie Litten

[videomessiah]

Living Doll (1990)

[astralbondpro]

Slaughter High (1986) // Dir. George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Mackenzie Litten

[forensicated]

01x02 - A Friend In Need

This episode (and the one after) was shown out of sequence when it first aired (unless you lived in London). This is because of a Technician's strike against Thames TV. It was shown after The Sweet Smell Of Failure (London aired a Minder repeat in the same time slot for those 2 weeks)

(This appears to be before they used the Isle Of Dogs area as Canley when showing maps.)

Superintendent Brownlow asks Roy for his opinion on 3 recent bomb hoax phone calls. Roy believes they're pranks, however, the Commissioner and Home Office are both applying pressure on Charles to treat them as potential terrorism; especially as two of them were made to Jewish restaurants.

Roy is reluctant to step on Bob's toes as he has been investigating them since they began. Charles assures him it's no reflection on Bob, it just needs to be seen - by the higher-ups - like it's being taken seriously hence a Detective Inspector over a Uniform Sgt. Charles is also aware Bob has had a heavy workload of late and that he has a graduate probationer, PC Higgins, attached to him. 

Roy smirks and is told off by Charles for his refusal to have Higgins in CID for a few weeks, warning him that Higgins could be his governor in 10 years given the accelerated promotion his 'type' are getting. ('Type' being university graduates but the obvious disdain in both men to this thought is wonderful!). "I don't care how you do it but get it done."

Also unimpressed with the graduate is probationer Jim who tells him he just had to watch and listen in his first week. "But with you of course it'll be different. Work experience I suppose." The well-spoken Higgins agrees, telling the gathered officers that he'll be attached to an outer division for the next week and then to Police College for a few years. "And then come back as Sgt I suppose" June drawls. "Destined for high places are we?" Taffy laughs. "That's the theory."

Jim tells Higgins that he's lucky he's been placed with June as she's a good copper and 'one of the best'. June is visibly unsettled by her ex Dave Litten approaching them. She tells him to go and "park his arse" at Ted Roach's table rather than squeeze onto theirs. Taffy and Jim tell Higgins that it's something he's going to have to get used to. "If it's not Ackland Vs Litten it's Galloway Vs The Rest Of The World." 

Unmoved, Dave asks "Henry Higgins." ("It's Derek actually...") what he thinks of Sun Hill. He thinks it's quiet for an East End station and he expected more to be going on 'outside'. The officers explain it's not always like this and to treat it as the lull before the storm. They joke that they wouldn't be surprised if Roy had made the hoax calls himself to keep them on their toes. Dave tells them he's already had a run-in with him that morning, muttering about something. Higgins asks if that's what Roy is usually like and, sensing a wind-up, Taffy tells him: "No, not really. Nice quiet chap when you get to know him. You can always knock on his door and ask for a quiet cosy little chat. Very accessible. Especially towards the uniform branch. Father figure you might say."

"Father Figure" Roy is tearing into Bob after reading the file on the hoax calls and accuses him of cocking it up. "You don't bloody listen, do you? You're as pigheaded as ever!" Bob shouts back, warning him they need to be tactful and can't just crash bang wallop into it. Ted and Mike are hilariously making no secret that they're enjoying the show when Roy slams the door to his office. Roy snaps that it's just a prank and claims Bob has inflamed the situation by treating it with kid gloves and in doing so Bob has got no MO and no leads. Bob points out that he's been rostered on the early turn when none of the owners are available. He's bound by procedure and he has to treat each call as real and can't take shortcuts. He reminds Roy that Uniform don't have the luxury of getting cases passed up half worked on with evidence and lines of inquiry found like Roy and CID do. "Don't worry Sarge, the CID - as usual - will sort it all out. Know what I mean?" Bob warns him that when he falls from his high horse and needs help, no one will lift a finger, least of all him. "Get the violins, Robert." He snaps before the men place a bet on Roy cracking the case within 2 weeks.

A fourth call has come through, this time to a Greek restaurant. Tom Penny speaks to the owner and asks him if he's positive it's a hoax. The caller says they've cleared the restaurant and searched it. Tom tells him to double-check thoroughly to make sure. (Cor, imagine doing that now! I was even surprised when they had staff involved in searching the cinema with them in episode 143 but I can imagine that was partly due to having the person who was placing bombs involved in the search). He warns them not to touch anything suspicious and that they'll send the bomb car over. He then arranges for CID to be informed.

Mike tries his hardest to speak to men who mostly only understand Greek and want to go home that Roy is on his way and that no one can leave. Ted is... Ted. ❤ He only stops eating when Roy appears.

Ted tells him it's the same as all the others and that nothing has been found. Roy tells him he can leave and take Mike and uniform with him as he and Dimitri - an old friend - are going to go over everything. "Even if it takes all night."

"Your public is waiting for you out there, God help them!" Bob dismisses uniform from the briefing, placing Higgins and Jim together. Jim hasn't learnt all the bad habits of the others yet so he is partnering them together despite Jim being a probationer himself.

Mike and Ted are in bright and early to continue working on their cases. They're very amused that, come 9.20am, there's still no sign of Roy, nor did he write anything in the book about the case. He finally makes an appearance a few minutes later - paler than usual which is quite some doing.

Mike goes to make him a black coffee whilst Ted finishes dressing him, warns him to take water with his Ouzo and the boys try to find their boss some aspirin to dull his whimpers.

"The things I do for this job." Roy pouts before telling Ted he's found the specific phone box the calls came from as there are roadworks audible in all the phone calls and it's the only one that has had roadworks happening nearby all week. He suspects it's a way for 2 men to avoid paying their bills when eating out by getting a friend to ring and make a bomb threat. Through his investigation, Roy has found 2 men in particular who requested the bill at each restaurant just before the threats came in and they had to evacuate. Being the 80's, there's no one at BT to speak to over the weekend so Roy tells Mike and Ted to visit every local eatery to ask them to keep their eye out for 2 men making large orders and behaving suspiciously. He wants them to call the station so that officers can catch those responsible.

Roy tries to relieve his hangover by dunking his face in cold water much to Bob's amusement. Bob mocks him and his 'for the sake of the job' excuse and says he has no sympathy for him. He does however help him locate the towel dispenser when Roy misses it by a mile and almost faceplants into the wall... even if it is empty!

Mr Rutherford arrives at the station and insists on speaking to Roy about the bomb hoaxes. He gets riled when Rutherford implies that the police aren't doing much and directs him to "the thirteenth hole at the golf club" to speak to Brownlow.

The two men [one being Perry Fenwick] in question for the bomb hoaxes speak to their 'friend', a gullible magazine seller on the high street. He is oblivious that he's being set up to take the wrap should the police become involved. They slip him a few quid and ask him to make a call to a Chinese restaurant at approximately 2.30pm.

Roy takes his mood out on uniform by reading through the report book, first bollocking Taffy to redo his crime reports, then telling Bob he wants to see Hollis. As he does, a frequent flyer drunk called Lampton tries to make a donation to the police widows and orphans. "Charity, Dear Sgt, begins at home. And I'm beginning to feel like I live here." "I think I'll stick to vimto..." Higgins remarks after seeing Lampton out. "Me too!" Jim adds - if only you did, Jim!

Lampton finishes his bottle and places it in the gutter. Jim asks Taffy if he's nearly finished as there's only 5 minutes left. Taffy says he'll be 15 minutes and to get him a drink and he'll meet him at the pub. (The barmaid, Sadie, guests in several episodes over series 1 to 4. Cheryl Hall who goes on to play Smithy's mum. If only she'd been called Sadie and not Pauline it could have been a nice nod 😉) By the time Sadie serves Jim, they've already been paid for by Lampton. When he arrives, Taffy is horrified that Lampton brought them drinks and tells Jim they're leaving. Sadie asks Jim to remove Lampton, claiming he's his responsibility as he's drinking with him. Taffy explains it's a disciplinary offense to associate with a criminal on bail and they need to leave before the drink is misconstrued as a bribe. Jim feels bad but Taffy says Jim can do what he wants but he's not losing his job for a drunk. Jim wrestles Lampton out and tries to take him home.

At the Chinese restaurant, the suspects have arrived and work their way through the menu. At 2.15pm the older one asks for the menu again. The younger one groans and says he only wants a coffee as he's full up. Just after half 2, their friend makes it to the call box but the phone line has been cut. He hurries into a nearby shop to make a call. The shop assistant asks what he's doing, startling him. He runs off before he can end the call, leading to the assistant speaking to the person on the other end. Now sure of what is happening, the owner of the restaurant gestures to a waiter who alerts the other staff. Panicking, the older suspect shouts out that there's a bomb and there's a stampede of people to leave the restaurant, causing people to get hurt. The chefs leave the kitchen, entering the main room with huge machetes, looking for the suspects!

Outside Jim is trying to escort Lampton home as people scream and run from the restaurant. He has to leave Lampton - who drops his wallet in the confusion and runs over to take charge. At the station Tom and Reg are sorting the ambulance and police response to the restaurant. "[The staff] have caught the bomb hoax pair..." Reg smirks when he's asked for another ambulance. Roy hurries to the scene and congratulates Jim, telling him the two suspects will live - just - after their run in with the staff.

The next morning, Bob asks for volunteers to take Higgins out for his final shift...

No one volunteers so Bob asks Higgins who he wants to go out with and he replies, "With the hero of the moment, Sergeant. Carver." Unfortunately for Jim however, Lampton is in the front office to make a complaint, alleging that Jim has stolen his wallet.

Roy is in a buoyant mood which doesn't dim even when catching up on station gossip. "All that good work gone to waste." he sighs before laughing at Bob calling the Chief Super in on a Sunday. Bob explains he's hoping Lampton will come to his senses when he realises the importance of what he's accusing Jim of before it can go any further. Roy tells Bob that he knows where he is if there's anything he can do. "Esprit de corps." (Team moral) Bob sighs.

Brownlow reminds Lampton he was "under the weather' when he left the station and that he could have misplaced the wallet. Lampton insists he had it when he left and in the pub only for it to be gone when he returned home. "Who else could it have been? He took me home - why should he do that?" No good deed goes unpunished, JimJim. Lampton asks Charles what happens now - will the police sub him as he needs 'groceries' (ha!) Charles tells him he's jumping the gun and that he needs to speak to Jim and uniform. If he's satisfied there's a crime then he'll call in CIB.

No one believes Jim is guilty other than Lampton but it has to be looked into. Bob gives Jim a subtle heads-up whilst Taffy speaks to Brownlow. "It's not what you've done, it's what they think you've done!" Bob is more disappointed than anything, telling Jim he keeps making stupid mistakes and that he's a policeman, not a social worker. Jim is near tears, telling Bob that he's never taken anything from anyone in his life. He admits he felt sorry for Lampton because he has a problem. Bob tells him he's not the only one with a problem and sighs, telling him he's stupid enough to do it again.

Ted and Mike discuss Jim and they watch Taffy enter the canteen. Ted tells Mike that Taffy might be up for disciplinary if the Chief Super sticks to the book. Ted teases Taffy by calling him a 'Scab' (Taffy had swerved the uniform group staring silently at him and moved to sit alone before Ted spoke) and asks what happened. Taffy sighs and admits that each time he opened his mouth he seemed to drop Jim further in it. Charles had asked if Jim had ever mentioned being short of money. "Oh god..." Mike sighs.

Higgins is annoyed at being called in too as he wants nothing to do with it. "It's not going to do my career any good." "Right born leader of men you are." June drawls. Roy asks Bob how things are going and Bob admits the Super thinks Lampton is trying it on. As they chat an elderly lady makes a fuss at the front desk. Bob asks her to wait and then when she continues to complain he asks Higgins to deal with her. Lucky for Jim she's very honest. She's handing in Lampton's wallet! Bob has to pay up on the bet after Roy cracked the case in well under a fortnight. However, instead of keeping the money, Roy hands it to Jim and tells him to create a hamper of food for the lady who handed the wallet in. "She won't get a reward from Lampton will she and she's not got two pennies to rub together." Bob is absolutely gobsmacked at Roy's generosity. "I never thought I'd see the day, Detective Inspector Roy Galloway - Social Worker?" "Oh piss off!" Roy scoffs and hurries to the safety of his office.

[gatutor]

Caroline Munro "El día de los inocentes" (Slaughter high) 1985, de George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter Mackenzie Litten.

[classicfilmpunk]

Living Doll (1990) dir. Peter Mackenzie Litten, George Dugdale

[doubtfultaste]

Slaughter High (1986) dir. Mark Ezra, George Dugdale, Peter Mackenzie Litten

[lonelybeholding]

The Start(ers) (Continued)

[Video begins]

[Peter and Elias are outside of the professor's house/lab, settled on a log-bench along the seafront. Their new partners are sat next to them on the sands.]

"Hey little one, what should I name you?"

[Peter is lightly scratching behind the Litten's ears, and it purrs lightly as he continues.]

"Hmm. How about Socks? That seems like a nice name for a nice little guy like you." [Peter smiles softly as the Litten perks up and bops his hand, seemingly in affirmation.]

"I'm glad you like it. Hey Elias, do you have any names in mind for your friend?"

[Elias doesn't register Peter's words, continuing to space out.]

"Y'know, you've been awfully quite since you left, and I'm not sure why. You were fine with the Pokemon, I haven't done anything as far as I know, and the professor was ni— wait. No way."

[Elias turns away from Peter, refusing to look him in the eyes.]

"Really!? Him? That's you—"

"Peter, shut up!"

[Peter is unable to respond, due to having fallen off of the log from laughter alone.]

"Peter, it's not funny! Peter!"

[Video ends]

[scotianostra]

The Scottish actor and director Kenny Ireland passed away ten years ago, on July 31st 2014.

Born as George Ian Kenneth Ireland in Paisley, Renfrewshire, the son of Ian, an RAF bomber pilot who was killed on a secret mission when Ireland was five months old, and Elizabeth (nee Cowie). On leaving Paisley grammar school, he worked as an apprentice at the town’s thread manufacturer, J&P Coats. However, his ambition was to act and he eventually left to train at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Then, as an actor and assistant director, he helped to establish the Lyceum Youth theatre in Edinburgh.

He made his West End acting debut in Mr Laurel and Mr Hardy (Mayfair theatre, 1976) after the Traverse theatre Company’s Edinburgh production transferred to London. He was then a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before work at the National Theatre, where he was Apollo in Peter Hall’s production of The Oresteia, and the Old Major and Pilkington in Animal Farm. By then, he was himself directing at the Traverse theatre.Ireland first appeared on television as an Edinburgh bank manager in an episode of the police drama Strangers. In between many other one-off roles, he played Sammy, alongside Simon Cadell and Carol Royle, in the first series of the sitcom Life Without George and the thuggish American media tycoon Ben Landless in the political drama House of Cards. He was also one of the regular group of actors in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, best remembered in blue dungarees and cap as the handyman Derek in the much-loved Acorn Antiques sketches, which lampooned the soap opera Crossroads. “

In the cinema, Ireland was in the Scottish film comedy Local Hero, directed by last week’s birthday boy, Bill Forsyth, other films included The Big Man, but it was TV that we mainly say Kenny in appearances in Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Enemy at the Door, Taggart, Dempsey and Makepeace, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Rab C Nesbit, Hamish Macbeth and many more saw that he was kept busy and the bills were paid between many theatre appearances as well as at stint as artistic director of the Royal Lyceum theatre, Edinburgh from 1993 to 2003.

Of course Kenny is best remembered for is role in Derren Litten’s Benidorm, which became an instant hit. Alongside actress Janine Duvitski, the pair played a sex-mad couple who frequent the Solana hotel in the Spanish resort every year.

It wasn’t an easy role for the mild mannered Ireland, he recalled “Half the things I don’t understand, There was one episode where I had to say, ‘Jacqueline prefers the sausage in cider.’ I said, ‘What’s funny about that?’ and had to have it explained to me. I’ve always taken the line that they’re complete innocents.

Ireland’s first marriage, to the writer, producer and director Marilyn Imrie, ended in divorce. In 1980, he married the theatrical agent Meg Poole

Kenny Ireland passed away on this day 2014 a month after it was announced he had brain cancer.

[pierppasolini]

Slaughter High (1986) // dir. George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter Litten

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 6

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “I did not know the bank was being robbed because I was engaged in my sworn duty as a police officer.”

Number 6 is…Inspector Clouseau, from The Pink Panther.

It is difficult to say where the trope of the “Bumbling Detective” began. Some would point to the various Scotland Yard officers in the Sherlock Holmes stories…although, to be fair, in many of THEIR cases, they weren’t so much total idiots in the books, so much as just constrained by their inability to look beyond what they saw, so to speak. One character who I think doesn’t get enough credit for the beginning is Inspector Fix from “Around the World in 80 Days,” who felt like a more slow-witted Inspector Javert. There are probably still other characters one could credit for the concept…BUT, regardless of where it all began, I would venture to say that the concept reached its absolute zenith with the creation of this guy: Inspector Jacques Clouseau.

Originally played by Peter Sellers, Inspector Clouseau is the quintessential bungling Inspector. Speaking with an over-the-top French accent (which grew increasingly more cartoonish as the films went on), he is a clumsy buffoon, completely oblivious to his own ineptitude as a police officer. In the first film, Clouseau was actually a case of a Heroic Antagonist, depicted as an honest (but thoroughly stupid) detective, trying to apprehend his arch-nemesis: a mysterious jewel robber known simply as The Phantom. At the end of the film, the Phantom – a.k.a. Charles Litten – and his allies defeated the bungling clod by framing him as the true culprit. This was not the end for the Inspector, as he somehow was able to clear his name, and would continue to have a life in many other films in the “Pink Panther” film series. For those who don’t know, the actual Pink Panther is a pink diamond, not the cartoon character, who was more of a mascot for these movies, and became popular in theatrical cartoons that came later…but I digress.

Whenever I think of comical and incompetent detectives, Clouseau is the first character I think of. And, in a way, out of all the doofus detectives in the world…Clouseau is actually the closest to BEING competent you may find. Make no mistake, he SUCKS as a sleuth, but what’s interesting is that, in most of the movies, Clouseau still manages to win! He’s able to catch the criminals, whoever they are, and escape without much of a scratch. He’s also, despite his inherent clumsiness, surprisingly skilled in martial arts, although he rarely uses this fact to great advantage. A lot of this is because of Clouseau’s single greatest character trait, in my opinion: he follows a code that his creator – Blake Edwards – called “The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Give Up.” Clouseau’s greatest strength, AND his greatest weakness, is that he is ALWAYS very confident in his own feelings and decisions. If he feels somebody is honest, absolutely NOTHING will convince him otherwise, no matter how high the decked is stacked against that fact. Similarly, if he feels he can handle a situation, no matter how ludicrous or perilous, nothing will stop him from doing it. This gets him into a LOT of trouble, as you can imagine, as he seems totally shocked when people who very obviously despise or distrust him cause trouble for him, and he is always startled by his own slapstick buffoonery. But at the same time, on many occasions, his instincts about what is going on and who is or is not responsible for a crime DO turn out to be correct.

While Sellers absolutely made the character, there have been other attempts to portray Clouseau since. The most successful, in my opinion, was a cartoon series called “The Inspector”: the title character was never CALLED Clouseau, by name, but the series was made by the same people (and apparently in the same universe) as the Pink Panther cartoons of the time, and it’s pretty darn obvious that’s who he is. I also have a personal soft spot for the first of the Steve Martin “Pink Panther” reboot films, even though I’ll acknowledge it isn’t that great. I actually initially wanted to put Clouseau in the Top 5, but after revisiting some of the Pink Panther movies, I no longer felt that was entirely fair. For one thing, his incompetence DOES have to be taken into consideration: he still counts for the list, but he’s obviously NOT a good detective in the truest sense. For another, the other detectives above him have all, in my opinion, weathered the test of time much better than Clouseau has: they have survived through numerous incarnations, and even a lot of the older stuff with them still holds up today. The Peter Sellers films have some rather dated bits of humor that haven’t aged well (though I should point out the majority of the jokes DO still hold up), and aside from the aforementioned cartoon series, most takes on Clouseau that AREN’T Sellers just haven't been quite as grand. So I think it’s unfair to place him TOO high. But, for being by far the most iconic COMEDY detective – at least in my mind – Inspector Clouseau still gets a big thumbs-up from me. A pity he gets a thumbs-down from anyone with half with a brain. (I’m certain he only has about a quarter.)

Tomorrow, the countdown enters the Top 5!

CLUE: “Let's vote on it: mystery, or pizza pie?"

[brokehorrorfan]

Rawhead Rex will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on February 21 via Kino Lorber. Sean Phillips designed the cover art for the 1986 monster movie; the original poster is on the reverse side.

Based on the short story by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Candyman), George Pavlou directs from a script by Barker. David Dukes, Kelly Piper, Niall Tóibín, Cora Venus Lunny, Ronan Wilmot, Donal McCann, and Heinrich von Bünau star.

Rawhead Rex was restored in 4K from the original camera negative in 2017 and features new Dolby Vision HDR with 5.1 surround and lossless 2.0 audio. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Audio commentary with director George Pavlou, moderated by author Stephen Thrower

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary with director George Pavlou, moderated by author Stephen Thrower

Interview with Rawhead Rex actor Heinrich von Bünau

Interview with actors Hugh O'Conor and Cora Venus Lunny

Interview with actor Ronan Wilmot

Interviews with crew members Gerry Johnston, Peter Mackenzie Litten, John Schoonraad, Rosie Blackmore, and Sean Corcoran

Interview with artist Stephen R. Bissette

Behind-the-scenes and original art image gallery

Theatrical trailer

Rawhead Rex is a demon, alive for millennia, trapped in the depths of hell, and waiting for release. He is held by an ancient seal, imprisoned for centuries in a barren field near the hamlet of Rathmore, Ireland. In time, this gruesome legacy has been forgotten, dismissed as an odd pre-Christian myth until Tom Garron (Donal McCann) decides to plow the field his ancestors knew better than to disturb. The seal is broken and an unspeakable evil is unleashed - on a rampage of blood and lust. Howard Hallenbeck (David Dukes), an American historian on a working vacation with his family, discovers on the stained glass windows of a local church a series of scenes illustrating the reign of terror of Rawhead Rex, but the one piece of glass depicting the defeat of the monster is missing. Rawhead Rex is on the loose, and he is insatiable as Howard desperately races against time for a way to stop the vicious monster

Pre-order Rawhead Rex.

[forensicated]

Woodentop - 16th August 1983.

(Taffy: "Welcome to Sun Hill Looney Bin.")

Woodentop/The Bill started off as the 4th episode in the Storyboard series. It was turned into a series that began airing just over a year later on the 16th October 1984.

The first words were spoken by Jim Carver after his (second) alarm sounded to wake him for his first day as a probationer at Sun Hill. "OK Carver, let's do it." He presents as keen and enthusiastic although obviously naive. He's promising however and came top of the class on his "Human Awareness Training" course at Hendon.

Sgt Jack Wilding (Peter Dean), Inspector Sam Deeping (Jon Croft), PC's Green, Rawlings, Wallace, Reid and Morton and 2 unamed uniform officers played by Chris Jenkinson and Richard Huw do not go onto make it into the series, however Jim, Dave Litten, June Ackland, Taffy and Roy Galloway do. Taffy has a surname change later however to Edwards as he is Dai 'Taffy' Morgan here.

"Galloping" Galloway is played by Robert Pugh, he's later recast as John Salthouse, the [original!] short ginger Jack Russell we all know and love. "Doesn't that man ever go home?" "We're in it, Jack. This is it."

PC Hollis is mentioned and his call sign is given as 375. The S for 'Sierra-Oscar' is missing from their epaulettes and only an O is present. Taffy is 101, June is 643, Jim is 600 and Dave is 201. June is the only female officer seen. Dave shows an interest in her but she isn't interested and literally rolls her eyes at his attempt to eye her up in the briefing. It appears they have had an on again/off again thing that; when off; makes the others rather uncomfortable.

Jim declares allegiance to uniform from the off, "I'm a firm believer in traditional policing methods." He explains that he wants to be on the pre-side of policing rather than the post-side (aka: when the problem has already happened). Deeping warns him he felt the same when he first joined and says he might change his mind a few months in.

Taffy asks about Dave's 'exam results' and then says he has 6 more weeks to go to his own; laughing that Wilding is making Litten sweat. June later explains that Dave has just finished a 2-week attachment to CID and "now CID are his Gods, especially DI Galloway." Dave has been waiting 2 months to see if he's passed an exam to allow him to join CID properly.

June is tasked with puppy walking "Jim-Jim". She reflects on how stupid it is to still have the W in front of her job title (WPC/WDC/WDS etc), pointing out that it doesn't matter if they're male or female - they're still police constables.

Jim is confused when she asks a paperboy his name. June explains that a paperboy would know who is away as he wouldn't have to deliver to them for a specified amount of time. She suggests CID might have overlooked it when investigating a spate of robberies. Jim is amazed and she assures him he'll soon learn and pick up little tricks like that. Soon after they are asked to check in on an elderly lady who hasn't been seen in weeks. Sadly the lady has passed in the bath and the obvious has started to happen to her body. Both are horrified though Jim tries to protect June from seeing it. "Poor old Jim Jim, first time out. First day even!"

During a pep talk, Jack Wilding reminds June to never get emotionally involved with anyone in the job - if only she'd listened…! (cough Dave, Gordon, Jim, Tony, Gabriel and Roger). "You're too classy for the likes of Dave Litten! If I were 10 years younger!"

Dave takes Jim 'walkies' for the afternoon, Dave loves showing off to the newbie and claims he'll soon be out of uniform and with CID.

In the briefing, Jim and the others were told to get to know the youths who are upsetting locals by hanging around in groups. He was encouraged to keep a professional distance as an officer, to earn respect and to remain firm but fair. During their walkabout, Jim dishes out a slap round the back of the head to a youth who tries to escape him and Dave. Dave immediately pulls him aside and tells him that he shouldn't have done that and they're pulled in to see Wilding. Wilding warns Jim that he could be suspended on his first day if the boy's family takes it further and sends him and Dave home early.

Wilding has to ask Galloway to help him as the lad Jim assaulted is Galloway's big robbery suspect's son. After butting heads, Roy reluctantly agrees and takes Jack to see his suspect, making it clear that Jack owes him one and that he's only doing it for Dave who he sees real CID potential in.

Jack buys the drinks and explains to Mr Taylor about his new PC collaring his son and friend for 'scrumping. Taylor jumps to the conclusion that Jim would have wanted to get his first arrest under his belt and claims he should have just given him a thick ear and sent him home like the good old days. Jack explains that that is exactly what Jim did, making Taylor laugh. "There's hope for your lot yet."

Jim lives to see another day and we end back in bed with Jim (ooh er!) setting his alarm for the morning.

[gatutor]

Cartel película "El día de los inocentes" (Slaughter high) 1985, de George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter MacKienze Litten.