Law and Order (UK Miniseries)
Encyclopedia
Law & Order is a series of four television plays written by G. F. Newman
and directed by Les Blair
. It was first transmitted in 1978 on BBC2.
, Detective Inspector Fred Pyle - played by Derek Martin
. Pyle is open to corruption from villains and operates a system of 'checks and balances' where certain villains get brought to justice and some do not. After a meeting with his informant Mickey Fielder (Roy Stone), Pyle discovers that a villain from Kentish Town
Jack Lynn (Peter Dean), is putting together an armed robbery of a supermarket in Putney
. Prior to this Pyle had arrested Clifford Harding (Alan Ford
), following a police raid of his home which recovered an illegal firearm. Harding agrees to bribe Pyle to walk away from the firearms charge. Pyle however knows he can get more out of Harding and later on uses Harding's relationship with Lynn to make him turn informant and gain further information about the supermarket robbery. Pyle's informant Fielder reveals the date and time of Lynn's robbery but for some reason it does not happen. Pyle however is determined to nail Lynn and is willing to resort to 'fit up' tactics to gain a conviction - even if he has not actually committed the crime in question. Add to this a cosy relationship with a corrupt lawyer Alex Gladwell (Ken Campbell
), and a seemingly blind eye to his activities from superiors within Scotland Yard it seems Pyle is almost a law unto himself.
Derek MartinD.I. Fred Pyall
Ken Campbell (I)Alex Gladwell
Guest Cast
Byron SotirisDuty Sergeant
Stewart HarwoodPolice Constable Malcolm
Chris HallamD.S. Lewis
David StocktonD.S. Tony Shields
Tom De-VilleD.I. Frank Polden
Roy SoneMicky Fielder
John HoganD.S. Ian Middlewick
Geoffrey ToddD.C. Peter Fenton
David Harris (II)Witness
Val CloverTelephonist
Michael SheardInsurance Assessor
Cy WallisBilly Little
Steve KellyMaurice Dickinson
Billy Dean (II)David Shepley
Stanley PriceBrian Finch
depot in Romford
. Lynn continues with his plans recruiting Tommy Haines (Mike Cummings), to act as a backup man, and procures firearms from Alf Coster an arms dealer with a middle-class grocer front (Philip Hayes). Lynn stores the weapons at a lock-up garage that he rented in a false name, and is ready to go. However he is under pressure from his wife Cathy (Deirdre Costello), to give up his life of crime and go straight. Furthermore Lynn discovers Mickey Fielder is Pyle's informant and has given Pyle details of their supermarket robbery. Lynn decides to postpone the robbery and take retribution against Fielder for informing, giving him a severe beating and smashing his kneecaps.
Peter DeanJack Lynn
Derek MartinD.I. Fred Pyall
Guest Cast
Fred HaggertyD.C.I. Tony Simmons
Mike CummingsTommy Haines
John BardonDel Rogers
Alf CosterPhilip Hayes
Tony BarouchCollin Coleman
Alan Davidson (II)Benny Isaacs
Barry SummerfordJohn Tully
Colin HowellsD.C. Roger Humphreys
Robert OatesD.C. Warren Salter
Johnny FeltwellD.C. Matthew Hall
Alan Clarke (II)D.C. Ray Jenkins
Mike HorsburghD.I. Graham McHale
Douglas SheldonD.S. Jack Barcy
Geoffrey ToddD.C. Peter Fenton
John BlackburnSecurity Guard
Episode Summary
Alex Gladwell, brought in to represent Jack Lynn, will use any means to get his client off.
Stars
Peter DeanJack Lynn
Derek MartinD.I. Fred Pyall
Ken Campbell (I)Alex Gladwell
Guest Cast
Terence BaylerMichel Messick Q.C.
André van GyseghemJudge Robert Quigley
Michael GriffithsHorace McMillan Q.C.
Peter WelchBrian Harpenden-Smith Q.C.
Barry SummerfordJohn Tully
Alan Davidson (II)Benny Isaacs
Tony BarouchColin Coleman
Jason WhiteD.C. Simon Brent
Frank HensonFrank Ryan
Mark Gordon (III)Mr. English
Jean LeppardMargaret Lloyd
Peter CrazeT.D.C. Peter Footring
Jeffrey SegalStanley Eaton Q.C.
Recurring Roles
Billy CorneliusD.S. Eric Lethridge
Deirdre CostelloCathy Lynn
Alan FordClifford Harding
Episode Summary
Lynn is sent down, but rehabilitation is not on the agenda.
Stars
Peter DeanJack Lynn
Guest Cast
Graham GoughP.O. Powell
Ronan PatersonP.O. Westbury
Dave AtkinsP.O. Dorman
Max LatimerPrison Officer, Visiting Room
Laurence FosterSenor Officer Walters
Stanley IllsleyVisiting Committee
Terry YorkePolice Sergeant, A.10
Dominic AllanInspector Chatt, A.10
Stanley McGeaghTrevor Reid
Alf RobertsPrison Officer, Punishment Block
Ian MunroPrison Officer, Punishment Block
Mark Warren (IV)Prison Officer, Legal Visiting Room
Colin TaylorPrison Officer, Visiting Room
Harry LandisM.P.
Pauline WynnVisiting Committee
law enforcement
and legal system.
G. F. Newman
Gordon Frank Newman is an English television producer and writer. He is known for his two series Law and Order and The Nation's Health, each based on his books....
and directed by Les Blair
Les Blair
Leslie "Les" Blair is an English television, film and theatre director.Gaining notoriety for his controversial mini-series Law And Order , Blair has gone on to direct films characterised by their political and social awareness.Blair currently teaches at the London Film...
. It was first transmitted in 1978 on BBC2.
The Tales
The four stories within Law & Order were told from the perspective of the Detective, the Villain, the Brief and the Prisoner.A Detective's Tale
The first play (broadcast on BBC2 on 6 April 1978) focuses upon Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, Detective Inspector Fred Pyle - played by Derek Martin
Derek Martin
Derek Martin is a British actor who is best known for his role as Charlie Slater in the British soap opera EastEnders which he played from 2000 to 2011.-Personal life:...
. Pyle is open to corruption from villains and operates a system of 'checks and balances' where certain villains get brought to justice and some do not. After a meeting with his informant Mickey Fielder (Roy Stone), Pyle discovers that a villain from Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
Jack Lynn (Peter Dean), is putting together an armed robbery of a supermarket in Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
. Prior to this Pyle had arrested Clifford Harding (Alan Ford
Alan Ford (actor)
Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
), following a police raid of his home which recovered an illegal firearm. Harding agrees to bribe Pyle to walk away from the firearms charge. Pyle however knows he can get more out of Harding and later on uses Harding's relationship with Lynn to make him turn informant and gain further information about the supermarket robbery. Pyle's informant Fielder reveals the date and time of Lynn's robbery but for some reason it does not happen. Pyle however is determined to nail Lynn and is willing to resort to 'fit up' tactics to gain a conviction - even if he has not actually committed the crime in question. Add to this a cosy relationship with a corrupt lawyer Alex Gladwell (Ken Campbell
Ken Campbell (actor)
Kenneth Victor Campbell was an English writer, actor, director and comedian known for his work in experimental theatre...
), and a seemingly blind eye to his activities from superiors within Scotland Yard it seems Pyle is almost a law unto himself.
Derek MartinD.I. Fred Pyall
Ken Campbell (I)Alex Gladwell
Guest Cast
Byron SotirisDuty Sergeant
Stewart HarwoodPolice Constable Malcolm
Chris HallamD.S. Lewis
David StocktonD.S. Tony Shields
Tom De-VilleD.I. Frank Polden
Roy SoneMicky Fielder
John HoganD.S. Ian Middlewick
Geoffrey ToddD.C. Peter Fenton
David Harris (II)Witness
Val CloverTelephonist
Michael SheardInsurance Assessor
Cy WallisBilly Little
Steve KellyMaurice Dickinson
Billy Dean (II)David Shepley
Stanley PriceBrian Finch
A Villain's Tale
The second play (broadcast on BBC2 on 13 April 1978) focuses on Jack Lynn. After two of his 'firm' are arrested for an unconnected armed robbery, Lynn is short of personnel and sets about recruiting for the supermarket robbery. He approaches longtime associate John Tully (Barry Summerford), who is interested but has already made commitments to a 'firm' planning an armed raid on a British GasBritish Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
depot in Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
. Lynn continues with his plans recruiting Tommy Haines (Mike Cummings), to act as a backup man, and procures firearms from Alf Coster an arms dealer with a middle-class grocer front (Philip Hayes). Lynn stores the weapons at a lock-up garage that he rented in a false name, and is ready to go. However he is under pressure from his wife Cathy (Deirdre Costello), to give up his life of crime and go straight. Furthermore Lynn discovers Mickey Fielder is Pyle's informant and has given Pyle details of their supermarket robbery. Lynn decides to postpone the robbery and take retribution against Fielder for informing, giving him a severe beating and smashing his kneecaps.
Peter DeanJack Lynn
Derek MartinD.I. Fred Pyall
Guest Cast
Fred HaggertyD.C.I. Tony Simmons
Mike CummingsTommy Haines
John BardonDel Rogers
Alf CosterPhilip Hayes
Tony BarouchCollin Coleman
Alan Davidson (II)Benny Isaacs
Barry SummerfordJohn Tully
Colin HowellsD.C. Roger Humphreys
Robert OatesD.C. Warren Salter
Johnny FeltwellD.C. Matthew Hall
Alan Clarke (II)D.C. Ray Jenkins
Mike HorsburghD.I. Graham McHale
Douglas SheldonD.S. Jack Barcy
Geoffrey ToddD.C. Peter Fenton
John BlackburnSecurity Guard
A Brief's Tale
(Broadcast on BBC2 on 20 April 1978)Episode Summary
Alex Gladwell, brought in to represent Jack Lynn, will use any means to get his client off.
Stars
Peter DeanJack Lynn
Derek MartinD.I. Fred Pyall
Ken Campbell (I)Alex Gladwell
Guest Cast
Terence BaylerMichel Messick Q.C.
André van GyseghemJudge Robert Quigley
Michael GriffithsHorace McMillan Q.C.
Peter WelchBrian Harpenden-Smith Q.C.
Barry SummerfordJohn Tully
Alan Davidson (II)Benny Isaacs
Tony BarouchColin Coleman
Jason WhiteD.C. Simon Brent
Frank HensonFrank Ryan
Mark Gordon (III)Mr. English
Jean LeppardMargaret Lloyd
Peter CrazeT.D.C. Peter Footring
Jeffrey SegalStanley Eaton Q.C.
Recurring Roles
Billy CorneliusD.S. Eric Lethridge
Deirdre CostelloCathy Lynn
Alan FordClifford Harding
A Prisoner's Tale
(Broadcast on BBC2 on 27 April 1978)Episode Summary
Lynn is sent down, but rehabilitation is not on the agenda.
Stars
Peter DeanJack Lynn
Guest Cast
Graham GoughP.O. Powell
Ronan PatersonP.O. Westbury
Dave AtkinsP.O. Dorman
Max LatimerPrison Officer, Visiting Room
Laurence FosterSenor Officer Walters
Stanley IllsleyVisiting Committee
Terry YorkePolice Sergeant, A.10
Dominic AllanInspector Chatt, A.10
Stanley McGeaghTrevor Reid
Alf RobertsPrison Officer, Punishment Block
Ian MunroPrison Officer, Punishment Block
Mark Warren (IV)Prison Officer, Legal Visiting Room
Colin TaylorPrison Officer, Visiting Room
Harry LandisM.P.
Pauline WynnVisiting Committee
Critical reaction
The series was highly controversial upon its release because of its depiction of a corrupt BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
law enforcement
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and legal system.