Police Camera Action!
Encyclopedia
Police, Camera, Action! is a police video programme made by Optomen Television
for ITV
and broadcast on the ITV Network
and ITV4
. The program was originally commissioned through Carlton Television
.
It was presented by Alastair Stewart
from 1994 until 2002, until his second drink-driving conviction led to a temporary suspension, before he resumed his role with Adrian Simpson
from 2007. From July 2010, the programme has been presented by Gethin Jones
.
undertaking an organ transplant
escort) and "The Man Who Shot OJ", focusing on the work of helicopter cameraman and pilot
Bob Tur
in Los Angeles. This episode also looked at the controversies behind the O.J. Simpson trial. In later series of the show, footage from Bob Tur and the Los Angeles News Service would feature more prominently in certain episodes.
available initially on VHS video and later on Sky1. To this date, it is the only episode not to be repeated on Men & Motors
or ITV4
. A spin off book of the series was released in 1996 by Ebury Press, which was written by Peter Gillbe with a foreword by Alastair Stewart and which featured police footage of bad driving. The book had some footage still
s which were not shown on the TV episodes.
In 2003, the programme was suspended due to Stewart's second drink-driving conviction when he was found to have crashed into a telegraph pole whilst three times over the legal limit. This delayed transmission of some unaired episodes until 17 January 2006. The programme resumed with Stewart introducing the series from a studio on 24 September 2007, joined by Adrian Simpson, who reported from location and provided voice-overs to the clips. A week before the new series began, there was a special 'Ultimate Pursuits/Best of Police Camera Action!' edition, presented by Stewart.
A new series was aired in July 2010, presented by Gethin Jones
.
were highly edited (presumably to remove material unsuitable for daytime transmission). It seems highly unlikely that Police Camera Action will be aired in its original, unedited form. The episodes affected were:
This was similar to Shoestring, which was shown in edited form in 2002 on BBC1
.
Optomen
Optomen is an independent television production company with Optomen Television Ltd. for the United Kingdom and Optomen Productions Inc. launched in 2002 for the United States.-United Kingdom and the United States:...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and broadcast on the ITV Network
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
. The program was originally commissioned through Carlton Television
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
.
It was presented by Alastair Stewart
Alastair Stewart
Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster. Stewart is currently employed by ITN where he is a main newscaster for ITV News.-Early life:...
from 1994 until 2002, until his second drink-driving conviction led to a temporary suspension, before he resumed his role with Adrian Simpson
Adrian Simpson
Adrian Simpson is a British television presenter, currently presenting on Sky News on the overnight programme. Simpson has won numerous accolades for his presenting style, which has been likened to that of Trevor McDonald in his early years....
from 2007. From July 2010, the programme has been presented by Gethin Jones
Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter....
.
About the show
Each episode has a subtitle relating to the type of police video footage such as "Safety Last" or "Driven to Distraction". It typically features police footage and occasional media footage relating to bad driving and road crime. However, this has not always been so, with special episodes "The Liver Run" (featuring the Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
undertaking an organ transplant
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
escort) and "The Man Who Shot OJ", focusing on the work of helicopter cameraman and pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Bob Tur
Bob Tur
Robert A. "Bob" Tur is an American scientific researcher that used his knowledge of sensor physics and systems integration to build the first modern news helicopters for live new reporting. As a broadcast reporter, and eventual 10,000 hour commercial pilot, Tur created the Los Angeles News Service...
in Los Angeles. This episode also looked at the controversies behind the O.J. Simpson trial. In later series of the show, footage from Bob Tur and the Los Angeles News Service would feature more prominently in certain episodes.
History
The first episode broadcast on 7 September 1994 was known as Police Stop!, which was also the name of a similar police programmePolice Stop!
Police Stop! was a series of real-life police video programmes, which were made originally for video from 1993 onwards and were later originally broadcast on Sky1. The series has recently been repeated on Men and Motors in 2007, and more recently in 2008 on ITV4...
available initially on VHS video and later on Sky1. To this date, it is the only episode not to be repeated on Men & Motors
Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television and satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting in 1996...
or ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
. A spin off book of the series was released in 1996 by Ebury Press, which was written by Peter Gillbe with a foreword by Alastair Stewart and which featured police footage of bad driving. The book had some footage still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
s which were not shown on the TV episodes.
In 2003, the programme was suspended due to Stewart's second drink-driving conviction when he was found to have crashed into a telegraph pole whilst three times over the legal limit. This delayed transmission of some unaired episodes until 17 January 2006. The programme resumed with Stewart introducing the series from a studio on 24 September 2007, joined by Adrian Simpson, who reported from location and provided voice-overs to the clips. A week before the new series began, there was a special 'Ultimate Pursuits/Best of Police Camera Action!' edition, presented by Stewart.
Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter....
.
Edited versions
Repeats on ITV4ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
were highly edited (presumably to remove material unsuitable for daytime transmission). It seems highly unlikely that Police Camera Action will be aired in its original, unedited form. The episodes affected were:
- Danger! Drivers Ahead (although the original Police Stop! version is never aired, but both edited ones are, the second version of Danger! Drivers Ahead being edited)
- Road to Nowhere (end music changed)
- A Lorry Load of Trouble (highly edited from original)
- On the Buses (footage removed for unknown reason)
- Crash Test Racers (title sequenceTitle sequenceA Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
cut off) - Getting Their Man (end music replaced)
This was similar to Shoestring, which was shown in edited form in 2002 on BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
See also
- Police Stop!Police Stop!Police Stop! was a series of real-life police video programmes, which were made originally for video from 1993 onwards and were later originally broadcast on Sky1. The series has recently been repeated on Men and Motors in 2007, and more recently in 2008 on ITV4...
- programme released on VHS and later broadcast on Sky1 with a similar format. - Road Wars - seen as the replacement to Police Stop! and runs to a similar format to the more recent Police, Camera, Action! episodes.
- Street LawStreet Law (TV series)Street Wars is a police reality television programme produced by Raw Cut TV for British Sky Broadcasting and broadcast on Sky1, Sky2 and Sky3. Beginning in 2005, the series followed the Tactical Team from Kent Police in Medway, Kent and the Tactical Support Group from the Police Service of...
- also known as Street Wars. Broadcast on Sky1, Sky2Sky2Sky2 is a British television channel originally launched on 2 December 2002 as Sky One Mix. Sky2 is now available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable and TalkTalk TV platforms in the UK. It is also available in the Republic of Ireland on the UPC Ireland platform.-Rebrand:Sky One Mix was...
and Pick TV. - Police InterceptorsPolice InterceptorsPolice Interceptors is a TV documentary series that profiles the work of a police ANPR Intercept Team in Essex, United Kingdom and in series 4 profiles the work of South Yorkshire Police's Road Crime Unit...
- programme following traffic police in Essex and South Yorkshire. Broadcast on Channel 5. - Traffic CopsTraffic CopsTraffic Cops is a documentary series on BBC One which follows traffic officers from various British police forces. The current series follows Bedfordshire Police. Previous series have followed Cheshire, Hampshire, Humberside, South Wales, South Yorkshire and Sussex police forces...
- sometimes broadcast as Motorway Cops or Car Wars. BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
programme with similar format. - Brit CopsBrit CopsBrit Cops is a British reality television series following the work of police officers in the UK. It was first broadcast on Bravo. Since the closing of Bravo on January 1, 2011, older episodes were shown on Channel One until the channel closed down on February 1, 2011 and Series 5 is continuing on...
- a police show broadcast on Sky (originally on Bravo and then Virgin1). - Street Crime UKStreet Crime UKStreet Crime UK was a docusoap focusing on law enforcement in various parts of the UK, as police go about their duties on the streets of Britain's towns and cities....
- a similar show broadcast on Bravo.