the professionals - the complete collection

Starring: martin shaw, lewis collins, and gordon jackson

REVIEWER: lyall carter

★★★★

George Crowley runs CI5, a British anti - crime squad, gives the toughest assignments to his top agents, Bodie and Doyle.

When I was growing up the two old school action TV shows I watched was The Avengers (John Steed not Tony Stark) and The Professionals. Many a drizzly rainy afternoon was spent watching the exploits of Crowley's CI5 team with the brutish and funny agents Bodie and Doyle. 

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The Professionals, created by Brian Clemens one of the driving forces behind The Avengers, ran for five seasons and 57 episodes from 1977 to 1983. Inside the secure corridors of Criminal Intelligence 5, a high-level British anti-crime unit, George Cowley hands out tough assignments to his two top agents: thuggish William Andrew Philip Bodie, who favours a `hit first, ask questions later' style, and the more cerebral Raymond Doyle, a former Docklands police constable.

Sure, there are times watching it now when it does seem a little naff, but what holds it all together is the camaraderie between Cowley and his team of Bodie and Doyle. As with most TV shows there are some weak episodes but on the whole the stories are thrilling and draw you in. 

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With this edition you get every single episode on 22 discs with some exclusive special features. You definitely do get bang for your buck!

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A British TV classic The Professionals is fun, action packed, and dripping with nostalgia.

★★★★

The Professionals - Complete Collection is available on DVD from all good retailers.