Hard Cases is a British television crime drama series, based upon a 1987 novel by John Harvey and Laurence James, that aired on ITV between 18 January 1988 and 29 August 1989.[1] Based around a group of officers from the crime probation service in Nottingham,[2][3] the cast was initially led by John Bowe, supported by Gil Brailey, Eric Deacon and Barry Jackson.[4] The series was one of the first British seasonal dramas to feature multiple lead characters and multiple, entwined stories, rather than reading an individual story in each episode.
| Hard Cases | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by |
|
| Written by | John Harvey |
| Directed by | Richard Standeven |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Tom Robinson |
| Opening theme | "Hard Cases" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Ted Childs |
| Producers |
|
| Production location | Nottingham |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company | Central Independent Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 18 January 1988 – 29 August 1989 |
The series notably featured Jimmy McGovern and Patrick Harbinson as its script editors, both of whom went on to have very successful careers as lead writers.[5] Graham Nicolls, a then-serving officer in the Nottingham CPS, acted as an advisor.[6] The series was accompanied by its own theme, written and performed by Tom Robinson, which was issued as a single by Robinson in 1988.[7] Notably, neither series has been repeated since broadcast, nor is available on any form of home media.
Cast
edit- John Bowe as Martin Berry (Series 1)
- Gil Brailey as Gill Ridgeley (Series 1―2)
- Eric Deacon as Ross Kennedy (Series 1―2)
- Gaby Dellal as Leonie Friedman (Series 1)
- Barry Jackson as Jack Seymore (Series 1―2)
- Gerrard McArthur as Kevin Nash (Series 1―2)
- June Barrie as Hilary Bowen (Series 1―2)
- Denica Fairman as Chrissie Taylor (Series 2)
- Kevin McNally as Richard Pearce (Series 2)
- Sheila Ruskin as Lucy Davenport (Series 2)
- Valerie Hunkins as Charlotte Poole (Series 2)
- Sean Pertwee as Dominic Lutovski (Series 2)
- Ian Kirkby as Peter Collinson (Series 1)
- Brian Poyser as Cllr. Collinson (Series 1)
- Emma Bowe as Claire Sanderson (Series 2)
Episodes
editSeries 1 (1988)
edit| Episode | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 18 January 1988 |
| 2 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 25 January 1988 |
| 3 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 1 February 1988 |
| 4 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 8 February 1988 |
| 5 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 15 February 1988 |
| 6 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 22 February 1988 |
Series 2 (1989)
edit| Episode | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | Michael Brayshaw | Robert Kingsley | 18 July 1989 |
| 2 | TBA | Michael Brayshaw | Robert Kingsley | 25 July 1989 |
| 3 | TBA | Michael Brayshaw | Robert Kingsley | 1 August 1989 |
| 4 | TBA | Anthony Garner | Nick Whitby | 8 August 1989 |
| 5 | TBA | Anthony Garner | Robert Kingsley | 15 August 1989 |
| 6 | TBA | Andrew Morgan | Harry Duffin | 22 August 1989 |
| 7 | TBA | Andrew Morgan | Nick Whitby & Tim Whitby | 29 August 1989 |
References
edit- ^ Mawby & Worrall p.96
- ^ "'Public Enemies': Probation and risk management".
- ^ "Shooting the Breeze with JOHN HARVEY".
- ^ Thames Continuity & Adverts - 1988. YouTube. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Jimmy McGovern".
- ^ https://www.mmuperu.co.uk/assets/uploads/bjcj_files/BJCJ-10-2_-_Nellis-FULL.pdf [dead link]
- ^ "Tom Robinson - Hard Cases". Discogs.
Bibliography
edit- Rob C. Mawby & Anne Worrall. Doing Probation Work: Identity in a Criminal Justice Occupation. Routledge, 2013.
External links
edit- Hard Cases at IMDb