“The Sweeney” is one of those series that hasn’t lost any of its flavor or edge, even though it’s racked up the years and suffered the slight scorn of obscurity. Though many will insist series like “NYPD Blue” and “The Streets of San Francisco” were the more hard edge police series, “The Sweeney” is also a valuable contender for this list. Soon to be remade with the great Ray Winstone, “The Sweeney” is one of the rare police series to feature older men in the role of our two heroic cops that find themselves wrapped in intrigue and street toughs in the investigation of a vicious criminal.
In a beautiful box set filled with extras, and a trouble display case, “The Sweeney” is about an elite force of police officers led by Jack Regan and George Carter. These two more distinguished gents know how to hold their own in the hood, and demonstrate a flair for fast talking, fast cars, and hard fists to the jaw with every turn. The 13 episode set features the first gritty episode “The Ringer” which starts the series off appropriately. Jack Regan gets his car stolen from under his nose, and now races across the city to reclaim it since it holds key evidence to foil crime boss Frankie Kemble.
Now the evidence has led right to Kemble’s hands, and Regan must now attempt to save face, and reverse the damage they’ve done to the investigation. “The Sweeney” still possesses a grit that doesn’t hold exclusively to its region. Though it’s basically a UK series, it’s still in its essence a gruff cop drama with increasingly compelling stories as the series wears on. More importantly, the boys at The Sweeney are very much in the vein of “Dirty Harry,” in where they’re almost always being knocked around on the job, and still show up to knock heads. The first moments of the episode “Jackpot” finds the crew after a vicious sting operation where they’re dragging cuffed crooks back and forth, while they lick their wounds and bleed from the face.
“The Sweeney” is still a hard edged series, and it sure is a lot of fun for someone who fancies a good cop series, regardless of the setting. It’s a worthy set for fans to revisit, and new fans to discover. If we have to have a remake, I nominate Ray Winstone and Tom Wilkinson. It could happen.