Shut it!


The BBC had some piece of toss on last night going over the tired subject of Whatever happened to the Real Man? It was the usual stuff, blaming Germaine Greer, David Beckham and Metrosexuals for all of society’s ills whilst missing the point that real men still exist- we’re the ones doing what we want without worrying whether we tick all of Loaded’s boxes.

However, the programme was worth it for the footage from classic 70’s British cop shows. The Sweeney (wikipedia) were there, as were The Professionals (wikipedia), but it was an introduction, for me, to the likes of Special Branch and Target, and a reminder to watch Get Carter (imdb) again.

So you don’t have to suffer through the silliness of Beefcake: A Very British Sex Symbol, here’s a list of manly stuff from the period.

Special Branch, 1973 series, 1974 series.

The Sweeney, Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, Series 4, The Sweeney Movies, and Regan, the pilot episode.

The Professionals series 1 to 4 box set. (And Who Dares Wins, Lewis Collins’ awful SAS movie.)

Get Carter.

And let’s not forget Life On Mars, the contemporary attempt to spin the same type of tale with a 21st century outlook. (You can even pre-order the second series, even though it’s not been shown yet.)

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