The Bill (1983/1984-2010) - Could it have lasted longer?
In fairness, Johnathan was trying to return it to self contained episodes like the early days rather than the soap opera it became under Paul Marquess.
And Paul Marquess did more damage to the show - Gabriel Kent as a sniper? Cathy Bradford (although she would be good for Neighbours)? Killing off characters every 5 minutes?
ITV had been thinking of axing The Bill since 1997 after Driving School and Animal Hospital (with you know what) started beating it. According to reports at the time (which made Inside Soap or one of the TV mags), they gave Thames\Pearson 2 years to up the ratings or it would be axed.
So the show got a revamp - out went the old title sequence, as well as the plodding feet officers at the end. Not to mention the Andy Pask\Charlie Morgan theme was sexed up. The Bill also switched from 3 half hours a week to 2 one hour episodes a week, and some 90 minute specials.
There was the introduction of storylines like Eddie Santini and his nasty campaign against PC Rosie Fox - their portrayers actually met on the show and are now married.
So the show got a revamp - out went the old title sequence, as well as the plodding feet officers at the end. Not to mention the Andy Pask\Charlie Morgan theme was sexed up. The Bill also switched from 3 half hours a week to 2 one hour episodes a week, and some 90 minute specials.
There was the introduction of storylines like Eddie Santini and his nasty campaign against PC Rosie Fox - their portrayers actually met on the show and are now married.
Well Richard Handford did introduce Tom Chandler earlier on also.
As a London-based TV show, The Bill on ITV was much easier to tolerate than the depressing ghastly cursed EastEnders (or should I say DeadEnders) on the BBC.
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Oh I love DeadEnders. It's my fave. I always found The Bill a bit exposition-y. You know, characters having to explain their whole life story in a way people don't in real life because they're only in one episode and so we need to know everything really quickly.
With The Bill, it's great to watch the actors who guest star, lots of familiar faces, paying careful attention to detail when watching shows such as The Bill, Lovejoy, New Tricks, Minder, Midsomer Murders etc.
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There's a nice account on Twitter dedicated to actors who guest starred on The Bill:
I can't say any of those series ever appealed to me. I don't think I ever watched them. Just not soapy enough!
I think the ultimate way to have saved The Bill really would've been to have got the EastEnders production team to have joined The Bill, with EastEnders being axed altogether. The fact that EastEnders got The Bill production team onboard in the first place with Michael Ferguson etc around 1989-1990, it could've worked the other way also for The Bill also with people such as Tony Jordan, Christopher Reason and Simon Ashdown etc.
When I think of some of the great characters in The Bill such as Frank Burnside, Ted Roach, and Don Beech to a certain extent, I sometimes wonder how The Bill would have had the character Don Beech introduced earlier on in the 1980s played by the actor Billy Murray.
I think Don Beech would have been in a higher rank/position, possibly the top job as such the Superintendent with him clashing with Charles Brownlow, and then Don Beech undergoing subsequent demotions into a DS in CID where he eventually found himself in 1995 - The fact that 1998-2000 managed to accommodate Burnside and Beech at the same time was quite good.
I understand Ted Roach quit in 1993 after punching his boss at work, so he wouldn't have been able to return whilst Andrew Monroe was still within the show especially after what Ted did.
I've yet to watch the old episodes of The Bill properly to see how Frank Burnside and Don Beech interacted on-screen and if they got along well or not, but I know and do sort of believe that Ted Roach would have clashed with Don Beech for sure, NOW that would have been great to watch.
Discuss.
I think Don Beech would have been in a higher rank/position, possibly the top job as such the Superintendent with him clashing with Charles Brownlow, and then Don Beech undergoing subsequent demotions into a DS in CID where he eventually found himself in 1995 - The fact that 1998-2000 managed to accommodate Burnside and Beech at the same time was quite good.
I understand Ted Roach quit in 1993 after punching his boss at work, so he wouldn't have been able to return whilst Andrew Monroe was still within the show especially after what Ted did.
I've yet to watch the old episodes of The Bill properly to see how Frank Burnside and Don Beech interacted on-screen and if they got along well or not, but I know and do sort of believe that Ted Roach would have clashed with Don Beech for sure, NOW that would have been great to watch.
Discuss.
Also, I think with the final remaining 2010 cast, the current actors/actresses would've joined from Casualty to The Bill on ITV, similar to how actor Alex Walkinshaw switched over to Casualty eventually.
The current cast, actors/actresses brought into The Bill would probably consist of the following based on the above trend:-
David Ajayi,
Manpreet Bachu,
Robert Bathurst,
William Beck,
Di Botcher ,
Zoe Brough,
Anna Chell,
Milo Clarke,
Sammy Dobson,
Melanie Hill,
Elinor Lawless,
Lollie McKenzie,
Kirsty Mitchell,
Neet Mohan,
Tom Mulheron,
Adesuwa Oni,
Olly Rix,
Sarah Seggari,
Seth Somers,
Michael Stevenson,
Kai Thorne,
Charles Venn,
Barney Walsh,
Naomi Wakszlak.
The current cast, actors/actresses brought into The Bill would probably consist of the following based on the above trend:-
David Ajayi,
Manpreet Bachu,
Robert Bathurst,
William Beck,
Di Botcher ,
Zoe Brough,
Anna Chell,
Milo Clarke,
Sammy Dobson,
Melanie Hill,
Elinor Lawless,
Lollie McKenzie,
Kirsty Mitchell,
Neet Mohan,
Tom Mulheron,
Adesuwa Oni,
Olly Rix,
Sarah Seggari,
Seth Somers,
Michael Stevenson,
Kai Thorne,
Charles Venn,
Barney Walsh,
Naomi Wakszlak.
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The Bill 1983/1984-2010 (ITV) - 1980s Jack Meadows and Don Beech?
When I think back to The Bill, Jack Meadows and Don Beech joined in the 1990s and stayed on until the 2000s, where Jack Meadows became the longest serving character until The Bill got cancelled in 2010. Also, in 1998, both Don Beech and Frank Burnside were on-screen together, I think Don Beech could've been a great character equally like Frank Burnside if ONLY they HADN'T turned him into a corrupt officer and Daly/Deakin/Charles Brownlow leaving all in one go back in 2000. It would've simply would've meant Charles Brownlow retiring/leaving earlier.
When I think back to The Bill, Jack Meadows and Don Beech joined in the 1990s and stayed on until the 2000s, where Jack Meadows became the longest serving character until The Bill got cancelled in 2010. Also, in 1998, both Don Beech and Frank Burnside were on-screen together, I think Don Beech could've been a great character equally like Frank Burnside if ONLY they HADN'T turned him into a corrupt officer and Daly/Deakin/Charles Brownlow leaving all in one go back in 2000. It would've simply would've meant Charles Brownlow retiring/leaving earlier.
When I think back to characters on The Bill who should've remained, they would have been:-
PC Steve Loxton (Tom Butcher), PC Nick Slater (Alan Westaway), DC Will Fletcher, Commander Lisa Kennedy and PC Nate Roberts.
Other characters who deserved to be axed and never brought into the show in the first place would have been:-
PC Tom Proctor, PC Kirsty Knight, PC Luke Ashton and PC Sam Harker, where the latter's character was written out eventually.
PC Steve Loxton (Tom Butcher), PC Nick Slater (Alan Westaway), DC Will Fletcher, Commander Lisa Kennedy and PC Nate Roberts.
Other characters who deserved to be axed and never brought into the show in the first place would have been:-
PC Tom Proctor, PC Kirsty Knight, PC Luke Ashton and PC Sam Harker, where the latter's character was written out eventually.