After completing his
third series of 'Doctor Who' in 1977, producer Philip Hinchcliffe was
asked by his bosses to swap producer roles with Graham Williams.
Williams had been developing a new police series entitled 'Hackett'
that would be the BBC's answer to ITV's 'The Sweeney'.
The series – under
Hinchcliffe – evolved into 'Target' starring 70s medallion man
Patrick Mower as Det.Sup. Steve Hackett – lead copper of a team
dedicated to bringing down untouchable criminals in Southampton (!).
His co-stars were Brendan Price as Bonny, Vivien Heilborn as Louise
and Philip Madoc as his boss, Det.Chief.Sup.Tate.
The series was grim. It
was widely criticised for its violence and although it went to a
second series, the final episodes were noticeably toned down.
As part of its special
event 'Philip Hinchcliffe in Conversation', QUAD in Derby will be
screening the third episode of the first run. Entitled 'Big
Elephant', it sees Hackett and his team searching for a merchant
seaman who is unaware that hash he has stolen is
actually a quarter of a million pounds worth of heroin.
The episode has
many connections with 'Doctor Who' and the following list of ten is
by no means exhaustive.
- 'Big Elephant' is
written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin – known to the 'Doctor Who'
production office as the Bristol Boys, they were 'discovered by the series' script editor – Terrance Dicks – in the early seventies
when he commissioned them to pen 'The Claws of Axos' for Jon
Pertwee's Doctor. They went on to script three of 'Target's first
series and the opener for the second.
- Like the Bristol
Boys, director Douglas Camfield cut his teeth on 'Doctor Who'.
Having worked as a Floor Manager on the very first episode, he had
graduated to a full-blown director by the show's second year. He
directed more episodes of the original series than any other
including the whole of the mammoth 12-part 'Daleks' Master Plan' and
the 8-part 'The Invasion' which featured the debut of UNIT.
- Joanne – the
heroin addict – is played by Katy Manning – famous for her role
as the loveable and loyal Jo Grant during the bulk of Jon Pertwee's
time on the series. It's a massive departure for Manning and a
strong performance and characterisation that the actress is still
proud of today.
- Series regulars
Philip Madoc and Brendan Price are both no strangers to 'Doctor
Who'. By the time of 'Target', the acclaimed Welsh actor Philip
Madoc had amassed three major guest starring roles in the show and
would go on to make another in 1978. He also pops up in the second
'Doctor Who' movie as a typically shady character. One of Brendan
Price's earliest TV roles was the previous year in 'Doctor Who's
'The Face of Evil' where he played Tomas – a close friend of
future companion, Leela.
- Playing the main
villain – Cetti - in 'Big Elephant' is Walter Randall. Randall was
one of Douglas Camfield's repertory company of actors who pop up in
many of his TV productions. Randall is particularly familiar to Who
fans as the equally sadistic El Akir in 'The Crusades' and as the
hapless technician who is the first to turn into a Primord in
'Inferno'. Both of these performances were under Camfield's
direction.
- Driving the London
taxi in the later half of the episode is Derek Martin – who was
months away from his ground-breaking role in GF Newman's 'Law &
Order'. He appears in many 'Doctor Who' stories from the first ten
years of the show usually as part of the Havoc stunt team. He's the first soldier to spot the Yeti when they attack the army in Covent
Garden's market in 'The Web of Fear'. He later achieved more
widespread fame as taxi driver (coincidence?) Charlie Slater in
'EastEnders'
- The theme and
incidental music for 'Target' are by Dudley Simpson. Simpson had
first worked on 'Doctor Who' in 1964 as composer for 'Planet of
Giants' – the last episode of which was also Douglas Camfield's
directorial debut. For 'Target's theme music, he provides a strident
brass-led action piece that accompanies.........
- …....Sid
Sutton's title sequence which uses rota scoping animation of two men
in pursuit over a warehouse roof. The simplified effect is familiar
to anyone who remembers a certain ground-breaking Jackson Five music
video from around the same period. Sutton would go on to create the
title sequences for Tom Baker's final season in the role of the
Doctor as well as modified ones for Peter Davison and Colin Baker.
- Fred Hamilton was
'Target's film cameraman. Hamilton worked on the 'Doctor Who' series
on-and-off for many years and it was he who was responsible for the
camera work on 'Spearhead from Space' – the only adventure to be
shot entirely on film.
- The designer of
'Big Elephant' was John Hurst. He had already performed the same job
on 'Planet of the Daleks' for Jon Pertwee's 'Doctor Who' and would
go on to design 'The Caves of Androzani' for Douglas Camfield's
former colleague and protégée Graeme Harper in 1984. He would also
become a mainstay of 'Target's BBC descendants 'Shoestring' and
'Bergerac'.
Watching 'Target'
again, one is struck by the dialogue which is gritty to the point
that it becomes almost parody. 'Big Elephant' seems to use every
conceivable slang term for 'cannabis' and 'heroin' that was available
in the late seventies.
By way of a teaser, I've picked out 25 (yes, 25!) choices moments of dialogue:
“We've got one.
He's a real scrunter!”
“We've gotta
score tonight, Des. We got to!”
“Right Louise,
get ya knickers on!”
“Part-time whore
bag are ya?”
“Pathetic little
cow!”
"Bastard!"
“It's brown
sugar!”
“He's walking
about with half a million quids worth of big elephant in his
pocket.” (See what they did there.)
“Right. Round
the back!”
“Haven't got any
Charlie have you?”
“Yer a bloody
junkie, aren't ya?”
“Bonnie. Round
the back!”
“What you doing
here? You a queen?” “No, but there's a couple in there if
you're lookin'”
“You know the
longest time I've spent with a woman is seven and a half minutes!”
“Some pig called
Cetti! I want you to help me stick him.”
“I'm clean,
man!”
“I would nae have
a drink with you, you bastard!”
“This job is
worth fifty quid. It's hash. Lebanese.”
“Does anybody
want to buy some pot?”
“He's a muff
artist!”
“Well, ya daft
cow. Do you want some or what?”
“Frank. Harry.
Round the back!”
“This is my
patch!”
“Gerroff me, ya
square-headed bastards!”
“Shit!”
Target – Big Elephant
TX – 23.09.1977
Written by Bob Baker
and Dave Martin
Produced by Philip
Hinchcliffe
Directed by Douglas
Camfield
Starring Patrick Mower,
Brendan Price, Vivien Heilborn and Philip Madoc
with Ken Hutchison,
Katy Manning, Walter Randall, Alan Rebbeck, Hugh Fraser.
Philip Hinchcliffe In
Conversation – Derby QUAD – Friday 5 December 2014 – 7.30pm –
Details here.
STOP PRESS: (4/12/2014) Due to unforseen clearance issues involving the whole 'Target' TV series which didn't come to light until late in the day, QUAD are now unable to screen 'Big Elephant'. It will be replaced in the schedule by an episode of the Philip Hinchcliffe-produced 'Private Schulz' which starred Michael Elphick and Ian Richardson.
