Softly, Softly: Taskforce
| Softly, Softly: Taskforce | |
|---|---|
| Created by |
Troy Kennedy Martin Elwyn Jones |
| Starring |
Stratford Johns Frank Windsor Terence Rigby Norman Bowler Walter Gotell David Lloyd Meredith |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 149 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 20 November 1969 – 15 December 1976 |
Softly, Softly: Taskforce is a police based drama series which ran on BBC 1 from 1969 to 1976. It was a revamp of Softly, Softly, itself a spin-off from Z-Cars. The change was made partly to coincide with the coming of colour broadcasting to the BBC's main channel BBC1. The programme was due to be called simply Taskforce, but reluctant to sacrifice a much-loved brand the BBC compromised this so it became Softly, Softly: Taskforce.
At the end of Softly Softly, the main characters - Detective Chief Inspector Barlow (Stratford Johns) and Detective Inspector Watt (Frank Windsor) - were promoted to control 'taskforces', a new (at the time) development in regional police divisions wherein expertise and manpower could be drawn together when needed for special operations. Joining them from Softly, Softly would be DS Harry Hawkins (Norman Bowler), also on promotion. The stories were set in the fictional south-eastern English borough of Thamesford (played by the City of Rochester and the Medway area), where the team were under the baleful eye of Chief Constable Cullen (Walter Gotell).
The continuing storyline of the series saw Barlow widowed in 1972, after which he was headhunted by the Home Office to work on special cases (this became the series Barlow at Large). This left the way clear for Watt to come out of Barlow's shadow and take command in his own right, with the reliable assistance of Hawkins. Regulars included Terence Rigby as PC Snow (the dog handler, with his dogs Inky and Radar), David Lloyd Meredith (Sgt Evans) and Walter Gotell (Chief Con. Cullen).
By the mid 1970s, the show was beginning to look rather dated and drab alongside the new dynamic series appearing on ITV (such as The Sweeney). With its increasing reliance on police procedural issues and squeaky-clean officers (with the odd 'rotten apple' for them to condemn), it began to look as stiff as Dixon of Dock Green had when its forerunner Z-Cars had appeared to blow away the cobwebs. The final series introduced a new theme tune and some new characters, but the series had had its day and was a far cry from the dynamic and edgy team of professionals introduced in the first Softly, Softly ten years earlier.
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