Taggart (TV series)
| Taggart | |
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Taggart's 2010 title, the first to be shot in HD
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| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Glenn Chandler |
| Starring |
Mark McManus (1983–1994) Neil Duncan (1983–1987, 1994) Blythe Duff (1985–2010) Iain Anders (1985–1998) James MacPherson (1987–2002) Colin McCredie (1995–2010) John Michie (1998–2010) Alex Norton (2002–2010) Siobhan Redmond (2010) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 27 |
| No. of episodes | 109 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Margaret Enefer (2010) Eric Coulter (2001–2010) |
| Producer(s) | Marcus Wilson (2010) Graeme Gordon (2001–2010) |
| Running time | 60–120mins (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) |
STV Productions (Scottish Television) |
| Release | |
| Original network | STV, ITV, UTV |
| Picture format |
576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | 6 September 1983 – 7 November 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Rebus (2000–2007) |
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network from 6 September 1983 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives, initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station.
Taggart was one of the UK's longest-running television dramas and the longest-running police drama after the cancellation of The Bill.
Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994; however, the series continued under the same name.
The series theme music is "No Mean City" sung by Maggie Bell.
The Scottish BAFTA-winning pilot episode, "Killer", directed by Laurence Moody and broadcast in 1983, introduced the character Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Jim Taggart (played by Mark McManus until his death in 1994), a tough and experienced detective who had worked his way up through the ranks. His original sidekick was Detective Sergeant (DS) Peter Livingstone (Neil Duncan). Livingstone represented the new breed of young graduates entering the police force, and frequently had a difficult relationship with Taggart as a result. Taggart's boss in the pilot was Superintendent Robert Murray (Tom Watson), known as "The Mint" after the well-known sweet. This humour was continued in the subsequent series, when Taggart's boss after the second episode ("Dead Ringer") being Superintendent Jack McVitie (Iain Anders), nicknamed "The Biscuit" because he shared his name with a popular brand of biscuits. Another important character was Taggart's long-suffering, wheelchair-bound wife Jean (Harriet Buchan), whose disability did not prevent her from pursuing a number of interests in life while her cynical husband stuck mainly to his job. Throughout the McManus era, there was nearly always a sub-plot in every episode which involved the domestic life of the Taggarts which, on occasion became intertwined with the case being investigated. The most memorable of these was the Taggarts' ongoing care of Jean's senile Aunt Hettie (Sheila Donald), whom Jim despises and begrudges staying in his house. This sub-plot ran through 1990-91, until the Hettie character was finally killed off in the 1991 season finale ("Violet Delights").
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