Wikipedia

Hard Cases (TV series)

Hard Cases is a British television crime drama series, based upon a 1987 novel by John Harvey and Laurence James, that aired on ITV between 18 January 1988 and 29 August 1989.[1] Based around a group of officers from the crime probation service in Nottingham,[2][3] the cast was initially led by John Bowe, supported by Gil Brailey, Eric Deacon and Barry Jackson.[4] The series was one of the first British seasonal dramas to feature multiple lead characters and multiple, entwined stories, rather than reading an individual story in each episode.

Hard Cases
GenreCrime drama
Created by
  • John Harvey
  • Laurence James
Written byJohn Harvey
Directed byRichard Standeven
Starring
Theme music composerTom Robinson
Opening theme"Hard Cases"
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerTed Childs
Producers
  • Andrew Benson
  • Phillip Bowman
Production locationNottingham
Editors
Running time50 minutes
Production companyCentral Independent Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release18 January 1988 (1988-01-18) –
29 August 1989 (1989-08-29)

The series notably featured Jimmy McGovern and Patrick Harbinson as its script editors, both of whom went on to have very successful careers as lead writers.[5] Graham Nicolls, a then-serving officer in the Nottingham CPS, acted as an advisor.[6] The series was accompanied by its own theme, written and performed by Tom Robinson, which was issued as a single by Robinson in 1988.[7] Notably, neither series has been repeated since broadcast, nor is available on any form of home media.

Cast

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  • John Bowe as Martin Berry (Series 1)
  • Gil Brailey as Gill Ridgeley (Series 1―2)
  • Eric Deacon as Ross Kennedy (Series 1―2)
  • Gaby Dellal as Leonie Friedman (Series 1)
  • Barry Jackson as Jack Seymore (Series 1―2)
  • Gerrard McArthur as Kevin Nash (Series 1―2)
  • June Barrie as Hilary Bowen (Series 1―2)
  • Denica Fairman as Chrissie Taylor (Series 2)
  • Kevin McNally as Richard Pearce (Series 2)
  • Sheila Ruskin as Lucy Davenport (Series 2)
  • Valerie Hunkins as Charlotte Poole (Series 2)
  • Sean Pertwee as Dominic Lutovski (Series 2)
  • Ian Kirkby as Peter Collinson (Series 1)
  • Brian Poyser as Cllr. Collinson (Series 1)
  • Emma Bowe as Claire Sanderson (Series 2)

Episodes

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Series 1 (1988)

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Episode Title Director Writer Original airdate
1TBARichard StandevenJohn Harvey18 January 1988 (1988-01-18)
2TBARichard StandevenJohn Harvey25 January 1988 (1988-01-25)
3TBARichard StandevenJohn Harvey1 February 1988 (1988-02-01)
4TBARichard StandevenJohn Harvey8 February 1988 (1988-02-08)
5TBARichard StandevenJohn Harvey15 February 1988 (1988-02-15)
6TBARichard StandevenJohn Harvey22 February 1988 (1988-02-22)

Series 2 (1989)

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Episode Title Director Writer Original airdate
1TBAMichael BrayshawRobert Kingsley18 July 1989 (1989-07-18)
2TBAMichael BrayshawRobert Kingsley25 July 1989 (1989-07-25)
3TBAMichael BrayshawRobert Kingsley1 August 1989 (1989-08-01)
4TBAAnthony GarnerNick Whitby8 August 1989 (1989-08-08)
5TBAAnthony GarnerRobert Kingsley15 August 1989 (1989-08-15)
6TBAAndrew MorganHarry Duffin22 August 1989 (1989-08-22)
7TBAAndrew MorganNick Whitby & Tim Whitby29 August 1989 (1989-08-29)

References

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  1. ^ Mawby & Worrall p.96
  2. ^ "'Public Enemies': Probation and risk management".
  3. ^ "Shooting the Breeze with JOHN HARVEY".
  4. ^ Thames Continuity & Adverts - 1988. YouTube. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Jimmy McGovern".
  6. ^ https://www.mmuperu.co.uk/assets/uploads/bjcj_files/BJCJ-10-2_-_Nellis-FULL.pdf [dead link]
  7. ^ "Tom Robinson - Hard Cases". Discogs.

Bibliography

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  • Rob C. Mawby & Anne Worrall. Doing Probation Work: Identity in a Criminal Justice Occupation. Routledge, 2013.
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