The Metropolis

A somewhat comprehensive list of London-set detective shows, with descriptions thereof. Part 1

Mike Pollitt | Wednesday 8 June, 2011 14:46

The Adventures of Fu Manchu (1955)
Fu’s wife and child are accidentally killed by a British officer, so he vows to destroy the West.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (passim)
Drug addled layabout and his dull mate get in the police’s way.
Agatha Christie’s Poirot (passim)
Lonely, asexual Belgian potters round 1930’s art deco London.
Ashes to Ashes (2008)
Flogging a dead horse.
Barlow at Large (1973)
Spin off from oiky Scouse cop show Z Cars.
The Bill (1984)
Downtrodden cop Reg Hollis just misses out on an exciting case.
Bulman (1985)
“You wrote the book on detection in this city, George. You were born to be a detective, not a clock mender.” Antique shop owner turns private eye.
The Chinese Detective (1981)
1980s show helps breaks down racial barriers while simultaneously reinforcing them with overly literal title.
Colonel March of Scotland Yard (1956)
Boris Karloff in an eye patch works at Scotland Yard’s Department of Queer Complaints. That’s queer in a 1950’s sense of unusual, as in “unusual as folk”.
Cribb (1981)
Victorian set crime series. Episodes titles included Wobble to Death, Abracadaver, and The Detective Wore Silk Drawers.
Dixon of Dock Green (1955)
Nice man gives cheeky lads a clip round the ear, and everything’s absolutely fine again.

Quotes and much research taken from the sensational Boxtree Encyclopedia of TV Detectives, by Geoff Tibballs (1992). Dates refer to year of first transmission. Some shows have been omitted on grounds of tedium.

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