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This article is about the British TV series. For the Polish punk rock band, see The Bill (band).
The Bill is a long running British police procedural television series, unique among police dramas in that its focus is on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. The series is produced by Talkback Thames, its name originating from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police. It originated as a one off drama, entitled Woodentop in August, 1983. However, ITV were impressed to the extent that The Bill started as a series in October the following year. Woodentop primarily starred Trudie Goodwin as WPC June Ackland of the fictional Sun Hill police station in London, who was later to become the last remaining original cast member. The series has come under attack by the Police Federation, who accused it of portraying the police as a racist organisation, however, relations are now on better terms to the extent that the executive producer met with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to discuss the editorial relationship and the series, again making it unique on British television, uses authentic police uniforms and equipment. The Bill's theme tune, "Overkill", used in one form or another since The Bill's beginning as a series in 1985 was controversially replaced in 2009 as part of an overhaul of the series. Indeed, even after twenty five years, The Bill still causes occasional controversy, particularly with its story lines. For example, a 2008 episode that featured a fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis, and another in May of the same year that resulted in litigation by MP George Galloway for defamation. The series has also faced more general criticism concerning the levels of violence it portrays, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre watershed slot. In spite of the controversies, The Bill has beaten several other popular series to a series of awards, including a BAFTA and the title of "best drama" at the Inside Soap Awards in 2009, the latter being the series' fourth consecutive win. Throughout its history, The Bill has always been broadcast on ITV (later renamed ITV1 with the network's expansion into digital television). It is now repeated on ITV3, part of ITV's digital network, as well as on digital channels Alibi and Watch.
[edit] HistoryMain article: History of The Bill The concept of The Bill was originally conceived by Geoff McQueen in 1983, then a relatively new television writer, as a one-off drama. McQueen had originally titled the production "Old Bill". It was picked up by Michael Chapman for production company Talkback Thames, whereupon it was retitled "Woodentop" as part of Thames' "Storyboard" series of one-off dramas. It was aired on ITV, a British, free to air, commercial television network under the title Woodentop on August 16, 1983. It starred Mark Wingett as Police Constable Jim Carver and Trudie Goodwin as Woman Police Constable June Ackland of London's Metropolitan Police, both attached to the fictional Sun Hill police station[1]. Although originally only intended as a one off, Woodentop impressed ITV to the extent that they commissioned a full series, which commenced on 16 October, 1984 with one post-watershed episode per week, featuring an hour-long, separate storyline for each episode of the first three seasons. However, the name of the show changed again from "Woodentop" to The Bill[1]. 1988 saw an increase to three episodes, each of thirty minutes, per week. Almost ten years later, in 1998, The Bill returned to hour-long episodes, now twice-weekly, at which point the series adopted a much more serialised approach. When Paul Marquess took over as Executive Producer in 2002, the series was revamped as a soap with many veteran characters written out, leading to the Sun Hill fire 2002. Marquess stated that the clearout was necessary in order to introduce "plausible, powerful new characters". As part of the new serial format, much more of the characters' personal lives were explored, however, as Marquess put it, the viewers still "don't go home with them"[1]. The years 2002 to 2005 saw the highest death toll of police officers in the series' history[citation needed]. The change also allowed The Bill to become more reflective of modern policing with the introduction of officers from ethnic minorities, most notably, the new superintendent, Adam Okaro[1]. It also allowed coverage of the relationship of homosexual Sergeant Craig Gilmore and PC Luke Ashton, a storyline which Marquess was determined to explore before The Bill's rival, Merseybeat, did.[1]. [edit] Theme tune and title sequenceThe Bill's original theme music was known as "Overkill" and gained iconic status in spite of the various re-workings it has seen since it was first heard in the episode Funny Ol' Business - Cops & Robbers until it was replaced in 2009 as part of a major overhaul of the series, however, producers still claim that the new theme tune contains "subtle echoes" of "Overkill"[2][3]. The original opening sequence to The Bill consisted of a police car (in this case a Rover) racing down a street with its siren and blue light on. The car would screech to a stop and the camera would zoom in on the blue light. Various clips were then shown from the series of the characters in action, often chasing suspects. The first episode shown of The Bill is called Funny Ol' Business - Cops & Robbers. The original end titles simply showed the feet of two police constables pounding the beat (always 1 WPC and 1 PC)[4]. The original title music was composed by Andy Pask and Charlie Morgan [5]. In 1997, the opening credits changed, although the theme tune remained the same. The opening credits still showed a police car racing down a street with its sirens blaring, this time overtaking a routemaster bus before screeching to a halt. It then changed to show clips of the various actors in the series, with each clip interspersed by the image of the flashing light. The end credits remained the same and the title music was still put together by Andy Pask and Charlie Morgan[6]. In 1998, the opening credits changed again. This time there was no police car racing down the street, the opening credits still had the police siren wailing but this time the police stripes flashed across the screen in the same image as a police car. Also gone were any clips of the actors, instead this title sequence featured various police procedures, missing person reports, a map, a vague image of someone being arrested, a person having his mugshot taken and a fingerprint were included. The theme tune was revamped with a slightly jazzed up feel as it was mainly played by a saxophone [7]. The end credits also changed and now instead of featuring two police constables pounding the beat, simply circled around showing the police uniform. The music for this was arranged by Mark Russell[8][9]. In 2001 the opening credits were changed to show the faces of all the police officers on The Bill. In the background the police siren is still wailing.[10]. The end credits again changed, designed by "Blue", this time featuring various police equipment as the credits run and a new arrangement of the theme music by Miles Bould [11] and Mike Westergaard [12][13]. The 2003–2006 introduction featured generic police images such as a police car and a police uniform in the opening titles. The wail of a police siren can still be heard in the background. The end credits also changed this time to feature a preview of the next episode. The background to the end credits is simply a police shade of blue and the credits were now designed by Roisin at Blue with a new arrangement of the theme music by Lawrence Oakley [14]. In 2007, the opening credits changed to feature various sights and focused more on scenes involving Police. In this opening sequence the wail of the police siren is still heard and there is reference to the fact that this is Sun Hill police station [15]. The closing credits follow a police car on patrol and the music is again arranged by Lawrence Oakley [16]. In 2009 the programme underwent a major overhaul, moving to a post watershed slot to allow for grittier story lines and to enable ITV to cut its cost in the light of the recession[17][18]. As a result, the credits were again changed, with the old theme tune replaced and the addition of incidental music[19][20]. The new closing credits simply follow a police car on patrol and the music is now by Simba Studios[21]. [edit] Broadcasting and productionThe Bill is set in and around Sun Hill police station, in the "Canley Borough Operational Command Unit" in East London[22]. Filming for the series takes place all over London, mainly in South London and particularly the London Borough of Merton, where the Sun Hill set is located[23]. Locations used when the show is filmed on an estate are:
Scenes are often filmed in East London, most notably the London Docklands[24], with other scenes filmed in Tooting[25], Greenwich[26] or Croydon[27]. When filming The Bill, some scenes are re-enacted indoors with microphones surrounding the actors and the extra sounds being "dubbed" on later. Some of the more aggressive scenes are also filmed indoors either for dubbing or safety reasons[28]. When filming scenes involving police cars, a camera is attached to the outside of the car which feeds back images to a computer in the back of the vehicle. It is this that was used to film the new opening titles of The Bill[29]. The sirens used in the series are added later in the dubbing suite as The Bill does not have permission to use sirens while on location, however[30], the police uniforms used in the series are genuine[31][32]. The Bill is unique amongst police dramas in that it takes a serial format, focussing on the work and lives of a single shift of police officers, rather than on one particular area of police work. Also unique is that The Bill adapted to this format after several series, whereas comparable series started with the serial format[33]. The series was originally shown on ITV1 (then known simply as ITV), a free to air channel relying on advertising revenue. With the ITV network's expansion into digital television, it is now shown on ITV 3, particularly a repeat of the most recent episode, especially aimed at viewers in Scotland after the series was cancelled there as a result of a dispute with Scottish network, STV. With the rise of digital television, The Bill has become increasingly available within the United Kingdom. Repeats are currently broadcast on Watch and Alibi. The Bill has been broadcast in over 55 different countries[34]
[edit] EpisodesMain article: List of The Bill episodes The Bill is broadcast year round. As of September 2009, 25 series, comprising 2361 individual episodes have been broadcast. [edit] Live EpisodesThe Bill has broadcast two live episodes. The first was in 2003 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the pilot, Woodentop. The second was in 2005 to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of ITV. 2003 The live episode in 2003 was episode #162, originally broadcast on 30 October 2003 at 8pm. Detective Constable Juliet Becker and Constable Cathy Bradford are being held hostage by a man called Mark. As they are being held hostage in a carrier in the station yard, Juliet Becker raises the custody suite alarm. When the rest of the station arrive outside, Mark makes it known that he intends to kill Juliet Becker just as the police get permission to break into the carrier only to find that Juliet has been stabbed. She is rushed to hospital, but attempts to resuscitate her fail. 2005 The live episode in 2005 was episode #349, broadcast on 22 September 2005 at 8pm. In this episode, it was revealed that PC Gabriel Kent had assumed a false identity. It is revealed that he has been operating under his brother's name and is, in fact, David Kent. In this episode the "real" Gabriel Kent arrived in Sun Hill to meet his mother, Sergeant June Ackland. In this episode, Sun Hill police station is hosting a reception party and, as the police arrive, they are taken hostage by a distraught father whose son was killed by a stolen car. A struggle ensues in which a shot is fired, alerting others in the building the incident. After an evacuation of the station, Superintendent Amanda Prosser encourages PC Dan Casper to attempt to overpower the man. As he does so, both Casper and the real Gabriel Kent are shot. The real Gabriel Kent is rushed to hospital where the false Gabriel Kent threatens him in order to keep the identity switch a secret. [edit] CastMain article: List of The Bill characters The Bill has a large regular cast to support the number of episodes that are produced each year. Working on The Bill has become something of a rite of passage in British acting, with 174 actors having formed part of the series' main cast.[37] Likewise, a number of cast members from the series have appeared in other roles within the series, and in other British soap operas and dramas. [edit] Notable cast membersThere are numerous actors who have either appeared on The Bill for some considerable length of time, or for whom The Bill has made a significant impact on their careers.
[edit] Broadcasting[edit] In the United KingdomAs of 2009, the Bill airs on ITV 1 at 9pm every Thursday evening for one hour [44]. The program used to air on Scottish channel STV, however on 5 July 2009, the News Of The World reported that The Bill was to be axed in Scotland.[45]. The final episode of The Bill shown on STV was "Conviction: Judgement Day" and it was aired on 23 July 2009 at 8pm. After being axed in Scotland, The Bill found itself caught up in a legal wrangle between ITV and STV. ITV claim that STV are due them money for opting out of showing programmes like The Bill. ITV are currently preparing to sue STV for £38 million [46] Due to the broadcast cancellation in Scotland and its major revamp to coincide with its scheduling, ITV 3 now repeat the show on Monday nights.[47] [edit] RatingsThe Bill has become a popular drama in the United Kingdom and in many other countries, most notably in Australia[33][48]. The series has attracted audiences of up to six million viewers in 2008 and 2009[49]. Ratings peaked after the overhaul of the show which brought about the 2002 fire, in which six officers were killed[50] and the 2003 live episode attracted ten million viewers- forty percent of the UK audience share[51]. Immediately following The Bill's revamping and time slot change, it was reported that the programme had attracted 4.5 million viewers, 19% of the audience share, however, it lost out to the BBC's New Tricks[52] and indeed, the Daily Mirror later reported that ITV's schedule change was behind a two million viewer drop in ratings[53]. In the late 1990s, when The Bill aired on Tuesday and a Thursday at 8pm, the ratings for The Bill varied between 7 and 10 million viewers per episode. In comparison to this, EastEnders, which aired on BBC1 at 7.30pm on a Tuesday and Thursday attracted on average 14.95 million viewers per episode, whereas, in the same period (October) in 1999, The Bill was averaging approxiamtely 18 million viewers over both it's Tuesday and Thursday episodes, compared with D.I.Y. SOS, which aired at the same time on BBC1, averaged 8 million viewers[54]. In 2002, The Independent reported that The Bill's Thursday episode was viewed by approximately 7 million people, a fall of approximately 3 million viewers in the space of 6 months[55]. After the cast clearout resulting from the Sun Hill fire in April 2002, BBC News reported that The Bill attracted 8.6 million viewers, the highest figure for the year to that point[50]. In 2005, The Bill was averaging around 11 million viewers between it's Tuesday and Thursday viewings [56]. This was compared to Coronation Street (ITV) which was attracting around 10 million viewers. In 2009, The Mirror reported that The Bill was to be moved to a post-watershed slot to allow it to cover grittier storylines. It was reported that it is the first time in British Television that ITV have broadcast a drama all year in the 9pm slot [57]. The changeover happened at the end of July 2009. Before the move, The Bill was averaging 10 million viewers between the two episodes each week. BARB reports that the week 12–18 October 2009 saw 3.78 million viewers watch The Bill [58] [edit] AwardsMain article: List of Awards of The Bill The Bill has achieved a number of awards throughout its time on air, ranging from a BAFTA [59] to the Royal Television Society Awards[60] and the Inside Soap Awards, particularly the "best reccuring drama" category, in which it has won six times, four of which being consecutive[61][62]. [edit] Impact and LegacyThe Bill is Britain's longest running police drama [63]. When the programme started, the majority of the Police Federation were opposed to the programme, claiming that it portrayed the police as a racist organisation[64]. However, feelings towards the programme have now mellowed[32]. The Bill's Executive Producer, Johnathan Young, met with Sir Ian Blair, then Commissioner of the Met in 2006 and it was decided that the editorial relationship between the Police and the programme was sufficient. However he is always keen to point out that The Bill is not "editorially bound" to the Police Force [32]. However, despite better relations with the police, The Bill has still not been without controversy. In the early days of the series, a local resident registered her protest at what she deemed to be a stereotypical portrayal of council estates as hotbeds of crime. She held up filming by stationing herself in the background with an ironing board, an iron and a basket full of laundry.[65]. The Bill has been repeatedly criticised for the level of violence it portrays, especially prior to 2009 when it occupied a pre- watershed timeslot[4]. Specific story lines have also come under fire in the media, such as an episode broadcast in March 2008 which featured a fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis, leading the MS Society to brand the plot "grossly irresponsible"[66]. In May of the same year, George Galloway, MP issued legal proceedings against The Bill for defamation after an episode, viewed by six million people, which featured a corrupt MP who smuggled antiques out of Iraq before the war, which Galloway alleged was a portrayal of him[67][68][69]. The series has also been criticised by the tabloid press for the replacing of the iconic theme tune as part of a revamping effort[70]. [edit]The Bill has spawned several spin-off productions and documentaries. A crossover episode with the German series SOKO Leipzig was produced, in cooperation with the ZDF, under the title "Soko Leipzig: The Bill – Entführung in London" (German title). It was broadcast both in Germany and the UK on November 12, 2008, and September 4, 2009[71]. Bureau Kruislaan Bureau Kruislaan was a Dutch series based on The Bill. It was produced by Joop van den Ende for VARA from 1992 to 1995. In the last year, the show received a nomination for a Gouden Televizier Ring, a Dutch award for the best television programme. Die Wache A German version of The Bill, entitled Die Wache, which utilised scripts from the series was produced for RTL Television from 1994 to 2006[72]. Burnside Burnside lasted a single series of six episodes, the first of which debuted on 7 July 2000. The series focused on the newly promoted DCI Burnside as a member of the National Crime Squad. It was created and produced by Richard Handford. A DVD was released in Australia 8 October 2008 and features all of the episodes in a 3-disc set. Beech On The Run Beech on the Run is a one-episode spin-off that continues the story of ex-DS Don Beech, living in Australia with associations to crime to fund his life of luxury. However, Claire Stanton is hot on his tail – determined to bring him to justice. Beech Is Back This sequel to spin-off Beech On The Run debuted in 2001. It lasted only six episodes and was more of a break away from the regular Bill (it was shown in that timeslot) than a complete spin-off. Beech is Back again focused on dodgy ex-DS Don Beech, still on the run from Claire Stanton who wants him brought to justice for the murder of her boyfriend DS John Boulton. None of the episodes were given a title, with each being part of a single six part serial. MIT: Murder Investigation Team In 2003, ITV launched MIT: Murder Investigation Team. The first episode investigated the drive-by shooting of Sgt. Matthew Boyden, who had been at Sun Hill for eleven years. The first series consisted of ten one-hour episodes. The second series was filmed in 2004, but not shown until mid 2005, and consisted of four ninety-minute episodes. It featured Eva Sharpe (Diane Parish) from The Bill, who had transferred to MIT. The series was created by Paul Marquess. The second series was produced by Johnathan Young. The Bill Uncovered A series of documentaries entitled The Bill Uncovered were produced to reflect the stories of select characters and events (broadcast on ITV 2 and ITV 3):
[edit] DVD video releases[edit] UK (Region 2)'The originals In the UK, The Bill has released series 1 to 3 individually and in a box set [73]. Note: The episode numbering system for the first three series is exclusive to that series.
Half-hour format Series 4 – Volumes 1, 2 and 3 have been released.[74] Note: From series 4 the numbering system will apply to the whole of the half-hour format, when the series began airing continuously through the year.
[edit] U.S. (Region 1)The Bill was also released in the US with the first series, but at the moment no further series are planned for release.[75]
[edit] NovelsA series of six novelisations of The Bill were published between 1985 and 1992, by Thames/Methuan Publishing (under the Mandarin imprint). Each book was written by John Burke [76], and adapted from television scripts by Geoff McQueen, Barry Appleton, Ginnie Hole, Christopher Russell, Lionel Goldstein, Al Hunter, Nicholas McInnery, JC Wilsher, Jonathan Rich and Robin Muckherjee. The format of the books differed from the original scripts in minor details and the episodes are presented in a more serialised style, with the narrative events of separate episodes moving into and out of each other, not unlike the format used in later years by the television series. An early taboo of the series, that the officers private lives remained off-screen, was also broken. During the first two books, DI Galloway was seen at home with his wife and his daughter. When the novels began to adapt the half-hour episodes (Book Three onwards) there is a noticeable jump in continuity, as the sudden influx of a larger cast of characters meant that not every "first episode" of each character could be adapted, so several characters can be seen suddenly appearing half way through with little or no introduction as to who they are or where they came from. All the novelisations were published in paperback editions. The first two books were also published in rarer to find hardcover editions. The stories from Series Three of the TV series never received a novelisation because of various unavoidable production problems with that series.
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Categories: 1983 in British television | 1983 television series debuts | 1980s British television series | 1990s British television series | 2000s British television series | Crime television series | ITV television programmes | Police procedural television series | Television shows set in London | The Bill | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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