TV Review: The Thin Blue Line (1995)

As an anglophile, I was thrilled when one of our readers asked for a recommendation of a British sitcom, or 'Britcom' (and yes, we take requests in the comments section). The first names to pop into my mind were Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minster and Black Adder — two of the finest television comedies of all time. Still, someone who specifically asks for Britcoms has to have already covered those basic shows anyway. So I finally got around to watching a TV series that I have put off for a long time: The Thin Blue Line.

The creative team of Rowan Atkinson and Ben Elton (Mr. Bean, Black Adder) has delivered yet another fine show; but this one never really got the attention it deserved. The Thin Blue Line is a funny take on the life at a British police station, headed by Inspector Raymond Fowler (played by Atkinson, who is impeccably hilarious, as always).

Standing (from left): Kray, Goody, Habib and Gladstone

Sitting (from left): Grim, Fowler and Dawkins

Fowler is a ‘by-the-books’ intelligent cop and an outright geek: he loves his modeling kits, Sherlock Holmes novels, lives to serve The Queen and frowns upon the tele. He also has an absolute disinclination towards his marital duties — a situation mourned in each episode by his wife, Police Sergeant Patricia Dawkins. Naturally, hilarity ensues…

Patricia: We are not the first, and we won't be the last couple to have problems with our sex life.

Fowler: We do not have a problem.

Patricia: We don't have a sex life!

Fowler (deadpan): Exactly, so I can hardly see how there could be a problem with it!

The mixing of home and office lives is just one of the plot mechanisms of this finely-written show. The other most highlighted aspect is Fowler’s ‘Uniformed’ vs ‘Plain clothes’ rivalry with the head of the detective squad (which sits in the same large room as the police squad), Detective Inspector Derek Grim.

Grim is the proverbial village idiot and the writing talents of Ben Elton show through here. The wonderful play on words, meant to appear inadvertent, will leave you chuckling. If there was ever a case to be made that only Brits should be allowed to write puerile jokes, it’s a show filled with lines like this:

Detective Grim: Just remember, Raymond, it's my arse and if you stuff it, I'm going to be very red in the face!

The back-and-forth between Grim and Fowler is the highlight

Other regulars on the show are Constable Maggie Habib (an Indian-origin officer and the voice of reason in this mad circus); Constable Kevin Goody (a bumbling, inept pansy who chases after Habib); Constable Frank Gladstone (a senior West Indian cop who generally tries to pass on his ‘wisdom’, or the lack of it, to anyone present with the help of personal anecdotes); and Detective Constable Robert Kray (a cynical, smart cop and the only man from Grim’s unit who gets any importance on the show). Kray is replaced in Season 2 by DC Gary Boyle, who is basically a different actor playing the same role.

Each of the seven episodes in both seasons have a simple and predictable sitcom plot: A situation arises that entangles everyone in the station only to have finally resolved to status quo at the end of 30 minutes.

Apart from Atkinson, James Dreyfus shines as the junk-food-addict momma’s boy in playing Constable Goody, who admits to joining the force only because it involves wearing a nice uniform. All in all, everyone in the show does a competent job in this laugh-a-minute Britcom.

The Thin Blue Line is not of the class of a Black Adder or Mr. Bean, but it’s a mighty fine swan song from one of the best comic-writing duos of all time. As light viewing to unwind after a long day at work, it’s simply perfect.

Rating: 7/10

And as a parting gift, here are a few funny moments from the show (although the clips missed out on most of the better ones that I laughed out loud at):