Between The Lines S2 Complete

"Between The Lines" is set in the Complaints Investigation Bureau (CIB) - the department responsible for investigating other police officers - of London's Metropolitan Police. The first two series had stories based around various different aspects of the darker side of the police, ranging from such topics as petty corruption, racism and sexual harassment through to grand conspiracy, with some plot threads running through the series over several episodes. The series also dealt with the personal lives of it's less-than-clean-cut characters, particularly the womanising lead character Tony Clark, and is also notable for its inclusion of a lesbian character in a major role. In the third and final series, the focus changed significantly, moving away from the police force to other areas of security and espionage.


New Order
TX : 5th October 1993
Director : Alan Dossor
Script : J C Wilsher
Cast : Steven Sinscoe (Inspector Cole), Richard Ireson (Chief Inspector Lodge), Brian Southwood (Chief Inspector, Personnel), Alison Sterling (Sergeant Judy Prescott), James Clyde (Police Constable Tulloch), Philip McGough (Norman), Daniel Craig (Joe Rance), Michael Cronin (Derek Lee-Metford), John Carlisle (Douglas Carter MP) and Angus MacInnes (Patrick Ingram).
Publicity : Neil Pearson is back as Tony Clark, the pushy, loutish police complaints investigator in a second series of Between The Lines (BBC-1, 9:30pm), a well-received drama notable for its crisp storylines and frequent bedroom scenes. As it happens our hero manages to keep his trousers on tonight, in my view much to the programme's advantage. The opening title sequence, with its montage of naked bodies, suggests that the absence is only temporary. But for the time being, at least, Clark can concentrate on his day job. This involves dealing with a high-flying young policeman who has infiltrated a fascist organisation but appears to be getting too enthusiastic about its ideas. Neil Pearson returns as Tony Clark, now acting Detective Chief Superintendent, in the Royal Television Society Award-winning drama series based on the work of the Metropolitan Police's Complaints Investigations Bureau. (The Times, October 5, 1993)
Notes : The season was originally transmitted 9:30pm to 10:20pm on BBC 1.


Manslaughter
TX : 12th October 1993
Director : Alan Dossor
Script : Rob Heyland
Cast : Paul Bentall (Chief Superintendent Powers), Mark Benson (Detective Constable Minten), Jason Watkins (The Custody Sergeant), David Hayman (David Lindsay), Hermione Norris (Gail Myles) and Geraldine Newman (Betty Myles).
Synopsis : Clark and his team become involved in what at first appears to be a straightforward murder investigation. However, the fact that the murderer is a high-profile police officer (having investigated forty murders himself, and described by his superiors as "calm, cool-headed and a very private man") and the victim is his wife further complicates matters.


Crack Up
TX : 19th October 1993
Director : Robert Bierman
Script : Ray Brennan
Cast : Neil Stuke (Detective Constable Green), Steven Waddington (Detective Sergeant Slater), Charlie Creed-Miles (Lloyd Manning) and Ewen Cummins (Harvey Mannel).
Synopsis : When a black youth is shot dead by police, Clark and his team become embroiled in the ensuing crossfire between the local community and a hostile police force. In the course of their investigations, they venture into the underworld of crack cocaine.


Honourable Men
TX : 26th October 1993
Director : Robert Bierman
Script : Russell Lewis
Cast : Matthew Marsh (Detective Sergeant Peter Woodward), Michele Winstanley (Detective Sergeant Karen McPhail), Paul Freeman (Nicholas Shaw), Eleanor David (Penny Shaw), Julian Wadham (Nigel Winter), Sophie Dix (Louise Parker), Clovis Rau (George Shaw) and David Henry (The Committee Chairman).
Synopsis : Suspicion falls on police protection officers when a high-profile Member of Parliament is caught in a compromising situation. A vicious tirade by the tabloid press only serves to fan the flames, but Clark's investigations reveal that the motives may lie in a systematic smear campaign.


Some Must Watch...
TX : 2nd November 1993
Director : Roy Battersby
Script : Rob Heyland
Synopsis : Inter-service rivalry breaks out when an intruder is shot dead at a Territorial Army base. Forced to accept help from Angela Berridge, an attractive Home Office official, Clark's investigation into the activities of M15 and Special Branch teaches him a harsh lesson in the realities of power.


Manoeuvre 11
TX : 9th November 1993
Director : Roy Battersby
Script : Ron Rose
Cast : Bernard Hill (Chief Constable Harmsworth).
Synopsis : After a police attempt to disperse a peaceful demonstration about council cuts goes tragically wrong when the mounted police are called in. Clark's investigation is hampered by Chief Constable Harmsworth. His team embarks on a race against time to establish the truth before the pressure to find a scapegoat becomes too great.


The Fifth Estate
TX : 16th November 1993
Director : Peter Smith
Script : Rob Heyland
Cast : Dearbhla Molloy (Assistant Chief Constable Jan Lewis), Bernard Hill (Chief Constable Harmsworth), Gerrard McArthur (Detective Inspector Jardine), Michael Kitchen (Roger Boshier), Michael Pennington (Thomas Wenleigh), Colin Salmon (Eric Hutchinson), Eamon Boland (The Chairman), Tom Chadbon (The Newspaper Editor), Jonathan Coy (Mike Collins), Judith Barker (Mrs Roberts), William Ivory (Andrew Hytner), Kate Rhodes (Vickie) and Merelina Kendall (Doctor Kingsnorth).
Synopsis : Sergeant Maureen Connell's friend Kate Roberts is implicated in a sexual misconduct case. Meanwhile, Clark's search for a missing royal tape brings him into closer contact with Angela Berridge.


The Great Detective
TX : 23rd November 1993
Director : Peter Smith
Script : Nicholas Martin
Cast : Ian McElhinney (Chief Superintendent Trevor Dunne) and Shaun Prendergast (Ray Garner).
Synopsis : Chief Superintendent Trevor Dunne becomes the target of a campaign to undermine his authority. Having recently been cleared by one enquiry, fresh evidence from a convicted criminal determined to reduce his sentence at the expense of Dunne ensures that the officer faces another enquiry in quick succession. When Clark and his team become involved in the matter, they are sharply divided between the duties they are instructed to perform and their loyalty towards an officer of great repute.


Jumping The Lines
TX : 30th November 1993
Director : Robert Bierman
Script : Julian Jones
Cast : Alexander Morton (Superintendent Tyrrell), Shaun Dingwall (Police Constable Curles), Peter Hugo Daley (Police Constable Jobson), Jonathan Cullen (Police Constable Reynolds) and Stephen Greif (Steven Ripley).
Synopsis : Clark and his CIB team investigation a police officer suspected of being the culpable driver behind the wheel of a tragic hit-and-run incident.


What's The Strength Of This?
TX : 7th December 1993
Director : Robert Bierman
Script : J C Wilsher
Cast : Robin Ellis (Donald Berridge), Stephen Greif (Steven Ripley), Hazel Ellerby (Sergeant Carol Webb) and Michael Higgs (Detective Sergeant Luke).
Publicity : "He's the bedrock of the department," says Between The Lines producer Peter Norris of the police Complaints Investigation Bureau's Harry Naylor. But in tonight's episode of this critically-acclaimed drama Naylor's future is in jeopardy. With his wife terminally ill, Naylor has been moonlighting for a security firm to raise funds for her treatment. Faced with a disciplinary hearing, will he go quietly? Will he fight? Will his boss Tony Clark stand by him? This is the first of three episodes which conclude the current series. Clark's infatuation with Angela Berridge continues. "In the first series he was the tough character who would kick his women out," says Norris. "Now it's the other way round". Tony Clark isn't used to rejection so he confronts Angela Berridge and comes face-to-face with her husband Donald. (The Times, December 7, 1993).


Big Boy's Rules (Part 1)
TX : 14th December 1993
Director : Richard Standeven
Script : J C Wilsher
Cast : Robin Ellis (Donald Berridge), Gavin Richards (Detective Superintendent Tyler), David Morrissey (Inspector Dilke), Tam Dean Burn (Detective Inspector Brian Cole), Adie Allen (Police Constable Linda Shore), Nick Dunning (Simon Bridge), Christine Kavanagh (Joanna Gould), Lizzy McInnery (Geraldine Dixon), Matyelok Gibbs (Mrs Ames), Lalor Roddy (Declan Harris) and Nina Marc (Pauline McNichol).
Publicity : A familiar if not particularly friendly face returns in this week's episode of the police drama, which has been getting excellent notices from the press. It's the first of a two-part story and it provides the Complaints Investigation Bureau's Tony Clark with a chance to settle old scores with his former boss, Chief Superintendent John Deakin, who is now working with Special Branch. In the first episode of this series, Deakin was acquitted by a jury of criminal charges brought against him by Clark. They are involved in the suspected execution by the IRA of a police informer, who it is said, was under pressure from Special Branch. The Home Office's Angela Berridge adds her own mystique and Harry Naylor, now CID not CIB, is also called on to lend a hand. The story, and the series, conclude next week. (The Times, December 14, 1993).


Big Boy's Rules (Part 2)
TX : 21st December 1993
Director : Richard Standeven
Script : J C Wilsher
Cast : Frank Harper (Trevor Bull), David Morrissey (Inspector Dilke), Martin Troakes (Detective Inspector Stroud), Colin McCormack (Commander Bignall), Jude Akuwudike (The Custody Sergeant), Michael Bray (The Armed Response Vehicle Sergeant) and Ciaran O'Doherty (The Panda Police Constable).
Publicity : Producer Peter Norris promises something special as the powerful police series comes to the end of its run. "The BBC have committed themselves to a third series," he says, before adding with a touch of mystery, "but it will have to be different because of questions left unanswered in this episode and the climactic end to the programme". Series creator J C Wilsher writes the conclusion of this two-part story in which Tony Clark is still trying to nail his former boss, John Deakin. But for Clark the real trouble is Trevor Bull, a victim of a police shooting years earlier. Bull is being put under pressure by both Clark and Deakin and this time he is not taking prisoners. (The Times, December 21, 1993).