Strangers (TV series)

Not to be confused with the 1989 New Zealand TV series written by Margaret Mahy, or the 1996 French-Canadian anthology TV series, both of the same name.

Strangers is a UK police drama that appeared on ITV between 1978 and 1982.

After the success of the TV series The XYY Man, adapted from books by Kenneth Royce, Granada TV devised a new series to feature the regular characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Detective Constable Derek Willis (Dennis Blanch). The result was Strangers.

The series began as a fairly standard police drama series with Bulman as its eccentric lead. Its premise was that a group of police officers have been brought together from different parts of the country to the north of England. There, the fact that they are not known locally gives them the opportunity to infiltrate where a more familiar local detective could not. Initially, the team consisted of Bulman, Willis (promoted to Sergeant) and Linda Doran (Frances Tomelty). Their local liaison was provided by Detective Sergeant David Singer (John Ronane); their superior was Chief Inspector Rainbow (David Hargreaves). Despite being based around a comparatively small team of detectives, a regular feature of the programme in its early years was that few episodes featured the entire team, with most using just two or three of the regulars in any major role.

Series two, shown in early 1979, introduced the character of Detective Constable Vanessa Bennett who was played by Fiona Mollison. The same series would be the last to feature the characters Linda Doran and Chief Inspector Rainbow.

The first series was made primarily on videotape, with location footage shot on film. Series two would feature even more film: with the opening episode The Wheeler Dealers being made entirely on film and the season closer, Marriages, Deaths And Births, being entirely on film bar the standard series title sequence and a few scenes at the police station. From series three onwards, the entire production moved to film.

The first series used a mixture of writers with only one - Leslie Duxbury - writing more than one episode. He would contribute one further script, for series two, and it was during the second season that Murray Smith came to the fore as the series' main writer. Having penned the programme's first episode, he wrote all but six of the twenty-five episodes that formed series two to five.

In series three (1980), Bulman, Willis, Bennett and the newly promoted Detective Inspector David Singer became members of the Inter City Squad under the command of Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Lambie (played by Mark McManus). The basic premise was similar, but rather than covering just the north west of England, the team's remit now extended to the whole country.

By series four (1981), Bulman had also gained promotion - to Detective Chief Inspector. The same series also introduced the semi-regular character of William 'Bill' Dugdale (Thorley Walters) a member of the British Foreign Office/Secret Services who would become involved when there was a political or intelligence aspect to the investigation. His role was not necessarily to help the detectives; that would only happen when was in the government's interest for them to succeed.

The character of Chief Inspector Bulman, still played by Don Henderson, appeared in a subsequent series Bulman by which point he had retired from the police but was still involved in detective work.

All five series are now available on Region 2 UK DVD (released by Network DVD).

Episodes

Series 1

Regular cast: Det. Sgt. Bulman (Don Henderson), Det. Con. Willis (Dennis Blanch), Det. Insp. Singer (John Ronane), Det. Con. Doran (Frances Tomelty), Det. Ch. Insp. Rainbow (David Hargreaves)

Episode #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Guest stars
1	"The Paradise Set"	Carole Wilks	Murray Smith	5 June 1978	Malcolm Tierney, Philip Jackson
Arrving in Manchester to work on their new patch as 'strangers' to the local underworld, Bulman and Willis investigate a jewel robbery.
2	"Duty Roster"	Oliver Horsburgh	Ivor Marshall	12 June 1978	Shirley Stelfox, Bill Waddington
A routine assignment to follow-up muggings of a local postman lead Bulman and Willis to a much bigger case, much to Rainbow's annoyance.
3	"Silver Lining"	Bill Gilmour	Steve Wakeham	19 June 1978	Hywel Bennett, Judith Barker
Bulman becomes a bookie and Doran gets a job in a tipster's office to uncover a case of race fixing.
4	"Accidental Death"	Nicky Cooney	Brian Finch	26 June 1978	James Warrior, Reginald Marsh
When a prominent local journalist is murdered, Doran goes undercover as a reporter on his old desk, and Willis becomes a coroner's officer.
5	"Briscoe"	Yvonne Goode	Leslie Duxbury	3 July 1978	Michael Byrne, David Neilson
Bulman is assigned to establish whether the suspicious practices of a uniform branch sergeant point to him being crooked. (This is the first of two episodes to feature the character of Briscoe. This episode does not feature any regular cast apart from Bulman.)
6	"Right and Wrong"	J. Bruce	C. P. Taylor	10 July 1978	David Daker, Anne Reid
Willis and Doran play man and wife to investigate their neighbour - a prominent local councillor - who is suspected of receiving bribes to initiate controversial new education practices. (This episode does not feature Bulman.)
7	"Paying Guests"	Quentin Lawrence	Leslie Duxbury	17 July 1978	Michael Byrne, Amanda Barrie
Bulman co-opts Briscoe into lodging with the Parkers, who are assisting him with his enquiries concerning a bank robbery.

Series 2

Regular cast: Det. Sgt. Bulman (Don Henderson), Det. Con. Willis (Dennis Blanch), Det. Insp. Singer (John Ronane), Det. Con. Doran (Frances Tomelty), Det. Ch. Insp. Rainbow (David Hargreaves), Det. Con. Bennett (Fiona Mollison)

Episode #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Guest stars
8	"The Wheeler Dealers"	Sally Taylor	Murray Smith	9 January 1979	Gyearbuor Asante, Anne Kristen
With Rainbow growing increasingly frustrated at their unorthodox methods, Bulman, Willis and Doran are on a case involving illegally imported goods. Bulman's head is turned by a lady doctor who is involved in the case.
9	"Call of the Wild"	Baz Taylor	Leslie Duxbury	16 January 1979	Paul Copley, Deirdre Costello
Bulman goes undercover with a gang to gather evidence for a number of robberies, and finds himself involved in the perpetration of one of them - which unbeknownst to him, Singer is pursuing. (This is the last episode to feature Det. Con. Doran.)
10	"Clever Dick"	Quentin Lawrence	Brian Finch	23 January 1979	John Duttine, Andrew Sachs, Geoffrey Chater
When a hotshot former colleague of Bulman's comes up from London to take the lead in a counterfeit case, Bulman's annoyance is matched by his curiosity as to why.
11	"Friends in High Places"	Bill Gilmour	Murray Smith	30 January 1979	Derek Fowlds, Freddie Jones, Anthony Steel
Bulman and Willis are on the trail of the attacker of a youth in a hotel public toilet, unaware that there are other interested parties, for other reasons... (This episode introduces the character of Det. Con. Bennett.)
12	"Marriages, Deaths and Births"	Charles Sturridge	Murray Smith	6 February 1979	Ben Cross, T.P. McKenna, Bill Fraser, James Copeland
When Bulman attempts an arrest of a gangland ringleader, it goes horribly wrong and he finds himself a kidnap victim of the psychopathic criminal. (This is the last episode to feature Det. Ch. Insp. Rainbow, and the first to feature the character of Willie Mauchlin.)

Series 3

(From Series 3 all episodes were produced entirely on 16mm film)
Regular cast: Det. Sgt. Bulman (Don Henderson), Det. Con. Willis (Dennis Blanch), Det. Insp. Singer (John Ronane), Det. Con. Bennett (Fiona Mollison), Det. Ch. Sup. Lambie (Mark McManus)
Supporting cast: Det. Insp. Tom Casey (Bruce Bould), Bill Dugdale (Thorley Walters)

Episode #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Guest stars
13	"Retribution"	Carol Wilks	Murray Smith	14 October 1980	Malcolm Tierney, Kevin Whately
The team come under the command of DCS Lambie and a new Inter-City Squad in London, and immediately become involved in arms trafficking in the capital. (This episode is the first to feature the occasional character of DI Casey.)
14	"You Can't Win Them All"	Bill Gilmour	Murray Smith	21 October 1980	Anthony Sharp, Sabina Franklyn
A fraud investigation gets complicated when Bulman and Willis find that the Foreign Office have interests in one of the individuals involved in the case. (This is the first episode to feature the character of Dugdale.)
15	"Armed and Dangerous"	William Brayne	Murray Smith	28 October 1980	Maurice Colbourne, Keith Buckley
Bulman and Willis are assigned to bring a suspect to London for questioning, however things do not go smoothly. (This is part one of a two-part story, and the last episode to feature DI Casey.)
16	"Racing Certainty"	Ken Grieve	Murray Smith	4 November 1980	Maurice Colbourne, James Copeland
Bulman and Willis go undercover to flush out the murderer of their colleague at a racetrack. (This episode features the character of Willie Mauchlin.)
17	"Clowns Don't Cry"	William Brayne	Murray Smith	11 November 1980	Alan Ford, Geraldine Gardner
When one of Bulman's contacts is beaten up, he becomes embroiled in a case which leads to international espionage, and one in which Dugdale is particularly interested.
18	"Tom Thumb and Other Stories"	Laurence Moody	Murray Smith	18 November 1980	Jim Norton, John Horsley
Bulman disguises himself as a tramp to try and track down a drug smuggler at Liverpool's docks - and finds himself caught in the crossfire of factions within the gang.
19	"No Orchids for Missing Blandisch"	Bill Gilmour	Murray Smith	25 November 1980	Ray McAnally, Richard Wilson, Kenneth Cranham
A tip-off leads Bulman, Willis and Bennett to an arms-dealing operation with a hired killer involved to protect interests.

External links

• Strangers at IMDb