The Sweeney
Broadcast
9th January 1975
© Thames Television
The opening episode of The Sweeney, Ringer by Trevor Preston (02/01/1975), sees John Thaw and Dennis Waterman joined by Garfield Morgan as Haskins, and guest stars Ian Hendry & Brian Blessed. Famous for straight talking characters and gritty realism in acting and filming, there are no Dixon of Dock Green platitudes to be found here. The title sequence, a dynamic montage of colourised stills, is driven by Harry South's pounding and yet haunting theme tune. These seminal images spawned many imitators, including a 90s Nissan car commercial.
