The Sweeney

Poppy - S2-E8

Visible crew/equipment: When the squad cars are chasing the Jaguar across the muddy field you can see the camera vehicle in front of them is spraying up water from the wet grass. (00:46:36 - 00:47:14)

Thou Shalt Not Kill - S2-E13

Visible crew/equipment: The camera lights and crew are reflected in the side of the blue Hillman Estate, first when it pulls away after the villains have first hi-jacked it, and again when they are driving through the farm.

Visiting Fireman - S3-E3

Visible crew/equipment: When Regan is at the petrol station and the mechanic finds the bomb in his car, as the cashier runs out screaming the camera lights are reflected in the glass door. (00:27:15)

On the Run - S3-E13

Visible crew/equipment: When Carter is talking to Pinder at the garage, you can see the reflection of the clapper board in the bodywork above the exhaust pipe of the car Pinder is working on.

Bait - S4-E7

Visible crew/equipment: When Tolman first arrives at the country house in the Ford Zodiac you can see the camera lights reflected in the window when he opens the driver's door.

In from the Cold - S3-E2

Other mistake: During the hold up when Medhurst is sprung from the police van, the breakdown truck used to pull the doors of the van reverses towards the police van twice after releasing the chains off the doors before driving away, and the camera lights are reflected in the side of the white getaway car.

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Trivia: The blue Ford Cortina squad car seen in series 1 and 2 has the reg number NHK 296M. Sometimes it is fitted with a false number DLO 97M on the front (as has been noted as a mistake). The programme makers had been supplied with two cars from Ford, this Cortina and a Consul GT. The Cortina was fitted with this false plate to make the squad look like it had more cars, and only one number plate (the white front one) was made up to keep costs down, as the Sweeney had a small budget. In the series 3 episode "Pay Off" DLO 97M is on a white Cortina, in series three the same Triumph 2000 is seen with number plates TPA 931N and UUV 931N - again it is the same car with different number plates.

eric 64

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Hit and Run - S2-E5

Question: Towards the end of this episode the squad car has to double park so Regan can use a phone box, as Regan gets out of the car a van has to drive round the squad car and the driver sounds the horn, Regan gesticulates and shouts "up yours" at the van driver. I wonder if this was scripted or was a random moment and John Thaw was ad-libbing?

eric 64

Answer: Scripted.

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