674 Bird of Prey / Bird of Prey 2

First  viewed : 23  June  1984

I  completely  missed  this  the  first  time  round  in  1982   but  when  the  first  episode  was  repeated  in  my  last  week  at  university  some  of  the  of  the  guys  in  the  room  said  it  was  pretty  good  so  I  stayed  put  and  watched  it.

It  starred  chubby  Richard  Griffiths  as    mild-mannered  computer  programmer  Henry  Jay  who  uncovers  something  suspicious  in  the  system  and  finds  himself  pursued  by  malevolent  forces. In  the  conclusion  he  protected  himself  by  planting  revelatory  bombs  in  the  system  which  would  go  off  if  anything  happened  to  him.

A  second  series  Bird  of  Prey  2  followed  in  September  with  Henry's  protective  codes  on  the  point  of  being  cracked  and  therefore  his  life  in  renewed  peril  from  a  larger  cast  of  villains  including  Bob  Peck  and  Lee  Montague  who  co-wrote  the  series. In  the  end  Montague's  assassin  was  despatched  by  Henry's  loyal  wife  ( Carole  Nimmons ). I  didn't  think  it  was  quite  as  good  as  the  first  series  as  Henry  was  perforce  no  longer  the  Everyman   baffled  by  what  was  going  on  around  him.