793 Rockcliffe's Babies

First  viewed : 9  January  1987

More  than  any  other  programme, this  reminds  me  of  those  first  few  weeks  of  1987  before  I  entered  the  world  of  work. More  specifically,  it  reminds  me  of  Fridays  and  a  brief  adventure  which  didn't  seem   all  that  significant  at  the time  but  had  two  big  pointers  for  the  future. In  September  1986,  I  went  to  an  Enrolment  Day  at  Rochdale  College   looking  for  something  that  might  improve  my  employability  and  signed  up  for  a  course  in  Public  Administration  there. On  the  first   morning  the  tutor  asked  us  to  list  our  qualifications  and  shortly  afterwards,  he  pulled  me  out, said  it  wasn't  the  right  course  for  me  and  he'd  arranged for  me  to  attend  a  more  advanced  course  at  Bolton  Institute  of  Higher  Education. This  turned  out  to  be  the  second  year  of  the   qualification  course  for  the  Institute  of  Chartered  Secretaries  and  Administrators,  of  which  I  wasn't  a  student  member  nor  did  I  have  a  sponsoring  authority  so  I  don't  know  what  he  had  arranged  with  regard  to  the  fees. Anyway,  I  started  attending  the  course  and  no  one  challenged  my  place  or  chased  me  for  money. Not  only  did  it  get  me  more  acquainted  with  my  future  place  of  abode, the  course  also  had  a  financial  accounting  module  which  gave  me  a  bit  of  a  head  start  when  studying  the  subject  for  real  12  months  later. Rockliffe's  Babies  was  the  viewing  highlight  of  the  evenings  after  my  last  few  attendances  there.  

 It  concerned  seven  young  plain  clothes  constables  working  for  a  London  crime  squad  under  hard  task  master  Sergeant  Rockliffe  ( Ian  Hogg )  on  a  tough  manor  known  as  "The  Dragon"  hence  the  theme  tune  of  stroppy  kids  chanting  about  social  deprivation. They  comprised  two  sensible  girls  Jan  and  Karen  ( Alphonsia  Emmanuel  and  Susannah  Shelling ) , poncey  graduate  David  ( Bill  Champion ),  headstrong,  accident-prone  Scouser  Gerry  ( Joe  McGann ), lazy  Welshman  Paul ( Martyn  Ellis ). slow-witted  yokel  Keith  ( John  Blakey )  and  street  smart  Steve  ( Brett  Fancy ). The  latter  character  dates  the  show  more  than  anything  else . Though  an  effective  copper  and  good  team  player,  Steve  was  also  an  overt  racist  with  links  to  far  right  groups  and  it's  inconceivable  now  that  any  such  character  would  be  allowed  to  go  through  two  seasons  without  being  made  to  account  for  such  transgressions.

Though  the  setting  was  grim  and  bleak, there  was  a  lot  of  humour  in the  show  in  the  banter  between  the  seven  fledglings  and  with  their  mentor. I  think  it's  probably  the  cop  show  that's  come  closest  to  recapturing  the  essence  of  The  Sweeney. On  the  downside,  Hogg's  mannered  style  of  acting  was  an  acquired  taste  that  I  never  really  savoured   and  the  whole  series  was  shot  on  VT  which  didn't  do  it  any  favours.

The  programme   ran  for  two  seasons  before  mutating  into  something  else  which  I'll  cover  as  a  separate  show. Apart  from  Shelling  whose  career  seems  to  have  ground  to   halt  a  decade  ago  they're  all  still  acting  but  none  have  become  stars, McGann  having  probably  the  highest  profile  now. For  Champion, Ellis  and  Blakey  as  well  as  Shelling  this  was  definitely  the  highpoint  of  their  careers.