A-Z GUIDE TO MOVIES AND TV SHOWS PARODIED BY MAD, CRACKED, CRAZY, ETC. UP TO 1996. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. SPOILERS AND OTHER NON-SEQUITURS, TOO. SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE WORDS OR SITUATIONS WE DON'T USE ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THEY'RE OLD.
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Sunday, March 26, 2023
THE NOT-SO-PROFESSIONALS
THE PROFESSIONALS
1977-1983 ITV
THE NOT-SO-PROFESSIONALS
MAD UK #232, August 1981
w: Neil Bailey
a: David Stoten
There was also an American movie in the 60s of the same name, completely different, also parodied by MAD
Crime series about agents William Bodie (Lewis Collins) and Ray Doyle (Martin Shaw) that worked for an agency called “Criminal Intelligence 5”, or CI5, under the supervision of George Cowley (Gordon Jackson). Sort of a British version of Starsky and Hutch.
There are many refernces to British personalities and events that this ugly American doesn't get. It was made by London Weekend Television.
Brian Clemens, the show's creator, is the victim in the next to last panel and the people at the end are The Avengers, his previous series.
In the splash panel, the man all the way on the left with the halo is Roger Moore as The Saint. The man in the foreground decrying violence is John Thaw, star of gritty '70s cop drama The Sweeney. I'm not certain about the woman he's talking to, but the "Rover's Return" tag shows she's from Coronation Street. I'd guess she's Mavis Wilton.
There's also a guy in a wheelchair on the right who gets a line. It looks like it could be Ironside, except I can't figure why it would be.
In the lower left of page 2, there's a cameo by a couple who I figure are the stars of other British cop shows of the time: Jill Gascoine of The Gentle Touch, and Dennis Waterman, also of The Sweeney (though by then he was co-starring in Minder).
On page 3, there's a cameo by them Duke boys, who have wandered a long way from Hazzard County.
On page 4, 'Shoehorn' is Trevor Eve, star of yet another British cop show, Shoestring.
On the last page, I think the assassin they arrest in panel 5 is meant to be celebrity magician Paul Daniels, cast wildly against type.
Just to be really picky, the reference in the last panel isn't to the original Avengers, but the '70s sequel The New Avengers. Patrick Macnee's sidekick here is Joanna Lumley.
Finally, while that last joke is about show creator Brian Clemens, I don't think that's his picture in the second-to-last panel. I think the intended target, who the cops regret saving, is actually chat show host Terry Wogan.
In the splash panel, the man all the way on the left with the halo is Roger Moore as The Saint. The man in the foreground decrying violence is John Thaw, star of gritty '70s cop drama The Sweeney. I'm not certain about the woman he's talking to, but the "Rover's Return" tag shows she's from Coronation Street. I'd guess she's Mavis Wilton.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a guy in a wheelchair on the right who gets a line. It looks like it could be Ironside, except I can't figure why it would be.
In the lower left of page 2, there's a cameo by a couple who I figure are the stars of other British cop shows of the time: Jill Gascoine of The Gentle Touch, and Dennis Waterman, also of The Sweeney (though by then he was co-starring in Minder).
On page 3, there's a cameo by them Duke boys, who have wandered a long way from Hazzard County.
On page 4, 'Shoehorn' is Trevor Eve, star of yet another British cop show, Shoestring.
On the last page, I think the assassin they arrest in panel 5 is meant to be celebrity magician Paul Daniels, cast wildly against type.
Just to be really picky, the reference in the last panel isn't to the original Avengers, but the '70s sequel The New Avengers. Patrick Macnee's sidekick here is Joanna Lumley.
Finally, while that last joke is about show creator Brian Clemens, I don't think that's his picture in the second-to-last panel. I think the intended target, who the cops regret saving, is actually chat show host Terry Wogan.