Rockliffe's Babies
This show aired in 1987 and ran for 2 series, with a later series spin-off - Rockliffe's Folly (without the 'babies').
The series featured seven rookie cops (pictured above), plain clothes PCs who made up the Crime Squad of Victor Tango division under the guidance of Det Sgt Alan Rockliffe.
The series' followed the 'babies' as they were trained by Rockliffe - a former alcoholic with a short fuse, a broken marriage behind him, a real outsider. His job is not only to train them how to police west London but also to know thier own weaknesses so they can progress in their careers. The Babies, meanwhile, though quite taken with Rockliffe, are determined not to end up like him!
Both series consisted of 10 episodes, each showing a different aspect of the job, along with a different side of one or more of the Babies.
All of the Babies had their own problems - Hargreaves has had to fight prejudice against her colour and her sex to get where she is and no-one is going to be allowed to get in her way. Which is unfortunate for the Liverpool born O'Dowd who's very keen on her but doesn't have the courage to do anything about it and would be rebuffed if he did. He's a bit of a goer, a man's man who acts first and thinks later - often with dire consequences. Then there's Hood - racist, sexist and with possible National Front connections but other than that a nice boy! Adams, meanwhile, is a bright boy who is very ambitious and is on his way to higher things, totally opposite to Hood. Then there's Chitty, the quietest member of the group - keeps in the background and out of trouble. And finally Georgiou and Walsh - they get on very well in a platonic way. She's a bit of a loner, he's lazy, constantly eating but basically a good cop. They work well together, though they're a strange combination.
This series worked well and the only surprise is that not much is seen of the actors who took part in this - other than Ian Hogg and of course Joe.
