First Degree Burnside

The Sun, 12th July 2000

by Garry Bushell

BURNSIDE is the series fans of THE SWEENEY have waited 20 years for.

It's a cop show that knows who the bad guys are and ain't afraid to bust 'em.

Frank Burnside is THE BILL's finest creation - a hard-drinking hardnut who always nicks his slag, even if it means bending the rules.

In BURNSIDE, the maverick DCI raided a hooker's flat without a warrant, snarling "it's in the post," and kept a claustrophobic scumbag trapped in a lift until he coughed.

When he isn't sharing Dan Sullivan's sunbed, fearless Frank heads a crack unit in the National Crime Squad, the "British FBI."

His mission is to take on big fish and take out Ronnie Buchan, played by Paul Nicholas - a book-touting celebrity villain who blew away his partner 20 years before.

Sadly, even Burnside (played by Chris Ellison) can't escape the dead hand of Political Correctness - a bleeding heart now beats beneath that bulldog exterior.

Frank doesn't bat an eye when he discovers his black sidekick DS Dave Summers is gay, let alone quip "Sod's law," make any reference to the shiny helmets club or ask how the rest of the Village People are doing.

He doesn't attempt to bed foxy feminist DC Sam Phillips (with Regan she'd have been banged to rights by end of part two). He doesn't even half-symphathise with the dodgy Margate gun-runner who moans about the council bussing asylum seekers to the seaside town.

U.S. TV would have had the bottle to leave his prejudices intact but let them be tempered by experience. (If ITV revived The Sweeney, they'd make George Carter a pre-op transsexual).

Yet enough of the old Frank remains to make these minor quibbles. He takes on a gun-toting nutter unarmed. He sends Buchan his own book sleeve sprayed with bullet holes. And you know tomorrow night he'll nick that nasty Nazi and sort out Margate's no doubt considerable Yardie problem.

Bad boys, bad boys - what ya gonna do? Burnside's back and he's comin' for you!

© 2000

back to top » press