A play about the law: those who keep it, those who break it and those who live off it. A Detective's Tale tells the detective's view of a crime. Detective Inspector Fred Pyle is determined to get a result following a bungled raid on a supermarket - even to the extent of 'fitting-up' someone, if it is in Pyle's interest to do so.
Jack Lynn is arrested in connection with the armed robbery. Pyle is determined to get the evidence he needs to secure a conviction.
Solicitor Alex Gladwell, brought in to represent Jack Lynn, will use any means to get his client off.
Lynn is sent down, but rehabilitation is not on the agenda.
In 1978, the BBC crime drama Law and Order so shocked the nation with its realistic depiction of a police force riddled with corruption that questions were asked in the House of Commons, the BBC’s director general was summoned by ministers to explain himself, and the programme was effectively banned from being broadcast again for 30 years. The man who helped television escape the dramatic handcuffs of shows like Dixon of Dock Green and Z Cars was Law and Order’s writer and creator GF Newman, who here looks back on both the series and the controversy. Newman recounts how secrecy and intrigue played a part in getting the drama onto our screens, explains where he found the inspiration for his groundbreaking storylines and characters, reveals how real police officers responded to the show and concludes why he believes the themes of Law and Order remain relevant to this day.
Filmed in 2008. 30th anniversary interviews with cast and crew of the 1978 BBC2 series 'Law and Order'.
