Killer B Games Detectives

Killer B Games produces a 1970's inspired and themed game called Geezers! "Shut it!" which I own but have never played. It is a niche genre of gaming that fascinates me as I grew up watching and enjoying these types of cop shows when they first aired. Now that Crooked Dice Games have brought out 7TV2e, a similar kind of game, and in my opinion, better produced, I can recreate on the table top scenarios starring some of my favourite TV characters of old.

My favourite TV cop show of all time was The Sweeney, which ran from 1975 to 1978. It spawned three feature-length films, one of which was an updated version made in 2012. The programme's title derives from Sweeney Todd, which is Cockney rhyming slang for the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It was a fast-paced edge-of-your-seat action series, depicting the Squad's relentless battle against armed robbery; but it nevertheless included a substantial degree of humour. For the time, it had a high degree of graphic on-screen violence and the episodes had many character deaths.
At the far left of the two photos directly above and below is Detective Inspector Jack Regan (played by John Thaw. John "Jack" Regan is the Flying Squad's chief "thief-taker". He is a tough police officer, often frustrated by Scotland Yard's red tape. Originally from Manchester (like Thaw himself), he has been in London for several years, so his accent has modified somewhat, but traces of his northern origins are still evident. He also refers to his northern roots every now and again (his poor upbringing, his father's work on the Manchester Ship Canal), which brings mild ridicule from George Carter, a Londoner, such as humming "The Red Flag". A heavy drinker and smoker (comically, he is sometimes seen stealing other people's cigarettes), Regan has some success with the ladies – although not as much as Carter. He can be seen as quick with his fists. He has an ex-wife, Kate, and a daughter, Susie. On the Killer B Games webstore, Regan is shown as KB-001 Flying Squad Guvnor, where he costs £2.00.

Next in line is Detective Sergeant George Carter (played by Dennis Waterman) who comes from South London. Regan seeks him out in the pilot episode, Regan, because of his knowledge of the South London area. We learn that George had previously been in the Squad, but had quit for family reasons. George was married to Alison Carter, a schoolteacher, but is widowed in the series 2 episode Hit and Run when Alison is murdered by mistake by a gang of diamond smugglers. He's a former amateur boxer, as we see from the pilot episode, and is described as having professional boxing potential. Like his superior, he's fond of drinking, football, and after the death of his wife - womanising. Carter isn't as violent or aggressive as Regan and usually plays the good cop.
Moving on is Detective Sergeant Tom Daniels (played by John Alkin) who is the most prominent member of the supporting Squad. He is a solid and reliable copper.
Last in line is Detective Constable Jerry Burtonshaw (played by Nick Brimble) who is softly spoken but a good scrapper. Note that all four detectives are armed with .38 Revolvers, a snub-nosed version for Regan and longer-barrelled versions for the others.
These characters can be found on the Killer B Games webstore as KB-002 Flying Squad Skipper for Carter, KB-008 US Lone Wolf Detective, who was actually meant to represent Inspector "Dirty Harry" Callahan but I already had a better figure for him so I used him as Tom Daniels, and KB-024 Geezer in Shoulder Holster for Burtonshaw. All three figures cost £2.00 each.

The next four figures represent the main characters from two more 1970's drama series - The Professionals, which ran from 1977 to 1981 and Starsky and Hutch, which ran from 1975 to 1979.
The Professionals feature a team working for CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), a fictional British law enforcement department, instructed by the home secretary to use any means to deal with crimes of a serious nature that go beyond the capacity of the police, but are not tasks for the security service or military. The choice of name CI5 is possibly inspired by Criminal Investigation Department and MI5. The premise allowed the programme-makers to involve a wide variety of villains including terrorists, hit-men, racist groups and espionage suspects, with plots sometimes relating to the "Cold War." Led by the formidable George Cowley (played by Gordon Jackson), CI5 is known for using unconventional and sometimes illegal methods to beat criminals, or as Cowley put it "Fight fire with fire!"
Cowley's two best agents are William Bodie (played by Lewis Collins) and Ray Doyle (played by Martin Shaw). Bodie (shown at far left in my photos directly above and below) is an ex-paratrooper, mercenary and SAS (Special Air Service) sergeant while Doyle (the figure shown armed with a 5.56mm Steyr-Aug Assault Rifle) is an ex-detective constable who has worked the seedier parts of London. Of the two, Doyle is the softer, compassionate and more thoughtful character, while Bodie is ruthless and more willing to take on criminals on their own terms. That said, Doyle is more hot-headed and tended to rush in, while Bodie waits for the shooting to start. While polar opposites, Bodie and Doyle have a deep and enduring friendship, and are almost inseparable. Although their loyalty to Cowley is beyond question, they have no qualms about disobeying orders if it means getting the right result, either for the case or themselves.
Bodie and Doyle can be found on the Killer B Games webstore as KB-021 Police Agent with Pistol and KB-020 Police Agent with Steyr-Aug. They cost £2.00 each.

Finally, are the eponymous heroes of U.S. cop drama series, Starsky and Hutch. The series' protagonists were two Southern California police detectives; David Michael Starsky (played by Paul Michael Glaser), the dark-haired, Brooklyn transplant and U.S. Army veteran, with a street-wise manner and intense, sometimes childlike moodiness; and Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson (played by David Soul), the blond, Duluth, Minnesota native with a more reserved and intellectual approach. Under the radio call sign "Zebra Three", they were known for usually tearing around the streets of fictional "Bay City, California". The vehicle of choice was Starsky's two-door Ford Gran Torino, which was bright red, with a large white vector stripe on both sides.
Starsky is shown second from right wearing his trademark chunky patterned cardigan. He is armed with a 9mm Colt M1911A1 Pistol. Hutch, at far right, wears a baseball jacket and is armed with a .357 Colt Python Magnum Revolver.
On the Killer B Games webstore this pair are identified as KB-013 U.S. Detective in Fleece Cardigan and KB-014 U.S. Detective in Baseball Jacket. Once again, they cost £2.00 each.
I liked all three shows but I'd place them in order of preference as The Sweeney, The Professionals and Starsky and Hutch. The importance of The Sweeney cannot be overstated. At its time it was ground-breaking TV and without it series such as Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes would never have been made.

BLOG NEWS 
I have just launched my new blog, All Things Dungeon Crawl, which can be found here - http://allthingsdungeoncrawl.blogspot.co.uk/
The plan is to post Vampifan's World of the Undead every Monday and Friday and All Things Dungeon Crawl every Wednesday. Note that while ATDC will initially be concentrating on the Chibi games of Chibi World and Super Dungeon Explore it will expand to cover other types of dungeon crawl games that have nothing to do with Chibis.