Reviews
THE TURNAROUND
Director - Suri Krishnamma
Writer - Tony Hoare
Stars - Bill Paterson, Rowena King, Roberta Taylor, John Salthouse
Buy Sharman: The complete series on DVD
Like the book Sharman is hired to find out who murdered James Webb's sister and family and why. The main witness is soon murdered and guess who the prime suspect is? Aided slightly by D.I. Robber, Sharman must break the case to clear his muddy old name and to rescue his daughter Judith and girlfriend Fiona who have been kidnapped by the villain's.
The episode also features the James Bond song 'We Have All The Time In The World', which is ironic now as there is a Clive Owen for Bond campaign due to his performance in The Croupier.
Look out for a cameo by Mark Timlin in the night club scene, he throws Sharman a cigarette whilst Fiona is singing.
Sharman also wears a great leather jacket, which is unfortunately dropped in the rest of the episodes. I was rewatching Ultraviolet the other day (also by World Productions), and noticed that Jack Davenport is wearing the jacket now.
TAKE THE A-TRAIN
Director - Robert Bierman
Writer - Guy Jenkin
Stars - Samantha Janus, Roberta Taylor, John Salthouse, Gina Bellman
This one kicks of with a man jumping of a roof. It turns out that it is John Reid former copper and old friend of Nick's (well was, Reid was incharge of the coke Sharman nicked on the force). Now in the books John Reid is the bent copper in A Good Year For The Roses. So back to the plot, John's dead, now the question is was humpty dumpty pushed?
While this is going on a club called Emeralds is blown up, and then Nick and Judith are dumped in to a car. It turns out the club belongs to Emerald Watkins, old gangster and old friend of Nick's. It turns out the person Em thinks bombed his club is person Reid's wife thinks killed him. Manni Ducacus is a rival to Em and someone Reid wanted to put away. So Sharman must find out what is going on.
Nick meets Jane, a page three model played by Samantha Janus (Reid's wife's god daughter); she takes him in when the shit hits the fan. Plot wise that’s all I'm going to mention, I don’t want to spoil it.
This was the first of the series, a year after The Turnaround. This one sees Clive Owen with longer hair and razor sharp sideburns. This was a welcome return to the series, although the coming episodes are better.
HEARTS OF STONE
Director - Robert Bierman
Writer - Paul Abbott
Stars - Keith Allen, Roberta Taylor, John Salthouse, Julie Graham
The script of this episode is the closest to the book. It starts with Sharman sorting out a couple of debt collectors for his mate JJ, these chancers only had the nerve to threaten to smash up a Wurlitzer juke box (which in my opinion is a hanging offence). Before Nick can wash the next morning he has been kidnapped by the drugs squad and framed for murder. This section however are not playing strictly by the book, the targets have murdered two of their team, so they are more freelance than the local bobby on the beat.
With the murders on Nick's back he has unwillingly became their latest recruit. The faces they are after drink in JJ's bar and have a fancy for nice cars. The drugs squad fix Sharman up with a Lotus (alright for some when I used to deliver charity mags, I didn't even get a trolley), which gets the targets juices flowing. Before he knows it, Nick is snorting and drinking and whoring like its gone out of fashion.
But of course there work to be done, and the plan is bound to be ruined by one or five double crosses (it wouldn't be Sharman without it). Nick starts seeing a whore named Kylie who is not everything she seems, but then who is in this world.
This story sees Nick walking around casinos, which is a always a great set for anything dodgy. JJ's bar is alright aswell, anyone know the location?
The cast is spot on, Keith Allen has never been better as Brady (a different kind of bent copper). The bloke who plays JJ has turned up in the Lock Stock show, as has the fella who plays Lasky.
A GOOD YEAR FOR THE ROSES
Director - Matthew Evans
Writer - Dusty Hughes
Stars - Ray Winstone, Aide Allen, Colette Brown, Hugo Spere, John Salthouse, Roberta Taylor
This episode filmed the first book, but is the fourth episode. The basic plot is identical to the book, but introduces Dawn and Tracey (AKA Sandy and Mandy). It starts with Nick in a club watching the two dancers, after a scuffle with Dawn's Manager Nick takes them home to his flat. He agrees to drive for them. He then meets George Bright (Ray Winstone), who hires Sharman to find his missing daughter Sophie (in the book its Patsy). He starts the case by interviewing Howard, a sleazy drugged up photographer (played by The Full Monty's Hugo Spere) who gives Sharman the names of some clubs she used to haunt. He finds a lad running away (the lad is played by Mike Baldwin's son in Coronation Street), who tells Sharman Sophie gives away high-class drugs for free. The plot thickens. At this point its obvious that Nick wouldn't mind getting jiggy with Dawn.
At the club Nick gets a phone call telling him where he can find Sophie, he goes and finds a dead girl just before he gets knocked out. He wakes up in hospital to hear the news that its Sophie is dead. Or is she?
There are also two American cars in this one.
In my opinion this is the second best episode after Hearts Of Stone, what do you think?
EPISODE 4
Director - Matthew Evans
Writer - Mick Ford
Stars - John Salthouse, Aide Allen, Colette Brown, Roberta Taylor, Danny Webb
This time the episode is not based on one of the books. It starts in a bank which is visited by a dodgy looking armed man (Danny Webb, seen in Alien 3 and the Leslie Grantham show 99-1 which also stared Aide Allen) who is using the bank to launder money. We then cut to Sharman who is phoned by the bank manager who wants a meet and informs Sharman he is £7000 overdrawn, Sharman tells him to piss of as he is getting married today (great dialogue that scene). The wedding scene is cut straight out of the book Pretend Were Dead and works extremely well on the small screen although there is no pub fight. After a nagging from Dawn, Nick meets his bank manager who offers to pay of his mortgage if he finds out who the money launderers are. Sharman accepts (well he would, wouldn't he) and follows Durban (Danny Webb) to a car park where he is shot. Meanwhile Dawn is the process of being kidnapped by the rest of the gang.
Sharman gets to use some guns this time, two of them in fact so Clive Owen will probably be in a John Woo film some time soon. (I was right, John directed Clive in The Hire). Some great American cars in this one.
This is a good episode, there was about 10 other books they could have used at the time so why they made up this one I don't know. It is a shame the series did not follow on. Or even maybe as a film or series of films as then the drugs/sex/violence would be closer to the books and would be policed as to who sees them.
