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While evenings on 7Two (Seven’s new digital channel) may start with Jack Bauer fighting to keep America safe from terrorism in 24, they end on a much more stylish note with the team from CI5 keeping England safe from criminals who act beyond the reach of the police. Anarchy, acts of terror, and crimes against the public all fall under the purview of the protagonists in classic 70s action show The Professionals.

One of the great things about digital multi-channeling is that it provides an opportunity for the programmers to run some series that have a much more niche audience than they otherwise cater to. Something like The Professionals would never get a run on Seven’s primary channel other than in an early morning graveyard slot. It’s great to see that they’re being a little more adventurous with scheduling shows like this.

The Professionals, which ran from 1977-1983, centres on Doyle (an ex-Detective Constable) and Bodie (an ex-SAS sergeant). The two agents now work for ‘CI5’, one of those fake law enforcement agencies that allow the screenwriters to place their protagonists into any crime investigation that is required each week. One could almost see Bodie and Doyle as a British Starsky & Hutch if their relationship didn’t seem so prickly.

The show is everything you want it to be. Gun fights, fast cars, excellent late 70s sideburns, British accents, and split screen opening credits.

While The Professionals lacks the style and fun of earlier British action shows like Department S and Jason King, it does bring with it a sense of gritty 70s funk that manages to define shows of the era. The action sequences are actually quite decent and much more brutal than you’d expect. Tonight’s episode  (‘Private Madness, Public Danger’) opens with a man jumping from an office building window with the camera lingering over the body once it hits the ground just that little bit longer than one now sees from a modern TV show.

The Professionals is gritty television fun that is absolutely perfect to end your night of TV with.

The Professionals screens tonight on 7Two at 10:30pm.