Z Cars
 Writer Troy Kennedy Martin was confined to bed with a bout of
mumps and passed his time listening to police radio.
It was then
he realised that Dixon of Dock Green was out of date. He
set out to create a realistic, new police series for the sixties,
and thus was born Z Cars.
The location was the tough dockland area of Liverpool in the
north of England. He renamed Kirkby to Newtown, and Seaforth to
Seaport. Newtown was an overspill estate without amenities or any
sense of community.
The series opened with the burial of PC Farrow
who had been shot on duty.
The answer was to introduce patrol cars and Z Victor One was
soon cruising around with Northerner PC William "Fancy"
Smith and Scotsman PC Jock Weir onboard. Z Victor Two contained
Irishman PC Herbert Lynch and redhead PC Bob Steele.
And in Z
Cars, Liverpool had the type of policemen it deserved. These
bobbies were no angels. PC Lynch liked a flutter on the horses
while Constable Steele was not above a spot of wife beating.
Violence on the beat was rewarded with violence from the coppers
on the beat.
The four young recruits driving around in Ford Zephyr patrol
cars Z Victor One and Z Victor Two (Call sign "Zulu"),
encountered harsh urban realities very different from those on
Dixon's patch.
Episode titles emphasised the documentary flavour: Affray,
Policework, A Place of Safety, Friday Night.
The series was transmitted live, with some pre-filmed inserts,
from studio six at the BBC Television Centre. The live
transmission gave an edge to performances and technique, and
productions enjoyed the verve of an adrenaline rush.
The two characters who created the most impact were Detective
Inspector Charlie Barlow and Detective John Watt. Barlow was a
huge man, prone to the occasional spot of verbal or physical
violence, while the gentler Watt was his ideal foil.
The pair were so successful that they departed for the Regional
Crime Squad and their own spin-off show, Softly Softly
(1966 -1970). Barlow eventually gained two more series' of his
own: Barlow at Large (1971 - 1973) and Barlow (1974
- 1976) in which he was promoted eventually to Detective Chief
Superintendent.
 The Police Association, the viewers (and even Jack Warner, old
Dixon himself) all complained, but within two months the show was
attracting an audience of 14 million.
It ran for 16 years until
1978 when it in turn became dated along shows like The Sweeney
This series moved British Television police drama into a new
era of realism.
Superb casting and scripts were coupled with the
BBC's drama-documentary experience
TRIVIA NOTE
The late Elwyn Jones, then BBC TV Head of Series and Executive
Producer of Z Cars, turned down The Beatles, before they
became famous, for a background band appearance in an episode.
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