I have just finished watching this first series which is actually a self contained mini series. This story centres around Chief Superintendent Barlow, a character from Z Cars and later Softly Softly. He is a serving member of the British Police Force who is asked to look into corruption and conspiracy in a Welsh town. The town has been redeveloped from its mining roots into a manufacturing centre for technology products. Barlow is tasked to uncover any and all criminal activities being carried out by one of the company directors who is considered the Big Wig of the town. This task was based on information received from a former council employee who was serving time in prison for sexual assault of children. In uncovering the criminal activities Barlow finds murder, police corruption and a counterfeiting ring which ultimately leads him to Cyprus to find the source of the counterfeiting scheme.
Overall I really enjoyed this, in a way the character of Barlow reminds me of William Conrad's character in Cannon, a US TV show around the same time. Both are very straight laced and straight talking and have a set of principles that they will not deviate from regardless of the circumstances or the consequences. This particular series is quite unusual for the time as it looks at the crimes of a peadophile and at one of his victims who seems to have some sort of a bond with his abuser that is a twisted sort of 'love' and loyalty. Of course, Barlow considers this abhorrent and treats the abuser with a justified contempt however he is much more understanding of one of his victims who has this misplaced 'love'.... I don't think I can remember any TV show of the time broaching this subject especially in this way. The story itself moves along at a good pace and is interesting to follow as Barlow unravels the woven intricacies of the conspiracy and the characters involved. This first series of 3 episodes stand alone from the next series which followed a couple of years later in which the episodes are self contained rather than the this first mini series which has one overall storyline. I am not sure if it was always planned for there to be a second series when making this one especially given that a couple of years passed before the second but I think this first one was successful enough to justify making a second series. I really like the Barlow character and his methods, it makes for some great TV and also helps lift certain storylines that might not work with another type of character . Overall a really enjoyable start to a great TV series. Well worth seeking out and watching if you can.
