Softly Softly Task Force: Series 1 [DVD]

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Softly, Softly: Task Force is a police procedural series which ran on BBC 1 from 1969 to 1976. It was a revamp of Softly, Softly, itself a spin-off from Z-Cars. The change was made partly to coincide with the coming of colour broadcasting to the BBC's main channel BBC1. The programme was due to be called simply Task Force, but reluctant to sacrifice a much-loved brand the BBC compromised this so it became Softly, Softly: Task Force. The stories were set in the fictional south-eastern English borough of Kingley (played by Rochester and the Medway area of Kent), where the team were under the baleful eye of Chief Constable Cullen ( Walter Gotell). This left the way clear for Watt to come out of Barlow’s shadow and take command in his own right, with the reliable assistance of Hawkins.

Segments from Rigby's abbreviated autobiography, begun shortly before his death, are included in the book by his long-time friend, the television and radio dramatist Juliet Ace, Rigby Shlept Here: A Memoir of Terence Rigby 1937–2008. Along with correspondence and interviews with his friends and theatrical colleagues, Ace's memoir draws on her own diaries and shows much of the working actor and private man who remained a mystery to those close to him. It was published in November, 2014. Also featured were Garfield Morgan as Detective Chief Inspector Lewis, Norman Bowler as Detective Sergeant Hawkins and Alexis Kanner as Detective Constable Stone. They were later joined by Frank Windsor as John Watt. In 1970 the series title was changed to Softly, Softly: Task Force and Barlow was promoted once again, this time to Head of Thamesford Constabulary's CID Task Force. Watt accompanied him. But the following year Barlow went it alone when he was headhunted by the Home Office to take up a post in Whitehall with the Police Research Services Branch in the series Barlow at Large. Softly, Softly: Task Force plodded on without Barlow for another six years and although the scripts were of a superior quality there was always the feeling that 'that little extra something' was missing. Terence Christopher Gerald Rigby (2 January 1937 – 10 August 2008) was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series Softly, Softly: Task Force.The character of John Watt would see one final solo appearance in the last ever Z-Cars, in September 1978. Understandably, he had a particular affection for Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, claiming to have played more of its roles than any other actor. In addition to stage revivals, he took part in an all-star recording produced by George Martin in 1988. Following on from the 1966 show Softly Softly (which itself was a spin-off from the classic Z Cars), Softly Softly : Task Force starred Stratford Johns as Barlow – the head of Thamesford Constabulary CID and the supervising officer of their Task Force group.

In 1970, Softly, Softly: Task Force followed with Barlow made head of Thamesford Constabulary CID and supervising officer of the Constabulary’s Task Force. He was assisted by Watt and Hawkins again, under Chief Constable Cullen (William Gotell). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. In 1969, to coincide with the BBC's move to colour broadcasting on BBC 1, Softly Softly ended. The characters of Barlow, Watt and Hawkins were promoted and moved to the Southeast of England in a new series set in the fictitious town of Thamesford. Here, as a result of changes in criminal activities, the police force needed to develop a new approach. Taskforces were set up: these were groupings of police expertise and manpower drawn together for special operations in the region. This was a new series in its own right and it was simply going to be called Taskforce. However, as it starred three strong characters from a popular "brand" that the BBC was reluctant to drop, this new series was retitled Softly, Softly: Task Force.The revamped series began in November 1969, the week BBC1 went into colour. One 1970 episode showed Evans being carpeted by the chief constable (Walter Gotell, usually cast as a villain), and the following year, he and Watt (Windsor) clashed when both had "projects" on a "heavy night". Barlow was widowed in 1972 and left Thamesford when he was headhunted by the Home Office – which became another spin-off series, Barlow at Large. Many of the original Softly, Softly broadcasts are believed lost, especially from the first two series, the majority of which were transmitted live. As a result, 84 episodes are currently missing from the archives. (By comparison, all episodes of the follow-up Taskforce survive.) So successful was the partnership that in 1966 they were seconded to the Regional Crime Squad by the BBC for Softly, Softly a series that ran for ten years and became one of the best-realised spin-off series the BBC has ever had. After leaving Newtown, Barlow and Watt headed south to the fictional region of Wyvern (supposedly near Bristol) where they took up their new posts of Detective Chief Superintendent and Detective Chief Inspector respectively. Promotion did little to temper Barlow and he remained the tough, relentless and sharp-tongued copper that had such an impact on Z Cars that he became the national idea of a police chief. Softly, Softly-Task Force The work of the Regional Crime Squad was the subject of this spin-off from Z Cars featuring Stratford Johns as Charlie Barlow.