2007-2009: Crime Based Stories
During 2006/ 2007 Johnathan Young began retooling the programme which led to noticeable changes in The Bill. Whilst personal storylines remain, they are of less abundance than before, and more time is spent on crime-based Stories. The episode titles were reintrouced beginning with Episode # 490 which was titled Sweet Revenge - broadcast on 21 March 2007, which saw the serial format dropped. A spokesperson for the programme commented on how the titles summed up the 'essence' of an episode. Sensational storylines have also been dropped since 2007. The deaths of officers are far less frequent and the focus of the more dramatic storylines is largely on the crimes being dealt with, and not on the personal lives or conduct of the officers. Arguably the most memorable storyline of the Young era so far was DC Zain Nadir's undercover operation.
By mid-2007, The serial format remains in place, the storylines are generally more self-contained and are often dealt with in two or three episode blocks and there is little to no sensational stories or stories about the characters private lives.. An example of this might be the recent Closing The Net two-part storyline and Witness, a storyline which spanned out over eight episodes . The Bill has more frequently featured self-contained episodes, focusing on one or more crime storylines wrapped up in one hour. In this way, the programme more closely resembles the earlier period helmed by Richard Handford.
Jonathan Young also axed a few characters in his first few months in the job;
- PC Lance Powell
- PC Steve Hunter
- SRO Julian Travel
- CAD Officer Dean McVerry
On 3 January 2007 to bring in the new year, the episode opening titles were revamped once again, paying homage to the original 1984 titles. The 2007 ones have shots of London, interspersed with police work and shots of Sun Hill Police Station. The break bumpers and music were also updated.
Because of the more compact and less serialised format adopted under Johnathan Young, episode titles were reintroduced, beginning with Episode # 490 which was titled Sweet Revenge - broadcast on 21 March 2007. A spokesperson for the programme commented on how the titles summed up the 'essence' of an episode.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Bill
Famous quotes containing the words crime, based and/or stories:
“The prisoner is not the one who has commited a crime, but the one who clings to his crime and lives it over and over.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“Both magic and religion are based strictly on mythological tradition, and they also both exist in the atmosphere of the miraculous, in a constant revelation of their wonder-working power. They both are surrounded by taboos and observances which mark off their acts from those of the profane world.”
—Bronislaw Malinowski (1884–1942)
“Every one of my friends had a bad day somewhere in her history she wished she could forget but couldn’t. A very bad mother day changes you forever. Those were the hardest stories to tell. . . . “I could still see the red imprint of his little bum when I changed his diaper that night. I stared at my hand, as if they were alien parts of myself . . . as if they had betrayed me. From that day on, I never hit him again.””
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)