It’s interesting that the BBC kept the series going long after Z-Cars had come along with plots in tune the social issues of the day, though as mentioned on a Talking Pictures TV pick of the day it did try dealing with some more topical subjects in the early 1970s.
Dixon of Dock Green did attempt to become grittier in the seventies, but when the main character was a kindly Mr Plod type police sergeant well past retirement, it didn’t seem to work and Dixon was cancelled in 1976. Nevertheless the show was extremely popular in its heyday in the fifties and sixties and Jack Warner’s portrayal of George Dixon was how many people considered the police to be like then.
One book I have on classic British TV mentions some grittier episodes later in the series, but sometimes mixed with ones that could have been made in the 1950s.
I think the problem with Dixon Of Dock Green was the main character had become too old and looked out of place in the later episodes. Probably the best thing to do was to have retired the show around 1969, and let shows like Z Cars take its place as this was truer to policing in urban areas at the time. Z Cars was another show that had a long run, 16 years, but was always contemporary and the police were closer to The Sweeney than George Bixon.
From what I read Dixon was relegated to desk sergeant in the later years & younger officers did most of the leg work.
While most repeats of Z-Cars I’ve seen have been from the early years, half the run was in colour & for a few years it was almost soap like with two 30 minute episodes a week.
Glenn Aylett
March 9, 2019 at 11:16 am
Evening all. I’m sure Dixon of Dock Green was an inspiration for another nice police show, Heartbeat, set in Dixon’s golden era of the sixties.
Richardpd
April 24, 2024 at 10:15 pm
It’s interesting that the BBC kept the series going long after Z-Cars had come along with plots in tune the social issues of the day, though as mentioned on a Talking Pictures TV pick of the day it did try dealing with some more topical subjects in the early 1970s.
Glenn Aylett
April 25, 2024 at 6:48 pm
Dixon of Dock Green did attempt to become grittier in the seventies, but when the main character was a kindly Mr Plod type police sergeant well past retirement, it didn’t seem to work and Dixon was cancelled in 1976. Nevertheless the show was extremely popular in its heyday in the fifties and sixties and Jack Warner’s portrayal of George Dixon was how many people considered the police to be like then.
Richardpd
April 25, 2024 at 10:17 pm
One book I have on classic British TV mentions some grittier episodes later in the series, but sometimes mixed with ones that could have been made in the 1950s.
Glenn Aylett
April 26, 2024 at 3:30 pm
I think the problem with Dixon Of Dock Green was the main character had become too old and looked out of place in the later episodes. Probably the best thing to do was to have retired the show around 1969, and let shows like Z Cars take its place as this was truer to policing in urban areas at the time. Z Cars was another show that had a long run, 16 years, but was always contemporary and the police were closer to The Sweeney than George Bixon.
Richardpd
April 28, 2024 at 4:20 pm
From what I read Dixon was relegated to desk sergeant in the later years & younger officers did most of the leg work.
While most repeats of Z-Cars I’ve seen have been from the early years, half the run was in colour & for a few years it was almost soap like with two 30 minute episodes a week.