Shaw returns for more 'Gently'

[N.Fan]

Why is it annoying?. Almost every series ends in a cliffhanger to encourage people to tune in to a new series . Holby, Casualty Heartbeat The Royal to name but a few.

It's annoying because I say it is and that is my opinion.

[alan45]

It's annoying because I say it is and that is my opinion.

Thanks for that very informative reply. It says much more than I'm sure you intended

[alan45]

It's annoying because I say it is and that is my opinion.

Thanks for that very informative reply. It says much more than I'm sure you intended

[alan45]

Week beginning 1st February (Date and time to be confirmed )

1969: six months since the shootings in Durham Cathedral. Gently's injuries in the shoulder and the leg are healed and he is pushing himself back to full fitness. Bacchus, shot in the stomach and seriously injured, has been completing his recuperation in a police convalescent home.
Gently is shocked when he learns of Bacchus’ resignation and annoyed that John hasn’t told him directly. He visits Bacchus in the convalescent home where he has been recuperating and realises that his sergeant has lost his confidence. Still suffering his own mental and physical scars from the Cathedral, Gently sets about fixing Bacchus - by insisting that he helps him with a case while he serves out his notice. Gently has been tasked with investigating a death in custody.

The death has taken place in police cells in Newcastle and was discovered by WPC Rachel Coles and reported to the station sergeant, Dawson. They say the victim was one of several people arrested after a street protest and had to be manhandled into the cells. His body shows signs of injury, but there isn’t yet a clear cause of death.

The victim, identified as Simon Thomas, is discovered to be a university drop-out, a drifter with some mental health problems, probably living rough. His middle class family is horrified that he has died in police custody and his mother asks Gently, "aren’t the police supposed to protect the vulnerable?"

Gently and Bacchus learn from the police shift team Baird, Stockdale and Sidwell that Simon’s death happened on what had already been a difficult day for the police. They came under attack during protests at a slum clearance and the victim was arrested there. The incident shows the changing attitudes of the general public to the police force. Where they were once the trusted, familiar, local ‘Bobbies on the beat’, police officers are now beginning to be seen as agents of the state.

Even the kids they meet on the street, like eight year-old Robbie and his brother think of them as ‘pigs’. Another police officer, Ashton, was attacked and seriously injured during the protest. His colleagues are angry and Gently ponders whether Simon’s injuries indicate that they decided to take justice into their own hands.

As Gently and Bacchus put together more detail about the events leading up to Simon’s death, they explore events at the police station, the circumstances of his arrest, and attempt to discover what happened before the police arrived at the slum estate.

Rachel is ‘fitted up’ by her male colleagues in the force – and Gently and Bacchus find themselves in danger once again on the streets of Durham...

[Perdita]

Confirmed for BBC One on 13 February at 8.30pm to 10.00pm


The body of a girl washed up by a pier leads Gently and Bacchus to investigate the staff and holidaymakers at a family holiday camp. While investigating the death, Gently and Bacchus uncover a story of fame-seeking, sex and the dark underbelly of the permissive society.
When the body of a girl, Megan, is washed up on a local beach, Gently and Bacchus begin to investigate her death and look into her position as a blue coat at the Bluebird Holiday Camp. They are welcomed into the camp by the owner, Todd Stretch, and his sister, Cherry. Gently and Bacchus make inquiries with Meg’s colleagues, chalet-mates Gail and Justine, and fitness instructor Gary Manners. Meg was a popular member of staff and a charismatic performer, and great with the guests.

It is clear that the youth of 1969 have more independence than their parents. Fewer families are coming to the camp – and with the ideal of the family beginning to break down, the camp is taking fewer bookings than before. Todd insists it is still family oriented and that those values are important.

Meg has also been in conflict with her mother, Agnes, about her job – and when Agnes reacts strangely to news of the murder, Gently and Bacchus suspect that there’s more to her family situation than meets the eye.

Alibis for the night of the murder don’t quite stack up. Gently and Bacchus gradually discover that Agnes, Justine and Gary aren’t being quite straightforward about their movements - and in addition, a different picture begins to emerge of Meg.

Camp guests are also reacting badly to the news of the murder, and one couple, Tim and Sylvia Ryan, attempt to leave. Gently and Bacchus discover that Sylvia was with Gary on the night of the murder – but scratching the surface of this relationship, they learn that Sylvia paid Gary for sex.

All is not as it seems at the Bluebird Holiday Camp...

The themes of family in this film are played through Bacchus’s relationship with his daughter as he tries to get greater access through his ex-wife Lisa. Gently, grieving on the anniversary of his wife’s death, steps in to try and help his colleague.

Rachel also becomes part of the support system for Gently and Bacchus at the police station - with Gently noticing that Bacchus is unsettled by her modern ways of policing.

[Perdita]

20th February


In the late 60s an article in The Times confirmed that the MOD had tested the effects of LSD on volunteer servicemen at Porton Down. Gently and Bacchus delve into this world of army secrets when a young former soldier commits a murder and Gently finds some uncomfortable truths in what it means to serve one’s Queen and country.
Following a murder at a Turkish Baths, Bacchus delights in what seems to be a straightforward case. Witnesses confirm that ex-serviceman Scott Tanner killed the victim and he has handily left his ID in a locker.

As they search for him, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems. His psychiatrist, Dr. Lesley, worries as he was showing signs of suffering from schizophrenia, while Scott’s brother Mark states that his brother was too soft for the army and certainly couldn’t kill a man.

The case takes a sinister twist when Dr. Lesley appears to have committed suicide by hanging himself, and his patient file on Scott Tanner is missing. Further confusing the matter is the fact that Lesley left money in his will to five soldiers, one of whom was Scott Tanner. Lesley’s papers also state that his last appointment was with a Dr. Jennifer Bing at a place called, “Hopewood.” Gently and Bacchus visit Bing who tells them that Lesley had worked with her for the army at the testing facility.

All roads lead back to the army but Gently is told by his superior to request any army interviews through him. Gently decides to further question Scott Tanner who opens up and explains that he was given drugs in Hopewood as part of a training exercise. At first it was like a trip, but then the experiments changed and he was tortured. He admits to the killing of the man in the Turkish bath. Bacchus feels that as Tanner signed up for the testing it’s not their case to investigate, but Gently thinks otherwise. Bing confirms that Lesley conducted clinical tests using LSD on servicemen volunteers, but they were safe and shows them a film that confirms that.

Scott’s brother Mark Tanner kidnaps Bing to find out the truth about the tests and his brother. As Mark Tanner seeks his brutal revenge, Gently rushes to beat him to the true culprit and in turn attempts make amends for his previous inaction during his time in service.

[alan45]

27th February

Throughout the Sixties, Northumberland coal mining was decimated, as competition from oil, gas, cheap imports and nuclear power led to the closure of dozens of collieries. Communities were crushed; with the young moving on to new lives while the old were left behind to haunt ghost towns.
Burnsend is one such community. Once a thriving colliery town the future of the pit hangs in the balance as the National Coal Board (NCB) consider closing it. A mysterious death in the mine leads Gently and Bacchus to explore the tensions and relationships in the community. They encounter families riven by politics and caught in grudges that date back to the Second World War.

Gently and Bacchus are called to investigate the death of Arthur Hawkes, a miner who has been missing for several days. His death is suspicious because his body is found in the mine, yet both identity tokens that should track the movements of miners indicate that he was ‘topside’. Whilst down the mine, Gently’s fitness is called into question when he suffers a nasty fall.

Arthur Hawkes was a union man, and one of those responsible for keeping the mine open. His children, Hannah and Samuel, confirm that he fought long and hard for the men at the pit.

As Gently and Bacchus dig deeper, the politics of the potential closure are called into question, with the union man Arthur appearing to sell his fellow miners down the river. A union comrade, Billy Shearer, becomes a suspect when he suggests Arthur had sold out his co-workers. Arthur is also discovered to have been in conflict with fellow miner, Peter Turner, and manager Dennis Milton.

Further investigation reveals that a secret affair may hold the key to the case and Gently has to race to save a life of someone who appears to have lost everything.

During the course of the film, Gently encounters questions about his suitability for his post after being offered an easier desk job promotion, while also pushing Bacchus to reconsider taking his inspector’s exams