05 May 2006

It's an institution

The Herald celebrates Taggart (here):
"There's been a murder. It is a sentence to gladden the heart of a Scottish theatrical agent. The words must be spoken in deeply guttural, menacing tones, and it would take a heart of stone not to laugh.
There's been a murder. There is a myth. And that legend in its own prime-time is Taggart, a programme slagged with the ferocity of the abuse aimed at a youth with a plook on his nose at the school disco. Yet it has claims to being the most successful television drama ever.
The evidence? Taggart is the longest-running police drama on television. It started with a three-part serial, Killer, in 1983, and a new series is now being filmed. It will bring the number of episodes to 87 and the body count to more than 100."

Lots of bad acting and improbable plots, but somehow compelling. I remember the surreal experience of turning on the telly in a Prague hotel and seeing Taggart dubbed in Czech. Even the Czech speakers managed to convey a Glaswegian accent.

I've never understood why STV has failed to repeat the earlier series.

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