So you're the new producer of The Bill. What do you do?

Well, me, I would immediately move it to Tuesday and Thursday at 8PM, as viewers would have to wait for a day for the next episode. Also I'd give the Bill a Waking The Dead feel to it, a complete revamp, grittier storylines that run for longer like the Sniper storyline, focus partially on the personal lives on the officers but more on the crimes and dramatic undercover operations.

I'd direct it to be more fast paced and have incedental music. Not songs, but the music commenly used to build up tension and fear in the viewers.

I'd have some new storylines that run for weeks, or even months with twists etc that test the officers to their limits, murders etc.

I'd also incorperate MIT into the show to allow investigations of murders.

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What would you do if you were the new exec?

I would make it a proper drama series again with more self contained episodes and less soapy rubbish which has lowered the tone of the entire series!

Honestly, i would keep it how it is, but focus a little bit more on police work than personal lives. I don't really think incidental music would work on The Bill. I would also withdraw the axings of Ken Drummond and Jim Carver!!

I enjoy the late 90's episodes on UK Gold far more than what we are getting now.

The golden years of this decade for The Bill so far was 2000-2002, some fantastic stories and All Fall Down where CID gets a huge overhaul was in amongst of a tremendous period for the show. The whole original Don Beech on the run story was wonderful. Tom Chandler's opening six months as Superintendent with Bob Cryer leaving and Jack Meadows having trouble with him was great to watch.

The Bill was on once a week on Friday nights for a long spell - at least in this region - and it worked magnificently well as a weekly drama. I just don't like the way it has become as weekly soapy as Casualty.

Hmm, I'm really enjoying the Bill at the moment.

The continuity is a bit odd tho, either I've missed episodes or what happened to Kerry and the Radford thing? Last thing I saw about that was the drugs raid that went wrong and the 4 of them saying that the superiors couldn't prove anything.

I thought Kerry was going to be taken out by the Radfords? Also, surely she must be feeling guilty for the imported prostitutes :s

I would introduce new officers and get rid of some current useless ones.

I think the last we saw of Kerry was after all that stuff with the raid was over, and at the end of the episode she climbed into the car with David Radford and gave him the illegal immigrant girl's passports.
We haven't seen her since though and that was 2 weeks ago.

I certainly wouldn't put it on Tuesday's as I'm out then

Personally, I like it the way it is. I'd make more of the dry humour from Gina, and bring in a few longer running plots, but apart from that, I like it the way it is.

I'd bring back Sgt. Craig Gilmore for starters,

Give it some attitude. I like the idea of a Waking the Dead edge, but only in style. There are enough soaps on TV, by far, and i'd prefer to see the Cops n' Docs shows buck the trend they've got sucked in to. In the 90s, I remember Casualty, The Bill & London's Burning as three varied, refreshing, energised dramas that I (at that young age) though were a real treat. Now they on the edge of clogging up the arteries of television.

Something like The Bill is a perfect platform, for exploring, in a sort-of 'play for today' format but within the canopy of an established ensemble, issues prevalent in modern culture: from police brutality to street crime. I know they do this, obviously, but I feel put off watching, simply because of the heavy soap element. I tried to get into it last year, around the time Rene Zgger's Nick Klein was on the way out, and Linda Lusardi (?!) turned up. I found that things moved in such a perplexing structure, if I missed an episode, i'd be lost as to know what was going on.

I'd keep two episodes, and on Wed/Thu, but i'd make much more clearly "standalone" feel, like the 2 Part BBC Crime Doubles on Sun/Mon. This wont alienate the long term viewers, but will make the show far more open and friendly to new viewers, who wont feel put off because they don't know why he's not sleeping with her or mayying him or whatever. The Bill, Casualty, Holby City, all drama. by definition, not soap. and i'm fairly fed up with how they've all gone.

Just Bin the chimp

Save Jim and Junes marriage

Bin the chimp
#
Kill yvonne

bin the chimp

Let shearer discover he really loves andrea and become a man

Bin the fn chimp

DIE APEMAN DIE

...although if I only do the one thing, scrap all that crap I wrote before: i'd bring back Rene Zagger, and get him nekkid!

Axe Gabriel Kent!
Axe Andrea Dunbar!
Keep Ken Drummond!
Keep Jim Carver!
Axe Rob Thatcher!

INCLUDE M.I.T IN THE SHOW!

I think incedental music used to build tension in sieges or tense situations would be great, build up music etc. Not songs over the top.

Give DS Ramani De Costa are bigger part to play in investigations.

I was an extra on the show, many moons ago when they wre doing the 30 min stand alone episodes, and the driver who took us back to the tube station was telling us how the show wasn't surviving as it was. He said it was a case of injecting new life in or it would have been axed.

This was about 5 years ago, and look how far it's come since then!

I agree Alan45 and bring back Craig Gilmore for Smiffy

DIe ApeMan Die
And Very Soon
Last edited by barry_daddy : 19-09-2004 at 15:00

Bring back Des (yes I know I'm sad )
Withdraw the axings of Ken Drummond and Jim Carver
Focus more on police work than personal lives
Oh and bin the chimp!

i used to like the bill where they focused on lots of little crimes rather than just focusing on long drawn out ones, as i find that when u miss one episode lately you end up missing loads of story and IMO it puts me off watching!!!

although i do agree that incorparation MIT into this show would be a good idea... as long as they didnt over use it!!!

Definitely promote Reg and make him a more prominent character!

Including MIT in the show and changing the feel slightly would instantly revamp it.

I'd also prefer it if they included SO19 in the show - but like MIT it not to be to heavely involved in storylines, just a few prominent characters being involved with Sunhill characters.

I think we should see some of the murder cases investigated in MIT.

That way Eva Sharp and Mickey Webb could return and more characters could be introduced. Its easy for them to incorporate the characters from CID with uniform and MIT, it would be much better IMO if there was a broader range of cases investigated from door-to-doors to grisly murder cases.

They could link them for instance in a murder investigation, uniform can be doing door-to-doors and MIT can be doing the forensic side of things.

Well, I think the show feels quite lethargic as it is now. it is hard for the show in it's current soapy format to really build up to major climax, because it is on-going, same with Holby. Why were they made all-year-round shows? Casualty has very long (40 episodes, I believe) seasons, but at least we can depend on a bigger-budget premier and finale episodes. When it just goes on and on, when do you really pull out the stops?

But more than anything, i'd bring back the 'walking legs' at the end. They were almost iconic.

yep that is exactly what i would do... bring back chris simmons... i miss him

I would also like to see Kerry Holmes come back. She must be a Sergeant by know

I would say bin the chimp, but he is not a chimp. More like the missing link in the evolutionary chain. Bin him anyway.

keep Jim and ken. Don't let Jack die or retire.