- Source: The Bill series 23
Series 23 of British television drama The Bill was broadcast from 3 January until 28 December 2007. The series consisted of 92 episodes. On 2 April 2014, the complete series was released on DVD in Australia as a Region 0, playable anywhere in the world. Several episodes were aired out of production order, such as the conclusion of the Zain Nadir plot (which was brought forward owing to demand from the viewers), and so, to avoid confusion, some episodes were renumbered. However, the DVD release carries the episodes in broadcast order, rather than production order, meaning that the DVD synopsis printed on the sleeve is heavily incorrect. The DVD synopsis also removes all titles (including those carried on screen), and continues to tally the episodes by number. The DVD release does not contain episodes 540–542, "Moving Target" Parts 1–3, owing to licensing rights for these episodes not being available.
Image overhaul
The series saw a new title sequence introduced in the first episode, with the theme tune slightly rearranged (although the previous version returned a handful of times during the series), with images of procedural work and the inside of the station updated compared to the previous sequence, while the end title had its blue shade lightened before it was replaced later in the year by an interior shot of the Area Car driving through London. The show would also introduce on-screen episode titles for the first time since 2002 from Episode 20 onwards. Renovations continued on the station set that began in 2006 to add a modern look; the final touches in 2007 saw the front end redesigned to separate it from the St. Hugh's hospital set, while metal fencing was added around the front yard.
Plot
Series 23 saw the return of several multi-part story arcs, the likes of which had last featured in the second half of Series 17. The series was similar to the late 90s and early 2000s where the police drama and character focus were balanced, however more individual episodes were emerging than had been the case in the previous series. The show concluded several arcs from 2006 in the first few months including the disappearance of schoolgirl Amy Tennant and DC Zain Nadir's work undercover in a drugs ring, which culminated in his exit alongside PC Honey Harman, who was killed after four years when Zain's girlfriend and drugs baron Kristen Shaw shot her dead in a struggle, Zain jailed for hiding Honey's body. The other big plot was Sergeant June Ackland's romance with school headmaster Rod Jessop, retiring as part of the exit plot for the show's longest-running cast member to date, Trudie Goodwin, leaving the role of Ackland after 23 years on 8 March 2007. Her exit scenes coincided with three guest appearances by former series regular Jim Carver, who made a brief return two years after his original exit, having been the co-protagonist with Goodwin in the series pilot in 1983. This was also the last episode not to feature an on-screen title. The series also featured a plot on honour killing, with the episode it was featured in, To Honour and Obey, being broadcast out of order after its mastertape was stolen in November 2006 along with the one for the previous episode, Blood Money; the episodes were originally due to air in December 2006. Other plots included Superintendent John Heaton being targeted by both a rampaging gunman and a former colleague turned villain, Ray Moore (portrayed by Mark Bonnar).
Cast changes
In addition to pilot star June Ackland's retirement, the series lost one of its most notable stars in Scott Maslen as the DS Phil Hunter actor was poached by BBC soap EastEnders, ending a run of five years in the role as he transferred to a specialist squad at New Scotland Yard. Aml Ameen also left at the end of his 18-month contract as his character PC Lewis Hardy joined Operation Trident after going undercover to save his cousin from a street gang, getting shot in the process but surviving. Several recurring characters such as press officer Mia Perry, CPS lawyer Matt Hinckley and DAC Georgia Hobbs also exited the series as focus moved to the core cast of coppers, while some introduced by previous exec Paul Marquess were axed such as PCs Dan Casper and Leela Kapoor. In addition to Honey Harman's fatal shooting exit in January, the show killed off newcomer PC Billy Rowan in his first episode as part of a 3-part plot that saw the police targeted by a rampaging knifeman who also wounded another officer. London's Burning actor Sam Callis replaced Ackland as brutish Sergeant Callum Stone, while his Ultimate Force co-star Christopher Fox replaced Hunter as DS Max Carter. Other characters introduced included Ben Richards from Footballers' Wives as PC Nate Roberts and Ali Bastian from Hollyoaks as PC Sally Armstrong.
Episodes
References
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