Minder (TV series)

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For other uses, see Minder (disambiguation).
Minder
Image:MinderCredit.jpg
Minder
Format Drama
Created by Leon Griffiths
Starring Dennis Waterman
George Cole
Glynn Edwards
Gary Webster
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 10
No. of episodes 108
Production
Producer(s) Euston Films
Running time (50 min * 106), (90 min * 2)
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Original run October 29 1979 – March 10 1994


Minder was a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by the prolific and effective Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and was shown on ITV. The show ran for ten series from October 29 1979 to March 10 1994, and starred Dennis Waterman as Terry McCann, an honest and likeable bodyguard (minder in London slang), and George Cole as Arthur Daley, a well dressed but unscrupulous importer-exporter, wholesaler, used-car salesman, and anything else from which there was money to be made (whether it was inside the law or not). They often drank at the local members-only Winchester Club, where owner / barman Dave (Glynn Edwards) acted (often unwillingly) as a human message machine for Arthur, and turned a blind eye to his many shady deals. The series was notable during its heyday for using a wide range of leading British actors, as well as many up-and-coming performers before they hit the big time.

Minder was initially devised as a vehicle for Dennis Waterman, after his success in The Sweeney, though as time passed the emphasis was more on George Cole as the lovable wheeler-dealer. The show had a lukewarm start, not helped by its start being delayed by a nine-week technician’s strike which blacked out the entire ITV network. In the light of poor audience figures the show faced the axe but an impassioned plea by Thames' managing director Bryan Cowgill to other board members saved the show. By series three the show had become a huge, ratings-winning hit, and for many years the series was seen as the jewel in ITV's comedy / drama crown.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Terry is a former professional boxer who has served time in prison (Wormwood Scrubs) ("2 years for GBH and a 3 for attempted armed robbery" according to a police sergeant in the first episode, "Gunfight at the OK Laundrette"), having served a substantial term because he would not grass up his co-accused. With few options for the future, Terry is employed as Arthur's minder on vague and ungenerous terms. He drives a white Ford Capri that, the opening title shots suggest, he purchased from Arthur upon leaving prison, which is how the two met (he drives a copper coloured Capri in some mid-run episodes). Terry enjoys a good drink but usually drinks responsibly, and has an eye for the ladies. Despite his previous incarceration, he is very honest, trustworthy and loyal, particularly to Arthur – although the scrapes that Arthur lands him in often make him wonder why.

Arthur is a mid-level professional criminal of mature years, a minor con man eternally in the midst of dodgy dealings, who is usually seen puffing on expensive cigars, drives (typically) a Jaguar (first a silver Jaguar XJ6 Series 2, then later a pale primrose Daimler Sovereign Series 3), and who survives by his wiles and indomitable self-belief. He exploits everyone around him, especially Terry. He is always trying to make a quick buck and, as a consequence, often bites off much more than he can chew, leaving Terry to sort out the mess. Arthur thinks of himself as a Thatcherite "entrepreneur", but his tailored three-piece suits, cashmere coat and aforementioned Jaguar do not disguise his working class accent and origins. Arthur frequently tests Terry's patience to its limits with his dishonest and doomed schemes to make money ("nice little earners"), but then uses his superior cunning to convince Terry to stay with him. In the same way, Arthur manipulates his friends, such as Dave (the manager of Arthur's regular haunt, the private, if slightly downmarket, "Winchester Club"). Arthur frequently refers to his wife, who never appeared, as "'Er indoors". Arthur always sails very close to the edge of the law, but somehow avoids getting caught. Despite being the one who has served time, it is generally Terry who serves as the show’s moral conscience, usually keeping Arthur from straying too far outside the law and convincing him ultimately to do the right thing (whether Arthur likes it or not).

With Arthur's many dodgy schemes that Terry is roped into, the duo often encounter many undesirable underworld figures, many of whom Arthur unwisely deals with, and many of whom turn nasty, leaving Terry to fight and outwit their way out of trouble. But for all of Arthur's obsession with get-rich-quick schemes, he is never malicious, and the pair often end up putting some other wrong right. Most of Arthur's schemes invariably fail in the end, often due to his own greediness, but he does occasionally have the odd minor victory, and puts one over on the law.

The series was initially conceived as a vehicle for Dennis Waterman, to follow up from the classic Police series The Sweeney, in which he co-starred as Detective Sergeant George Carter, which had finished its hugely popular run the previous year. Indeed, as the title of Minder suggests, Terry was originally intended to be the lead character and the focus of the series, and the initial concept was that Arthur, as a somewhat secondary character, would find different tasks and different areas of work for Terry in each episode. However, from the off the wonderful rapport between Dennis Waterman and George Cole was evident, and quickly became very popular with the public. The focus was soon shifted to feature Terry and Arthur more evenly, with more screen time given over to Arthur and his shady dealings. Barman Dave (whose last name was given on a couple of occasions as Harris) at first made only occasional appearances, but the rapport between Arthur (and Terry) and Dave also become very popular, and by the mid-second series he too was given more screen time.

Despite its huge eventual success, Minder was a slow burner. The first series, although critically acclaimed, did not attract large audiences, because it began transmission soon after the 1979 ITV strike, when the channel was initially struggling to recover its previous audience levels. Management at Thames were intent on scrapping the show but managing director Bryan Cowgill persuaded them to commission one further series and repeat the first. Both attracted huge audiences and a TV legend was born.

The original theme tune, I Could Be So Good For You, was written in 1979 by Patricia Waterman and Gerard Kenny and was sung by Dennis Waterman himself. The record reached No.3 in the UK charts and provided the boost for Waterman to tour as a singer for a while.

The tone of the programme in series one and two, and much of series three, was unusual in that it mixed poignant drama and action sequences with offbeat comic moments. As the series progressed over 15 years, much more emphasis was placed upon the comedic aspects of the minder-principal relationship, and the show became more a comedy driven by a dramatic plot. Social satire played a strong part throughout the series, which was firmly grounded in the cinematic and social ethos of the 1970s. In the earlier series Terry would often succeed in seducing a 'dolly bird', resulting in at least one scene of female semi-nudity per episode, though as the series became more popular these instances were reduced. And although always an element of the series, the fight scenes – very common and brutal in the early episodes – were also toned down and became less frequent.

Continually out to put a stop to Arthur's schemes and put him behind bars was the hapless Detective Sergeant Albert "(Cheerful) Charlie" Chisholm (Patrick Malahide), who was always close to detecting Arthur's crimes but was not quite clever enough to catch him. After the first couple of series, he was accompanied by sidekick D.C. "Taff" Jones (Michael Povey), a Welsh policeman who, while on first sight not seeming overly bright, often proved himself to be sharper (albeit mildly) than his superior, and was often quietly amused by Arthur's continual humiliating of Chisholm. Another recurring nemesis determined to catch Arthur red-handed was Detective Sergeant Ronald "Kenny" Rycott (Peter Childs), who had a low opinion of Chisholm's many bungled efforts to nab Arthur, but was no smarter himself. Rycott's sidekick was D.C. Mellish (Michael Troughton). In the feature-length "An Officer and a Car Salesman" that preceded series 7, Chisholm was written out (he was seen to have taken a job as a security guard), and Jones was promoted to D.S. Although he took over the probing of Arthur's various plots, he was less hell-bent on nabbing him, finding most of Arthur's schemes quite humorous.

Other recurring characters over the show's run included Des (George Layton) (series 1-3), a back-street mechanic friend of Terry's who was friendly and likable, but not beyond a spot of auto theft when called for in early appearances; stripper Debbie Mitchell (Diana Malin) and air stewardess Penny (Gennie Nevinson), both recurring girlfriends of Terry's; Ray Winstone as dim mechanic Arnie (series 4-7, initially conceived as a replacement for departed George Layton's Des); and wide boy Justin James (Mark Farmer) (series 5-7) who idolised Arthur for his money-making schemes and aspired to be just like him.

At its peak, the show was one of ITV's most popular programmes, with even repeat episodes regularly pulling in well over 11 million viewers. The highest rated episode of the show's run was 1984's "Second Hand Pose", clocking up 17.4 million viewers.

As well as the heavy use of leading British actors in guest roles, other trademark features of the series were Arthur's constant, ambitious and sometimes questionable use of obscure Cockney rhyming slang and other mis-quoted sayings (one of his most well known being "The world is your lobster"), the derelict sites used as locations, and the episode titles, which contained references to well-known phrases and names (e.g. "Gunfight at the O.K. Launderette", "Monday Night Fever", "National Pelmet", "The Beer Hunter", "Days of Fines and Closures", "The Wrong Goodbye" and "Guess Who's Coming to Pinner" to name but a few).

The show was a number of times said to have come to its end, only to reappear with another series. For example, in 1984, in an article on the series, the TV Times reported that the current series (Series 5) would be the last, only to be proven wrong. In 1985, it again seemed as if that the current series really was the last one, and it was off-air (bar repeat episodes) for three years, only to reappear again in 1988.

It seemed that the end really had come in 1989 when, after filming the seventh series, Dennis Waterman announced that he would no longer be appearing in the show, saying that he was reluctant to leave but felt that the series and his character in it had run their course, and that it was becoming harder for the writers to come up with fresh plots as sharp as the series had been accustomed to. This seemed to signify the end of the series, but it made yet another surprise return in 1991, with George Cole and a new Minder. In the opening episode of series 8, "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Entrepreneur", Arthur finds that Terry has emigrated to Australia to escape his influence. At the same time he is stuck with looking after his nephew Ray Daley (Gary Webster), at the request of Arthur's brother to give him employment and keep him out of trouble. With Terry out of the scene, several local undesirables start to try and muscle in on Arthur, but it emerges that Ray is very able to handle himself in a fight, and Arthur appoints him his new "Minder".

Although Terry was never stupid, Ray was generally portrayed as smarter, having good intelligence and education as well as being able to fight well. He was also a snappy dresser, and not a heavy drinker. Ray did not have a regular car, and was usually lumbered with the tatty old blue Ford Transit van from Arthur's lock-up. The theme tune was replaced by a rock-style instrumental version of Waterman's song, credited to "Kenny" (Gerard Kenny). By this stage, the "rough and ready" elements of the early series had been severely toned down, concentrating almost solely on the comedic aspects of Arthur's dodgy dealings.

Waterman praised Gary Webster for fitting seamlessly into the series, but voiced his opinion that the series was no longer about a "Minder", and that the re-vamped version should go under a different title, reflecting its now almost sole orientation around Arthur.

Other new characters in this re-vamped version were Sidney Livingstone as Bert Daley, Arthur's gullible, over-trusting brother, and Ray's father, who views Arthur as a successful businessman and not a con-man and entrusts Ray into his care; Bert's wife and Ray's mum Doreen (Lill Roughley); and Emma Cunningham as Ray's re-occurring girlfriend Gloria, eternally frustrated with Ray being torn between her and being Arthur's lackey. The new police nemesis was Detective Sergeant Michael Morley (Nick Day), paired with D.C. Park (Stephen Tompkinson) in series 8, who in turn was replaced by D.C. Field (Jonty Stephens) in series 9.

In the late days of the programme's run, some critics felt that it had overstayed its welcome and that Thames were using it as a cash cow to great effect. Some pointed to its audience declining, although it should be noted that, by this era, there was much more competition for viewers' time than when the programme had started; and even at this stage, the series still regularly pulled in very reasonable ratings.

The end of the final episode, "The Long Good Thursday", saw Arthur (and Ray) finally being caught by the law and driven away in a Police convoy. In a final monologue over the closing credits, Arthur was genuinely bemused, citing himself as a hard working, upstanding citizen. The following week, a repeat showing of the very first episode, "Gunfight at the O.K. Laundrette" (very slightly edited for its pre-watershed start) was broadcast. Cole made an opening introduction, saying that he had been asked to choose his favourite episode, but they were all of such a high quality that he simply couldn't. He closed with "Goodbye... for now", hinting that he and/or the show may return in some form in the future. However, to date there has been no revival, apart from a couple of in-character appearances by Cole as Arthur in several retrospectives that have included a look back at the series.

[edit] Episode guide

[edit] Season 1

  • Gunfight at the O.K. Laundrette First ever episode (29/10/79)
  • Bury my Half at Walham Green
  • The Smaller They Are
  • A Tethered Goat
  • Bounty Hunter
  • Aces High – and Sometimes Very Low
  • The Bengal Tiger
  • Come in T-64, Your Time is Ticking Away
  • Monday Night Fever
  • The Dessert Song
  • You Gotta Have Friends

[edit] Season 2

  • National Pelmet
  • Whose Wife is it Anyway?
  • You Lose Some, You Win Some
  • Don't Tell Them Willie Boy Was Here
  • Not A Bad Lad, Dad
  • The Beer Hunter
  • A Nice Little Wine
  • All Mod Cons
  • Diamonds are a Girl's Worst Friend
  • The Old School Tie
  • All About Scoring – Innit?
  • Caught in the Act, Fact
  • A Lot of Bull and a Pat on the Back

[edit] Season 3

  • Dead Men Do Tell Tales
  • You Need Hands
  • Rembrandt doesn't live here anymore
  • Looking for Micky
  • Dreamhouse
  • Another Bride, Another Groom
  • The Birdman of Wormwood Scrubs
  • The Son Also Rises
  • Why Pay Tax
  • Broken Arrow
  • Poetic Jusice Innit?
  • Back in Good Old England
  • In

[edit] Season 4

  • Minder's Christmas Bonus
  • Rocky Eight and a Half
  • Senior Citizen Caine
  • High Drains Pilferer
  • Sorry Pal, Wrong Number
  • Car Lot Beggars
  • If Money be the Food of Love, Play on
  • A Star is Gorn
  • Willesden Suite
  • Windows
  • Get Daley
  • A Well Fashioned Fit Up

[edit] Season 5

  • Goodbye Sailor
  • What Makes Shamy Run?
  • A Number of Old Wives' Tales
  • The Second Time Around
  • Secondhand Rose
  • Ride to Scratchwood
  • Hypnotising Rita
  • The Balance of Power
  • Around the Corner

[edit] Season 6

  • Give Us This Day Arthur Daley's Bread
  • Life in the Fast Food Lane
  • Return of the Invincible Man
  • Arthur is dead, Long Live Arthur
  • From Fulham With Love
  • Waiting for Goddard
  • Minder on the Orient Express (1985 feature length special)

[edit] Season 7

  • An Officer and a Car Salesman (90-minute special)
  • It's a Sorry Lorry, Morrie
  • Day of Fines and Closures
  • Fatal Impression
  • The Last Video Show
  • Fiddler on the Hoof
  • The Wrong Goodbye

[edit] Season 8

  • The Loneliness of the Long Distance Entrepreneur
  • A Bouquet of Barbed Wine
  • Whatever Happened to Her Indoors?
  • Three Cons Make a Mountain
  • Guess Who's Coming to Pinner
  • The Last Temptation of Daley
  • A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in Shepherd's Bush
  • Him Indoors
  • The Greatest Show in Willesden
  • Too Many Crooks
  • The Odds Couple
  • The Coach That Came in from the Cold
  • The Cruel Canal

[edit] Season 9

  • I'll Never Forget What'sername
  • No Way to Treat a Daley
  • Uneasy Rider
  • Looking for Mr. Goodtime
  • Opportunity Knocks and Bruises
  • Gone with the Winchester
  • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Retiring
  • The Roof of All Evil
  • Last Orders at the Winchester
  • Cars and Pints and Pains
  • The Great Trilby
  • A Taste of Money
  • For a Few Dollars More

[edit] Season 10

  • A Fridge Too Far
  • Another Case of Van Blank
  • All Things Brighton Beautiful
  • One Flew over the Parents' Nest
  • The Immaculate Contraption
  • All Quiet on the West End Front
  • The Great Depression of 1994
  • On the Autofront
  • Bring Me the Head of Arthur Daley
  • The Long Good Thursday Last ever episode. (10/03/94)

[edit] Annual

In 1980, an annual based on the series was released by Grandreams. It was clearly based upon the very early concept of the series being based around Terry, but, somewhat bizarrely, had absolutely no reference to Arthur whatsoever, making it a real curiosity as a result.

[edit] Computer game

In 1985, an officially licensed Minder computer game was published for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. The player's aim was to make money by buying and selling goods. The game was written by Don Priestly and published by Dk'Tronics. A version of the game, along with the a picture of its author alongside George Cole (Arthur Daley) can be played at the Unofficial Fans of Minder website.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The show was largely responsible for putting the word minder, meaning personal bodyguard, into the UK and Australian popular lexicon.
  • The name Arthur Daley has become synonymous with a dishonest salesman or small time crook. [1]
  • The term 'Er Indoors meaning the wife, has also entered the popular lexicon, entirely due to Minder [2]
  • George Cole and Dennis Waterman released a Christmas record in 1983 called What are we Gonna Get 'Er Indoors?, it reached No.21 in the charts. The duo performed it on Top of the Pops on December 22 1983.
  • In 2005 Arthur Daley came second in ITV's 50th anniversary poll to find its favourite TV characters. [3]
  • A character called Dennis Waterman appears as a character in David Walliams' and Matt Lucas' Little Britain. Dennis Waterman is portrayed as a tiny out of work actor obsessed with writing and singing the theme tune to whatever programme, film or play he is offered. The tune is often based on the Minder theme. Waterman himself eventually appeared live on stage with Walliams' parody character during the 'Little Britain Live' tour to sing the theme tune.
  • The series has a number of parallels with long-running BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses, with both being set in London, both involving lovable dodgy dealers with endless get-rich-quick schemes (and both of whom tried to make out to be of a higher status than they really were), and both having a blend of comedy and drama. Indeed, Only Fools... creator / writer John Sullivan has claimed that one of the ways he persuaded the BBC to commission the series was by pointing to the success of ITV's Minder, which had begun the previous year. After both having lukewarm starts, both series went on to became huge hits, and share much of the same fan base. One Christmas, specials of Only Fools... and Minder were scheduled against each other, angering many viewers (in the days before video recorders were quite as commonplace in UK homes).

The Theme from 'Minder' was used in Soccer AM for Barry Proudfoot

  • Minder is featured in the lyrics of a song titled 'Plastic Gangsters' by The 4 Skins ("I stay at home on Thursdays, minders on TV. I'm learning Cockney rhyming slang of to a tee. So when I go out on Fridays I know what to say. I wish I was like Arthur and get my own way".)


The dodgy car showroom on Minder was called - Room 105 "Where Hell Comes To Life"

[edit] References

  • I Could Be So Good For You/Nothing At All (single), Dennis Waterman & The Dennis Waterman Band (1979), EMI5009.
  • Leon Griffiths (1985). Arthur Daley's Guide to Doing It Right. ISBN 0-00-218176-2. 
  • Andrew Nickolds (1994). Back to Basics: Arthur Daley's Anatomy of Britain. ISBN 0-434-00021-3. 
  • Paul Ableman & Leon Griffiths (1991). Straight Up: The autobiography of Arthur Daley. ISBN 0-434-00066-3. 
  • Anthony Masters (1984). Minder. ISBN 0-7221-5824-6. 
  • Anthony Masters (1984). Minder – Back Again. ISBN 0-7221-5823-8. 
  • Anthony Masters (1985). Minder – Yet Again!. ISBN 0-7221-5827-0. 
  • Anthony Masters (1987). Leave It Out, Arthur: The Minder Series. ISBN 0-7474-0482-8. 
  • Brian Hawkins (2002). The Phenomenon that was Minder. ISBN 962-86812-1-4. 
  • Dennis Waterman & Jill Arlon (2000). ReMinder. ISBN 0-09-180108-7. 

[edit] External links

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