JOHN THAW WITH JOHN CLIVE IN 'THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER'

John Clive in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2

Like the film noir WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, as an otherwise brutal cop looks extremely guilty of murder when he's innocent... THE SWEENEY episode BIG BROTHER puts John Thaw's Regan in a similar circumstance... 

Only he doesn't punch a guy to accidentally kill him like Dana Andrews... instead, after a bit of manhandling witnessed by partner Dennis Waterman's Carter, alone in the interrogation room with the smug younger brother of a criminal kingpin, the kid suddenly falls to the floor and is hospitalized, in critical condition, with Regan the suspect...

John Thaw in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER with David Dixon

As the episode juggles several genre elements: from gangster-revenge, bad cop, wrong man to blaxploitation... particularly intriguing when A CLOCKWORK ORANGE goading stage actor John Clive... always with a weaselly trick up his sleeve... plays a liberal journalist dying to turn the infamous cop into a killer...

Meanwhile Maurice Roëves looks dapper and partially menacing as the title character, who hires a wild card torpedo to off Regan, yet neither story-line comes to anything, really... leaving a foot chase with Regan and Carter after a black pimp backed by a funky score to close a really good episode that's almost downright incredible.

John Clive and Dennis Waterman in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER

John Clive and Garfield Morgan in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER

Maurice Roëves in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER with Roy Boyd

John Thaw in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER

John Thaw in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER

Maurice Roëves in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER

John Clive in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER

Maurice Roëves in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER with John Clive

John Clive in THE SWEENEY: BIG BROTHER with Garfield Morgan