A Copper Called Craven

The new era of Special Branch starts with its new man in trouble, which is one way to introduce a leading character. Alan Craven is accused of taking bribes, and the accusation will not wash off. An internal investigation finds a questionable deposit in his bank account, and that is enough to suspend him from duty. The options left to him are simple: clear his name or face criminal charges.

Roger Marshall wrote it and William Brayne directed, and the episode gets immediate tension out of watching a detective fight the machine he used to be part of. Craven works his own case from the outside, with Detective Sergeant Bill North the one friendly face in the building. Commander Nicols presides over the inquiry and Pettiford pushes it, and around them move Ridley, Workman, Corrigan, a customs official and a landlady, each with a part in the mess. The internal inquiry is the least friendly room in the building, and Craven has to sit through it knowing he is innocent.

And Sewell is the right man for it. Craven is prickly and closed off, a man who has never needed to be liked, and the script gives him every reason to keep his guard up. There is no world-weary charm on offer, and none is needed.

George Sewell's Craven anchors it, with Roger Rowland as Bill North, Peter Jeffrey as Pettiford, Sheila Scott Wilkinson as Pam Sloane, Richard Butler as Commander Nicols, Tony Selby as Ridley, Barry Jackson as Workman, Patrick Connor as Corrigan, Patrick Jordan as the Customs Official and Jennifer Piercey as the Landlady.

The new regime gets a story about trust, which is the right note to strike. A copper who cannot clear his own name has nothing left but the job, and the episode understands how much that is. It sets the tone for the new era: fewer jokes, more scars.