Stay Lucky, Eh?

Two young villains, Barry Tyson and Peter Jenner, work for gang boss Tony Kirby. They've just pulled a robbery and are splitting the spoils when a stranger appears, takes the lot and shoots Jenner in the leg for good measure. Nobody knows who the gunman is or why he chose that moment. It's the kind of mystery that should stay a mystery, and for a while it does. Kirby's authority over his own patch turns out to be worth nothing against a stranger with a gun.

Regan's way in is Jenner's father-in-law, a disgruntled old man who knows more than he lets on. A conversation with him sets the whole thing moving, and the trail ends in a shoot-out inside a theatre, the kind of location the show always made the most of. There's something properly theatrical about the gunfire bouncing off the stalls. The set-piece is staged with the usual economy: a few rooms, a lot of noise, no wasted motion.

Alongside the chase runs a quieter thread with real bite: Regan is offered a job in private security. Good money and regular hours, and the aggravation would stop. It's a tempting offer, and the episode is smart enough to let it hang there while the bullets fly. But you watch him weigh it, and you'd probably take it yourself.

Trevor Preston and Ian Kennedy Martin wrote it, Douglas Camfield directed. Peter Vaughan brings his usual heavyweight presence to Tony Kirby. Alun Armstrong is Peter Jenner, Paul Moriarty is Barry Tyson, and Sandy Ratcliff plays Liz Jenner. Ken Hutchison, Brian McDermott and Michael Ripper fill out the supporting cast alongside the regulars, John Thaw, Dennis Waterman and Garfield Morgan.

The mystery gunman is a good hook. But the offer of the quiet life is what stays with you. Stay lucky, eh.