 
 
 
 
 
 
The Cops is not the first TV soap to use the
hand-held camera, all jittery and craftily placed, but it is one of the
better examples. The programme relies not on extreme plots or brilliant
screenplays (well, I guess they do excel, but in a workmanlike, realistic
sense) but a combination of understated method acting and unpretentious
cinematography. The latter puts the viewer behind the shoulder of figures
in motion, or peeks into office conversations from behind potplants or
lockers, or occasionally protudes rather shakily when there's moments of
action or high tension. It all has the feeling of being rather hands-on,
but not glamorously so.
The characters are an interesting, though not an overly endearing mix. The
Bill - about as diametrically opposed a police show as you could find -
has policemen and women who are predictable, articulate beyond their
station, reflective and devoid of all except the most caricatured
weakness. In The Cops, they are far more earthy, don't fall into
self-analyzing monologues when things are tough, and fall victim to
temptation, vengeful anger and crudity far more easily and more often;
they seem to go about the sometimes unpleasant job they have, usually
grim-faced and head-shaking, rather than indulging in histrionics or
soliliquoys. In short, they seem much more like 'real' police officers, if
there is such a thing, and they are confronted by situations and events
that I'm sure these real officers occasionally do encounter. |
PC
.. Natalie Metcalf
"Appreciated? I don't think that comes
into the job. I think you put the uniform on. You go out in the vans. You
pick 'em up, you hurl 'em in, you bring 'em back. If you had asked me that
six years ago it would have been a very different answer."
played by Clare McGlinn
|
PC
NATALIE METCALF / CUTTING SCRIPT
|
| |
Programme
Title: Biog inserts
Contributor: PC Natalie Metcalf
Rolls: 03 and 04
|
|
 |
|
| |
PICTURE
|
|
AUDIO
|
|
| |
Timecode:
04:01:28
Wide shot Nat pouring over books in refs room.
Timecode: 04:02 ish
CU Nat's notes - she's annotating lecture notes
(Sergeant's course).
|
|
Commentary:
'PC Natalie Metcalf - known as Nat to her colleagues - is a graduate
copper.'
Natalie Metcalf ('Nat') interview:
Timecode: 03:03:11
'Initially I went to Leeds University and studied sociology… (sub)
I think when I left I thought I could change the world. You know, go
out there amongst the scrotes. Dust them down and show them how to
live proper lives. It didn't work out quite that way.' |
|
| |
Timecode:
02:20:30
Big WS GV Stanton - Skeetsmoor Estate.
Timecode: 02:21:19
Medium shots run down homes on the estate - graffiti etc.
Nat in vision.
|
|
Commentary:
'On graduating, Nat didn't immediately join the force, initially
following in the footsteps of her liberal, social worker parents by
taking a job in the Stanton Housing department.'
Nat interview:
Timecode: 03: 06:29
'Yes, Natalie understood. Natalie felt sorry for them. Natalie
thought these people's lives could be enhanced, changed, developed,
but not quite.'
|
|
| |
Timecode:
02:23:24
Shots of women and children outside launderette and boarded up
stores, Skeetsmoor.
Timecode: 02:23:10
CU boarded up windows.
Timecode: 02:25:08
CU woman smoking outside front door same house. Cuffs kid.
|
|
Commentary:
'Her experiences there soon lead to disillusionment and a career
change.'
Nat interview:
Timecode: 03:07:20
'We spent thirty three million pounds renovating the Skeetsmoor
Estate…(sub) And in two years the place was trashed. So what does
that show you?….(Sub) Unfortunately it's a small few out there
that makes life hell for the rest of us. And those people need
policing. They haven't got the intelligence to develop their lives.
To work even.'
|
|
| |
Timecode:
04:14:20
WS Nat (with Mike Thompson) approaching gang of kids on playing
field.
Start with Nat in vis. Then cut away back to her at playing field.
Timecode: 04:15:50
CUs surly looking red-headed kid's face.
|
|
Commentary:
'Today, this young, educated officer shows little sign of her
earlier liberal tendencies.'
Nat interview:
Timecode: 03:15:11
'I think you put the uniform on. You go out in the vans. You pick 'em
up, you hurl 'em in, you bring 'em back. If you had asked me six
years ago it would have been a very different answer. But
unfortunately experiences teaches you.' |
|
| |
Timecode:
04:01:40
Nat studying again.
Nat in vis.
Timecode: 04:04:47
Then cutaway to her knocking on CI Newland's door and entering. Door
shuts.
CU Newland's name on door panel.
|
|
Commentary:
'But she is ambitious for herself, and is studying for her
sergeants' exams. She has forceful views about the future.'
Nat interview:
Timecode: 03:26:14
'I see myself as material for promotion. However I do think the
force has to change to accommodate the changing society that we live
in…. We need more power. Power's not the word. You'll misread
that. We need it to work more for the police because at the moment I
think it's gone over more for the public.'
|
|
| |
Timecode:
04:17:10
Nat and Mike Thompson seen questioning red-headed boy. Search boy.
Timecode: 04:20:39
Nat and Mike Thompson bring same boy into custody room. Doing
paperwork in custody.
|
|
Commentary:
'And when the police lack the power she'd like them to have, Nat's
attitude can be flexible.'
Nat interview:
Timecode: 03:10:10
'Of course there are people that do err and sometimes try to speed
up the system. I don't say they're being corrupt. I just mean they
can anticipate the truth. And so what they do is they adjust
situations.' |
|
| |
Timecode:
04:22:15
Nat takes hand-cuffs off boy in custody cell.
Timecode: 04:24:38
BCU Nat clipping her handcuffs back onto her belt.
|
|
Commentary:
'Nat sees being young, bright and female as no bar to a high-ranking
future as a 'firm but fair' cop. But what of her private life?'
Nat interview:
Timecode: 03:30:24
'People are threatened by you being an officer. It's almost as if
you're an informer. You're on the other side.. (sub)..I don't think
of marriage and babies. I don't see how that could fit in.'
|
Steve
Garti
PC Colin Jellico |
Rob
Dixon
Sgt Edward Giffen |
John
Henshaw
PC Roy Brammell |
Parvez
Oadir
PC Jaz Shundara |
Jack
Marsden
PC Danny Rylands |
David
Crellin
DS Alan Wakefield |
Danny
Seward
PC Dean Wishaw |
Steve
Jackson
PC Mike Thompson |
Claire
McGlinn
PC Natalie Metcalf |
Katy
Cavanagh
PC Mel Draper |
|
Hey Webmasters! New Photo Album Service Launched - Check it out!
bravenet.com
