544:). In the second series, the two deputies were replaced by Lynn Blake (Lisa Harrow), a former love interest of Kyle's. (In the novelisation of episodes from Series Two, the explanation given for the replacement of Delly Lomas was that she had been "relegated to obscurity in the Dundee Branch of the PCD"; no explanation is given for Henry Tasker's departure.) Kyle was aided and abetted by Import/Export Agent Dave Brett (Tony Doyle) and provided from time to time with Top Secret government information by the mysterious "Faceless" (Paul Hardwick), who is a top-level government official tapped into the PCD. The government machine is headed by Home Secretary Dan Mellor (John Savident), replaced in office in series two (supposedly through Kyle's efforts) by Kate Smith (Yvonne Mitchell).
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determined (and constantly reviewed) by the PCD on behalf of the union-dominated socialist government. The higher-status individuals appear to be civil servants and union leaders. An exception to this are import–export agents, who appear to be immune to state control due to their importance to the remnants of the economy. The
540:, who turns renegade and fights the PCD covertly. The officials of the PCD, led by Controller Herbert Skardon (Robert Lang), try to find proof of Kyle's subversive activities. Skardon's two Deputy Controllers are Delly Lomas (Barbara Kellerman), who has an ambiguous relationship with Kyle and Henry Tasker (
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has been re-introduced (via the Youth
Behaviour Control Act 1984 which enforces conscription). The Genetic Crimes Act 1985 makes sexual offences punishable by death. It is said that in 1986 two army generals and a retired air chief marshal attempted a coup against the government but it failed and the
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to 'cure' dissidents by "scrubbing away" their memories, allowing for false memories to be implanted. Ordinary criminals found guilty of traditional and new economic and social crimes are prevented from clogging up the decaying prison system by having short sentences during which they are force-fed
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The state can also declare a person to be a "non-citizen" which denies them an entitlement to consumer goods, accommodation or food. (This often happens to sex offenders and those found to be involved in religious or right-wing activities.) Labour is controlled by a mandatory closed shop in every
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in 1981, triggering permanent martial law followed by a general election in which only 20 per cent of the electorate voted. The economy (and imports) drastically contracted forcing stringent rationing of housing, goods and services. These are distributed according to a person's LifeScore as
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in 1982 due to hyperinflation) which appears to have little value overseas due to the international boycott of
British exports. The armed forces have been run down to the extent that they are little more than an internal security force. This is made clear in one episode where the
604:. Taking a second job ("moonlighting") is illegal, as is "parasitism", defined as claiming state benefits while fit for work. Ombudsman's Courts which are fixed in favour of the state are the key part of the legal system. Emigration is a problem with a steady "
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has been abolished and turned into an exclusive dining club. State ownership of businesses appears to be close to 100 per cent and prohibition of wealth and income appears to be rigorous. The monarch is male due to the unfortunate death of
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Although running the bureaucratic dictatorship, the state appears to shy away from explicit political violence, preferring to set up psychiatric pseudo-hospitals called "Adult
Rehabilitation Centres" which employ
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Exposition in this series was mainly performed by facts occasionally dropped into dialogue requiring the viewer to piece things together. There was an irrecoverable national
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in 1977 and 1978. The series was never repeated but was released on DVD in 2017. Two novelisations based on the scripts were released in paperback by the publisher Sphere;
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810:"Whatever Happened to Cardinal Wolsey?"
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1178:1 May 2017
1159:Series no.
1145:DVD release
1125:Alan Gibson
1101:Jim Hawkins
1047:Edmund Ward
1044:Alan Gibson
1020:Edmund Ward
993:Edmund Ward
990:Peter Sasdy
933:Peter Sasdy
929:"Pentagons"
912:Directed by
870:Edmund Ward
840:Alan Gibson
789:Arden Winch
762:Edmund Ward
759:Alan Gibson
734:Edmund Ward
671:Alan Gibson
650:Directed by
614:Berlin Wall
606:brain drain
602:job sharing
511:Clive Swift
499:Lisa Harrow
483:Robert Lang
450:Home Office
335:of episodes
275:Clive Swift
258:Lisa Harrow
247:Robert Lang
221:Peter Sasdy
205:Alan Gibson
198:Directed by
190:Arden Winch
187:Jim Hawkins
184:Edmund Ward
1245:Categories
1220:BBC Online
1135:1978-04-10
1108:1978-04-03
1081:1978-03-27
1054:1978-03-20
1027:1978-03-13
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987:"Trapline"
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653:Written by
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548:Background
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440:Background
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414:1978-04-10
404:1977-09-18
377:55 minutes
343:Production
277:(series 2)
271:(Series 1)
264:Tony Doyle
260:(series 2)
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324:of series
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348:Producer
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