 |
|
|||
|
|
||||||
| ACTION
TV ONLINE EPISODE GUIDE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Duncan Gould. From a story by Brian Clemens. Cast : William Chubb, Brana Bajic, Michael Attwell, Richard Durden, Charlie Caine, Jonathan McKenna and Robin Bowerman. Publicity : Bugs (BBC-1, 8:05pm) is a simple-minded action adventure built around a trio of high-tech crime fighters played by Craig McLachlan, Jaye Griffiths and Jesse Birdsall. Their first assignment is to stop the theft of a satellite jamming device which could plunge the world into chaos. Their quarry is a glamorous villainess with a foreign accent. The show will win no awards for depth of characterisation but the computer wizardry is ingenious and the special effects team has a ball. The story consultant is Brian Clemens, who created The Avengers and The Professionals. His latest enterprise lacks the thuggery of the latter and the quirky style of the former. (The Times, April 1, 1995). Notes : This season was transmitted at 6:05pm to 6:55pm on BBC 1.
Director : Ken Grieve Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Carmen Du Sautoy, Nick Reding, Robert Morgan, Matt Patresi, Julian Curry, Tongo Igawa, Rex Wei and Ben Craze. Synopsis : The Bugs team become involved with the Bureau of Weapons when Beckett is tricked into providing assistance to the attractive Irene Campbell, an arms trader the Bureau have been trying to put a stop to. As if this mission was not problematic enough, they also have to save Ed from a destructive microbe virus which has the potential to bring his life to an abrupt end.
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Duncan Gould. From a story by Brian Clemens. Cast : Susan Kyd, Tom Chadbon, Edward Jewesbury, Philip Joseph, Anthony Marsh, Michael Larkin, Chirstopher Preston, Michael Sadler and Jan Shepherd. Synopsis : The Bugs team investigate the mysterious circumstances which arose from an aereplane which went mysteriously out of control, but they soon discover that one man is controlling the aircraft by remote control and Ros finds herself trapped inside the craft with fuel running dangerously low and her colleagues unable to guide her to safety …
Director : Andrew Grieve Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Brian Deacon, Tom Bradford, Pauline Moran, Matthew Marsh, Ric Morgan, Ellis Van Maar, Paul Arlington and Tom Minnikin. Synopsis : Ed and Beckett find themselves ensconced on a submarine in a bid to foil an ambitious diamond theft, but when their covers are blown and Ed makes his escape, Beckett is trapped underwater with the craft rapidly letting in water. Can the team rescue him in time.
Director : Ken Grieve Script : No onscreen credit, but script copyright Amanda Coe. Cast : Katia Caballero, James Coombes, George Jackos, Jon Cartwright, Peter Guiness, Richard Rees, Andrew Tansey, Maria Petrucci, Michael Carr. Synopsis
: The Bugs team are assigned to protect
Anna Fabrizi, a visiting Italian politician
determined to stamp out corruption in the ranks
in her own country. But when Ed embarks on a
dangerous undercover mission, he finds his loyalties
are put to the test.
Director : Ken Grieve Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Michael Feast, Julie Graham, Rachel Fielding, John Michie, Chris Aberdein and Rupert Bates. Synopsis
: The Bugs team find themselves involved
in ambitious attempt thefts of vehicles of stealth.
They first succeed in foiling plans to steal
a car boasting a revolutionary new guidance
system, but are soon engaged in an attempt to
prevent a disaster when a military vehicle powered
by radiation becomes the centerpiece of a terrorist
threat.
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Gregory Evans Cast : Lynsey Baxter, Greg Hicks, Philip McGough, Mark Fletcher, John Leeson and Bruce Barnden. Synopsis : What appears to be a gift from the gods in the shape and form of a new type of synthetic food, Phodex, a derivative from a special type of algae, attracts the attention of the Bugs team. They soon discover that this manna from heaven contains potently toxic side-effects, and the race is on to prevent widespread deaths.
Director : Ken Grieve Script : Alan Whiting. From a story by Brian Clemens. Cast : Nickolas Grace, Raad Rawi, Caroline Loncq, Ian Gelder and Andrew Greenough. Synopsis : The Bugs team become involved in the theft of a deadly new metallic compound, R-6, which has explosive properties, which has been stolen by a man called Da Silva, who intends to use the metal for the creation of lethal weapons.
Director : Ken Grieve Script : Colin Brake Cast : Ian McNeice, Michael J Jackson, Susannah Morley, Brett Fancy, Adam Caine and Nrinder Dhudwar. Synopsis : Performance-enhancing drugs with positively lethal side effects and those peddling the use of said drugs to young athletes calls for the specialised services of the Bugs team, though Ros finds her involvement in this case too close for comfort.
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Gareth Marks, Anton Lesser, Fiona Gillies, Julie Peasgood, David McAlister, Bill Leadbitter and Abigail Ansell. Synopsis : When the Bugs team investigate the purchase of a group of small businesses by two mysteries men, they become drawn into an elaborate web created by Jean Daniel and his brother, Patrick. They soon discover that the pair plan to deploy an electronics-disabling missile which will render the world powerless.
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Colin Brake Cast : Simon Dormandy, Lesley Vickerage, Sean Arnold, Su-Lin Looi, Tom Lockyer, Rupert Baker, Eric Carte and David Shelley. Publicity
: The
stylish, ingenious, if simple-minded adventure
series set in the Twenty-First Century returns
with an unchanged team: Craig McLachlan, Jaye
Griffiths and Jesse Birdsall. In a two-part
story concluded next week, the trio are battling
to prevent the sabotage of a satellite which
can save a poor far East country from bankruptcy.
If the scenario never rises above goodies versus
baddies, this is part of the charm. There are
no moral ambiguities here: besides, the technology
is the thing. (The Times, April 6, 1996).
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Colin Brake Cast : Simon Dormandy, Lesley Vickerage, Sean Arnold, Su-Lin Looi, Emma Richler, David Yip, Anthony Chinn, Rupert Baker, Gareth Marks and Fintan McKeown. Synopsis : The Bugs team continue their struggle against the plotters who want to stop the launch of a vital satellite. Beckett and Ros have no idea whether Ed and Susan Vorholt are alive or dead after communications with the space shuttle are lost.
Director : Sandy Johnson Script : Miles Millar and Alfred Gough Cast : Richard Cordery, Hugh Bonneville, Giles Thomas, Andrew Hawkins, Gareth Marks, Albert Welling and Hugh Lee. Synopsis : Top-level research into a strain of wheat which is resistant to all diseases comes to a sudden halt when the crop is devastated by a mystery virus. The Bugs team is called in to take on some villains with powerful connections who are intent on spreading famine.
Director : Andrew Grieve Script : No onscreen credit. Cast : Janet Amsbury, John Wheatley, Nick Frost, Peter Woodward, Vincent Brimble, Gareth Marks, James Puddephatt, John Melainey, Albert Welling and Linda Armstrong. Synopsis : The Bugs team are assigned to prevent a cartel of world airlines from bringing to an end the flourishing start of Strate Air, a dangerous competitor. However, the cartel is armed with more than the average tools of corporate espionage - they possess a new fighter plane, the Dervish, and are determined to use it to bring down Strate Air's planes at whatever cost …
Director : Andrew Grieve Script : Frank de Palma and Terry Borst Cast : Samantha Beckinsale, Adrian Schiller, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Martin McDougall, Dan Strauss, Neil Boorman, Ralf Beck and Alex Dower. Synopsis : The Bugs team takes action following an armed raid at a power plant by a group who plan to rob the city's currency exchange by disrupting its security systems with power surges.
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Bruno Heller and Alison Leathart Cast : Sean Gilder, Claire Oberman, Gareth Marks, Miranda Pleasence, Brian Gwaspari, Albert Welling and Jonathan Aris. Synopsis : The Bugs team come to the rescue when a speculator causes a computer crash at the East European Monetary Commission in an attempt to destabilise the region's currencies.
Director : Andrew Grieve Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Robert Morgan, Stephen Churchett, Beth Goddard and Ivan Kaye. Synopsis
: The Bugs team discover that Jean Daniel,
an old adversary, is up to his old tricks once
more. Daniel is trading valuable ancient relics
for a new deadly explosive called Red Mercury,
and is also planning a daring escape from the
high security prison in which he is currently
incarcerated.
Director : Brian Farnham Script : Cal Clements Junior Cast : Jon Cartwright, George Rossi, Clara Salaman, Pete Lee-Wilson, Ralph Ineson and Alister Cameron. Synopsis : A dog which is being used in medical trials is stolen by a blackmailer who plans to use the animal's special qualities to infiltrate a secret building. The Bugs team are charged with preventing some highly embarrassing revelations and a potentially destructive explosion.
Director : Andrew Grieve Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Gareth Marks, Beth Goddard, Robert Morgan, Simon Pearsall, Julie Livesay, Eve Barker, Susan Franklyn and Michael Jenn. Synopsis : The Bugs team once again encounter the devilish Jean Daniel, who this time has perfected a lethal new form of computer software in the shape of Cyberax, which whilst on the surface appears as nothing more than interactive headsets, is in reality a means of controlling the minds of the potential users.
Director : Andrew Grieve Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Gareth Marks, Beth Goddard, Robert Morgan, David Grant, Otto Jarman and Todd Boyce. Synopsis : Ros is infected by a deadly computer virus which will be triggered only if she becomes aware she has it. Ed and Beckett have to ensure that she remains ignorant of her condition while they try to save her. Notes : This episode was originally scheduled to be transmitted on the 15th June, but was delayed due to bombings in Manchester.
Director : John Stroud Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Leslie Ash, John Turner, Michael Grandage, Paul Lacoux, David MacCreedy and William Oliver. Publicity : Crimebusters Ed, Beckett and Ros are back for more improbable adventures. Looking trim and youthful after all those years in Howards' Way, Jan Harvey plays the trio's new boss. Leslie Ash, of Men Behaving Badly, plays a performance artist whose speciality is setting light to posh cars. She would also like to do away with her hated father, and her discovery of a store of chemical and biological weapons makes her a very dangerous lady. The gadgetry which dominated the first two series is in less evidence, while characterisation is a shade stronger. The show offers undemanding fun. (The Times, July 19, 1997) Synopsis
: The Bugs team are called upon when a wealthy
businessman believes his company is being sabotaged
from within. Their investigations lead to a
dangerous confrontation with the party responsible,
who has uncovered a store of lethal chemical
weapon and plans to deploy them on London.
Director : John Stroud Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Sasha Behar, John Harding, Heide Monsen, Leslie Ash, Michael Grandage, William Oliver and David MacCreedy. Synopsis : A full-scale hunt is mounted for Kitty and Ros starts to have doubts about working for Jan.
Director : John Stroud Script : Frank de Palma and Terry Borst Cast : Jonathan Newth, Denzil Kilvington and John Labanowski. Synopsis : Ros takes on the guise of an international jewel thief in a dubious bid to help Beckett protect a high-ranking ambassador for peace. However, little does she realise the price she'll have to pay.
Director : John Stroud Script : Miles Millar and Alfred Gough Cast : Nicholas Clay, Thomas Wheatley, Angus Barnett, Michael Stroud, Penny Stuttaford, Karl Jenkinson, Neil Conrich and Steven Osbourne. Publicity : It may be unfair to go on comparing Bugs with The Avengers but with two old Avengers hands, Brian Eastman and Brian Clemens, prominent on the credits the link is inescapable. The main difference is that while both have set out to provide escapist entertainment, Bugs has tended to take itself too seriously. The quirky, surreal humour which made the earlier show such a delight is largely absent. But there is no doubt that Bugs has the classier looking sets and hardware, while there is nothing wrong the plots that a little bit of tongue-in-cheekery would not improve. In tonight's tale our fearsome threesome foil a plot to steal the master printing plate for a new design of one-hundred-pound banknote. Unlike most Avengers scenarios, this is not far removed from reality. (The Times, August 9, 1997) Synopsis
: The Bank Of England's launch of a new
hologram-protected one-hundred-pound note meets
with a hitch. Enter the high-tech team.
Director : Gwennan Sage Script : No onscreen credit. Cast : Michael Grandage, Trevor Peacock, Victoria Scarborough, Max Digby, Carl Chase, Anna Nygh, Damian Myerscough and Peter Galei. Synopsis
: It is disarmament or disaster for a former
Eastern bloc president Nikolai Rostov, but the
team's problems is deciding which side his beautiful
wife, Natalya, is on.
Director : Matthew Evans Script : Clive Hopkins Cast : Rudolph Walker, Catherine Kanter, Daniel Flynn, Peter Rylands and Tenniel Evans. Synopsis : Ros finds a missing computer disk, but instead of being thanked for her efforts she is accused of being a traitor and is in danger of being thrown off the team.
Director : John Stroud Script : No onscreen credit. Cast : Eleanor Tremain, Jason Durr, David hargreaves, Stuart McQuarrie and Duncan Henderson. Synopsis : It's a nice day for a white wedding - until terror strikes. When the bride is kidnapped, the Bugs team are assigned to return her to safety and brings the perpetrators to justice. The mission appears simple enough - until Ros is shot in the line of duty.
Director : Matthew Evans Script : Terry Borst and Frank de Palma Cast : Simon Bendix, Garry Cooper, Paul Whitby, Robert Perkins, Murray Melvin and Davyd Harries. Synopsis
: The team attempts to find the connection
between a government art adviser, a computer
hacker and a gang of escaped prisoners.
Director : John Stroud Script : Colin Brake Cast : Diana Hardcastle, Christopher Guard, David Hargreaves, Jamie Forman, Michael Skyers and James Vaughan. Synopsis
: The team's boss, codenamed Jan, poses
Ed, Ros and Beckett a problem of epic proportions.
When the woman they formerly knew as "Jan"
disappears and is replaced without explanation,
the trio are curious as to why the exchange
has taken place, and even more so why their
former boss failed to bid them farewell.
Director : Matthew Evans Script : Stephen Gallagher Cast : Robert Morgan, Ruth Harford, Rachel Shelley, Flora Montgomery, Tony Osoba and Misha King. Synopsis : Roland Blatty, a coma patient, confuses doctors when he wakes up, attacks a nurse and then walks out of hospital.
Director : Gwennan Sage Script : Colin Brake Cast : Robert Addie, Emma Croft, John McGlynn, Tom Butcher, Russell Dixon and Alison Rose. Publicity : The light-entertainment drama that relies on twenty-first century crimebusting gadgetry for its success returns for a fourth series. Joining the regular team of Jaye Griffiths and Jesse Birdsall is Steven Houghton (fresh from a London's Burning / pop music crossover). The first case involves the mysterious disappearance of Griffiths who, despite a memorial service, is still in the cast list. (The Times, July 11, 1998). Synopsis : Ros has gone missing and subsequent investigations lead to the conclusion that she has been murdered, but Beckett refuses to give up hope. Notes : This season was transmitted at 6:05pm to 6:55pm on BBC 1.
Director : Brian Grant Script : Colin Brake and Stuart Doughty Cast : Robert Addie, Emma Croft, John McGlynn, Tom Butcher, Russell Dixon and Alison Rose. Synopsis : The secret agents battle to save a group of statesmen from a deadly biological weapon. General Russell closes down the bureau, prompting Ed, Alex and Jan to delve into his past.
Director : Gwennan Sage Script : Colin Brake and Stuart Doughty Cast : Milly Gregory, William Scott-Masson, Jospeh May, Charlie Norfolk, Chris Young, Richard Durden, Tim Barker, Michael Simkins, Martin McGlade and Chris Armstrong Synopsis
: A fourteen-year-old girl is caught breaking
into a high-security government listening station.
Director : Brian Grant Script : Frank de Palma and Terry Borst Cast : Stephen Yardley, Nick Brimble, Justine Glenton, Paul Brightwell, William Hoyland, Adam Crouch and Ray Gardner. Synopsis
: An international crime lord awaiting trial
is desperate to stop two key witnesses from
testifying against him.
Director : Christopher King Script : Alex Stewart Cast : Pippa Hinchley, Peter Marinker, Joseph May, Conor McDermottore, Alexi Kaye-Campbell, David Kangas, Paul Kavanagh, Andrew readman, Peter Bourke and Virginia Denham. Synopsis : A satellite spinning out of control in the Earth's atmosphere causes problems for the high-tech team.
Director : Brian Grant Script : Terry Borst and Frank de Palma Cast : Sandra Reinton, Nicholas Chagrin, Mark Bazeley, Martin Fisk, Niall Refoy, David Hounslow, Jason Riddington, Roy Holder and Hilary Minster. Synopsis : When the surveillance team go undercover at a toxic waste dump, they soon find themselves racing to prevent the spread of a lethal disease. Notes: This episodes transmission was delayed for a week due to the Omagh bombing in Northern ireland.
Director : John Stroud Script : Colin Brake and Stuart Doughty Cast : Andy Lucas, Janine Wood, Ben Nealon, Tim Wylton and Sandra Reinton. Publicity : Like its highly superior cinematic "uncle", the James Bond film series, this regular Saturday night adventure gets more like a comic strip every week. But one does have a certain affection for a script which can still, straight-faced, produce lines such as: "The building is under our control - do as you're told and nobody will get hurt". And: "You won't succeed, you're totally outnumbered". And what of the plot? The usual tension is generated tonight by a gloriously evil Colombian emerald smuggler, who is trying to bring down this country by initing all its RSGs (that's Regional Seats of Government - pay attention) and then blowing them up so as to get to a certain emerald vault on top of one of them. The regulars are all present and correct, the noise levels and electronic hardware predictable mind-blowing. Great Fun. (The Times, August 29, 1998) Synopsis
: Two notorious gangsters plan a large-scale
jewel heist, and they've kidnapped the architect
responsible for top-secret government bunkers.
Director : Brian Grant Script : Colin Brake and Alex Stewart Cast : Paul Brennan, BillBritten, Adrian Pang and Valentine Pelka. Synopsis
: When a ruthless Colombian gangster steals
some rare emeralds, the Bugs team must race
against time to recover them.
Director : John Stroud Script : Terry Borst and Frank de Palma Cast : Richard Heifer, Ben Price and Indra Ove. Publicity
: The
BBC seems to be under the illusion that if a
high-tech popular drama has sufficiently silly
dialogue, it automatically goes into the file
marked "enjoyable hokum". One can
only suspect a conspiracy to trick viewers into
believing they are having fun by pressing a
few nostalgic buttons. The McGuffin here is
a computer virus, but it is essentially an old-fashioned
extortion plot, with the Bugs team forced to
save the world by running up escalators and
abseiling down buildings. Blackmail is the theme
tonight, for a series which has returned at
an earlier time with a much more honestly comic-book
approach. The style is closer to The New Adventures
Of Superman than to an adult thriller show.
A bank director is being blackmailed via email
to reveal details of a new international money
transfer system. When he insists on handing
over the fake hard disk himself to the blackmailer,
the closely-supervised exchange goes wrong and
he is killed. Cue rather exaggerated anguish
and self-reproach by Jan Harvey as the Bugs'
boss. The subplot of the imminent marriage of
Alex and Adam is then subsumed into the main
story when it appears that Adam has already
hacked into the money transfer system and is
stealing thousands of pounds. (The Times, August
21, 1999).
Director : Brian Grant Script : Terry Borst and Frank de Palma Cast : Richard Heifer, Ben Price and Indra Ove. Synopsis
: Ros' life hands in the balance in the
operating theatre - but even a hi-tech hospital
is full of dangers. |
 Series logo. The Avengers had carved a distinctive niche in the British Television schedules, thanks largely to the creative insight of Brian Clemens and his capacity to devise and create a series which constantly surprised, always entertained and cultivated a cult following which became a bankable enterprise for ITV. The Professionals carved a similarly distinctive niche which, as with the Kennedy-Martin devised Sweeney series, presented audiences with a harder, grittier edge to the action-adventure genre.  Carnival Films provided Clemens with another platform in the shape of Bugs, a lightweight Saturday evening series which has, in the passing of time, lost none of its lustre, even if at times the performances were somewhat painful (or, to be more precise, a little too "cheesy" for anyone's liking) and the plots gave way to an over-dependence on technological gadgetry and somewhat over-heated storylines (in much the same vein as The Professionals, though not carried off with the same degree of confidence, assurance and style as that particular vehicle).  The premise itself was relatively sound: electronic crime-busters using technology as the modern weapon of choice (as opposed to the stylish force of The Avengers or the armed thuggery of The Professionals) in the pursuit of justice against the forces of evil. Following in the footsteps of Steed, Purdey, Gambit, Cowley, Bodie and Doyle, came Ed (Craig McLachlan), Ros (Jaye Griffiths) and Beckett (Jesse Birdsall), consummate professionals in the art of action and adventure with technology at their fingertips and a propensity for finding themselves in deep water during their combined efforts to defeat the machinations of a wide range of enemies of the state and the world itself.  Bugs on the cover of the Radio Times. The technical realisation of the wide range of gadgetry used in the series was "easy on the eye", and proved nicely diverting fare against the backdrop of scripts narrowly resembling swiss cheese, with wooden performances from guest turns in the role of Evil Character 1 or Deranged Psychopath 2. Yet the success of the venture lay in the pace at which the episodes rattled by, moving at such a speed that script deficiencies were often ignored in favouring of "a rollicking good time in front of the box". A kind of visual spectacle with a few bangs and flashes thrown in for good measure is perhaps the programme's best general assessment, with precious little demand on the primary three cast members to produce anything other than a literal reading of the script whilst doing a great deal of running around.  The inclusion of ex-Howards' Way stalwart Jan Harvey as the Bugs team's controller, codenamed Jan (one sometimes wonders whether Ms Harvey could remember any name other than her own, given her turn as Jan in Angels, Jan in Howards' Way, Jan in Bugs and, most recently, Jan in William And Mary) and the replacement of McLachlan in the fourth and final series of the programme with Steven Houghton (blonde, with virtually the same capacity for a limited repertoire that the ex-Neighbours and Home And Away star had at his disposal in the acting department) gave the format an appropriate shake-up in later years, but this failed to dampen the enthusiasm of fans and critics alike that this enjoyable piece of hokum which, it must be said, succeeded where series such as The Vanishing Man and Crime Traveller failed in terms of achieving longer runs, and more than one season.  In the fourth and final season, BBC Television were growing somewhat tired of the series, and as a result the final three episodes were held over for a considerable period of time (interrupted by World Cup football commitments and re-scheduled without any pomp or ceremony some twelve months later) before their eventual transmission. Undemanding, populist fare which amicably suited the Saturday early-evening schedule into which it was comfortably slipped, Bugs in comparison to Clemens earlier enormously and globally successful works, this series can be critically assessed as the "bastard" of the family - it bore the great man's name, but never bore any resemblance to its relatives.  The series was globally exported was recently enjoyed a commercial release on Region 2 DVD courtesy of Revelation Films Limited. The advantage of this release being made available as a "region free" title will enable a renewed appreciation of this series to be fostered in the United Kingdom and beyond. Text © Matthew Lee, 2005.
The series was created and produced by Brian Eastman and Stuart Doughty. |