CI5: The New Professionals (1998–1999) User Reviews (19)

Could have been so much better

[davidnewell-1 · 4/10 · 24 June 2021]

The original professionals was good. Characters and stories etc

This is just bad The characters are just to wooden. There as stiff as can be. Edward Woodward obviously just wanted some money.

Catering to American audience no doubt by having an American actor but just doesn't work or both lead actors are useless

Strike back much better series and mix.

1990s revamp for a classic show

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 26 May 2023]

CI5: THE NEW PROFESSIONALS is a show I wasn't aware of until I saw it pop up on a streaming site. It turns out to be written by Brian Clemens as a successor to the popular 1970s show, obviously made on a lower budgeted and slightly dumbed down in comparison to the original, but not without merit. The new cast is headed by a shouty Edward Woodward taking over the Gordon Jackson role, but the young actors are pretty bland in their roles. You do get action-focused stories with plenty of shoot-outs and explosions, and guest stars that include Don Warrington and Michael Brandon. Some of the storylines are better than others, a riff on the old 'missing kidney in the bathtub' urban legend being one of the more amusing in the show.

Love Edward Woodward but..

[kimberleyrigg · 4/10 · 8 December 2022]

Stared watching on Amazon because I used to love Edward in the Equaliser in my youth but this show is just painful despite giving it the usual allowances of it being an old show. Who knows if I watch the Equaliser now perhaps, I will think the same thing. I remember Edward being a good actor but in this show at first pass I just thought every actor was beyond bad. On reflection though I do not think it is the actors at all and more the dialogue that just makes everyone seem extremely wooden and fake.

A lot of shows of the time had a high level of 'cheese' which is not necessarily a bad thing, but this paired with the corny dialogue takes it to level that meant I stopped watching halfway through season 1. I say this as someone who has an obsessive compulsion to finish what I start but in this case I failed! I don't like reviewing without giving any positives, but I just cannot think of any.

entertaining remake

[sammyb · 20 March 1999]

This Nineties update of a Seventies show is very enjoyable, although not as good as the original.The new cast take a few episodes to fit into their characters and Edward Woodward,excellent as he is, never matches the inventiveness of Gordon Jackson's Cowley.The first few episodes are very similar to the old series but the new crew develop a different and original style as the series progresses.Later episodes are more in the James Bond mould but boast impressive action sequences and an excellent score by Hywel Maggs and Chris Winter.As with the old series no one watches the Professionals for the writing but the spectacular action and the enjoyable interplay between the characters.

Its a bust

[pilot1009 · 2/10 · 9 February 2021]

Came across this on Prime, having watched the orginal I was hoping for a better remake but was dissappointed. This is utter rubbish with poor scripts and worse acting. Whereas bodie and doyle had style the new PC crew are wooden and single dimensional. Even Edward Woodward looks bad in this series trying to outdo George Cowley. The original British series somehow gets corrupted into an bizzare distorted PC mess.

Not professional acting

[quinlivan · 2/10 · 19 January 2007]

Oh dear, what an extravaganza in over acting. The characters have a depth a puddle wouldn't envy, and the cringe factor was of the chart. There was no interaction between the characters other than the lines they had been given. The opening scene started with the FBI saying that the CI 5 boys were the best. When has the FBI ever said such a thing, I could only imagine their bravado shrinking into non-existence. I am not comparing this series to the old professionals as I don't think that is fair. My recollection of the old Pro's could be tainted with the passage of 25 years. However I fear that the great writing of Brian Clemens has been turned into a poor directorial debut of someone who should go back to children's programming. The chief then ended the scene with a pathetic excuse for a salute to George Cowley, well you might as well carry the unbelievably to the end. Don't waste your time if you want to be entertained.

The New Amateurs

[Fatabelly · 1/10 · 3 September 2021]

Absolute rubbish with bad acting and cheesy lines. It's an insult to the original and shouldn't even be using the name. The only saving grace is that they haven't used the original character names. Not even Edward Woodward saves it, who's normally a great actor.

Has anybody got good copies of this series for trading?

[mh_fan · 10/10 · 5 August 2007]

Hello I am a fan of this series and as they are not releasing it on DVD, was wondering if anyone has copies of all the episodes they produced and are willing to trade for something? I am based in the UK.

I briefly got a glimpse of an episode in the UK but sadly missed all the others, can somebody help please?

I love Lexa Doig and think the other characters are cool.

The 70's series was good for it's time but we live in the modern world and time/technology has moved on and its seems very dated to me today.

Thanks in advance.

Roger

The Original Is Still The Best

[barmy_swami · 3/10 · 21 July 2018]

Circa 1978 a TV show arrived and was well written, well acted and well directed called The Professionals I implore anyone interested in this show, not to judge this reboot as credible. Please do your own due diligence and invest effort on the classic BBC version. As a small voice in the crowd I couldn't connect with the characters or digest the inferior writing of the one season reboot.

Actually...

[buster-39589 · 5/10 · 3 February 2022]

It's not as bad as it could have been.

I was expecting it to be utterly unwatchable, however, surprisingly, it was really not a great deal worse than the original.

The best thing on UK tv

[marcus_peerman · 8 May 2000]

Whilst not as good as the old series this is considerably better than anything currently showing on British tv.The scripts vary in quality but when they work they are superb.The new CI5 is far more in the mode of the CIA and the new cast and characters are more plausible and free of the "loose cannon" attitudes that reduced the old series to caricature. The cast work hard to breathe life into their characters and the action sequences are superior to most movies(although they were needlessly cut for UK transmission).

Really bad acting by two main leads

[robertasmith · 3/10 · 23 May 2022]

Edward Woodward never put in a bad performance but the script and direction on this series was so bad he should have got out after episode 1. The two main leads fail to convince as action heroes and their lack of talent is probably why I have never heard of them before or since. They have zero martial arts skills and their weapons handling is laughable. Leda Doig is eye candy but a terrible actress. The shame is that this serious has some serious and very good actors but they are all let down by derivative and tired scripts and poor direction. Even the stunt doubles are useless. Many reviewers have compared this to the original Bodie and Doyle series. That original has largely stood the test of time but this new version seemed dated when it hit the screens. All very sad.

Dreadful but fun!

[banditdan1 · 3/10 · 13 March 2021]

Acting so wooden, the 3 main agents have no chemistry like Bodie and Doyle did. Malone is unconvincing and carries no weight unlike the original Cowley.

A bit of a letdown

[Big S-2 · 20 September 1999]

The original late 70s / early 80s "Professionals" was all British, politically incorrect, often mindless and frequently placed more emphasis on gunfights and loud explosions than it did on character development. Yet strangely this was part of its appeal and it was (and still is) hugely popular all over the world. The "New Professionals" tries to be a more international and more politically correct show than its predecessor, and that's its main downfall. Two of the main four characters are Americans - one can only assume that these characters were cast with one eye on the American export market. We also now have the male head of CI5 reporting to a female minister and a young and savvy "anything the boys can do I can do too" female sidekick on hand to get the two main (male) leads out of assorted sticky situations. In short, like so many other modern series, pandering to the politically correct lobby. This wouldn't be so bad if the plots weren't so thin and the dialog so weak and corny. "Who are CI5?" asks an FBI man in the pilot episode. "They're the best", replies his colleague, sounding suitably impressed. And so it goes on. A shame - the idea of continuing the CI5 story was a good one. Shame that the end result was such a let-down.

Not Bad

[zorro2a · 8 January 2006]

I cannot agree with Jack Yan, l have just seen the New Professionals 2006, and l thought that the stories were good, strong, and very much for the 90's/00. Edward Woodward was very good and was always in command (originally Lewis Collins was earmarked for this role pity it did not happen) Collin Wells and Kal Webber did a great job, a very difficult job as well as everyone compared them to Bodie & Doyle, l think had the series ran longer they would have got better, Miss Backus (Backup in the series) was excellent and had many great parts as did Adrian Irvine... The Storys as l have said were very much for present day, Germ Warfare, Body Parts, Terrorists, and l think on the whole if you look at it in the light of day it stands up very well compared with the original, it's just a pity that they only made such a small number of episodes, but l give it an 8 out of 10

Dreadful!

[rob.smith · 15 December 1999]

I had the misfortune of coming across this one boring evening. The two leading characters are totally characterless, Edward Woodward is not much better, and having a pretty gun toting female cannot save it. Very disappointing. The 'old' Professionals worked well because the two leading characters were interesting, they were likeable, they had some depth, and that's why it worked. This doesn't.

Not a patch on the original

[Jack_Yan · 17 March 1999]

CI5: The New Professionals was a series which most fans waited for since the original's demise in the early 1980s.

While audiences have become more sophisticated in the last 18 years, the new series takes a backward step, with writing and scoring that are childish at best. The show's creator, Brian Clemens, fails to take into account numerous developments in the original, and the new 37 and 45, Curtis and Keel, lack the initiative of their predecessors. To the seasoned Professionals fan the pair appear stupid in Clemens's scripts. The only able agent, Backus, is forever stuck at headquarters (much like Ruth being Cowley's chauffeur). The performances are also weak: at times Edward Woodward, as Malone, is dictating, and not acting, his lines: this is his worst performance since that crimes documentary he did a few years back. Curtis and Keel are simply too soft-looking; remember that Bodie and Doyle were hard men who had seen plenty of action as a mercenary and a top police officer.

Of the first three Clemens stories, the plots are tolerable, but their execution is marred. (I have yet to see one not scripted by Clemens, so I hope they get better.) The new electronic score fails to build any of the tension of Laurie Johnson's original (which was edited to fit the scene, and not composed for each episode). Even the titles look silly (the same size of type used for both name and role or position).

For a series that was promised to be as streetwise and gritty as the 1970s originals, it fails miserably and is on the verge of a parody. Fans will be disappointed.

A weak, silly mess

[henny-4 · 30 April 2000]

Apparently, CI5 is no longer hiring members from the police or armed forces, and has started recruiting at modelling agencies. The plot-lines are ludicrous, the scripts are laughable and the cast, supposedly portraying the dangerous, highly-trained peak of global law enforcement, have all the menace of rice pudding and are about as attractive. A pathetic attempt to relive the original series of "The Professionals", this latest series is totally lacking any drama, suspense, wit or talent. George Cowley would eat this bunch for breakfast.

Weak plots, weak dialogue

[Tobie · 15 January 1999]

This series probably tries to capture some of the spark that BUGS had - two beefcake male leads, a spunky female sidekick, hi-tec gadgetry, and an added bonus of around-the-world locations. Well, the scripts were weak, the leads had to struggle with piss-poor dialogue and ludicrous situations - and the worst of it is - they were expected to take themselves seriously. Something that should have been a seventies send-up that ended up like a seventies remake.