"Minder" (1979) TV series 1979-1994

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Release Date:

29 October 1979 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Arthur Daley, a small-time conman, hires former boxer Terry McCann to be his 'minder', so Terry can protect him (Arthur) from other...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Minder | Boxer | Male Female Relationship | Dodgy Deal

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

George Cole	...	Arthur Daley (109 episodes, 1979-1994)
Glynn Edwards	...	Dave Harris (94 episodes, 1979-1994)
Dennis Waterman	...	Terry McCann (73 episodes, 1979-1989)

Runtime:

60 min (108 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG | UK:12

Filming Locations:

133a Portland Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Company:

Euston Films

Trivia:

Famous for its use of "Mockney", which sounded like Cockney slang but was made up by either George Cole or the scriptwriters. Some expressions became so well known they have since passed into the language, including "A nice little earner" (a profitable task), "'er indoors" (the wife), "give him a little slap" (beat him up).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening titles for the Terry McCann episodes (Seasons 1-7) a sporty white Ford Escort with a blue stripe down the side is seen in the background. In a close-up shot of Terry looking at the Ford Capri he is about to buy, the Escort's window is up, but in a later shot where Arthur and Terry walk from the back of the Capri to admire it from a distance, the Escort's window is wound down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Drama Connections: Minder (#1.4)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

I Could Be So Good For You

Oh my good gawd its Chisolm

Minder was quality, without doubt. The quality dipped towards the end of the Dennis Waterman era but even those episodes when you watch them again now compared to a lot of current shows stand up really well. As mentioned in the trivia section this show started out as a post Sweeney vehicle for Dennis Waterman but soon the character of Arthur took over (maybe a little bit too much in the end). The series really hit its peak in the third and fourth series where it got slightly less violent and more inventive in its story lines. Episodes like 'What makes Shammy run' and 'You need hands' are fantastic. Like Fools and Horses it started to go grow as more characters where introduced. You could argue that with the exception of Chisolm, Rycott and Dave one of the reasons it started to dip was because the strenght of the supporting cast was not very good but its pointless to compare the two shows really. It must have been difficult for the script writers to find things for Waterman to do as he aged and he came more of an odd job man come friend to Arthur. The series finished in 1988 but returned in 1991 with a new minder (Arthurs cousin Ray). A lot of criticism came in for this new Minder format but the majority of it was good, especially the first series. Towards the end of the second series it got a bit too much and the plots ranged from good to boring to the daft. One of my favourite scenes is the first episode of the new format where Arthur is at a family wedding and holding court in the bathroom in a scene that is borrowed from the first Godfather film. I would really love them to do one last episode while its possible with an older Terry again saving Arthur, maybe with a little help from Ray. But alas it probably wont happen.