Firstly, let's get a few things out of the way, as far as TV dramas go The Sweeney is an all-time classic that broke the mould back in the 1970's. More importantly, it's stood the test of time and every episode is still very entertaining today, fast-paced edge-of-your-seat action without any American style gloss. Its famous car-chases even rival American police-dramas. In fact in my opinion there's never ever been a cop-show to touch it.

Before the excellent duo of John Thaw and Dennis Waterman began as Regan and Carter, most British TV shows (police-dramas in particular) were unrealistic and were mainly shot in a studio. This superb series was gritty, shot on location in London and for the first time portrayed cops as real geezers who got the job done but liked to ruck, drink vast amounts of booze and chat-up women (usually in that order !!). It was also excellently written and produced, and the cast list from its four series duration reads like a "who's who" of top actors from any era.

The 4 series were produced between 1975 and 1978, with 53 episodes made. All of these episodes have been re-mastered and now look as though they were filmed as recently as another 70's cop show "Life on mars", which was heavily inspired by The Sweeney. Having watched all 4 series recently, I'm amazed at how little violence is portrayed in most episodes of The Sweeney, as it does have an unfair reputation for being OTT. To be able to get the complete set for around £40 is excellent value and is an essential purchase for anyone who has an interest in a superbly produced police drama.

The 2007 Network release boxset contains exclusive extras on every disc, which range from interviews/commentaries from The Sweeney's creators/stars; to episodes of other T.V shows from this era featuring Thaw and Waterman (i.e. Morecambe & Wise Xmas special, This is your life, Thick as Thieves and Special Branch). It even has a feature on how all 53 episodes were remastered, and has all The Sweeney annuals from the 70's in PDF format. Essentially it's the best Retro show's DVD boxset with the best extras that I've seen.

All in all, a fantastic boxset at an even better price, it's a blag that even Regan and Carter would be in awe of.