Z-Cars Season 4, Episode 24: The Long Spoon

The Dark Side Of The Road

Outside in the dark a girl screams. Inside the tall flats she is heard and ignored. It is half an hour before one man puts out a reluctant hand to dial 999.

50 min

What A Main Event!

Two men in a parked car - and the beginning of a night Lynch and Graham will talk about all their lives. The eventual haul is so good it even induces Barlow to stand drinks for the duo.

50 min

Finders Keepers

The grimy cafe down by the docks is keeping pretty busy as usual. The juke-box is giving out the latest sounds of the Mersey Beat at full volume; the youngsters are sitting around drinking strong tea out of thick mugs. But there is one customer at McKinley's who doesn't seem to fit in. That is Brayne, the old tramp. He has no money for tea, but he is wearing an expensive overcoat and a business gent's bowler hat. Smith and Weir get really involved when they try to find the reason.

50 min

Lucky Partners

To the young Mrs. Napier the man at the door seems anything but sinister, just buying old gold. But his method of purchase leaves something to be desired.

50 min

Soft Spot

Alby Rafferty, an over-zealous car enthusiast, is not past redemption according to John Watt. But Watt is not the only influence in Alby's life. So when Mr. Cull's shiny new white car is driven off from under his nose, it is not for use in a robbery - just Alby indulging his passion.

50 min

Somebody Said...

50 min

Charity Begins ...

""What's all the fuss about then?"" asks Fancy Smith when he and Jock Weir are called to a case of shoplifting. ""Cause maybe there's something else too,"" replies Jock. And as the men of Z-Victor One discover, something else, something much more sinister, there most certainly is.

50 min

The Hunch

A passing car and a radio message lead Graham and Baker to a particular club with interesting results. DC Lynch, meanwhile, has the job of finding the leader of a gang specialising in quick break-ins and small but profitable hauls of liquor and cigarettes. It is his most important case yet and he pins his hopes on a hunch that takes him to London.

50 min

Two In The Bush

Two crimes - same place, same time - and Smith and weir are ready and able to deal with them.

50 min

Welcome Home, Jigger

Sgt. Blackitt sets off to give a first aid demonstration at a youth club where trouble is in the air. Jigger Daniels, released from Borstal, is back in town and has a few old scores to settle. Meanwhile Lynch has his own problems. Someone is going around Newtown stealing transistor radios from parked cars, and Barlow is in one of his 'leave no stone unturned' moods.

50 min

In A Day's Work

A friendly call on a neighbour turns into a sudden nightmare for a young housewife. She dials 999. Fancy Smith, alone in Z-Victor One, is sent to investigate and finds himself in a situation that would tax the patience of a priest and a psychologist combined.

50 min

No Stone Unturned

A sudden death in Newtown brings the new man, Detective Superintendent Prentiss, from Headquarters. And before the investigation is closed he makes his presence very much felt.

50 min

You Pays Your Money

When the only witnesses disagree Sergeant Watt settles for the most likely suspect - with surprising results.

50 min

One Day In Spring Street

Investigating a reported disturbance, Dave Graham finds it is one more skirmish in a running war fought with stones between the boys of a local school and old Lewis, an eccentric character who lives in the house opposite. It's not long before Sgt. Blackitt appears on the scene. When he is followed by Sgt. Watt Graham has little to do but sit in the car and watch.

50 min

Bring Back The Cat

It's a lively evening for Smith and Weir. First they have to try and cope with a woman who is charging her husband with an unusual theft. Then they have to intervene when two dockers engage in a punch-up, deal with a pensioner who thinks that the police are trying to steal his money, and finally confront a Scots tearaway who is handy with a shovel but is more interested in the works of Sir Walter Scott.

50 min

If He Runs - Grab Him

An old lady is assaulted and robbed. She manages to struggle home to her companion and soon both the cars and DCI Barlow are on the scene.

50 min

First Foot

New Year's Eve in Newtown means a three-line whip for the lads on the cars. Everyone has to be on the job to cope with the drunks, the rowdy parties and aggression in the pubs. Then there is the thief using the occasion to carry out some quiet breaking and entering, and the teenage girl, daughter of a loveless home, looking for brief happiness by running away with a sailor.

50 min

Think On

A bus load of witnesses - and not one with a voice. Pub closing time in Newtown has come to mean more than the problem of drunken passengers for the men who crew the buses on route no. 86. It has come to be a time to be feared - a time when violence strikes.

50 min

The Luck Of The Game

Some parents' trouble is that they protect their children too much.

50 min

I Love You Bonzo

Lynch is on the trail of an artist of a thief who broke into the Seaport Supermarket.

50 min

Brotherly Love

In any community you'll find a few people who are out of alignment - and all too often they find themselves involved with the police.

50 min

A Matter Of Give And Take

The suspicions of a canal lock-keeper bring Z-Victor One into contact with the canal community and eventually lead to the investigation of a more serious crime.

50 min

Give A Dog A Name

A lost constable, but Sgt. Watt refuses to join his colleagues in jumping to conclusions. PC Boyle has been transferred to Newtown with a black mark on his record. Everyone knows why, and only John Watt is convinced of Boyle's good character.

50 min

Teething Trouble

A child cries, and family man PC Baker finds himself getting too involved.

50 min

A Shame To Take The Money

Two men carry off a mechanical shovel from a building site.

50 min

Window Dressing

When No. 18 alarm bell rings in Newtown station Watt and Blackitt brace themselves for trouble. For No. 18 is Mercer's Universal Stores and Mr. Mercer is a notoriously difficult character.

50 min

Partners

A doctor is accused of indecent assault, and Barlow is faced with the problem of evidence. And when a jailbird is found in possession of a stolen watch it looks to Lynch like an open and shut case. In both cases, however, there is a lack of conclusive evidence.

50 min

The Fanatics

Baker and Graham take time out for a snack, but there's no let up when the division is invaded by Scots football fans. Jock Weir becomes more than usually involved.

50 min

You Got To Have Class

A child witnesses a crime against her father, but her mother refuses to co-operate with the police. Fancy's always uncertain temper reaches boiling point.

50 min

The Mice Will Play

A particularly nasty wave of 'flu has decimated the staff at Newtown with Barlow and Blackitt among the victims. To add to the problems Weir and Baker are away sitting examinations, so a temporary team of Smith and Graham are manning Z_Victor One. They investigate when a baby is found abandoned in a cafe, while Watt and Lynch cope with a mysterious outbreak of garden gate stealing on the North Estate.

50 min

Sound An Alarm

Personal radio comes to Newtown - with disastrous results.

50 min

The Soft Game

Toby, a man high up on the ledge of a derelict warehouse, is likely to jump off at the mere sight of a uniform. It is up to Bert Lynch, desperately anxious not to reveal himself as a policeman, to gain Toby's confidence and talk him down.

50 min

Snakes Alive

Some people will pinch anything - and sometimes they get more than they bargained for!

50 min

Suspected Murder

Graham and Baker set out to look for a stolen car but instead come upon a far less trivial incident. Someone has disappeared and the disappearance may be permanent. Barlow has no choice but to call in the 'heavy brigade' from Headquarters.

50 min

The Share-Out

It's time for the share-out from one of Newtown's holiday savings clubs. £18,000 is in club funds. John Watt has to give protection to the money overnight. PCs Walker and Foster take turns in standing guard, but when the dawn comes and the money leaves for the share-out all is not well.

50 min

Checkmate

Three suspects arrive in the Newtown area. Graham and Baker are instructed to warn them off. Lynch, using a different approach, finds himself drinking with them all evening. Then two of the interlopers are found in a crashed car surrounded by very valuable antiques. The case is important enough to keep Barlow working on his day off.

50 min

Another Fairy Tale

When two masked men terrorise the wife of a bookmaker and rob his safe it looks like a local job, and only hours after his release from prison Henry McNeil is picked up in a stolen car. But as Barlow remarks, a pro like McNeil will be caught only with his hands in the till.

50 min

Market Square

Victor Division prepares for a Royal visit, but crime doesn't stop for the occasion. Lynch makes a mistake and is left fumbling for excuses and a need for action. His conscience will not easily let him forget his day in Market Square.

50 min

Error of Judgement

PC Foster, helped by ex-boxer Len Phillips, breaks up a gang of youngsters blocking the pavement. His unnecessarily rough treatment of the rowdies comes to the attention of Sgt. Blackitt, who sets about putting his house in order.

50 min

Under Cover

The police have to deal with depravity in all its guises - both of the body and of the mind.

50 min

One Good Turn

Watt, Blackitt and Smith try to help Benny Dunn. Benny's mam won't let him into the house; he has nowhere to go, no money for food and there's something about him that softens even a policeman's heart.

50 min

Warning Shots

It is PC Ken Baker's last day on Z-Victor Two. He has been selected for further training at Police College. He is looking forward to a peaceful day and a quiet drink with his mates after his shift. However, when two shots are fired his farewell to Newtown is anything but peaceful.

50 min