You're nicked: Investigating British television police series

by Ben Lamb

Overview

You’re nicked is the first comprehensive study of television police series in the UK. It reveals how British television’s most popular genre has developed stylistically, politically and philosophically from 1955 to the present.

Each chapter focuses on a particular decade, investigating how the most-watched series represent the inner workings of the police station, the civilian life of criminals and the private lives of police officers. This new approach unearths the complex ideology underpinning each series and discerns the key insights the genre can provide into the breakdown of the post-war settlement.

Offering insightful readings of police series from Dixon of Dock Green to Happy Valley via The Sweeney, The Bill and Cracker, the book is a must-read for crime-drama enthusiasts worldwide. This new paperback edition features an extensive epilogue on Line of Duty and other Jed Mercurio creations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526171955
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	07/25/2023
Series:	The Television Series
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

Ben Lamb is Senior Lecturer in Media at Teesside University

Table of Contents

Introduction: defining a genre
1 The 1950s and 1960s: a genre comes into its own
2 The 1970s: an action-fuelled filmic decade?
3 The 1980s: emergent feminist thought and resurgent video cameras
4 The 1990s: transitioning from film to digital
5 The 2000s: looking to the past
6 The 2010s: looking to pastures new
Conclusion: good evening, all
Epilogue: Jed Mercurio thrillers, pandemic policing and populism
Index

Editorial Reviews

‘His book is a fascinating read, and should be read by all aspiring crime writers and academics interested in the genre.’
Jackie Malton, retired DCI and the real-life inspiration for DCI Tennison in Prime Suspect

‘The way in which Lamb links representations of crime to criminological theory could be a valuable resource to anyone teaching courses on media and crime, as a means of exploring with students how criminological theory is not only produced in the academy, but also through popular culture.’
The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice

‘One could not hope for a more comprehensive treatment of the subject.’
British Journal of Criminology

‘Its perspective is generally innovative, and it covers a lot of ground in writing a genre history that simply did not exist before.’
New Review of Film and Television Studies

‘Lamb’s account is insightful and engaging, providing an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this most significant of television genres and its connection to the wider landscape of British socio-political history.’
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

‘The book manages to cover a huge amount of ground, in detail, and with reference to a repertoire of relevant series and iconography, to offer an insightful commentary on political and social change in the United Kingdom.’
Journal of Popular Television

'The scholarship in the book is impressive’
Screen

'You’re Nicked could be used either as the core textbook for a module on UK police drama or as the source of further readings on any television histories course. Lamb’s monograph makes a valuable intervention, offering a fresh perspective on the analysis of small screen crime drama, while also filling a sizeable gap in the history of the genre.'
Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies

'My favorite element of the book is the way in which Lamb shows how these police shows come to adopt traits of other genres at specific historical moments’.
Journal of Popular film and Television

From the Publisher