Sharman is a British television crime drama series, based on the Nick Sharman books by London-based author Mark Timlin, that first broadcast on 5 April 1995.[1] Broadcast on ITV, the series stars Clive Owen in the title role of Sharman, a private detective operating out of a private office in South London. The series began in the form of a pilot, based on the novel The Turnaround, before being developed into four further feature-length stories, each based upon one of Timlin's novels; only the final episode, "Pretend We're Dead", differs from the plot of the original novel; aside from the final scene, the remainder of the plot is an original composition by writer Mick Ford.[2]
| Sharman | |
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| Genre | Crime drama |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | Mike Moran |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Tony Garnett |
| Producer | Bill Shapter |
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| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production companies | World Productions Carlton Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 5 April 1995 (1995-04-05) – 25 November 1996 (1996-11-25) |
Aside from Owen, the series featured two other regular cast members in the form of John Salthouse, who appears as Detective Inspector Jack Robber, a seedy but cunning police officer; and Roberta Taylor who appears as Aggie, Sharma's secretary. Guest cast featured in the series include the likes of Ray Winstone, Keith Allen, and Samantha Janus, who is also pictured on the series DVD cover, despite only appearing in a single episode.
The Turnaround was first released on VHS in 1995,[3] before the entire series, was released on DVD via Network on 1 October 2012.[4] Timlin's novels were also reprinted to feature images of Clive Owen on the cover.[5]
| Episode | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate | |
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| 1 | "The Turnaround" | Suri Krishnamma | Tony Hoare | 5 April 1995 (1995-04-05) | |
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Sharman is approached by a man who is desperate to find out who was responsible for the murder of his sister and her family.
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| Episode | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate | |
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| 2 | "Take The A-Train" | Bob Bierman | Guy Jenkin | 4 November 1996 (1996-11-04) | |
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Sharman is approached by a grieving widow and agrees to take on the case of a former colleague who is found murdered.
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| 3 | "Hearts of Stone" | Bob Bierman | Paul Abbott | 11 November 1996 (1996-11-11) | |
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Sharman is angered when he is tricked by Drugs Squad officers into going undercover to infiltrate a dangerous South London gang.
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| 4 | "A Good Year For The Roses" | Matthew Evans | Dusty Hughes | 18 November 1996 (1996-11-18) | |
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Sharman agrees to act as protector for a lesbian dance couple who are being threatened and harassed by their former manager.
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| 5 | "Pretend We're Dead" | Matthew Evans | Mick Ford | 25 November 1996 (1996-11-25) | |
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Sharman is approached by a bank manager who wants to find out who is using his bank to launder counterfeit money.
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