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''Boon'' is a
British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
drama starring
Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for ...
,
David Daker Colin David Daker (born 29 September 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Harry Crawford in the hit series ''Boon''. He also played Tommy Mackay in ''Only Fools and Horses'' and Jarvis in '' Porridge''. He has made two ap ...
, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, and was originally broadcast between 1986 and 1995. It revolved around the life of an ex-fireman called Ken Boon. - a
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
-obsessed small time businessman who at the same time acts as a
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
, bodyguard and general troubleshooter. Since 16 January 2017 it has been rerun on
UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...
channel
Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
. The show was memorable for its theme tune - Hi Ho Silver by Scottish singer Jim Diamond, which became a major UK top ten hit single in 1986.


Premise

Ken Boon (Elphick) and Harry Crawford (Daker) are both old-fashioned 'smokeys' (firemen) in the
West Midlands Fire Service West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Midlands, England. The service is the second largest in England, after London Fire Brigade. The service has 38 fire stations, with a blended ...
. In episode 1 Crawford takes early retirement and moves to Spain to open a bar, leaving Ken behind. Ken attends a house fire in which a child is trapped upstairs. Realising that he must act quickly, he goes into the house without breathing apparatus and rescues the child, but he is severely injured by inhaling toxic smoke. He attempts to prove that he can still make it, but he is declared unfit for duty after collapsing during a practice simulation because his lungs have been permanently damaged, and he is forced to leave the fire service. The basic premise of the show revolves around Ken and Harry's various business ventures, which become intertwined with various shady characters or criminal underworld figures, often requiring Ken to outwit or fight their way out of trouble. Along the way, the pair often encounter others in need or have been hard done by, and many of the episode sub-plots see various wrongs being put right. In later series, this became the main focus of the show as Boon becomes a private investigator and bodyguard, with Harry's business activities becoming more of a backdrop. The comedic element usually comes from Harry's frequent minor misfortunes or his best laid plans going awry in unexpected and sometimes farcical ways - with Ken usually having to come to his rescue and sort out the mess. in the first series, Ken starts a market garden, the Ponderosa, in a village about ten miles outside
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, but finds that it isn't working out. Harry returns from Spain after his wife leaves him for a young hairdresser. Harry has acquired a hotel in Birmingham and offers Ken a job and a home there. On Ken's behalf, and without his knowledge, Harry places a box-number advertisement in a newspaper stating: "Ex-fireman seeks interesting work. Anything legal considered. In the second series, both Ken and Harry have expanded their business interests, with Harry investing in a larger hotel and Ken starting a motorcycle courier firm called "Texas Rangers", where he recruits fellow biker Rocky Cassidy (Morrissey), whose general dim-wittedness provides an extra layer of comic relief. Over the course of the third and following series, Boon establishes two private investigation firms, BDI (Boon-Daly Investigations) and Boon Investigations; and a security firm, CBS (Crawford Boon Security), a partnership with Harry in which Boon is responsible for private investigations and Harry for security. In series 1–3 Harry runs two hotels, the Grand Hotel and the Coaching Inn, and a ballroom, the Plaza Suite. In series 4 he operates a country club, Woodcote Park, before going into business with Boon in series 5. The series moved away from
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
to
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
at the beginning of series 4, when production moved to Central Television's studios in Nottingham. The Birmingham episodes (series 2–3, and exteriors for series 1) were shot on film, but the Nottingham episodes (series 4–7) were shot on videotape, as were interior scenes for series 1. Apart from the studio interiors of Series 1 all filming was done on location.


Cast

The cast included
Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for ...
(Ken Boon) and
David Daker Colin David Daker (born 29 September 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Harry Crawford in the hit series ''Boon''. He also played Tommy Mackay in ''Only Fools and Horses'' and Jarvis in '' Porridge''. He has made two ap ...
(Harry Crawford). Neil Morrissey joined in the second series as Rocky, his first major television role. Other regular characters were played by
Rachel Davies Rachel Davies is an English actress. She has numerous television credits to her name, including ''Boon'' (1986), '' A Little Bit Of Lippy'' (1989), ''Emmerdale'' (1993–94), '' Band of Gold'' (1995–96), '' Hillsborough'' (1996), and '' The Ch ...
(Doreen Evans), Lesley-Anne Sharpe (Debbie Yates),
Amanda Burton Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series ''Peak Practice'' (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BB ...
(Margaret Daly),
Elizabeth Carling Elizabeth Carling (born 20 October 1967 in Middlesbrough) is an English actress and singer best known for her performances in ''Boon'', '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', '' Barbara'', and '' Casualty''. In 1991 Carling was briefly engaged to Neil Morri ...
(Laura Marsh), Brigit Forsyth (Helen Yeldham),
Saskia Wickham Saskia Wickham (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress best known for playing Alex Wilton in the drama series ''Boon'' and Dr. Erica Matthews in the ITV television drama series ''Peak Practice'' between 1996 and 1998. Early and personal li ...
(Alex Wilton), Joan Scott (Ethel Ellard) and
Gordon Warnecke Gordon Warnecke (born 24 August 1962 in London) is a British actor of Indo-Guyanese and German descent. He may be best known for his role as Omar in the 1985 film ''My Beautiful Laundrette'', co-starring as the lover of Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis ...
(Hanif Kurtha).
Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...
had a small role, one of his first.


Vehicles

The signature vehicle of the show is Ken Boon's red and silver 1965
BSA Lightning The BSA Lightning is a British BSA 650 cc-class motorcycle made in Birmingham between 1965 and 1972. Development The BSA Lightning was designed as the all-round sports machine of the 1960s,''Motorcycle Sport'', June 1969, p.226 ''BSA Lig ...
motorcycle - nicknamed "White Lightning" - registration number EVK 284C. Rocky Cassidy rides a black and gold 1972
Norton Commando The Norton Commando is a British Norton-Villiers motorcycle with an OHV pre-unit parallel-twin engine, produced by the Norton Motorcycle company from 1967 until 1977. Initially having a nominal ''750 cc'' displacement, actually , in 19 ...
850 Interstate.


Writers

The show's writers included
Geoff McQueen Geoffrey McQueen (24 July 1947 – 6 July 1994) was a British television screenwriter. He is best known for creating Thames Television's long-running police procedural ''The Bill'' and the popular comedy-dramas '' Give Us a Break'', '' Big ...
,
Kevin McNally Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, att ...
, Bernard Strother,
Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...
,
Tony McHale Tony McHale (born Anthony John Wright, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British actor, writer, director and producer, who is known for starring in ''Coronation Street'' and also known as a "stooge" to Jeremy Beadle on '' Game For A Laugh ...
,
Kieran Prendiville Kieran Prendiville (born 25 December 1947) is an English-Irish television writer, producer, and presenter. Early life Prendiville was born on 25 December 1947 in Rochdale, Lancashire, the son of an Irish father from Killorglin, County Kerry, ...
and
Veronica Henry Veronica Henry (born 1963) is a British writer of Romance novels, TV script writer and journalist. In 2014, her novel ''A Night on the Orient Express'' won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Biography ...
.
Ted Childs Ted Childs is a British television producer, screenwriter, and director. Career Childs commenced training as a programme director with ABC Weekend TV in 1962. He went on to produce and direct a wide variety of factual programmes and documenta ...
was the first executive producer.


Episodes


Home releases


Title sequences

Unusually for a TV series, there was a different title sequence with every subsequent series. Rather than promote the show's overall premise, the titles were used as a thematic device to help establish the settings and plotlines for each series, chronicling a narrative progression through Ken's life as he moves onto new locations and business ventures. However, the titles do follow one central interlinking theme of Ken imagining himself as a
Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...
type hero riding to the rescue on his trusty motorbike 'White Lighting', which helps undescrore the meanings behind the lyrics of the series theme tune ' Hi Ho Silver' by Jim Diamond, which in turn evokes aspects of Ken's character where his core drive is to help others in need and assist in solving their problems. In earlier series, the association between Ken riding on his motorbike whilst he envisages himself riding on horseback in a Western setting is more apparent. From Series 4 onwards, the idea of Ken's soul riding around town on his motorbike provides the core theme, although this somewhat diminishes in the final series. Series 1 The first title sequence of the series, sees Ken reading a Western comic strip titled White Lightning, the camera pans to reveal a collection of Western novels, and soon he imagines himself to be the heroic cowboy from the comic strip, which is intercut with shots of him riding down a motorway towards Birmingham on his beloved motorbike which he names 'White Lightning' after the comic strip, that would soon become a focal fixture throughout the course of this show. Series 2 Maintaining the Western theme, the title sequence for this series is largely identical to the one in the previous series; it begins with a shot of Ken's flat above the former stables at The Coaching Inn, and sees Ken flipping through TV channels before finding a Western movie to watch. He soon imagines himself to be the hero of the film riding on a horse through the town, which gradually transforms into his motorbike 'White Lightning'. Series 3 The titles for this series opens with a shot of Birmingham city centre, where Ken is seen entering a building on a Birmingham street. Inside he finds a vintage
large format Large format refers to any imaging format of or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the or size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras (using 120- and 220-roll film), and much larger than the frame o ...
camera, he soon imagines himself as a Lone Ranger type character in a Wild West setting wandering into a saloon, where he meets Margaret and Harry. Ken tries to pull out his pistol but is soon restrained by Margaret. Like the previous two series, the title sequence concludes with shots of Ken's horse transforming into his motorbike. Series 4 Reflecting on the change of location for this series, the title sequence opens with a shot of Nottingham at night. Ken is in his office where he falls asleep and "dreams" that his soul has left is body, where it exits the building to ride around town on his motorbike. Harry is standing by a TV shop watching clips from a Western and previous Boon title sequences, and is stunned when he sees the apparition rush by him. Ken soon awakes and rushes outside to suddenly witness his soul riding past him into the night. Series 5 Much like the previous series, the opening titles maintain the theme of Ken's soul and motorbike riding off within the realm of Ken's dreams. It opens with a shot of Ken leaving his current home, a canal boat besides the CBS office building situated beside the canal basin of the
River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
. He goes into a warehouse filled with trucks and throws his keys up in the air, which his soul supposedly catches.  He then sees his motorbike 'White Lightning' race through the warehouse, which gradually transforms into the legs of a horse. Normality resumes when Ken finds his motorbike parked in a building. Series 6 The title sequence for this series is similar in theme to the one in series four, it opens with Ken asleep in his bed at his cottage in Upper Ridley. Outside, his soul is riding through the streets of Nottingham on his motorbike.. As it reaches towards his home, Ken is suddenly awoken by the noise and rushes over to find his motorbike outside his bedroom window. Instantaneously, we now find Ken on his motorbike entering the offices at CBS, where he is greeted by Harry and Rocky. Series 7 For the final title sequence of the series, it presents a largely retrospective theme that reflects on the earlier series. It features Ken wandering into a cinema where he is greeted by Harry who takes his ticket. Soon Rocky appears as an Usher and guides him to his seat. In the theatre, he finds a number of doppelgangers of himself in the audience staring at him; the film starts and it contains clips from opening titles and significant moments from the previous six series, before his soul rides past him on 'White Lighting' and hurtles through the pews. The sequence ends with Ken waking up at home in front of his television, which reveals it has all been a dream.


History of the show

Although never explicitly mentioned by the show's creators, ''Boon'' shared many conceptual similarities with contemporary ITV drama series ''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' - both being set in a gritty working class city (Birmingham/London), both centering around the relationship between a 'heavy' (Ken Boon/Terry McCann) and a businessman (Harry Crawford/Arthur Daley) - although one key difference being that neither Ken or Harry's activities are illegal - unlike those depicted in ''Minder''. Both shows delved into the criminal underworld whilst exploring moral issues in the sub-plots, at the same time blending it with a certain amount of comedic relief. According to Jim Hill (co-creator), the name 'Boon' was derived as follows: "''Originally called 'Anything Legal Considered', we fell foul of the vogue of the main character's name being all or part of the title. Boon had been derived from an American TV series from the 1950s that Bill Stair and I both watched and liked. It was called '
Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...
' (1957) – a troubleshooting cowboy answered distress calls. He was called Paladin and was played by the actor
Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...
. We dropped the E and we had BOON – a modern-day trouble shooter on a motorbike instead of a steed.''" Elphick and Morrissey would reunite for the Central-TV sourced horror comedy continuing the motorbike theme, ''
I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle ''I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle'' is a 1990 British comedy horror film about a motorcycle possessed by an evil spirit, which rides by itself and kills people, particularly members of a particular motorcycle gang. It stars Neil Morrissey as th ...
''.


References and notes


External links

* *
Boon
a
Nostalgia Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boon (Tv Series) ITV television dramas 1986 British television series debuts 1995 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1990s British drama television series Television shows set in Birmingham, West Midlands Television shows set in Nottinghamshire Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows Television shows produced by Central Independent Television