The Vice is an ITV police drama about the Metropolitan Police Vice Unit, which ran for five series of varying lengths between 4 January 1999 and 1 July 2003. The main cast included Ken Stott, Caroline Catz and David Harewood, as well as Rosie Marcel, Marc Warren and Tim Pigott-Smith. The show experimented with different formats throughout its five series. Series 1 and 2 combined consisted of seven two–part stories, i.e. fourteen episodes in total, lasting one hour per episode and two hours per story. Series 3 and 4 combined consisted of eight self-contained 90 minute episodes. The final series, i.e. Series 5, consisted of six self-contained 60 minute episodes. The Portishead track "Sour Times" was used as the theme music to the show.
"Hooked", although often referred to as the first episode of series five, and broadcast in 2003 prior to the broadcast of series five, was officially classified as the last episode of series four as it featured the last appearance of Pat Chappel, and was filmed during the filming block of series four. It was also the last episode to be ninety-minutes long, before the transfer to one-hour episodes, and it was also the last time that the original title card and sequence were used.
Main cast Cast member Character Episode duration Ken Stott Inspector Pat Chappel "Daughters (Part One)" (Ep. 1) – "Hooked" (Ep. 22) Caroline Catz Police Constable Cheryl Hutchins "Daughters (Part One)" (Ep. 1) – "Lust" (Ep. 28) David Harewood Sergeant/Inspector Joe Robinson Marc Warren Police Constable Dougie Raymond "Daughters (Part One)" (Ep. 1) – "Walking on Water (Part Two)" (Ep. 10) Garry Cooper Superintendent Jeff Callard "Daughters (Part One)" (Ep. 1) – "Betrayed (Part Two)" (Ep. 12) Rosie Marcel Police Constable Kirsty Morgan "Out of Mind" (Ep. 15) – "Lust" (Ep. 28) Tim Pigott-Smith Detective Sergeant/Inspector/Chief Inspector Frank Vickers "Out of Mind" (Ep. 15), "Falling" (Ep. 18), "Hooked" (Ep. 22) – "Lust" (Ep. 28) Mel Raido Police Constable Adam Parkes "Hooked" (Ep. 22) – "Lust" (Ep. 28) Tamzin Malleson Police Constable Lorraine Johnstone"Control" (Ep. 23) – "Lust" (Ep. 28) Jake Nightingale Sergeant Stuart ColeAnna Chancellor Dr. Christina Weir "Daughters (Part One)" (Ep. 1) – "Dabbling (Part Two)" (Ep. 6) Diane Parish Shirley Robinson "Home is the Place (Part One)" (Ep. 7) – "Lovesick (Part Two)" (Ep. 14) Valerie Edmond Detective Inspector Janet Greer "Betrayed (Part One)" (Ep. 11) – "Lovesick (Part Two)" (Ep. 14) Sarah Parish Jane Farrell "Out of Mind" (Ep. 15) – "Falling" (Ep. 18) Victoria Shalet Sarah Farrell "Out of Mind" (Ep. 15) – "Falling" (Ep. 18)
Episodes Series overview
Series 1 (1999)
Series 2 (2000)
Series 3 (2001)
Series 4 (2002)
Series 5 (2003)
DVD releases
Region 2 Series 1: 7 July 2003, released in the United Kingdom by Carlton. Series 1–5: 20 February 2006, released in the UK by Network
Region 1 Series 1: 25 March 2008, released in the US by MPI Home Video. Series 2: 24 June 2008, released in the US by MPI Home Video.
References
External links Paul Lewis, 2008: Review of the DVD release of the second series of The Vice. DVDCompare