Everybody has a favourite TV Show that recalls the best years of their Childhood, and I was fortunate to have many. But for me no TV programme does it better than BUGS - a brilliant hi-tech action-adventure show from the mid-1990s (1995-1999). Starring the talented actors Jesse Birdsall, Jaye Griffiths and Craig McLachlan; the show followed a trio of surveillance experts - Beckett, Ros, and Ed. Every episode they were either hired by paranoid businessmen with secrets to hide, or protected companies from organised crime, or battled Bond-like Megalomaniacs out for Power. This format continued for 2 series until the BUGS team were brought in to replace a secret Government department, after which they continued doing similar things, only with a much broader scope in order to keep the programme fresh and original.
If you’re detecting hints of The Avengers, then you’re not mistaken. Brian Clemens himself, a writer and producer from the original Avengers TV show put a reasonable amount of input into BUGS creation; and the programme does have a few Avengers references if you look hard enough. However, BUGS’ main twist was that it was set in the near future, and featured many Sci-fi and technological concepts and gadgets that are still futuristic today as they were in the 1990’s.
Of course, as with any past programme that tries to visualise the future, it does have some aspects that are now rather dated, such as the large ‘mobile’ phones or the basic computer operating systems, but of course being a budget BBC show they couldn’t afford to futurise everything; and there are always some things about the future that nobody can predict. However, the small budgets were often well hidden, with the occasional stunt or gloriously large explosion. It’s also reasonably obvious to anyone in the UK that all the location work was mainly done in the Docklands, to maintain that futuristic look, but in my view it still really works, as even in 2010, it’s obvious that Britain hasn’t changed that much.
I don’t mind telling you that I really adore this programme. The regular characters themselves are superb. I probably love Beckett most of all as the romantic, brave and resourceful ex-Spy, but the other two are equally brilliant. Ros is a cool kick-ass electronics genius with a bold free spirit and a compassionate heart, while Ed is a resilient action man who is young at heart. However, it wasn’t always just the regulars who impressed.
Although the BUGS team battled numerous villains over the years, there’s only one that was truly special and stood out from the crowd. Enter Jean-Daniel Marcel, brilliantly underplayed by Gareth Marks. In fact Jean-Daniel turned out to be the Master or Blofeld of the programme, after making such an impact on his Series 1 episode, that the writers created an extensive Story arc for him that spread out over Series 2, producing some of the shows best episodes and a magnificent series finale.
I also particularly loved the music and theme tune composed by Gavin Greenaway. The mix of muted brass, drum bass and gorgeous synths in a heroic melody created a wonderful soundtrack that has been one of the most original and memorable ever produced in my lifetime.
Of Course all great shows must come to an end, but unlike other successful programmes, BUGS was never given a proper ending. The BBC decided to axe the show in 1998, and even postponed part of Series 4 till a year later when the Omagh bombing occurred during the series’ run. Audiences were already low due to the earlier broadcasts, and with the year break between episodes, many of them gave up on the show. I suppose you could also say the quality in episodes was in decline too. Although the format adjustment in Series 3 to make the BUGS team hired Spies helped to maintain the show’s freshness and originality, by Series 4 the wheels were already beginning to come off, so to speak. Series 3 also developed and deepened the regular characters which gave more scope for Drama, and also tried out many great new episode ideas to stretch our much-loved characters in different directions. There was even a romantic subplot of Beckett gradually falling in love with Ros.
If you’re detecting hints of The Avengers, then you’re not mistaken. Brian Clemens himself, a writer and producer from the original Avengers TV show put a reasonable amount of input into BUGS creation; and the programme does have a few Avengers references if you look hard enough. However, BUGS’ main twist was that it was set in the near future, and featured many Sci-fi and technological concepts and gadgets that are still futuristic today as they were in the 1990’s.
Of course, as with any past programme that tries to visualise the future, it does have some aspects that are now rather dated, such as the large ‘mobile’ phones or the basic computer operating systems, but of course being a budget BBC show they couldn’t afford to futurise everything; and there are always some things about the future that nobody can predict. However, the small budgets were often well hidden, with the occasional stunt or gloriously large explosion. It’s also reasonably obvious to anyone in the UK that all the location work was mainly done in the Docklands, to maintain that futuristic look, but in my view it still really works, as even in 2010, it’s obvious that Britain hasn’t changed that much.I don’t mind telling you that I really adore this programme. The regular characters themselves are superb. I probably love Beckett most of all as the romantic, brave and resourceful ex-Spy, but the other two are equally brilliant. Ros is a cool kick-ass electronics genius with a bold free spirit and a compassionate heart, while Ed is a resilient action man who is young at heart. However, it wasn’t always just the regulars who impressed.
Although the BUGS team battled numerous villains over the years, there’s only one that was truly special and stood out from the crowd. Enter Jean-Daniel Marcel, brilliantly underplayed by Gareth Marks. In fact Jean-Daniel turned out to be the Master or Blofeld of the programme, after making such an impact on his Series 1 episode, that the writers created an extensive Story arc for him that spread out over Series 2, producing some of the shows best episodes and a magnificent series finale.I also particularly loved the music and theme tune composed by Gavin Greenaway. The mix of muted brass, drum bass and gorgeous synths in a heroic melody created a wonderful soundtrack that has been one of the most original and memorable ever produced in my lifetime.
Of Course all great shows must come to an end, but unlike other successful programmes, BUGS was never given a proper ending. The BBC decided to axe the show in 1998, and even postponed part of Series 4 till a year later when the Omagh bombing occurred during the series’ run. Audiences were already low due to the earlier broadcasts, and with the year break between episodes, many of them gave up on the show. I suppose you could also say the quality in episodes was in decline too. Although the format adjustment in Series 3 to make the BUGS team hired Spies helped to maintain the show’s freshness and originality, by Series 4 the wheels were already beginning to come off, so to speak. Series 3 also developed and deepened the regular characters which gave more scope for Drama, and also tried out many great new episode ideas to stretch our much-loved characters in different directions. There was even a romantic subplot of Beckett gradually falling in love with Ros.
Series 4 however, slowly began to lose what made the programme quirky and fun in the first place. Craig McLachlan left the show, partly I suspect because his character Ed was quickly becoming a walking talking cliché, which became more evident when Steven Houghton was hired to continue playing the role of Ed. Plus, some of the storylines themselves became just re-hashed past episodes with different, but equally clichéd characters. But worst of all, the Series 4 writers were turning the show more into a soap opera, away from the adventures, and more about continuous dramatic changes in the regular characters lives. They were all paired up into relationships, then split up, then hinted at getting back together again, and given various life problems to keep the characters in a constant state of flux.
However, I do believe it could’ve been turned around. They were still the occasional good episodes there, and I think if the BBC had given it another year the programme could have changed for the better. Still, I remained a loyal viewer to the end, and it was great fun and excitement to my younger self while it lasted.
In fact BUGS' legacy goes on. The action and Spy stories were taken up by the much more Adult, but equally brilliant Spooks, while the fun and innocent adventure were brought back by the return of Doctor Who in 2005, which I hasten to add, I also suspect learnt a thing or two from the BUGS format too (45-minute episodes with Series story arcs and finales). But BUGS was much more than a just a fill-in for more successful and future programmes like Spooks and Doctor Who, but helped maintain the Saturday night family Drama audience, and created an accessible Bond-like action and crime-fighting show for everyone to enjoy. And it will always remain one of my favourites.
Happy 15th Anniversary, BUGS!
