History Series / TheThinBlueLine

* BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats: Parodied with Grim's group, "The Todgers", an exaggerated expy of the Masons whose rituals involve wearing a dress and kissing a frozen turkey's bottom.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Fowler's pompous, uptight and officious, but he means well and has a good heart underneath it all.

'''Fowler:''' [[YouMakeMeSic To go Boldly, laddy]], don’t split your infinitives.\\

A 1995–96 BritCom set in a small-town police station, created by longtime ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' co-writer Creator/BenElton and featuring that show's star, Creator/RowanAtkinson.

--> '''Fowler:''' What in the devil's briefcase did you imagine E.R. stood for?
--> '''Goody:''' 'Er in the palace?
--> '''Fowler:''' Elizabeth Regina! It stands for Elizabeth Regina.
--> '''Gladstone:''' I never knew that. I thought it stood for Extremely Royal.
--> '''Habib''': Has the Queen been reduced to senseless initials?
--> '''Fowler''': Don't be clever, Habib.

--> '''Patricia''': ''(in TranquilFury)'' I'd advise you not to take off your bicycle helmet tonight.
--> Later...
--> '''Patricia''': ''(sweetly)'' Take off your bicycle helmet. ''(Picks up rolling pin)''

--> '''Grim''': Well, you broke every rule in the book, Fowler. But I can't deny you ended the siege without bloodshed, it's pretty cool to talk round armed robbers like that.
--> '''Fowler''': Oh really, Grim, hasn't the penny dropped? Why under these silly masks, you'll find not hardened robbers, but beardless, spotty-faced students on a rag... (he rips off their masks, to reveal sour-looking bearded men)... er, three desperate villains, just as I thought.

---> "Not for us the traditional pleasures of Christmas. Sherry, chestnuts, Father bringing home a big fat bird and telling Mother to stuff it."
---> "The traditional truncheon is perfectly adequate. I myself am more than happy with 14 inches hanging down my trouser leg."

---> "If you get in the way I'm responsible: your cockup, my arse!"
---> "It's my arse and if you stuff it I'll end up very red in the face."
---> "It's my arse on the line so you'd better pull your finger out."

--> '''Grim''': (Furiously ranting) Why not have it the other way round? Presume everyone in the country guilty of something, which most of them are, and lock 'em up!
--> '''Patricia''': What, the entire population?
--> '''Grim''': Certainly the entire population. Only those who could, to the satisfaction of a senior judge, prove themselves to be wholly and fundamentally innocent would be released. There'd be a bit less fannying about then.

--> '''Fowler''': Before long, Britain's name will be mud. Or worse, it'll be Italy.

---> '''Commander Crow of Special Branch''' (to Fowler): There is one thing you can do. Get your uniform dry cleaned, it smells like a drunk's thrown up in your hat.

-->'''Lunatic''': I'm armed, and I'm dangerous, and I'm gonna take a hostage.
-->'''Habib''': Take me!
-->'''Goody''': No Maggie! You’re too beautiful to die! Take me!
-->'''Gary''': No Kev! You’re too beautiful to die! Take me!

--> '''Fowler''': How far will Fred have to travel to reach the fire extinguisher?
--> '''Perp 1''': Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
--> '''Perp 2''': What?!
--> '''Perp 3''': Who cares?
--> '''Perp 4''': (Vomits into a bucket)

* TriangRelations: "Fire and Terror" uses type 2 of this plot:

* WritersCannotDoMath: When drilling Constable Habib for his quiz team, Inspector Fowler says "Give me the first six primary numbers". She replies "1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, sir." The first six ''prime'' numbers (not "primary") are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13.

* DirtyOldMan: In one episode, the police get mistakenly called out to the home of an old man who's waiting for an agency escort. He lasciviously says he'd requested for her to be dressed as a nurse but he'll take Habib instead, adding "I'd love to have you both, but I can't afford two on my pension".

* StripperCopConfusion: An episode had two officers investigate a man who had the curtains closed for a few days, causing neighbours to be worried about him. Since he was hiring prostitutes, he thought the police officer was one of them, and was better choice than the nurse.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: After Boyle sets Fowler straight in "Court in the Act" (see EngineeredPublicConfession), the Mayoress comes in, looking for a plea bargain. The conversation, in which she demands that Raymond "give it [the plea bargain] to me" and his assurances that she'll be "more than satisfied" (with the loophole of Goody wearing an unofficial uniform during the bust) [[WeShouldGetAnotherTape gets recorded over Patricia's morning workout]].

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: by Inspector Fowler at least, who is intensely loyal to the Queen, and mentions her in almost every episode. He orders a huge ornate crest with "ER" to hang above the front desk, which becomes known as "the er".

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Goody actually punches a skinhead for insulting Habib.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: The episodes of the second series started with Inspector Fowler delivering a short intro to the audience, often ending with a very strange simile.
* BrickJoke: When Patricia suspects Raymond of fancying the Mayoress:
--> '''Patricia''': (in TranquilFury) I'd advise you not to take off your bicycle helmet tonight.

--> '''Patricia''': (sweetly) Take off your bicycle helmet. (Picks up rolling pin)

* CordonBleughChef: Patricia. She seems incapable of cooking anything properly, and the best that Raymond can say about her food is that it is "intriguing". In "Fire and Terror", Raymond compliments her on a lamb dish that she says was supposed to be chicken chasseur, while "Yuletide Spirit" opens with Raymond congratulating Patricia on a dish of œufs à la mayonnaise... with no eggs (she broke them all) and no mayonnaise (it had curdled), leaving what he calls the best plate of "à la" he's ever had.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Patrica, to an armed bank robber.

* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: After Patricia discovers the NotWhatItLooksLike example below, she goes for the rolling pin, and when he argues against her idea of having kids, she hits him with a fish.
* DramaticUnmask: In the episode "Rag Week", students are going around town wearing gorilla masks. Later, there is a bank robbery, with three gunmen wearing gorilla masks. Inspector Fowler believes them to be students having a laugh, and in the manner of a strict teacher, talks them into handing over their guns, before unmasking them, and discovering they were not who he thought they were.

* FiremenAreHot: One of these appeared in an episode. Maggie had the hots for a hunky firefighter who [[spoiler:unfortunately turned out to have the hots for her male colleague Kevin]]. HilarityEnsues.
* FootballHooligans: An episode of had the police being worried about a possible outbreak of football hooliganism due to a London team playing the local club. In arresting various troublemaking elements, they end up locking up the entire local club.
* FramingTheGuiltyParty: Done in the episode "Court In The Act": Inspector Grim is desperate to convict a drug dealer; his subordinate Boyle suggests that evidence can be found -- "found", in inverted commas. Inspector Fowler found out about the frame up and, unable to prove the drug dealer had been framed, he [[spoiler: told the criminal's barrister that Constable Kevin Goody, who found (he didn't know about the frameup) the planted evidence, was wearing a new uniform that wasn't an official police uniform, thus invalidating any incriminating evidence found during the search and allowing the drug dealer to get]] OffOnATechnicality.

* HaggisIsHorrible: Grim's "reasoning" when suspecting a domestic terrorist organization [[SdrawkcabAlias the St Neduts of Egelloc]] of being Scottish extremists.

* HoneyTrap: The episode "Honey Trap" was about Inspector Fowler and Detective Inspector Grim recruiting Constable Habib to catch a criminal [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin via a honey trap]]. [[spoiler: The ''criminal'' arrested her.]]

* IncompatibleOrientation: "Fire and Terror" concerns Constable Maggie Habib meeting a handsome firefighter and trying everything to get into bed with him. In the end of the episode, it's revealed that he hasn't touched her because his interests were focused on her colleague, Constable Kevin Goody, who's spent the whole series pining after her. In the last scene they all sit at a pub musing about their love triangle woes.

** The conservative and idealistic Inspector Fowler from had a tendency to make statements containing innuendo that everyone except him could see.

** And Inspector Grim when his job depended on an important operation.

* MistakenForAnImposter: After a succession of student pranks for Rag Week, Inspector Fowler single-handedly arrests (and insults) a group of armed, masked bank robbers, assuming it's another joke. During the robbery, Constable Goody is mistaken for a prankster by people who assume he's too young to be a real police officer.
* MistakenForCheating: Dawkins thinks Fowler and Habib are having an affair and parading it right in front of her, but it turns out that A. Raymond just wants Maggie on his pub quiz team and B. Maggie is also being set up as a HoneyTrap in the episode of the same name. While it is true that Fowler kissed Habib, it was a completely platonic spur-of-the-moment thing when she won the previous pub quiz for their team.

* MixedMetaphor: Something Inspector Grim is good at. For example in the episode "Night Shift", he informs everyone that he is looking for "A fat cat, spinning his web with his tentacles in every pie".

* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: Fowler rants about how misbehaving students are a stain on Britain's reputation.

* OrAreYouJustHappyToSeeMe: PC Maggie Habib is getting into character for an entrapment operation in "Honey Trap", and uses the line on PC Kevin Goody - a naive manchild type character with a crush on her. After collapsing in embarrassment, he replies that "Actually, it's a Mars Bar".
* OurSloganIsTerrible: The town had the slogan "It's not as bad as you think".
* PayingInCoins: Fowler and Goody are in an slow queue at the bank, headed by a customer paying in coins, very slowly. When Fowler suddenly shouts, the customer knocks over his pile of coins, and has to start again.

** When Raymond believes Patricia might be annoyed with him:

* SpyTuxReveal: Played with in "Road Rage". Sergeant Patricia Dawkins falls for a radical environmentalist, only to find he's an MI5 AgentProvocateur when he comes out of Inspector Fowler's office wearing a Film/JamesBond tuxedo.

** Fowler doesn’t seem to care for [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Captain Kirk’s]] grammar or the RubberForeheadAliens trope, as seen in "Night Shift".

* YouWatchTooMuchX: Grim wants to buy a water cooler for the CID, Fowler responds "you just want to walk around with a paper cup in your hand like an American police officer. You watch too much television".

* NotWhatItLooksLike:
** In "Rag Week", Dawkins is venting her frustration with Raymond's near complete lack of interest in sex by answering his reverie about doing something "splendidly heroic" to make her "proud and happy" by saying he could make her happy by "occasionally giving [her] a damn good rogering!" Gladstone walks in during the last three words and is almost as embarrassed as Fowler and Dawkins; Fowler fumbles an explanation about their "damn good" friend "Roger Ring", and Dawkins plays along but snipes about how little they see of him (or his Swedish cousin Bonk).
** After Boyle sets Fowler straight in "Court in the Act" (see EngineeredPublicConfession), the Mayoress comes in, looking for a plea bargain. The conversation, in which she demands that Raymond "give it [the plea bargain] to me" and his assurances that she'll be "more than satisfied" (with the loophole of Goody wearing an unofficial uniform during the bust) [[WeShouldGetAnotherTape gets recorded over Patricia's morning workout]].

* SureLetsGoWithThat: The episode "Honey Trap" featured Detective Inspector Derek Grim and Inspector Raymond Fowler using Constable Maggie Habib as a Honey Trap to capture a criminal. Fowler's girlfriend, Sergeant Patricia Dawkins, thought he and Maggie were having an affair. In retaliation, Dawkins broke Fowler's new royal crest, which he claimed represented all the values he stands for. She then replied he doesn't stand for any and mentions knowing what he and Maggie are doing. Wrongly believing she figured out about the Honey Trap, he comments about it, revealing to her the truth. She then let him think he was right, and he tells her he agrees with her reaction.

* MuggedForDisguise: A pizza delivery boy in shorts and T-shirt tells Grim he wants to make a complaint about police harrassment; then we see Fowler wearing the delivery boy's uniform, and riding his motorbike.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Derek Grim.

* StrictlyFormula

-->'''Gladstone:''' (in trademark monotone) Gasforth police station... Oh dear. Well, have you tried calling the kitten's name?''[Fowler looks chagrined at being InstantlyProvenWrong]'' Well, how about shaking the branch?... Well, how about putting a saucer of milk at the bottom of the tree?

* TheDitz: Constable Goody gets the wrong end of every stick imaginable.
-->'''Gladstone:''' ''[after yet another crass remark by Kray]'' You know, fellas that talk about it most do it least. I know - I talk about it ''all'' the time. And I haven't had any since the days of UsefulNotes/HaroldWilson.\\

'''Gladstone:''' Kevin, he was the Prime Minister.\\

* NotWhatItLooksLike: After Boyle sets Fowler straight in "Court in the Act" (see EngineeredPublicConfession), the Mayoress comes in, looking for a plea bargain. The conversation, in which she demands that Raymond "give it [the plea bargain] to me" and his assurances that she'll be "more than satisfied" (with the loophole of Goody wearing an unofficial uniform during the bust) [[WeShouldGetAnotherTape gets recorded over Patricia's morning workout]].

* SdrawkcabAlias: In "Rag Week", Grim receives what he thinks is a legitimate threat from a separatist group calling themselves the "St Neduts of Egelloc". Fowler can scarcely contain his glee in pointing out that Grim has fallen for a rag week prank: "St Neduts" and "Egelloc" are "Students" and "College" spelled backwards, while their weapon, "Dratsuc", is "custard" spelled backwards. (Grim, inevitably, pretends that he already knew and was wondering how long it would take the uniformed officers to work it out.)

* SdrawkcabAlias: In "Rag Week", Grim receives what he thinks is a legitimate threat from a separatist group calling themselves the "St Neduts of Egelloc". Fowler can scarcely contain his glee in pointing out that Grim has fallen for a rag week prank: "St Neduts" and "Egelloc" are "Students" and "College" spelled backwards, while their weapon, "Dratsuc", is "custard" spelled backwards.

** Grim: "It's my arse on the line and I don't want a cock-up!" and [[RunningGag many]] variations.

* YaoiFangirl: Constable Maggie Habib is very keen on the homoerotic aspects of football and in one episode speculates on the relationship between both Literature/{{Biggles}} and Ginger and SherlockHolmes and Dr Watson ("sometimes there's months between cases - what do they do then?"). The somewhat old-fashioned Fowler is horrified ("They chat! They [[InnocentInnuendo smoke their pipes!]]").

'''Boyle''': [[TheSadist Sadism]]!

'''Boyle''': Sadism!

* AffectionateNickname: Raymond calls Patricia "cabbage".