History Series / TheThinBlueLine

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

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Fowler, especially in comparison with Grim. He may dislike young people, foreigners and, honestly, most people, but as long as they obey the law, he is content to leave them in peace. He probably doesn't count as a NobleBigotWithABadge, because he usually refuses to let his prejudices affect his policing even slightly.

* 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. For example, in "The Green Eyed Monster", he has this to say about taking things or people for granted:

* BrickJoke: When Patricia suspects Raymond of fancying the Mayoress in "Court in the Act":
-->'''Patricia''': ''(in TranquilFury)'' I'd advise you not to take off your bicycle helmet tonight.\\

--> '''Darren:''' You ain't got to right to search me.

* MistakenForRacist: When the Mayoress orders Raymond to arrest an illegal immigrant in "Ism Ism Ism", she forgets to give him a description of what the man looks like, so he and his officers just arrest the man who opened the door. Unfortunately, he not only ''isn't'' the illegal alien, he's also black ''and'' the European Commissioner for Human Rights. Learning of the man's real identity, [[DiscriminateAndSwitch Raymond is horrified]]: "A ''[[AcceptableTargets Frenchman]]''? In ''my'' station?!"

* InMediasRes

Atkinson plays the old-fashioned, repressed, but basically decent Police Inspector Raymond Fowler. His nemesis in the series was Detective Inspector Derek Grim (Creator/DavidHaig), a [[Series/LifeOnMars2006 proto-Gene Hunt type]] but without the brains. The other regulars were all fellow police officers, including Fowler's long-term and long-suffering cohab girlfriend, Sergeant Patricia Dawkins (Serena Evans); elderly Constable Frank Gladstone (Rudolph Walker); junior constables Kevin Goody (Creator/JamesDreyfus) and Maggie Habib (Mina Anwar); and Grim's henchman, Detective Constable Robert Kray (Kevin Allen), who was replaced in Series Two by Detective Constable Gary Boyle (Creator/MarkAddy).

* TriangRelations: "Fire and Terror" uses type 2 of this plot when Habib falls head over heels for firefighter Gary, unaware that [[IncompatibleOrientation he is attracted to Goody]], who is a HopelessSuitor to Habib herself.
-->'''Habib:''' So you fancy Kevin, Kevin fancies me, and I fancy you?

* WeAllLiveInAmerica: In "Ism Ism Ism", Inspector Fowler, chief of a British Police station, attempts to teach his men the importance or political correctness, and at one point utters, "That would be the pot calling the kettle... errr, African-American." Almost certainly intentional, to [[PoliticalOvercorrectness show how over the top he is being.]] "Black" isn't even considered offensive in the UK when applied to people of African descent, isn't offensive ''anywhere'' when used as a purely descriptive adjective to describe the colour of an object, and the correct term if he was being really careful would be "Afro-Caribbean" (since fallen out of use because most British black people now either think of themselves as completely British or skipped the "Caribbean" part).

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: By Inspector Fowler at least, who is intensely loyal to the Queen, and mentions her in almost every episode. In "The Queen's Birthday Present", he orders a huge ornate crest with "ER" to hang above the front desk, which becomes known as "the er".
-->'''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.

** The show had what has to be one of the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} examples when Grim urges Fowler not to make any mistakes: "'cause you know what'll happen Raymond, don't you? It'll be your cock-up, my arse!" This phrase is also made as short as it can be while also displaying the importance of punctuation. "Your cock-up, my arse".[[note]] David Haig has said in interviews that this is the one line people most enjoy shouting at him if they recognise him in the street.[[/note]]\\\
The series as a whole seems rather fond of this joke. Compare; "It's my arse on the line here, and I don't want a cock-up!", and "I'll show them when Grim of Gasforth puts his arse on the line, they can't just stick [[VSign two fingers]] up!"\\\
It happens almost OncePerEpisode. The different variations on the same theme are actually quite inventive. Possibly it counts as a RunningGag.

* CampStraight: Constable Kevin Goody exhibits all the mannerisms of a CampGay (his actor, James Dreyfus, fits this trope in RealLife) but is actually a DoggedNiceGuy to WPC Habib, whom he hits on in every episode (and is very surprised that his colleagues might have thought he was gay).

Atkinson plays the old-fashioned, repressed, but basically decent Police Inspector Raymond Fowler. His nemesis in the series was Detective Inspector Derek Grim (Creator/DavidHaig), a [[Series/LifeOnMars2006 proto-Gene Hunt type]] but without the brains. The other regulars were all fellow police officers, including Fowler's long-term and long-suffering cohab girlfriend, Sergeant Patricia Dawkins (Serena Evans); elderly Constable Frank Gladstone (Rudolph Walker); junior constables Kevin Goody (James Dreyfus) and Maggie Habib (Mina Anwar); and Grim's henchman, Detective Constable Robert Kray (Kevin Allen), who was replaced in Series Two by Detective Constable Gary Boyle (Creator/MarkAddy).

-->'''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?

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

--> '''Fowler:''' I admit he eccentric.

--> '''Grim:''' "I'm a policeman, not a bleeding Girl Guide".

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

-->'''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!\\

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: "Ism Ism Ism" parodied this, with Fowler ordered to get everyone at the station up to standard on political correctness. He makes a series of embarrassingly awful attempts to express enlightened views about race, gender and sexuality: "That would be the pot calling the kettle ... er ... African-American!" Even more absurd in that the series is set in Britain.

* WeAllLiveInAmerica: In "Ism Ism Ism", Inspector Fowler, chief of a British Police station, attempts to teach his men the importance or political correctness, and at one point utters, "That would be the pot calling the kettle... errr, African-American." Almost certainly intentional, to [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad show how over the top he is being.]] "Black" isn't even considered offensive in the UK when applied to people of African descent, isn't offensive ''anywhere'' when used as a purely descriptive adjective to describe the colour of an object, and the correct term if he was being really careful would be "Afro-Caribbean" (since fallen out of use because most British black people now either think of themselves as completely British or skipped the "Caribbean" part).

--->'''Kray:''' Brilliant, sir. Try not to be ''too'' hilarious, I've only got one pair of these trousers.

* BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats: Parodied with Grim's group, "The Todgers", an exaggerated expy of Freemasonry whose rituals involve wearing a dress and kissing a frozen turkey's bottom.
* CampStraight: Constable Kevin Goody exhibits all the mannerisms of a CampGay (his actor, James Dreyfuss, fits this trope in RealLife) but is actually a DoggedNiceGuy to WPC Habib, whom he hits on in every episode (and is very surprised that his colleagues might have thought he was gay).