Series / Dempsey and Makepeace

Michael Dempsey (Michael Brandon) is a New York City cop who makes the Big Apple too hot to hold him. His superiors hand him over to the London Metropolitan Police, where he is teamed with Lady Harriet Makepeace (Glynis Barber). Hilarity ensues as they fight crime.

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Tropes:

• Affably Evil:
  • Both the rival London Gangster’s from “Hors de Combat” qualify:
    • Jack Lang is a powerful gangster, with an empire of betting shops and protection rackets through the South of London. However, when he’s not on the clock he’s also a charming, older gentleman and a loving grandfather, who even greets the police with cups of tea and slices of homemade cake when they arrive to discuss the murder of one of his men.
    • Bernie Silk meanwhile endeavours to keep up the image of being a modern businessman, renowned for his many philanthropic endeavours (to the point Spikings jokes he’s angling for a knighthood). Whilst it’s partially a front to hide his empire of gambling, prostitution, and smuggling, he nevertheless comes across as a chill, approachable guy. He even makes it clear he has no animosity towards Jack Lang.
  • Yasir, the leader of the trio of Black September terrorists from “Nowhere To Run” is constantly polite and professional, even when they turn upon Paul Marshall just to ensure there is no chance of him revealing anything to the authorities, he still claims they're only going to be keeping him under observation until the job is over. He is likewise devoted to their leader Salim Masad, making it clear to the others before the job that they will face death before failure to rescue him.
  • Morrocco Jack Cade from “Wheelman” might be a gangster presently planning a massive heist, but he’s also a charming, personal man and a loving husband, who possesses a strong sense of gratitude and prefers to avoid violence whenever possible. It gets to the point that Dempsey and Makepeace (both undercover to infiltrate his gang) grow to quite like him and even try to persuade him to just go back to France and go straight. They even recommend him a good lawyer at the end after he’s arrested.
• African Terrorists: Played With in “Silver Dollar.” The episode sees S.I.10 dealing with a small but well-armed militant group calling themselves the African Liberation Army who are targeting Consolidated Westmore Limited, first attacking their petrol stations and then when their demands aren’t met, poisoning their supplies of cough syrup. Likewise in their demands, they want one million dollars for the company (describing it as a “tax upon their African subsidiaries”) and for the company to use their economic influence to facilitate the release of several political prisoners from a specific military dictator of an unnamed nation of their own choice. It's never confirmed if the members are actual Africans or British descendants as they’re confirmed to all live in West London (though they all speak with generic African accents) and it overall stumps S.I.10 why they would be seemingly randomly targeting this particular public corporation.
• Armed Blag: In "The Squeeze", a heavy duty transit van carrying half a million pounds in used notes is high jacked, drivers and all and S.I. 10 is tasked to find it.
• Artistic License – Law: Somewhat justified in that S.I.10 is a specialist task force, with it being acknowledged in “Wheelman” that it regularly violates the codes and traditions of the force.
  • As lampshaded by Spikings in “The Squeeze” it is completely illegal for Dempsey to regularly carry his Colt Python on his person nearly everywhere he goes the way he did back in New York (whilst S.I.10 is an armed police unit, the other members are rightfully presented as only being armed when deployed into situations and all weapons being kept at base), especially as he personally owns it and brought it over from America. This is presented as an example of his Cowboy Cop persona, Spikings originally attempts to stop him but overall gives up.
  • Harry shouldn’t have been able to lead the investigation into the death of Sarah Hardcastle in “Judgement” as she was a close friend of the victim and personally involved. Dempsey himself even encourages her to step back from this investigation out of concerns of not being able to remain impartial.
• Assassin Outclassin': In “Tequila Sunrise” Sid Lowe sends one of his goons to assassinate Makepeace’s friend and informant Jock in his hospital bed. Jock manages to overpower the assassin, steal his gun, shoot him twice and then escapes to get revenge on Lowe.
• Badass Driver: Both Dempsey and Makepeace qualify, with them both regularly getting to demonstrate their skills in multiple car and motorbike chases throughout the series. Though amusing the first time Dempsey is exposed to how Makepeace fast can drive in “Nowhere To Run”, it's enough to actually shake him up. Used as a plot point in “Wheelman” when Dempsey infiltrates a gang as their wheelman, as his “audition” he goes on a chase throughout London whilst pursued by multiple police cars and manages to give them all the slip.
• Bait-and-Switch: Played for Laughs in “Cry God For Harry”, whilst discussing the guests involved with the weekend shoot who might be responsible for stealing the priceless collection of Jade artefacts, Lord Winfield ends by bringing up Mr Tsu from the Chinese Embassy and in the most solemn voice states he’s worried about him. Only for his next line to reveal its cause he’s only got his word that he can handle a shotgun.
• Bank Robbery: “No Surrender” involves three teenagers robbing the Vanguard bank. Matters are complicated by the fact a prominent VIP James Martin happened to be in the bank at the time. Events quickly turn into a hostage situation with S.I.10 having to resort to a series of tactics to defeat the robbers without endangering the hostages.
• Beardness Protection Program: Inverted. John Bates in “Judgement” following an artist's representation of his picture being circulated on the news in connection to the rape and murder of Sarah Hardcastle, shaves off his large bushy moustache before attempting to go on the run. It proves enough of a disguise to confuse people who don’t know him, but falls apart when an old school friend of his (who now works as a local constable) sees the picture.
• Beastly Bloodsports: Implied to be Dempsey’s opinion upon watching the pheasant shoot in “Carry God For Harry”, whilst everyone else is happily taking part, Dempsey just hangs back holding his gun over his shoulder and watching on in silent contempt as the others happily blast the birds.
• Beleaguered Assistant: Detective Sergeant Charles “Chas” Jarvis often ends up fulfilling this role to Spikings. Whilst Spikings himself is competent, Jarvis often finds himself having to deal with all the most exhausting jobs and usually is the one who has to bear the brunt of both his boss’s frustration and their superiors when his boss is avoiding it. He overall manages to keep it together pretty well.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Oh so much. The immediate antagonism between Dempsey and Makepeace was countered by a strong physical attraction. In fact, the tension was so palatable onscreen that Brandon and Barber married in real life in 1989, and have been together since. They even had a son together, Alex.
• Beneath Suspicion: Following discovering that Dempsey has a psychopathic stalker who is obsessed with them, both Makepeace and Spikings conclude that Dempsey must know her and suspect it's an ex-girlfriend or a jilted lover, both of which Dempsey denies. It's eventually revealed she is none other than his regular waitress at his favourite bar, who has become obsessed with him and whom Dempsey barely knows exists.
• Big Bad Wannabe:
  • Morrocco Jack from “Wheelman”, has a strong build up being an ex-member of the French Foreign Legion, a former member of a notorious French robbery crew and having previously served in a harsh French prison and now has big plans of muscling into London. However, throughout the episode, it becomes clear that whilst a brilliant strategist, he’s simply not cut out for the cut-throat world of London ganglands, with him nearly dying several times and only being saved by the efforts of Makepeace and Dempsey. His men even end up turning on him in the climax, deciding they should kill him to get the London mob off their backs and just do the robbery themselves.
  • Ramsey from “No Surrender” whilst the mastermind behind the trio of teens robbing the Vanguard bank, it quickly becomes clear that he’s well in over his head and starts to panic the moment things go wrong (having never expected the police to get there before they got out). He quickly loses his actual authority in the group to the far more vicious Levey and comes close to surrendering multiple times. He only regains some of his composure at the end when it looks like they’ve won and he realises he has a valuable VIP as a hostage.
• Bluff the Eavesdropper: Used by Dempsey and Makepeace at the climax of “Love You To Death”, having figured that as well as listening to him there is a good chance Kathy has set herself up so she can see spy on Dempsey, the two pretend to express their love for each other hoping to enrage her into making a mistake and revealing herself. Sure enough, Kathy’s wild attempts to shoot them both, tip them off to where her apartment is in the building across the street.
• Bullying the Dragon: In “Tequila Sunrise” following hearing that local tough guy Jock has been asking questions about a murder they committed, Sid Lowe and his goons attack him, and break his hand with a hammer. Later deciding he’s still a threat, Lowe sends his triggerman to assassinate Jock. This all proves to be a mistake as Jock overpowers the assassin and goes on a rampage that leads to the end of Lowe.
• The Butler Did It: Downplayed. Whilst not actually a Butler (being instead Lord Winfield’s secretary) Naismith from “Cry God For Harry” overall fulfils the same role, often acting as a general assistant and serving the guests throughout the party, with Harry admitting that something about him gives her the creeps. Sure enough, he turns out to be a blackmailer and graduates to murder, but he’s not involved with the jade theft and is quickly killed by the actual thieves.
• But Liquor Is Quicker: Downplayed. In “Tequila Sunrise” whilst under the effect of a lot of Champagne at the club Makepeace is noticeably more friendly and flirtatious towards Dempsey, even declaring he is hers when one of her friends expresses interest in him and convincing them to switch clothes when Dempsey compliments her red dress.
• The Boxing Episode: In "The Prizefighter", Dempsey and Makepeace find the broken body of a bare-knuckle prizefighter on the street carrying counterfeit money. Posing as an American couple named Dwayne and Lu, they manage to get into the illegal underground fight.
• Breaking Out the Boss: In "Hors de Combat", gang leader Frank Price is sprung out of jail, only to be killed by his accomplices.
• By-the-Book Cop: Makepeace. In contrast to Dempsey’s gun hoe, quick-to-action attitude to fighting crime she is more focused on following procedure and launching careful investigations. However, as the series goes on she begins to loosen out of this and proves on occasion she can be just as wild as he can.
• The Casino: In "Lucky Streak", Dempsey happens to be present at a casino when it is robbed and a security guard murdered.
• Catchphrase: 'Life is tough and then you die.' Or was it 'Life's a bitch and then you die'?
• Clothing Switch: In “Tequila Sunrise”, whilst meeting Makepeace’s friends at the disco compliments her friend Angela on her beautiful (and quite revealing) red dress. Under the influence of the champagne, Makepeace leads Angela aside and convinces her to switch clothes with her. Then goes up to Dempsey and flirtatiously asks him if he still likes the dress.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: In “Tequila Sunrise”, Sid Lowe and his two goons trap Makepeace’s informant and friend Jock, intending to give him a beating for sniffing around a murder they committed. Jock unflinchingly takes all three of them on in a brawl and manages to knock them around before finally being overpowered.
• Creepy Crossdresser: Merle, the head of the gang of Heroin traffickers from “Make Peace Not War”, who also constantly dresses like an old-fashioned widow complete with a veil and kills and tortures people with needles, is revealed to be one at the climax after being knocked out by Dempsey and their wig comes off. They are also implied from their interactions with him to be a Depraved Homosexual.
• Crash Course Landing: In the climax “Given to Acts of Violence” Dempsey’s attempt to stop the robber parachuting out of the plane ends with them both falling out, leaving Makepeace (who doesn’t know how to fly) trapped alone on the plane at 20,000 feet. Dempsey is forced to walk her through the landing by radio. After several close calls she manages it, but nearly collapses from exhaustion afterwards.
• Cold Sniper:
  • The foreign assassin hired for the Gang war in “Hors de Combat” is one, executing people with their scoped rifle. At the climax, they even attempt to kill both gang bosses, succeeding in killing Bernie, whilst Jack manages to survive thanks to the police’s intervention.
  • Kathy, Dempsey’s stalker from “Love You To Death” makes her first attempt on his life at the beginning by attempting to snipe him whilst he’s waiting for a bus. Dempsey ducking at the last second means she accidentally hits an innocent bystander. At the climax after being enraged, she starts wildly shooting into Dempsey’s apartment hoping to kill him and Makepeace.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: As Makepeace realises near the climax of “Silver Dollar” it is the two executives of Consolidated Westmore Limited who are responsible for the events of the episode, leaking the information for the attacks to the African Liberation Army, for driving down the price of stock in the company to rock bottom, so they can buy it up and thus have far more control over the corporation once the AFA are caught and prices return to normal. They attempt to kill Makepeace for discovering it but are foiled by her and Dempsey.
• Cowboy Cop: Dempsey, naturally. His actions making New York too hot for him are what get him sent on the 'exchange program' to the UK. Despite this being his default, Dempsey has proven on several occasions that it's not his only style of police, showing that he knows when a situation requires diplomacy and tact instead. Notably in “No Surrender” he tries to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the bank robbers, figuring their mostly over their heads teenagers and that so far nothing too serious has happened. Ironically it's another officer being this that ruins his chances.
• Da Chief: The long-suffering Detective Superindendent Gordon Spikings has the unenviable task of dealing with Cowboy Cop Dempsey
  "Dempsey, when the prime minister and the home secretary instructed me to set up this special unit to combat major crime, I did not expect to be wet nursing ex-Vietnam soldiers toting bazookas!"
• Death by Falling Over: Subverted. In “Judgement” whilst trying to deny his guilt to his panicking aged mother John Bates accidentally knocks her down and seemingly kills her, leading to him going on the run. However, upon checking his house hours later Dempsey discovers she’s alive but unconscious. She’s last seen being taken to hospital with it never being revealed if she woke up.
• Did They or Didn't They?: In “Tequila Sunrise”, Makepeace attempts to unwind from a particularly stressful case by having a fun night at the disco, which leaves her quite drunk and Dempsey chaperones her home, which turns into her making them cocktails and flirting together. The next morning she wakes up in bed with no memory of the night before, and at work, Dempsey proves to be in a great mood and tells her she was “wild” the night before. Causing her to conclude they slept together. Only for Dempsey to reveal nothing happened between them, he simply made sure she got to bed and then left. He was in such a good mood, simply because he enjoyed going partying with her the night before and saw it as a sign their relationship has moved into a better more trusting place.
• Distressed Damsel: Makepeace will sometimes end up being caught by the antagonists of the episode setting up Dempsey to rescue her, of course, due to being a capable Action Girl there is always a fifty per cent chance that she will manage to break free on her own.
• Distressed Dude: Less common than Makepeace, but Dempsey himself sometimes ends up being captured by the villains. Most notably in “Hors de Combat” where he’s trapped in the boot of the assassin's car, and only ends up being saved when Makepeace shoots the assassin dead (accidentally breaking the lock in the process).
• Dirty Cop:
  • Corruption within the NYPD is the driving reason for why Dempsey is in London. In “Armed and Extremely Dangerous” his investigations manage to discover that the high-ranking Coltrane is corrupt and heavily involved in drug racketing, as is Dempsey’s partner Joey (who murders his informant and attempts to kill him on Coltrane’s orders, forcing Dempsey to shoot him in self-defence). When the only other witness ends up dead Dempsey and his superior Chief O’Grady realize that there is nowhere in New York they can hide him where Coltrane won’t be able to find him, so they agree to send him abroad (with Dempsey even suspicious until he gets off the plane if O’Grady can be trusted).
  • From the same episode, whilst it's never outright confirmed, it's implied the armed police are secretly in on Phil Harris scam as they attempt to kill rather than arrest Dempsey and Makepeace upon them stumbling onto the Weapons delivery.
  • The S.I. 10’s own Commander Jack from “Blind Eye” is revealed to be utterly corrupt, being the partner of the notorious Mr Tennent, and having been using his position to sabotage the police’s efforts to stop him for years to make them both rich, with him rising through the ranks thanks to bribes and intimidation. Realising Spiking’s could be a threat he attempts to have him assassinated. Thankfully Spiking’s has been on to him from the start, and takes great pleasure in revealing he’s got everything he needs to nail Jack to the wall. He also has several corrupt prison guards on his payroll who he attempts to use to kill Charlie Wilson.
• Dirty Coward: Sid Lowe from “Tequila Sunrise”, whilst a brutal gangster, despite acting high and mighty when he’s in control, nevertheless quickly resorts to hiding behind his hired muscle the moment he encounters anyone willing to stand up to him. At the climax when caught at gunpoint by the furious Jock, he’s reduced to begging and blubbering for his life.
• Disney Villain Death:
  • Paul Marshall from “Nowhere To Run” works himself into such a panic at being confronted by the police (having just escaped his former employers) that after climbing onto the roof, he is too focused on screaming at them to get back that he fails to watch where he’s treading and falls to his death.
  • Kathy’s final fate in “Love You To Death” after one final attempt to kill Makepeace, she ends up falling over the edge of the roof they are on. Dempsey manages to grab her in time, but despite his repeated warnings he can’t hold on and telling her to drop the knife and grab his hand, she ends up slipping from his grasp and falling to her death.
• The Don: “Hors de Combat” features two rival London Gangster's, both of whom are presented as having very different styles.
  • Jack Lang is an old-school gangster who despite his vast wealth and power, makes the effort to stay off the radar, living in a simple house in South London (which he also uses as his gang base) and presenting himself as merely a charming working-class bloke. He likewise is primarily focused on protection, loansharking and betting shops through South London.
  • Bernie Silk on the other hand is very much a modern gangster, his efforts being about presenting himself as a high-flying 80’s businessman who lives in a luxurious penthouse, his illegal activities backed up by multiple legitimate fronts and having a reputation as a philanthropist. His primary focuses are on smuggling, gambling (both dog tracks and his casino) and prostitution throughout the North and parts of West London.
• The Dreaded: Sid Lowe from “Tequila Sunrise” is a vicious gangster who runs a brutal protection racket. Spikings even note how the entire community is united in fear of Lowe, making it very difficult for them to get anyone willing to testify against him, even when his men commit murder in broad daylight.
• Drowning Pit: A variation crops up in “Wheelman”. The treacherous Jim Presley decides to dispose of Morrocco Jack by chaining him up to a dock pier on the bank of the Thames and leaving him to drown as the tide comes in, mockingly stating to him he expects after all his years serving in the desert he’ll appreciate the water. Dempsey and Makepeace just manage to save him in the climax, though by this point the water is already up to his chin.
• English Rose: Makepeace fits this to a T, with her short but feminine fair hair, rosy cheeks and slender figure, likewise (unless undercover) her dress sense tends to the elegant and chaste. Being the daughter of a Lord, she likewise possesses a full classical education and proper manners (although Dempsey can push her to her breaking point). She is humble, courteous, intelligent and can also beat the hell out murderous gangsters twice her size without breaking a sweat.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Peter Ferris from “Lucky Streak” whilst perfectly happy to have a security guard murdered for a robbery is greatly troubled when his partner decides to simply kill Annabel (whom he seduced to get her to be their inside man). He eventually realizes he can’t let it take place, but unfortunately leaves it too late to save Annabel.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Jack Lang from “Hors de Combat” might be a ruthless and unquestionable mob boss, but the man utterly loves his granddaughter Debbie. Her kidnapping causes him to refuse any sort of retaliation until he can be sure she won’t be caught in the crossfire, with him threatening to break the spines of anyone who dares try otherwise personally.
• Evil vs. Evil: “Wheelman” features a very one-sided example. Dempsey and Makepeace’s attempts to infiltrate Morrocco Jack’s are further complicated by the local London mob’s having their hit squads out for Morrocco Jack, having gotten wind of his plans to carry out a big job and then use it to muscle in on their turf. Thus they end up having to save him from two separate assassination attempts.
• Fake-Out Make-Out: In “Given to Acts of Violence” Dempsey and Makepeace are listening into two gangsters plotting a big heist, whilst pretending to be a couple simply enjoying a day on the common. When the gangsters start walking towards them, they pretend to be making out to cover up the listening equipment.
• Faking the Dead: In “Make Peace Not War” Makepeace's separate investigation accidentally leads her to the heroin traffickers that Dempsey is undercover with posing as the broker. When Murel orders Makepeace’s death, Dempsey manages to persuade her to let him carry it out, thus allowing the two to fake it. For added authenticity, Spikings even goes as far as telling her father Makepeace is dead, and it is announced on all the news that a police officer was shot in the line of duty.
• Female Flatfoot and Snarky Guy: She's a competent but single London cop (who is also titled hereditary aristocracy), he's a cleaned-up Dirty Harry type from the NYPD who gets unexpectedly made her partner for reasons that are never mentioned again after the pilot episode.
  (After Lady Harriet Makepeace addresses Lt Dempsey with the English pronounciation "Lef-tenant")
  Dempsey: You know how to say "Lootenant", don'tcha? Just put your lips together and go "OO".
• Friend in the Press: “Wheelman” reveals Makepeace happens to have one in an Old Flame of her Tom Clyde who is considered the “Ace crime reporter” for the London Evening Mail. It's implied that he happily tips Harry off to anything he learns in exchange for getting the best stories, in the episode he even helps Harry sell her own story of being a fellow journalist to infiltrate Morrocco Jack’s gang.
• Frontline General: Spikings often reacts to situations by arming himself and leading his men from the front, with him sometimes even personally taking part in the gun battles and attempts to capture the prisoners. He likewise regularly shows that despite his age, he’s still highly capable.
• Food Slap: “Tequila Sunrise” features a double version:
  • Following asking him to investigate a murder leading to the Lowe mob beating him up and permanently shattering his hand, whilst in hospital Makepeace’s informant and friend Jock indicates for some water on his bedside cabinet. However, when Makepeace hands him the glass, he throws it in her face, frustrated at her for not warning him that Lowe was involved in this case.
  • Later Makepeace confronts Lowe at an Italian restaurant, making it clear she knows he beat up Jock and declaring that going forwards she was going to hound him until he cracked. Deciding Lowe wasn’t taking her threats seriously enough, Makepeace dumped a plate of Spaghetti Bolognese on his head, repeating her threat and illustrating it by also dumping the parmesan cheese on top.
• Gentleman Detective: A female version, as DS Harry Makepeace is more properly Lady Harriet Makepeace.
• Gilligan Cut: In “Cry God For Harry” Lord Winfield admits his concerns about Mr Tsu, as he only has his word he can handle a gun. The next scene shows the shoot, with Mr Tsu casually shooting and reloading in rapid succession faster than all the others.
• Good All Along: Mr Tsu of the Chinese embassy from “Cry God For Harry” overall comes across as quite shifty, with him sneaking out during the night at the same time one of the guests is murdered, with the clues suggesting he’s the jade thief and even attacking Dempsey when he retrieves it. The end reveals he had secretly been doing his own investigation to find the jade, as his government and Lord Winfield had secretly just finished negotiations for the Jade to be returned to China and his attacking Dempsey was due to him mistaking him for the thief in the dark.
• Government Agency of Fiction: SI10, which fulfils a similar role to CI5, though it has a more rigid hierarchy and appears to be an actual police unit.
• Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: In “No Surrender” just before Dempsey and Watson are about to use a zip line to make it to the bank’s roof Dempsey admits he’s not so good with heights, relating a story to Watson about how back in New York he managed to talk a jumper down, only for the man to slip and fall to his death, with Demsey remarking how nightmarish it was to watch him fall, still constantly moving his legs as he did like he was trying to run back up. The story succeeds in also spooking Watson.
• Happy Marriage Charade: Implied. Arnold and Susan Simms from “Cry God For Harry” always make a big deal of smiling and flirting with each other when others are around, but their expressions noticeably drop and they get more snippy when they are alone. The reveal they are in fact an Outlaw Couple attempting to steal the priceless Jade figurines suggests their together purely for profit at this point.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Sir Lionel Hardcastle from “Judgement”, having spent his career as a high court judge putting away multiple criminals. Following his daughter being raped and murdered, he ends up kidnapping the man he believes is responsible and intending to kill him, declaring the “law has lost its way.” After discovering he’s innocent and the real killer has been caught, he sadly surrenders to his old friend Spikings admitting it was him who his lost way in his grief.
• Hero Stole My Bike:
  • In “Blind Eye” realising that Spikings is being driven into a trap, upon arriving too late to stop them and not having time to get to their cars, Dempsey borrows a delivery man’s bike so they can chase after Spikings.
  • In “Silver Dollar” whilst attempting to chase down the dog that picked up the ransom money, Dempsey and Makepeace force a man to give up their car so they can catch up with it. As their both still dressed up as tramps he is left bewildered by the exchange.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Morrocco Jack from “Wheelman” is a somewhat downplayed example. He’s convinced that he possesses an excellent Judge of Character, but whilst not flat-out gullible and does his checks beforehand, he’s simply a bit too trusting for his own good, especially for a gangster. He quickly ends up convinced that he can trust Dempsey and Makepeace’s undercover identities, even to the point of seeing them as friends (to be fair the two also do grow to like him, but not to the point of overlooking his criminal activities) and completely misses his underling Priestly’s growing frustration to the point he happily hands him his gun in the climax never seeing his treachery coming.
• Hostage Situation: One of the women the trio of teenage criminals takes hostage after their bank robbery goes wrong in “No Surrender” turns out to have a severe heart problem, the stress of events causing her considerable problems. When it becomes clear she’ll die if she doesn’t get medical assistance Makepeace volunteers herself as a hostage exchange arguing she’s more valuable to the gang.
• I Have Your Wife: In “Blind Eye” Mr Tennent and Commander Jack get wind that Charlie Wilson (presently serving time for being involved in an armed robbery they pulled off) wants to talk to Spikings, they have two crooks kidnap Charlie's six-year-old son Charlie JR to force him into silence.
• Imposter Forgot One Detail: Justified due to the haste involved (with it only being worked out by Dempsey and Makepeace shortly before the meet), but Makepeace impersonating Murel in “Make Peace Not War” goes wrong at the end due to her wearing a different nail polish to Murel leads to Murel’s brute Davros realizing she’s an imposter when she goes to count the cash.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Done subtly in “Judgement.” Upon Jarvis approaching Spikings with the results of the ticket search, Spikings pours him a drink but Jarvis declines. However, after going over all the possible ticket holders there could have been, Spikings concludes their only option is for Jarvis to input all the data into the computers despite there being thousands of them. Thus as he walks away Jarvis makes sure to take the drink with him.
• Interrogation by Vandalism:
  • Upon getting sick of dead ends, Dempsey goes to a bar he’s heard members of the African Liberation Army frequent. When it becomes clear no one’s talking, he resorts to smashing the bartender's glasses, when the guy still won’t talk Dempsey flat-out throws the barstool over the counter shattering a mirror and most of his booze.
  • In “Tequila Sunrise”, out for revenge against Sid Lowe, Jock goes to a video shop that he knows pays protection to Lowe, and when the man doesn’t cooperate, starts smashing up his shop, forcing him to call Lowe and allowing Jock to lure him out to the local disco.
• In Vino Veritas: In “Tequila Sunrise”, Makepeace deals with a particularly hard case by going out for drinks at the disco with several of her friends. When Dempsey goes to check up on her, he finds her already quite drunk and is pleasantly surprised to discover that she can let her hair down and have fun, all whilst losing none of her sophistication and class.
• It Works Better with Bullets: The climax of “Tequila Sunrise”, features a double deliberate version. Jock manages to catch Sid Lowe at gunpoint and forces him to count to ten seemingly planning to shoot him at ten. Only at seven, they're interrupted by Dempsey pointing his own gun at Jock’s head. Jock pulls the trigger, revealing the gun’s empty having used up all his bullets in the gunfight. At this point Dempsey pulls his own trigger, revealing he’s also out. Laughing Jock happily hands Lowe over and surrenders.
• It's Personal:
  • Deconstructed in “Judgement” with Makepeace investigating the rape and murder of her closest friend Sarah Hardcastle. Despite Dempsey’s warnings that she needed to treat this case like any other and be impartial, or else she wouldn’t be able to handle to strain or find Sarah’s killer, fury and resentment cause her to hyperfocus upon their one present lead (who turns out to be innocent) even to the point of momentarily expressing the hope someone else might have killed them when their unable to find them and their still only a person of interest. Dempsey for his part calls her out and ensures she doesn’t cross the line.
  • Makepeace goes through this again in “Tequila Sunrise” following her friend and informant Jock being beaten and having his hand shattered by the Lowe Mob. To the point she starts stalking Sid Lowe and even confronts him whilst at an Italian restaurant, expressing how going forward she will not stop hunting him until he cracks. Dempsey once again calls her out for letting her emotions get the best of her.
• London Gangster: Overall make up the majority of antagonists S.I.10 go up against, in particular one involved with armed robbery and planning a big heist. Throughout the series, Dempsey and Makepeace find themselves against just about every variation, ranging from the small scale to major players, and the charming and compassionate right to vicious psychopaths.
• Luxurious Liquor: In contrast to Dempsey’s preference for simple beer, Makepeace enjoys drinking expensive wines and spirits, highlighting her refined and sophisticated style and upbringing. Notably when she goes out partying and gets drunk in “Tequila Sunrise”, she and her wealthy friends are still drinking multiple bottles of Champagne.
• Malevolent Masked Man: The Jade thief from “Cry God For Harry” has their features concealed due to a balaclava, thus hiding their identity from the audience for most of the episode.
• Mental Handicap, Moral Deficiency: Subverted by John Bates. He’s implied to possess some form of development disorder, being a slow and somewhat childlike man well into his forties. He’s likewise the prime suspect throughout the episode for the rape and murder of Sarah Hardcastle. However, the ending reveals he was completely innocent and Sarah was actually murdered by one of the men her father convicted as a twisted form of revenge.
• Middle Eastern Terrorists: “Nowhere To Run” involves S.I. 10 dealing with several members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. They plan to break out their leader Salim Masad, who is presently being held awaiting trial for the murder of a Irian diplomat, whilst he is in transit and thus use a London drug trafficker to smuggle several machine guns into the UK for them to use.
• Mob War: “Hors de Combat” sees S.I.10 dealing with one seemingly breaking out between the old school Jack Lang (who rules much of Southern London) and the more modern Bernie Silk (who has territory in the North and West), with several attacks being launched on each operation and their men being killed. As it turns Lang and Bernie’s number two’s are behind the attacks, intending to trick their bosses into wiping each other out so they can split their empire between themselves.
• Name and Name: Right there in the title. Lieutenant James Dempsey and Detective Sergeant Harriet "Harry" Makepeace.
• Nice Mean And In Between: A quite dark example is shown amongst the trio of would-be bank-robbing teenagers in “No Surrender.” Rawlings is the nice, being noticeably more polite towards the hostages and visibly unnerved with how the events have spiralled out of control, to the point of getting through it by turning up the music in his headset and trying to disassociate from it, and at times seems to want to surrender but is too afraid of the others to do so. Levey is the mean, being presented as a vicious sociopath with a chip on his shoulder and an obsession with not being perceived as “a nobody,” who spends the episode chomping at the bit to hurt people, escalates the situation by flat-out randomly murdering a hostage to make the police take them seriously and taking a disturbing amount of glee out others being in his power. Leaving Ramsey as the in between, being the original mastermind behind the bank robbery, he initially comes across as a harsh criminal, only to quickly prove to be quite out of his depth, having never expected the events to escalate the way they did and clearly being uncomfortable with Levey’s violence and coming close to surrendering multiple times, only for him to go back to being smug and vindictive at the end when he’s convinced he has the upper hand again.
• No Clear Leader: Overall downplayed as their functioning partners (and otherwise the hierarchy of S.I. 10 is well established with Spikings), but a recurring joke is Dempsey and Makepeace often argue over which one of them holds seniority. Dempsey is convinced that it is him as he is technically of the higher rank, being a lieutenant within the NYPD, whilst Makepeace is a sergeant in the Metropolitan London police. Makepeace meanwhile considers the fact they both are working for the Met (as well as the fact the Met doesn’t have the rank of lieutenant) means that is her.
• No Kill Like Over Kill: Deciding that Gordon Spikings is a threat to their partnership in “Blind Eye” Tennent and Jack conspire to have him killed by having one of their men plant a bomb in a train carriage he’s travelling in, intending to blow him up along with dozens of innocent passengers and then pass it off as a random terrorist attack. Thankfully Spikings finds the bomb and evacuates the carriage in time.
• Not What It Looks Like: An audible example that is very much not played for laughs occurs in “Love You To Death.” In reality, Dempsey and Makepeace are simply working out together in Dempsey’s apartment, with Dempsey showing her how to use his new exercise machine. However, his stalker Kathy who is listening to their conversation and the sounds of them exercising, mistakes it for them sleeping together. This causes the psychopathic Kathy to attempt to murder Makepeace.
• Opposites Attract: Virtually everything about the two lead characters is different, but that doesn't stop their ability to deal with the bad guys or the Belligerent Sexual Tension between them.
• Outlaw Couple: The twist at the end of “Cry God For Harry” is the reveal that the Sims are both behind the Jade theft, with Arnold Simm’s being notorious to the point of being on the FBI’s most wanted list. This leads to the final fight with both Dempsey and Makepeace taking on one of the crooks.
• Professional Killer: The murder of Frank Price in “Hors de Combat” by a Cold Sniper tips the team off to the fact they're dealing with an outside hitman as neither gang’s outfits happen to employ a sniper. It turns out their no other than Angie Hughes, the visiting American Dempsey had spent the episode pursuing.
• Protection Racket: “Tequila Sunrise” involves Dempsey and Makepeace dealing with Sid Lowe, a vicious gangster who runs a brutal one through an entire region of London. Sid regularly brutalises or even kills anyone who stands in his way, ensuring they're all terrified of him. Notably the protection itself is somewhat genuine, as Sid will happily take care of any other threats (such as Stavros thanking him for dealing with some troublesome football hooligans that were harassing him), however, it is clear Sid is only interested in extorting them for money.
• The Quincy Punk: Played With. Jock from “Tequila Sunrise” fits a number of the beats, with his studded black leather jacket, large black sunglasses (that he insists on always wearing, even in his hospital bed), rough and violent nature. He’s even introduced making a big scene at the local disco establishing he’s quite revered by the local community. However, he’s also a close friend of Makepeace and one of her key informants, and likewise proves to be a genuine tough guy even willing to stand up to a particularly nasty local gangster.
• Undercover When Alone: Played With in “Silver Dollar,” whilst undercover posing as two homeless Irish tramps Dempsey and Makepeace still talk to each other with their fake accents despite being alone, however, it is presented as simply some antics they are getting up to amuse themselves, and they quickly switch their normal voices as the conversation becomes serious.
• Ungrateful Bastard: In “Tequila Sunrise” the Greek café owner Stavros tips of Sid Lowe that the police are picking up a washed-up member of his gang who could incriminate him, allowing Lowe’s men to assassinate him. As thanks Lowe has the pour man permanently brutalised (implied to either chop off his finger or scold it with boiling oil) just to act as a reminder to keep quiet that he tipped him off.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: After Dempsey orders a Budweiser in one episode a huge crate of beer arrived from the company in thanks. Afterwards the production crew made sure the character drank nothing else in the hope of obtaining more.
• Recurring Extra: Detective Sergeant Watson and Ward are recurring characters throughout the series, with them often assisting with the investigations or providing extra support during the fights. Despite this, almost nothing about their lives is ever gone into.
• Recruiting the Criminal: In "Bird of Prey", Dempsey and Makepeace have to get Dempsey's nemesis, Keith Lymon, out of prison and convince him to help find a young girl kidnapped by Eddie Dean.
• Samus Is a Girl:
  • In “Armed and Extremely Dangerous” Spikings brings the newly arrived Dempsey to meet his best detective Harry who is working undercover at a local bar. He waits until afterwards to tip Dempsey off that Harry is the waitress who just served them.
  • In “Hors de Combat” it turns out the foreign assassin brought in for the gang war is none other than Angie Hughes.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Sir Lionel Hardcastle from “Judgement” being an influential high court judge manages to put pressure on the chief constable to stop the medical examiner from carrying out an autopsy on his daughter Sarah as he refuses to let anyone else “defile her” anymore. Whilst Makepeace is sympathetic, Dempsey is furious pointing out how much harder this makes it for them to find her killer despite all the extra pressure that is on them to do so, because Sarah is his daughter.
• Serial Killer: In "Out of Darkness", SI10 is hunting for the so-called 'Thriller Killer', who kidnaps blue-eyed brunettes and kills them within 20 hours. But the killer takes an interest in Makepeace as she and Dempsey get close during their investigation and demands to meet with her one on one.
• Sinister Surveillance: Dempsey’s stalker from “Love You To Death” has secretly bugged his apartment allowing her to listen in, as well as picked her own from across the street so that she can look into his windows. We get multiple shots framed of how creepy and invasive this is, with Dempsey only accidentally discovering the bugs when one of them starts interfering with his TV signal.
• Slipping a Mickey: In “Cry God For Harry” someone slips a drug into a glass of champagne that Lord Winfield ends up drinking, causing him to pass out. Dempsey suspects the drug was meant for him as he ended up giving Lord Winfield the drink.
• Smoking Is Cool: Whilst not a regular smoker, Dempsey occasionally likes to enjoy a good cigar, sometimes having one as a celebration for closing a case. It fits in with his tough guy persona.
• Spoiled Brat: Peter Ferris from “Lucky Streak” is a grown-up version, introduced through a temper tantrum after losing at a casino, which is remarked by the owner to be a common occurrence when he loses. Being from a very wealthy family has caused him to grow up with a vicious temper and a vindictively petty nature. His antics eventually caused his family to cut off, and thus caused him to resort to planning an armed robbery to continue funding his lifestyle.
• Stalker Shrine: Kathy, Dempsey’s stalker from “Love You To Death” has her entire room decorated with pictures of him that she paid a sleazy Private Detective to take.
• Stalker with a Crush: In "Love You to Death", Dempsey is stalked by a homicidal women who obsesses over him, and who hates Makepeace for being with him.
• Stern Old Judge: Sir Lionel Hardcastle, the father of the victim in “Judgement” is a high court judge of great standing, introduced delaying going into court and describing doing so as “preparing for battle.” He even puts on his full wig and red robes when holding the mock trial and execution at the end for the man he believes murdered and raped his daughter.
• Surgeons Can Do Autopsies If They Want: A variation. In “Judgement” due to Sir Lionel Hardcastle’s interference meaning that an official autopsy can’t be carried out on Sarah Hardcastle but due to their investigation hitting a brick wall, Dempsey resorts to the audacious plan of them smuggling a heroin-addicted surgeon whom they busted a few weeks back who is out on bail into the morgue to perform the autopsy, then breaking into a university to carry out his tests. Whilst Makepeace is rightfully sceptical, the plan ends up succeeding in discovering the key evidence needed to find the murderer.
• Swapped Roles: Overall downplayed as they don’t change too much, but in “Judgement” following Harry’s best friend Sarah Hardcastle being raped and murdered, her personal furry causes Makepeace to become considerably more gun hoe on catching the killer, whilst Dempsey deliberately takes a step back both to comfort her in her time of need and to ensure she doesn’t go over the line.
• Sword Fight: The climax of “Cry God For Harry” features a rare double version with both Dempsey and Makepeace taking on a separate criminal (although Dempsey’s fight involves his opponent using a lot of other medieval weapons including a war axe, a flail and spear, with him mostly using nearly by shields and armour before they get to swords). The weapons even reflect their personalities, with Makepeace using an elegant and precise Royal Rapier and Dempsey using a heavy, two-handed Longsword.
• Teens Are Monsters: As opposed to the other wannabe bank robbers who are clearly in over their heads, Levey from “No Surrender” is presented as a vicious sociopath, who is constantly chomping at the bit to kill the hostages and escalates the situation by randomly murdering one just to show the police they mean business. He also takes a disturbing amount of glee out humiliating another, clearly getting off on people being in his power.
• Time Bomb: The attempt to kill Spikings in “Blind Eye” involves one of the gangster's goons sneaking on the train and switching his briefcase for one of these, intending to blow him and everyone in the carriage to kingdom come. Thankfully Spikings attempts to put his newspaper back in the case and noticing the difference in weight, realises it’s a bomb allowing him to evacuate the carriage in time.
• Toilet Seat Divorce: Whilst the two aren’t married, their fight within “Silver Dollar” is very much in the spirit of this. At the beginning of the episode due to a combination of Dempsey’s Leeroy Jenkins tendencies and Makepeace freezing the terrorists manage to escape and when they attempt to go after them it turns out that neither has the keys to their car, with Makepeace claiming she put them in Dempsey’s pocket and Dempsey claiming she didn’t. From there the issue continues to escalate, with it being clear this is acting as the focus for all the other issues the two have had with each other since they started working together. It gets so bad Dempsey plans to quit and head back to New York. It's only when leaving he discovers a hole in his pocket and realises he was wrong all along, that he comes to his senses.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Dempsey goes through this in “Silver Dollar” pushing his Cowboy Cop antics to the limit, with him becoming noticeably more aggressive and violent than ever before, even forcing an innocent bartended to talk to him by smashing his stuff and threatening him at gunpoint. It's overall presented as a sign of how badly his latest falling out with Makepeace is affecting him. He comes very close to flat-out quitting and heading back to New York before snapping out of it.
• Vehicular Sabotage:
  • In “Blind Eye” Dempsey secretly pours sugar into Mr Tennent’s Mercades fuel tank (whilst Makepeace distracts the chauffer by posing as a prostitute) so that it won’t start, then Dempsey arrives posing as a mechanic who offers to fix it for him the next morning, allowing S.I.10 to tap into his car phone. Makepeace congratulates him on discovering a new way to steal cars, only for Dempsey to admit it was actually an old trick he and his mates used to do in New York back before he became a cop.
  • In “Silver Dollar” following the terrorists getting away, Dempsey and Makepeace can’t chase after them as one of them lost the keys (and they both believing the other is to blame). Rather than admit this to Spikings Dempsey instead shoots the front wheel, so they can lie the terrorists did it.
  • In “Love You To Death” after realising that the shot was meant for him, Dempsey becomes convinced that someone tampered with his car to ensure he would be waiting for the bus.
• The Vietnam Vet: Both Spikings and Makepeace make comments on several occasions implying or flat-out stating that Dempsey served in the Vietnam War. Curiously, Dempsey himself never actually talks about his service throughout the series.
• Vigilante Injustice:In “Judgement” upon finally recognising his picture (circulated to identify him as merely a person of interest in the investigation), convinced he murdered and raped his daughter, Sir Lionel Hardcastle kidnaps John Bates at gunpoint and traps him in his boathouse, intending to hold a mock trial and then execute him by hanging. Spikings, Makepeace and Dempsey only barely get there in time to stop him and inform him that the actual killer has already been caught.
• Violent Glaswegian: Makepeace’s informant and friend Jock from “Tequila Sunrise” fits the bill. Upon being confronted by local gangster Sid Lowe and his goons, he immediately takes on all three, even grinning to himself as he manages to land a blow on Lowe. Likewise, when Lowe attempts to have him assassinated, Jock turns the tables on the assassin and goes on the warpath after Lowe.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Dempsey gives a brief but quite deserved one to Harry in “Judgement” who blinded with resentment at the murder of her best friend, briefly expresses the hope that someone else has managed to catch the seemingly disappeared John Bates, noting how it would “at last save the taxpayer's money.” This leads to the clearly shocked Dempsey calling her out for condoning murder, before reminding her that they only have circumstantial evidence that Bates is guilty.
• Widow's Weeds: Murel, the ruthless leader of the heroin trafficking operation in “Make Peace Not War” dresses in decidedly old-fashioned Widows black garments, complete with a black veil for seemingly no other reason than to be more creepy, causing Dempsey to remark upon seeing her if anyone died. This has led to them being known as the “Black Widow.” At the end of the episode, Makepeace steals the get-up to impersonate her so that she can also be present for the heroin bust.
• Wunza Plot: One's an American street smart loose cannon cowboy cop, one's a refined aristocratic proper young British police officer. Together they fight crime and make sparks fly between them!
• Working the Same Case: A variation. Knowing a gang of Heroin traffickers are active in “Make Peace Not War”, Dempsey goes undercover impersonating their broker from America Swartz. However, one of Makepeace’s informants and his mates happen to break into their warehouse (due to being full of stolen goods), with only him getting away. Thus, he tells Makepeace, and her investigation unfortunately leads her to accidentally stumble upon Dempsey with the gangsters, leading to them having to improvise to protect Dempsey’s cover and Makepeace’s life.
• Worthless Treasure Twist: A variation. At the end of “Prone to Acts of Violence” Makepeace expresses her disappointment that despite capturing the crooks, the stolen money has now been spread over Kent making it impossible for it to all be retrieved. Only for Spikings to reveal that all the money is fake and that the real cash was safely delivered by car to the Bank of Scotland the previous evening, with him asking if they really thought he would leave it solely to them to foil the robbers. Leaving Dempsey and Makepeace speechless as he walks away chuckling.
• Yandere: Dempsey’s stalker Kathy from “Love You To Death” is an example of this, with a heavy focus on the insanity. An unstable woman she has developed a fixation with Dempsey, to the point of convincing herself that he loves her. Thus she flips between wanting him and wanting to kill him if he can’t be hers. Upon discovering Makepeace’s existence she attempts to kill her as well. Fitting with the trope in her civilian attire she comes across as harmless and unassuming to the point Dempsey is barely aware that he regularly interacts with her.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Dempsey finds Makepeace at an archery range in "Cry God For Harry" and launches into a fake monologue full of butchered English before Makepeace tells him to "stop butchering the language".
• You Have Out Lived Your Usefulness: Invoked in “Given to Acts of Violence” when the two gangsters are discussing their planned heist and how the “birdman” wants a thirty per cent cut. One of them casually points out that if the other feels that’s too high, he can always just kill the Birdman once the heist is over and keep all the money for them.

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