| Episode 1 (series 1) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Series | 1 |
| Episode | 1 |
| Airdate | 20 February 1988 |
| Audience | Unknown |
| Writer | Tony Hoare |
| Director | John Reardon |
| Producer | Paul Knight |
| Previous episode | Pilot Movie |
| Next episode | Episode 2 (series 1) |
Episode 1 (series 1) was the first episode of London's Burning, first broadcast in the UK on ITV on 20 February 1988. George Green, Tony Sanderson and Kevin Medhurst make their first appearances on the show.
Episode Summary[]
Malcolm takes Blue Watch's recent transfer George Green to the Southwark Training Centre & Museum, where they see the newest recruits being trained by George's old instructor. They then look at the Victorian appliances and proceed to ask to borrow one.
Back at the Station Tate is bored of his paperwork and gets more bemused when he learns that John left Malcolm in charge of directing operation of the day's drill. Malcolm's drill consists of himself acting as the Hunchback of Notre Dame trapped in a belfry. Vaseline charges a covering jet to maximum power, which George and Charisma target directly at Malcolm, nearly knocking him out with the intense power. A fuming Hallam comes out, reminding them that it’s a fire station not a playground.
Blue Watch rescue a young boy's cat from a tree, but Vaseline accidentally runs it over while reversing the pump. En route back to the station a man waves the pump down and directs them to a public toilet, where another man is unconscious. It appears to be a case of queer bashing. Vaseline, Malcolm and Charisma are reluctant to perform mouth to mouth, so Tate does it himself.
Blue Watch pull an old appliance through the streets and raise £1,234.48 to pay for a disabled boy's operation. Charisma meets a woman named Nicola McQueen through a lonely hearts ad. George picks them up and also takes a fancy to her. At Nicola's request, Charisma walks into her bedroom wearing his uniform and as he does so, she takes a photo of him, her room is full of photographs of men in uniform she then tells him to leave much to Charisma's bemusement.
At a fire in an abandoned house, Vaseline's boots catch fire, severely burning his feet. He had been using them to moonlight as a gardener and they were covered in sodium chlorate weedkiller. The dosser who lives there is already dead and melted through some sofa springs, but they rescue his cat and give it to the boy whose cat was run over earlier.
Bayleaf invites Josie around to his house for dinner, when they are interrupted by Karen returning unexpectedly. Two robbers break into a yuppie's flat and cement his feet into his toilet, naked. The man is later wheeled out, still cemented to the toilet, while the police & the Pump Ladder crew, particularly Malcolm, struggle not to laugh. The money raised by Blue Watch is stolen, and the police arrive to investigate. George meets with Nicola and she takes his photograph too, he and Charisma agree not to mention her to anyone else.
That night, a depressed old lady commits suicide by stepping in front of traffic in a main road, causing a huge pile up. New Blue Watch member Kevin panics when he spots a mother and two children trapped in one of the cars, Sicknote subsequently finds the old lady's severed head and vomits. The next day, Tony's wife Dorothy borrows money from a loan shark, but when he finds out he is furious and returns the money the same day. Dorothy confides in Josie that it was Tony who stole the money and Josie helps Tony to return the money without anyone else noticing. In the pub Tate presents a cheque to the disabled boy to pay for his operation.
Cast[]
|
|
Quotes[]
First Appearance []
George Green, Kevin Medhurst, Tony Sanderson, Dorothy Sanderson, Karen Wilson, Melanie Wilson, Cyril
Photo Galleries[]
