"Good evening, all."— Sergeant George Dixon (first words of each episode)
Dixon of Dock Green was a long-running
Police Procedural from
The BBC. It ran from 1955 to 1976. Set in the fictional Dock Green police station and area of London, the series focused on Sgt. George Dixon,
Old Fashioned Copper in every sense of the word that doesn't involve
Gene Hunt and
The Sweeney-style shenanigans. In short: a British Bobby.
Although it occasionally dealt with corruption and "bent coppers", the portrayal of the police was overwhelmingly sympathetic (and the criminals usually caught and "banged up"). This niceness left the show open to criticism and its supremacy as top UK cop show was eventually challenged by the altogether grittier
Z Cars and downright violent
The Sweeney.
A key feature of the show was the
Framing Device of an opening to-camera narration by Dixon which always began, "Good evening, all," (shortened in popular usage to "Evening, all,") and a closing narration-cum-homily which nearly always ended, "Goodnight, all."
The character of George Dixon was originally encountered in the 1950 movie
The Blue Lamp, in which he was shot to death (by Dirk Bogarde's young tough).
Contains examples of:
- Catch Phrase: "Good evening, all" (the good has been dropped in popular usage)
- Framing Device: The opening and closing narrations
- Insignia Rip Off Ritual: An episode saw Dixon collaring a corrupt colleague, demanding that the corrupt copper remove his uniform (jacket only - this is a family show) so that Dixon could arrest him.
- Old Fashioned Copper: Dixon is most definitely one of these, but in the positive sense: incorruptible. Indeed, he's the Trope Codifier for that version.
- Recycled: The Series: Recycled from The Blue Lamp.
- Spared by the Adaptation: George Dixon was shot dead in the original movie.
- Spin-Off: From a movie, in this case.
- Written-In Infirmity: Around halfway through the series run, Dixon was promoted to Sergeant and started spending more time behind a desk while younger coppers did the leg work. This was to accommodate Jack Warner's advancing age and arthritis.