History Series / LineOfDuty

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** Gates, for all his faults, gets some applause for being the one to punch Ryan, the sociopath child who acts as the runner for the BigBad.
** [[spoiler: Tommy gets burned in Season Two premiere, in an ambush orchestrated by no other than his own former protege, Cottan.]]

** It created headlines when Series 6 aired, as the very-real initialism "[=CHIS=]" ('''C'''overt '''H'''uman '''I'''ntelligence '''S'''ource) featured frequently in dialogue. A continuity announcer after [[Recap/LineOfDutyS6E1Episode1 the first episode]] ended spelled out the word and its meaning, but it was too late. By then, many people had misheard it as "jizz", which made a lot of conversations unintentionally funny.

* AllAbusersAreMale: All the abusers linked to the conspiracy so far have been.

* SpoilerOpening: In Series 5, the first episode suggests the undercover officer is the female gang member, Lisa [=McQueen=] (Rochenda Sandall), before revealing it's the gang leader, John Corbett (Stephen Graham). Except Stephen Graham is a well-known British actor, (who previously appeared in This Is England with Vicky McClure), his name leads the opening credits (in the space usually reserved for the main "corrupt cop" character of the season) and he was featured prominently in promo material. So for many, it was not quite the surprise reveal intended.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: After Arnott is suspended from duty (all thanks to [[spoiler: Cottan]]), he begrudgingly joins forces with Lindsay Denton to further investigate Waldrons movements before [[spoiler: his death]] and where he may have hidden a copy of the list. The tension is still high between them, as Lindsay keeps insisting he planted evidence in her home which got her imprisoned for over a year and a half.

** It created headlines when Series 6 aired, as the very-real initialism "[=CHIS=]" ('''C'''overt '''H'''uman '''I'''ntelligence '''S'''ource) featured frequently in dialogue. A continuity announcer after [[Recap/LineOfDutyS1E1ADisastrousAffair "A Disastrous Affair"]] ended spelled out the word and its meaning, but it was too late. By then, many people had misheard it as "jizz", which made a lot of conversations unintentionally funny.

** Due to concerns over the representation of the police during this first series, the Met didn't provide any advisors on accuracy, something that would change with Series 2. As such, the writing tends to be more inaccurate than it would be later; for example, in the first episode, [=AC-12=] interview DCI Tony Gates to serve him with a yellow notice for failing to report a gratuity. In real life, they would have had to serve him a Reg 9, and give him time to prepare and get his Federation rep, as they do with DCI Huntley in series 4.

** It created headlines when Series 6 aired, as the very-real initialism "[=CHIS=]" ('''C'''overt '''H'''uman '''I'''ntelligence '''S'''ource) featured frequently in dialogue. A continuity announcer after the first episode ended spelled out the word and its meaning, but it was too late. By then, many people had misheard it as "jizz", which made a lot of conversations unintentionally funny.

** In Series 5, John Corbett is revealed to be [[spoiler:the son of an informant from 1980s Northern Ireland, whose police contact was Ted.]]
** To mixed reception in Series 6. [[spoiler: Ian Buckells]] is revealed to have been the missing link in the chain between the police and organised crime, known as "H". As he reveals in his police interview, there were two police moles, as it were, at a time: [[spoiler: Fairbank and Thurwell]], then [[spoiler: Hilton and Cottan]]. Once [[spoiler: Cottan]] was killed, [[spoiler: Buckells]] replaced him, and after [spoiler: Hilton's]] murder, he became the sole link between the police and the gangs. He organised heists and cover-ups, hiding behind a cover of absolute incompetence.

* QueerEstablishingMoment: Series 6 Episode 1 has Joanne Davidson introduced, a high-ranking detective who's implicated as corrupt by constable Farida Jatri. However, it turns out she's been secretly involved with Davidson, revealed when the latter to her house, gathering the rest of her things and moving out, making the viewer wonder whether this accusation is motivated by rage about their relationship breaking down.

** To mixed reception in Series 6. [[Spoiler: Ian Buckells]] is revealed to have been the missing link in the chain between the police and organised crime, known as "H". As he reveals in his police interview, there were two police moles, as it were, at a time: [[spoiler: Fairbank and Thurwell]], then [[spoiler: Hilton and Cottan]]. Once [[spoiler: Cottan]] was killed, [[spoiler: Buckells]] replaced him, and after [spoiler: Hilton's]] murder, he became the sole link between the police and the gangs. He organised heists and cover-ups, hiding behind a cover of absolute incompetence.

* WitlessProtectionProgram:
** Series 2 begins with the murder of somebody in witness protection, and the plot of the series is basically the investigation into that murder.
** [[spoiler:Jo Davidson has been put inside witness protection by the end of the show's finale, where she appears happy living in the country with her dog and new girlfriend.]]

* WitlessProtectionProgram: Series 2 begins with the murder of somebody in witness protection, and the plot of the series is basically the investigation into that murder.

* QueerEstablishingMoment: Series 6 Episode 1 has Joanne Davidson introduced, a high-ranking detective who's implicated as corrupt by constable Farida Jatri. However, it turns out she's been involved with Davidson, revealed when the latter to her house, gathering the rest of her things and moving out, making the viewer wonder whether this accusation is motivated by rage about their relationship breaking down.

* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: [[spoiler:Ian Buckels, who's revealed to be the high-level corrupt cop known as H or the fourth man, continues ordering hits and other crimes out of prison, since he has guards in his employ giving him electronic devices to do this using.]]

* [[TheSociopath The Sociopath / Narcissist]]: DCI Huntley, big time. Unlike the other main antagonists who were either blackmailed (Gates), did bad out of good intentions (Denton) or acted impulsively due to horrendous trauma (Waldron), everything she does is entirely self serving. She pretends to care about the murdered women as it suits her to be seen as a caring professional idolised by naive younger cops such as DC Taylor, [[spoiler: but has no problem exploiting Hana's past as a prostitute to frame her for murder]]. She speaks in police jargon to Hilton because it makes her seem like the ideal officer, [[spoiler: enabling her to get a senior officer on her side to discredit the [=AC12=] investigation into her]]. Her only saving grace is she genuinely seems to care about her kids, [[spoiler: which is the main reason she ends up confessing, so they can have at least one parent (Nick) to watch over them]].

** Averted later in the series, where a photo emerges of Roach and Chief Superintendent Fairbank shaking hands with Creator/JimmySaville at a charity function in the 90s.

* LipstickLesbian: Joanne Davidson it turns out previously was dating Farida Jatri in Series 6. Both are more chapstick, with average looks no different than their straight female colleagues, which lets their sexual orientation stay a surprise until it's revealed. [[spoiler:Jo is also shown with a red-haired woman at the end in {{witness protection}}.]]

* BlatantLies: To the audience. In the wake of the Karim Ali shooting, the head of Counter-Terrorism, [=CI=] Philip Osborne, coaches his team on a cover story - ''"You got to the flat. You shouted “Armed Police”. You heard something going on inside, a struggle, a fight, or something. Southern One Five Six gave you the order to go in. The suspect’s there, he’s acting aggressive. You shout, “surrender, Armed Police”. The suspect doesn’t comply. He comes for you. You’ve got no choice."'' - and later says to the press, ''"I take pride in the courage and professionalism of my counterterrorism officers."''. Brought up again in Series 6 and made clear for the blatant lie it is - '''Lakewell:''' ''"Well, then, you’ll know his... widow offered the more plausible version of events - an armed Counter-Terrorism unit burst into their flat and shot Karim dead without warning. The absence of a warning fit with established police tactics in the face of a suicide bomber - you don’t want to give them a chance to detonate."'' A later line of dialogue in that conversation also makes clear that the inquest in Series 1 weren't fooled either - ''"The inquest jury were convinced the police were lying."''
* BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats: DS Arnott deduces from a handshake that former CSU Fairbank and Ted Hastings are Freemasons. This doesn't bode well for Hastings, as he is later accused of trying to cover for Fairbank (who was involved in covering up child abuse scandals when he was a cop) as they are part of the same organisation. In season 4, Roz uses Hastings' membership of the Masons to undermine his credibility.
* TheBusCameBack: The fourth series sees the return of many characters from previous series such as: Derek Hilton (now the Assistant Chief Constable), Ian Buckells (now a Detective Chief Inspector), DS Sam Railstone and DCS Lester Hargreaves.
* ByTheBookCop: AC-12's job is to enforce this trope.

** The whole of series 5 is one big frame-up.[[spoiler:Gill sets up John Corbett to believe Hastings is H, then plants him in an undercover role in an OCG with the express aim of bringing H down. This is after she has been informed of the connection between Corbett and Hastings, involving the former's mother, Anne-Marie McGillis - a police informant who suspiciously went missing right around the time Hastings requested a transfer out of the RUC. When Corbett's dogma to reveal Hastings blows his cover and gets him killed by the OCG, the finger points squarely at Ted. To further consolidate this, Biggeloe sleeps with Ted to steal hair follicles to plant on Corbett's body, plays on his marital woes to stress him out, and forces DCC Wise to take [=AC12=] off the case, making him act desperately to save face. It only fails thanks to Corbett's secret recording of his meeting with Biggeloe, in which she tells him about Hastings and H, and the plans for Operation Peartree.]].

** S5 E4: [[spoiler: After entrapping several women in a decrepit building in order to break them and turn them into prostitutes, John finally breaks his cover and points a gun at Miroslav. He and Lisa McQueen lock him in a room and go to rescue the women, but when he open the door of their room, he sees a guy faking sex noises. Before he can react, Ryan slides in beside him and slits his throat. Lisa reveals she lured John into it. Meanwhile, John's now-widow Steph reads her kids a bedtime story]].

* SpoilerOpening: In Series 5, the first episode suggests the undercover officer is the female gang member, Lisa McQueen (Rochenda Sandall), before revealing it's the gang leader, John Corbett (Stephen Graham). Except Stephen Graham is a well-known British actor, (who previously appeared in This Is England with Vicky McClure), his name leads the opening credits (in the space usually reserved for the main "corrupt cop" character of the season) and he was featured prominently in promo material. So for many, it was not quite the surprise reveal intended.

** The cinematography is distinctly more documentary-esque, aping many techniques viewers will recognise from Series/TheOffice. Of note: lots of handheld, pans, snap zooms on characters' faces, and long-distance shots.

** The most tangible difference is the shooting location, which contributes a lot to the feel of the show as a whole. Series 2-6 were shot in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Series 1 was shot in Birmingham, England, and as such feels distinctly more urban than subsequent seasons. The set design is also distinctly more cluttered and contrasting, compared to the bright, open, and orderly sets of later seasons.

** The interview tape doesn't go *beeeeeeeeeeeeep*. They just start talking immediately after pressing the record button.
** Despite series 2 airing only about a year and a half later, all of [=AC-12=] look significantly younger than they do in that series. Martin Compston (Steve Arnott) is fresh-faced and smooth; Vicky [=McClure=] (Kate Fleming) is sporting a very late-noughties pixie cut; Adrian Dunbar's (Ted Hastings) hair is still noticeably brown. This applies to the wardrobe, too -- Arnott's many waistcoats seem to have replaced a closet filled just as much to the brim with very geeky sweater vests.

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: The overarching plot enforces this. While AC-12 frequently rumbles some form of corruption, they usually either snag the person who is RightForTheWrongReason and have no choice but to let others go free due to the amount of corruption and organised crime.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Series/BetweenTheLines'', a BBC InternalAffairs drama from the 1990s.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: One of the main plots in series 3, which involves vulnerable teenagers being pimped out to and abused by high ranking "[=VIPs=]" and a subsequent police cover-up is eerily similar to the recent real life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_paedophile_dossier allegations against members of the British government and security services]]. Hastings also makes reference to his "colleagues" working for real life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Yewtree Operation Yewtree]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm_Guest_House_child_abuse_scandal Operation Midland]], and a photo of Dale Roach and Chief Superintendent Fairbank shaking hands with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Savile Jimmy Savile]] also appears during AC-12's questioning of Fairbank.

** ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: The unnamed Midlands city the series takes place in has districts that are both sizeable enough to number just three, but also small enough that everyone knows exactly where something happened just on hearing it. Expect to hear Moss Heath, Kingsgate and Edge Park come up whenever the characters need to go to a crime scene outside the police offices. Also expect every second building and road to be named for one of the three.

* {{Determinator}}:
** DS Arnott. The decorum of police hierarchy doesn't seem to faze him when it gets in the way of seeking the truth. He also jumps right back into the case [[spoiler:after almost having his fingers cut off.]]
** DC Fleming, at the end of series 3. [[spoiler: After a corrupt AFO guns down his colleague and breaks Dot out of custody, she wastes no time in picking up a firearm and chasing them down on foot for a good many blocks, even continuing after she is hit by a car]].

* SourceMusic: A brief and unusual example in Season 2 Episode 2, where an apparently non-diegetic piano piece that plays over a montage of Denton being brought in for questioning is unexpectedly shown being played by Denton beforehand, at which point her neighbour's loud music seeps into the background and the piano degenerates into Denton furiously thumping on keys to vent her frustration.

* SpoilerOpening: In Series 5, the first episode suggests the undercover officer is the female gang member, Lisa McQueen (Rochenda Sandall), before revealing it's the gang leader, John Corbett (Stephen Graham). Except Stephen Graham is a well-known British actor, (who previously appeared in This Is England with Vicky McClure), his name leads the opening credits (in the space usually reserved for the main "corrupt cop" character of the season) and he was featured prominently in promo material. So for many, it was not quite the surprise reveal intended.