The Expert (1968)
The Expert is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1976. The series starred Marius Goring as Dr. John Hardy, a pathologist working for the Home Office and was essentially a police procedural drama, with Hardy bringing his forensic knowledge to solve various cases. The Expert was created and produced by Gerard Glaister. The series was also one of the first BBC dramas to be made in colour, and throughout its four series had numerous high quality guest appearances by actors such as John Carson, Peter Copley, Rachel Kempson, Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Geoffrey Palmer, Peter Barkworth, Jean Marsh, Ray Brooks, George Sewell, Anthony Valentine, Bernard Lee, Lee Montague, Geoffrey Bayldon, Mike Pratt, Edward Fox, André Morell, Brian Blessed, Nigel Stock, Philip Madoc and Warren Clarke.
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Episode 1 - The Visitor Part 1: Hypothesis
Release Date: 1969-04-04Murders take place and each crime is similar to the last. One person must have committed them; but who? Another attack. The victim survives but has amnesia and is the only person who can make an identification. A suspect is arrested.
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Episode 2 - The Visitor Part 2: Hard Facts
Release Date: 1969-04-11Hardy is trying to piece together the burnt pieces of paper found in the suspect's room. Jo has been asked to try and break the surviving victim's amnesia by hypnosis. The suspect is questioned at length. The case builds up against him.
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Episode 3 - The Visitor Part 3: Judgement
Release Date: 1969-04-18Martin Ingram, who has been arrested for assaulting Vivien, stands trial for his alleged crime. He is defended by a brilliant woman Q.C. The result of the trial remains in doubt until almost the last moment.
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Episode 4 - The Yellow Torrish
Release Date: 1969-04-25A smashed lock, a bloodstained jacket, a drifting boat and a takeover bid. Dr. Hardy with the aid of a few bright feathers and silk thread solves the mystery of a disappearing man.
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Episode 5 - The Gun That Walked
Release Date: 1969-05-02When violent death strikes down a pretty farm girl, Dr Hardy and Inspector Fleming come up against a wall of stubborn reserve. Persistence at last brings Dr Hardy to a 'not inconsiderable suspicion' of the killer's identity. But proof.
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Episode 6 - One Life: More or Less
Release Date: 1969-05-09Illegitimate babies present problems. Bringing one up in an atmosphere of disapproval can be harder than the alternative. To some, the decision is easy; a matter of practical common sense. To others it's life and death.
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Episode 7 - A Question of Guilt
Release Date: 1969-05-16A man is found guilty of murdering his wife and sentenced to life imprisonment - could he be innocent? Unquestionably, the facts prove him guilty. Or do they?
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Episode 8 - A Family Affair
Release Date: 1969-05-23Estate Duties - a curse to be avoided? When a businessman is found drowned it could mean ruin for his family.
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Episode 9 - Death in the Rain
Release Date: 1969-05-30That little Lucille died a violent death was certain; how she died was more obscure. Dr. Hardy's painstaking research and insistence on accuracy finally establishes the truth.
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Episode 10 - Protection
Release Date: 1969-06-06Protection: you can refuse to pay, you can go to the police for their protection - or you can stand the risk yourself.
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Episode 11 - Post-Mortem on Harry Kirby
Release Date: 1969-06-13A grocer, Harry Kirby, lies dead - poisoned, electrocuted, and gassed. If suicide can be established, surely this is gilding the lily. Why was a large sum of money found laid out neatly beside the body? And if it wasn't suicide.
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Episode 12 - Do Not Go Gentle
Release Date: 1969-06-20An old man relies upon his daughter to look after him during convalescence but she has her own life to lead.
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Episode 13 - Playing with Fire
Release Date: 1969-06-27A hospital ward is destroyed by fire. Could it be deliberate - and if so, who would want to burn down a hospital and why?
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Episode 14 - The Sardonic Smile
Release Date: 1969-07-04There are classic symptoms of strychnine poisoning when a wealthy landowner dies after eating a trout, freshly caught, the question is who poisoned him? And how?
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Episode 15 - The Witness: Part 1: Threats
Release Date: 1969-07-11Jo's car is run off the road by a lorry. The driver may be guilty of dangerous driving. Dr Hardy receives a letter threatening his wife's life and demanding he change his evidence. Hardy refuses but it is at the risk of his wife's life.
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Episode 16 - The Witness: Part 2: Involvement
Release Date: 1969-07-18Dr. Hardy is involved in tracing a ruthless psychotic killer who is employed by the accused in an attempt to suborn witnesses. He is determined to give his evidence, but the police issue firearms to protect his life.
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Episode 17 - The Blue Spot
Release Date: 1969-07-25A doctor may reasonably diagnose a brain tumour as the cause of death of his first wife. But when his second wife dies in similar circumstances and both are known to have been wealthy women.
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Episode 18 - Lethal Weapon
Release Date: 1969-08-01A woman lies dead in a country road, apparently the victim of a hit-and-run driver. But something doesn't quite fit. She lived in the town. Why would she be in the country at that time - in those shoes? And what about the tyre marks?
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Episode 19 - Lie Down, You're Dead
Release Date: 1969-08-08A man is shot three times in front of witnesses. When the police arrive there is no body. Has he been shot? Is he really dead?
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Episode 20 - Eddie
Release Date: 1969-08-15Eddie spends much of his time in a betting shop. After a win of forty pounds he is found strangled in his own home. His grandson, who lived with him, is missing. Why is he trying to leave the country with forty pounds in his pocket?
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Episode 21 - No Home in the City
Release Date: 1969-08-22While its owner is on holiday an abandoned dog wanders the streets and becomes savage, causing the death of a derelict meths-drinker. Could there be some similarity in the lives of man and dog?
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Episode 22 - Your Money for My Life
Release Date: 1969-08-29Why should a businessman crash into a bridge support at 80 m.p.h.? When the post-mortem reveals him to have died as a result of the impact, and not from physical causes. What other reason could there be for the accident?
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Episode 23 - Dependence Part 1: A Life Saved
Release Date: 1969-09-05Drug addiction is an increasing problem in our society. In the first episode of a two-part story, the hopelessness of the addict is matched against the efforts of doctors to control the terrible effect of the drug.
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Episode 24 - Dependence Part 2: A Life Lost
Release Date: 1969-09-12It is said that drug addicts make poor parents. How do a young couple, both of whom are addicts, cope with attending to the needs of their small baby?
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Episode 25 - Flesh and Blood
Release Date: 1969-09-19Once a man suspects that his 10-year-old son is not in fact his, he cannot rest until he has discovered the truth.
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Episode 26 - Sufficiently Loved and Cared For
Release Date: 1969-09-26Threatening suicide is often a cry for help, sometimes that cry is heeded, sometimes assistance is too late.