Wet Job

"Callan: Wet Job," was supposed to have led to another T.V series. Luckily, this didn't happen due to the poor ratings this episode received. The plot is dull, confusing and uneventful. The only scenes worth seeing, are those with Callan and Lonely. It is worth it to see these legendary characters together one last time after all the years that had elapsed. The chemistry of Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter is still in evidence as Lonely secures Callan another gun. When asked if he needs any further help, Callan pauses for a couple of seconds and answers in the negative. He urges Lonely to leave his shop immediately and that is it. Lonely walks off into the distance and we see the final curtain come down on one of British television's leading partnerships. There isn't any action or incident to speak of, just a meandering story.

There are some technical issues I have with this TV movie but mostly the problem for me is how this story would have been better as a 52 minute episode instead of an 80 minute made for TV movie. The story could of had more subplots going like Callan practicing shooting again and trying to hide the practice or who behind Hunter hatched this scheme in the first place since it was established in the series that Hunter is not entirely in control of The Section. I imagined Hunter lied about Meres on orders from Meres should Callan ask about him and Meres, now in the same role as Bishop in the 4th season of the Series came up with the scheme involving Callan out of spite. There does seem to be a personal motive to use Callan again like this but this Hunter never met him before.

The technical issue I have is the superfluous incidental music. It manages to undercut instead of enhance the impact of each scene. Maybe I was just so used to there being no music at all in most Callan episodes.

There was probably alot of fanfare around this movie when it first came out. The series was hugely popular. It had a fitting end to it but having the creator write about events ten years later must have been intriguing to many including me. The story fits and it wouldn't seem so overly sentimental at times if it weren't for that lousy music.

Looking at the reviews and comments there is a fact that seems to have slipped people's minds.

Wet Job is a remake of the original TV play "A Magnum for Schneider" that introduced us to the original Character of Callan.

As remakes go it's not bad and if you're feeling philosophical a nice close to the character.

That said like a lot of made for TV movies tastes have changed, production values improved.

But as a piece of nostalgia and a good introduction to Callan, and the very gritty 70s cold war spy Drama it's well worth a look.

Admittedly if Mission Impossible is more your thing then you're likely to be disappointed :D

This one off does not have the grit of the TV series but Russell Hunter and Edward Woodward are on their usual fantastic form. Unlike some some reviewers I think it is well written and filmed. However, the music is truly awful. Maybe it is just an early 1980s thing but it is more like the music to a trashy sit com - and it grates. I also really dislike the posh accents of many of the actors and the affectations. Worst Hunter ever is an understatement. The quiet authority of the previous Hunters is missing and replaced by a preening, spiteful jerk who even in the class ridden system of the 1980s would never be appointed to such a position. The sets are a little sparse and like a lot of 1980s sets, wobble a bit. I remember really looking forward to this when it was announced but never saw it when first broadcast. In 2025 I wonder what this would look like with modern production values.

Just a note to one of the other reviewers (rev-584-459122), Wet Job is NOT a remake of the original play A Magnum for Schneider, which formed the basis of the Callan movie. This is a sequel to the original popular TV series in which an aging Callan has been forcibly retired from the security services, but is reactivated for yet another job. Though the performances of Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter and some others aren't bad, it's very poorly made with a tenuous plot, frequently incompetent camera-work, and irritating incidental music. Having watched it when it was first shown and again recently on DVD I suspect the production was hurried and with a smaller budget than it should have had.