Loved the show as a kid - and always thought how poignant this ending was.
Great piece of downbeat music that goes so well with the credits. Recently started watching a few repeats on ITV4.
How well do they hold up?
Very good really. I admit that part of it for me is the nostalgia - the two hardnut detectives are fighting criminals who would be considered no big deal these days - it's dated but certainly not in a bad way. Thaw and Waterman were simply a great team, and the scripts are still excellent, although Waterman does say "guv" or "guv'nor" as much as the Comic Strip depicted him doing.
Plus there's the typical '70s downbeat ending in each episode, the cops don't always win, and there's loads of cameos of familiar faces and character actors from the era (and cameos of future stars just starting out). Overall this was a great series that may have been a bit thickear, but was a big step forward for cop shows at the time.
I'm going to find the boxset.