The Expert
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.
Seasons
1. The Unknown Factor
Air Date: 1968-07-05
Three bullets, a dead man, and £50,000 in insurance. Troubles arise when Dr. Hardy discovers the Unknown Factor.
2. It Can't Be Done
Air Date: 1968-07-12
Penny Goodwin shoots her husband in cold blood and there appears to be no motive. Why she has killed him is far from clear. When Hardy starts an investigation, he uncovers a most ingenious plot which even Fleming will not believe.
3. Liars, Damn Liars
Air Date: 1968-07-19
Actual causes of death and accurate timing of the death can be essential to a defense in a trial. Dr. Hardy appears as the expert witness for the defense and finds himself opposed by his former professor.
4. Miss Daley
Air Date: 1968-07-26
Miss Daley has given up working because her old boss is leaving. She finds out that he is still with the firm and becomes very ill. She goes to see Jo Hardy and tells her that she's convinced she has heart trouble.
5. Nice Day
Air Date: 1968-08-02
A girl is assaulted in a park and the only witness is her young daughter. The police are certain they know who did it, but the girl cannot identify the man in an identity parade.
6. The Long Hate
Air Date: 1968-08-09
Mr. Toller is a who has no time for the weak or the idle, without humour. Jo Hardy is treating him, he is arrogant and she patiently tries to diagnose what is causing his illness, which becomes more and more serious.
7. Nobody's Going to Hurt You
Air Date: 1968-08-16
A woman is found dead by the side of a railway line. Hardy is brought in to help the police. The woman has been murdered, and as they investigate, the police and Hardy realise that they have a dangerous psychopath loose in their area.
8. Here Lies
Air Date: 1968-08-23
An old man dies. When his housekeeper returns some unused tablets to the chemist, suspicion clouds the issue. Dr. Hardy is brought in to conduct various tests and he questions the principals in the case.
9. The Contact
Air Date: 1968-08-30
A man falls overboard from a ship near Hull and washed ashore dead. Injuries sustained in the water means he is unrecognizable. The most careful planning can go awry and only an expert can interpret the facts with which he is presented.
10. He's Good for It
Air Date: 1968-10-04
A safe is blown. The job has all the trademarks of a known criminal. Fleming pulls in two men in for the crime but forgets he needs concrete information to pin the crime on them both.
11. Fire Without Smoke
Air Date: 1968-09-13
The death of small children is always tragic. The tragedy is increased by unspoken prejudices and the possibility that one of the parents may be to blame.
12. Full Choke
Air Date: 1968-09-20
The Hardys are enjoying the peace of a summer evening. There is the noise of a shotgun. A man is brought to Dr. Jo's surgery with a non-fatal shotgun wound but John decides that this is a case for the police.
13. And So Say All of Us
Air Date: 1968-09-27
A drunken driver is responsible for the death of his brother-in-law and business partner and for the death of the driver of the second car involved in the accident. Hardy's concern for the facts leads to an exciting conclusion.
1. The Visitor Part 1: Hypothesis
Air Date: 1969-04-04
Murders 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.
2. The Visitor Part 2: Hard Facts
Air Date: 1969-04-11
Hardy 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.
3. The Visitor Part 3: Judgement
Air Date: 1969-04-18
Martin 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.
4. The Yellow Torrish
Air Date: 1969-04-25
A 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.
5. The Gun That Walked
Air Date: 1969-05-02
When 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.
6. One Life: More or Less
Air Date: 1969-05-09
Illegitimate 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.
7. A Question of Guilt
Air Date: 1969-05-16
A 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?
8. A Family Affair
Air Date: 1969-05-23
Estate Duties - a curse to be avoided? When a businessman is found drowned it could mean ruin for his family.
9. Death in the Rain
Air Date: 1969-05-30
That 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.
10. Protection
Air Date: 1969-06-06
Protection: you can refuse to pay, you can go to the police for their protection - or you can stand the risk yourself.
11. Post-Mortem on Harry Kirby
Air Date: 1969-06-13
A 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.
12. Do Not Go Gentle
Air Date: 1969-06-20
An old man relies upon his daughter to look after him during convalescence but she has her own life to lead.
13. Playing with Fire
Air Date: 1969-06-27
A hospital ward is destroyed by fire. Could it be deliberate - and if so, who would want to burn down a hospital and why?
14. The Sardonic Smile
Air Date: 1969-07-04
There 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?
15. The Witness: Part 1: Threats
Air Date: 1969-07-11
Jo'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.
16. The Witness: Part 2: Involvement
Air Date: 1969-07-18
Dr. 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.
17. The Blue Spot
Air Date: 1969-07-25
A 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.
18. Lethal Weapon
Air Date: 1969-08-01
A 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?
19. Lie Down, You're Dead
Air Date: 1969-08-08
A 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?
20. Eddie
Air Date: 1969-08-15
Eddie 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?
21. No Home in the City
Air Date: 1969-08-22
While 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?
22. Your Money for My Life
Air Date: 1969-08-29
Why 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?
23. Dependence Part 1: A Life Saved
Air Date: 1969-09-05
Drug 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.
24. Dependence Part 2: A Life Lost
Air Date: 1969-09-12
It 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?
25. Flesh and Blood
Air Date: 1969-09-19
Once a man suspects that his 10-year-old son is not in fact his, he cannot rest until he has discovered the truth.
26. Sufficiently Loved and Cared For
Air Date: 1969-09-26
Threatening suicide is often a cry for help, sometimes that cry is heeded, sometimes assistance is too late.
1. A Way to Die
Air Date: 1971-01-03
The body of a student is found in a pig-fattening shed. Hardy has to establish the cause of death.
2. Where Are You Going?
Air Date: 1971-01-10
The body of an attractive young girl is found by the roadside. Who was she? How did she get there? How did she die? Hardy and Fleming are faced with finding the answer.
3. The Man on My Back
Air Date: 1971-01-17
Fleming and Hardy are used to hit-and-run cases where they find a body but no car. In this curious case the situation is reversed: a blood-stained car but no body.
4. Go Somewhere Else
Air Date: 1971-01-24
Gypsies led by Samuel Brown arrive in the Hardy neighbourhood - to the horror of many residents. A public meeting is called to discuss the 'problem.' But protest can go too far.
5. Whose Child?: Part 1: The Wife
Air Date: 1971-01-31
After fifteen years of childless marriage, Ruth Fletcher has a son. But she has a problem which she takes to Jo Hardy: is it possible that her husband is not the father?
6. Whose Child?: Part 2: The Husband
Air Date: 1971-02-07
Dr Hardy has told Harry Fletcher that he could not be the father of his wife's child. Harry confronts his wife's lover, Michael Jackson.
7. Cedric
Air Date: 1971-02-14
Cedric Lambert, a lonely 54-year-old bachelor, visits Dr Jo Hardy in her surgery. But apparently there is nothing wrong with his health - all he wishes to do is to show her an antique book.
8. A Scientific Fact
Air Date: 1971-02-21
Hardy is much possessed by the problems surrounding the scientific fact of death. And in this story of an elderly retired Major, his wife and son, the police become totally involved as well.
9. The Coat
Air Date: 1971-02-28
Early one morning a young Maltese girl is found stabbed to death. Fleming is immediately convinced that her ex-boyfriend is guilty. Hardy has other ideas.
10. True Confession
Air Date: 1971-03-07
A young librarian finds a body in the woods. He does not tell the Police but the Press - which for Hardy and Fleming adds confusion to an already confusing case.
11. Smithereens
Air Date: 1971-03-14
The milkman pays his morning call on Mrs Carr, and finds her lying unconscious on the conservatory floor. She is surrounded by fragments of a milk bottle - which lead to several sleepless nights for Hardy and Sandra.
12. Hothouse
Air Date: 1971-03-21
Two young boys have their day's fishing disturbed when they find a body in the river. The question facing Fleming and Hardy: did he fall or was he pushed?
13. A Clear and Easy Duty
Air Date: 1971-03-28
In the last of this series, Hardy and Fleming are faced with the kidnapping of a son of wealthy parents - not so unusual for them but strange and unfortunate for Jo when she becomes involved.
1. Second Appeal
Air Date: 1976-09-24
Hardy is asked to do a further post mortem by the defense in the second appeal of a man convicted of the murder of his wife. The first post mortem was done by an old colleague and Hardy's findings conflict, straining their friendship.
2. Blood Line
Air Date: 1976-10-01
An Arab ruler suddenly dies in London and Hardy is caught up in a situation of political intrigue.
3. Inheritance
Air Date: 1976-10-08
Motive, opportunity, possession of the weapon and an alibi that won't stand up. Who wants more to prove guilt of murder?
4. Prejudice
Air Date: 1976-10-15
A headless skeleton is found. The bones indicate one solution and the clothes another. Proffesor Hardy sorts it out.
5. A Family Affair
Air Date: 1976-10-22
An elaborate plan goes wrong because of a woman's intuition.
6. Suspended Verdict
Air Date: 1976-10-29
Many things can go awry when the law is exercised by the wrong people.
7. Suspicious Death
Air Date: 1976-11-05
The police and Hardy are greatly puzzled by the death of a mortuary attendant.
8. Fail Safe
Air Date: 1976-11-12
Did evidence Hardy gave in a murder trial 12 years ago result in a miscarriage of justice?
9. Hour of the Snake
Air Date: 1976-11-19
A spell is cast which results in a death at ' The Hour of the Snake'. Is it murder - or what?
10. Tainted Money
Air Date: 1976-11-26
One can legislate for most things - but how do you cope with human frailty and greed?
Select an episode to start watching
Rating
9.5/10
Release Date
1968-07-05
Episodes
62 (4 seasons)
Status
Ended
