Backup: Season 1

8 episodes Premiered Sep 7, 1995 Updated Oct 7, 2026

Season 1 Episodes

Episode Guide

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Season 1: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

38%

63%

Mytharc (3): Crucial lore & season climaxes

Core (5): Character development & subplots

Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler

S1·E1 Mytharc

Not All There

Sep 7, 1995 · 50 min

The members of Charlie Van are assigned to a team investigating serial murders.

S1·E2 Core

Tender Loving Care

Sep 14, 1995 · 50 min

An ex-soldier back from Bosnia has plans to prevent his sister getting married - plans which result in the team being called in.

S1·E3 Core

Toleration Zone

Sep 21, 1995 · 50 min

The team are called in when a community takes vigilante action to rid its area of prostitutes

S1·E4 Core

Mouth and Trousers

Sep 28, 1995 · 50 min

S1·E5 Core

Badlands

Oct 12, 1995 · 50 min

Events threaten to spiral out of control on a tough inner city housing estate

S1·E6 Core

Happy That Way

Oct 19, 1995 · 50 min

The team have to go undercover as prostitutes, drug dealers and rent boys, in order to stamp out crime on a local common. They catch a copper from another nick with an under age

S1·E7 Mytharc

Clubbing

Oct 26, 1995 · 50 min

The team have to join forces with the Drugs Squad to take part in a raid on a club

S1·E8 Mytharc

Cut and Dried

Oct 26, 1995 · 50 min