The Guardians
I've just found on Youtube an obscure BBC serial from the early 1970s suggesting a dystopian '80s Britain with the government, having been assisted in a crisis by an independent military force 'The Guardians', then finding itself in its power.
As seems to be customary for the television of this period its very 'wordy', with far more intellectual conversations about the state of the nation than action; and this is a refreshing change from most of today's tv. Just finished episode two, and so far so good. You could almost see the beginnings of Blakes' 7 Federation in the uniforms and demeanour of the Guardians.