"New Tricks" (2003) TV series 2003-????

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Creators:

Nigel McCrery
Roy Mitchell

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Three retired police officers are drafted in to solve cold cases, with a touch of comedy and drama

Cast

Alun Armstrong	...	Brian Lane (39 episodes, 2003-2008)
Amanda Redman	...	Det. Supt. Sandra Pullman / ... (39 episodes, 2003-2008)
Dennis Waterman	...	Gerry Standing (39 episodes, 2003-2008)
James Bolam	...	Jack Halford (39 episodes, 2003-2008)
Susan Jameson	...	Esther Lane (33 episodes, 2003-2008)
Anthony Calf	...	D.A.C. Strickland / ... (23 episodes, 2005-2008)

Runtime:

60 min (14 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

[Gerry is in the opticians. He tries on a pair of half-moon glasses that he thinks make him look like David Dickinson, presenter of the "Bargain Hunt" (2000) antiques programme]
Gerry Standing: David Dickinson?
Superintendent Sandra Pullman: Yeah - but without the "David" or the "inson"

Movie Connections:

Follows "New Tricks: (#1.0)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

It's Alright

Waking the last of the summer Wainthropp

This is a fun series of a gentle and undemanding type. It's a programme to watch when you are tired and in couch potato mode. That's to say it won't necessarily matter if you nod off for a bit.

It is original (though it does contain elements from the series alluded to above). As others have noted, the acting is always very good. Some of the episodes are inevitably weaker than others, however. For example, going undercover in an old people's home is not exactly original.

And why do we again have to have the cliché of the boss who repeatedly threatens to (or actually does) take them off the case? This tired old routine features in virtually every British detective series.