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Superintendent
Sandra Pullman, whose brilliant career is sidelined after
a hostage rescue goes disastrously wrong, has been been put
in charge of a new department - The Unsolved Crime and Open
Case Squad (UCOS). However, she is soon dismayed to discover
that her unit is to be manned by retired detectives. Pullman's
recruits - grieving widower Jack Halford, once her mentor
in the murder squad; the compulsive obsessive ex-Inspector
Brian Lane and ex-Sergent Gerry Standing, who left the force
amid rumours of corruption - might have years of experience,
but they know little of modern police methods...
Episode
one of New Tricks gets the series off on the right
foot. It starts with Superintendent Sandra Pullman's (Amanda
Redman) botched hostage rescue and then follows her as she
is demoted and forced to choose three ex-detectives to work
on The Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS). The three
members are Jack Halford (James Bolam), Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong)
and Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman).
Each
of these three retired detectives has something that they'd
rather not share with the world - a problem they'd rather
keep to themselves. Halford is a grieving widower who regularly
talks through cases with his departed wife; Lane is a compulsive
obsessive who has a fantastic memory for dates and events
but is slightly unhinged; and Standing is a womaniser and
a gambler. As this series progresses we get to see more of
their backgrounds and why they are in the positions they are
currently in.
The
pilot episode sets everything up and charts the groups first
murder investigation - the reopening of the murder of a cocktail
waitress who was killed years before. At the time a known
criminal was put away for her murder, but it soon becomes
apparent that the wrong man may have been committed of the
crime.
The
rest of the episodes in this series revolve around old unsolved
murders and, oddly enough, there is one that examines art
fraud. Actually, this episode also examines why Standing was
bunged off the force in the first place.
This
series looks at the differences between police practices of
20+ years ago and today - how detectives could give suspects
a bit of a scare, or secretly tape interviews without approval.
There
are quite a few famous guest stars, including Anthony Stewart
Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Robert Bathurst (Cold
Feet) and DI Greg Johnson (who fans of The Office
will recognise for his role as Neil Godwin) who becomes a
love
interest for Pullman.
This
collection could easily have been squeezed onto two discs
but for some reason it has been spread over three. The first
disc only includes the pilot episode and each of the other
discs contain three episodes each.
This
wonderfully reinvents the police drama genre. Not only that,
but fans of Little Britain will be happy to hear that
while Dennis Waterman doesn't actually write "da theme
toon" he does sing "da theme toon".
There
are no extras in this three disc collection, but that doesn't
really matter - the episodes alone are good enough to warrant
buying this without feeling short changed.
Darren
Rea
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