Care and Protection

The first episode of A Touch of Frost sets the tone for the show. Frost is old-fashioned, cynical, curmudgeonly, untidy and rubs his superiors up the wrong way...but he is very good at his job. With a hard-nosed attitude and an incredible work ethic his ability to solve crimes is uncanny.

We also get to see Frost's personal life and it's hardly a bed of roses.

You also discover that this is not your usual crime drama where the evidence and pieces to the puzzle are all neatly presented to the detective but one where much of the solving is done through good old-fashioned police work.

Personally am a big fan of 'A Touch of Frost', if more so the earlier-mid-show episodes than the later ones (though there isn't an unwatchable episode of the lot). Love the mix of comedy and dark grit, the tension between rebellious Jack Frost and by-the-book Mullet which has led to some humorous moments, how Frost solves the cases, the production values, music and of course David Jason in one of his best roles.

Some may have had doubts at the time of 'A Touch of Frost' working, with a mostly comedic actor in a more serious dramatic role in a very different kind of programme to other roles and shows he's famous for. Scepticism very quickly evaporated, 'A Touch of Frost' turned out to be a hit and Frost is one of Jason's most famous roles for very good reason. "Care and Protection" is a great start, perhaps not one of the show's best episodes but unlike a lot of shows tone and characterisation is quite well-established and there isn't as much of a still settling in feel.

Of course there were lighter in tone and funnier episodes since, with "Care and Protection" being one of the darkest and grittiest 'A Touch of Frost' episodes, and maybe there is a little bit of Del Boy in Jason occasionally (understandable, being a role that he played for a long time and was still portraying at the time of when 'A Touch of Frost' first started). In no way are these problems though.

Visually, "Care and Protection" looks great, matching the dark, gritty tone of the episode beautifully with atmospheric lighting and the stylish way it's shot. The music is haunting without being over-bearing while the theme tune is one of the most iconic in the detective genre (or at least to me it is).

"Care and Protection" is very well written too. Tension, emotional poignancy and a little humour (if not as much as later) are very well balanced. The story, with as said a darker and grittier to what was to come, is riveting, with Frost's subplot making one really feel for his situation and the two cases are interesting and harrowing, never falling into the trap of being disjointed. Frost is a remarkably well-established character for so early on, and one cannot help love his chemistry with Barnard (appealingly played by Matt Bardock) and with Mullet (a suitably stern Bruce Alexander).

Jason gives an excellent performance and went on to do even better. The supporting cast do very well too, if nobody quite outstanding.

In conclusion, great start to a personal favourite. 9/10 Bethany Cox

DCI Jack Frost leads the investigation, the case of a missing girl, in addition he's handed a new DC, and has to deal with his wife's rapidly declining health.

This is such a quality start to the show, a truly great first episode. All of the elements are spot on, the story, production, cast, and of course character of Jack Frost.

Definitely a bit of humour here, it's well balanced against the pretty bleak story, the balance is perfect.

We learn so much about Jack in this first episode, his relationship with his wife, his George cross and his methods, but it's all organic, nothing is forced or over done.

Huge credit to David Jason, it's worth remembering that he was known to everyone as Del Boy, but such is the sheer quality of the man, that he was able to make Jack a totally different, unique, well rounded, loved character. Bruce Alexander was great also as Mullet.

They don't make them like this anymore, 9/10.

David Jason plays Detective Inspector William 'Jack' Frost in the opening episode of A Touch of Frost.

Frost's wife is dying of cancer, he does not give a hoot as he fell out in love with her some years ago. Frost was awarded a George Medal but his superiors have little regard for him as he is not seen as a go getter.

Teamed up with newbie Detective Constable Barnard who has important family connections high up in the police. Frost investigates a case of a missing girl who failed to return home after her mother serviced a client.

However the investigation uncovers a skeleton buried in the woods since the the early 1960s. The body was shot dead and had his arm chopped off as it was chained to a metal box which turns out to be empty.

This is a rather gritty opening episode. Frost's life is a mess, he works long hours as he does not want to go home. He is also clever and wily.

I did find that the episode did a switcheroo as it got diverted to the investigation of the unearthed skeleton. There is some humour here underneath the grim tone. In fact I think it tried too hard to be dark and explore the murky side of life because Jason was better known for comedies at the time.

You get a glimpse of female nudity as well as burnt cats that I felt was unnecessary, the cats that is. The resolution of the missing girl story was weak in my opinion.

In this inaugural episode we are introduced to Detective Jack Frost who is living a life of pain, dealing with a wife who is terminal and a police captain who finds him a threat to the department, despite his great successes. We also meet a young man who is to become his partner as well as host of other characters. There are two focuses in this episode. The first involves a little girl who goes missing. Her mother is prostituting herself to make ends meet. Because her John comes late (so to speak), she fails to pick the girl up. Because the head detective has medical issues, Frost ends up with the case. We see both his compassion and his insightful way of investigating. There is a second case of a severed arm, handcuffed to a metal box (like the kind in a safe deposit box). This leads to an investigation of a thirty-year-old murder. At the same time Frost is dealing with his dying wife who is in the care of a woman. We understand that Frost has all he can do to involve himself. We know immediately that this is going to be a fun, complex series with great characters, good guys and villains, and intriguing cases.