New Tricks

This series just gets better and better. You cant pick who is the better actor, they are all first class. No stereotyping here, all believable, no suspension of reality required.. its just pure entertainment and the fastest hour on the TV. It remains to be seen how far they can extend the series using the same premise. This is quality viewing from the Brits, the way they do it best. Amanda Redman showed us what she was made of in " At Home with the Braithwaites " another show you cant wait to see the next episode ! She has an unconventional beauty that makes her irresistible to watch, at least to THIS viewer. The male part of the cast work so well together, as they should as they are all veterans of the screen.....the show is smooth, seamless, funny and with real non plastic people who do not look all the same unlike in police dramas from the US, which seem to run to a tired formula, tired dialogue.... and is it just me ....but in US dramas when actors leave through a door....why do they inevitably have to turn and say something ??

I agree that the Brits seem to be able to produce well written shows that can make you laugh out loud one minute and then be tearing up at the sincere drama of the next minute. This is a unique and entertaining crime drama with good humor and great actors. I became a fan of Amanda Redman in spite of first seeing her in a terribly crap TV movie called "Suspicion". She was clearly working hard to make that script interesting and I knew an actress that determined must be good. Now that I'm seeing her in a decent show I am not in the least disappointed. She is great (and getting more beautiful with each year). She's completely believable as the tough policewoman in charge of this motley crew of men, and the guarded, reluctantly vulnerable woman sort of dating a younger man. The entire cast is superb. Alun Armstrong has never disappointed in anything I've ever seen him in and he is hysterical as the cop on multiple meds in this show. It's nice to see real looking people rather than bimbos & himbos. These are talented actors having a good time and creating something extremely entertaining.

My wife got me watching this as she is into Detective/Crime Drama and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised for several reasons. The use of actors who probably had their heyday twenty years ago was one and the stories are very well written. The show is classed as Drama but there is fun and games in there too.

James Bolam is an actor I have long rated highly and this shows he has not lost his touch. In fact the range of acting skills these people bring to the show make younger actors in the same show look shallow. The team knit well together. They make great use of the fact that they are all retired police officers who can and do ignore rules and protocols to solve supposedly dead cases.

It makes a refreshing change compared to some American shows of the same genre. I strongly recommend it.

What is it about British crime drama that makes them so good? While Americans produce one run of the mill series after the other that centers on fancy technique and the minds of killers the Brits constantly come up with new concepts and interesting character line ups.

New Tricks is probably the best of the current breed closely followed by my personal favourite, "55 Degrees North". I pity the so called young and hip series which feel the need to give identification figures to every focus group the entertainment industry cares about - "New Tricks" manages to make you care about the characters because they simply feel real and because it uses their genuine faults and quirks to propel exquisite and hilariously entertaining story lines.

The actor all are veterans of crime drama and the fun they are having with this one is palpable. These old dogs having plenty of new tricks up their sleeve to make he viewer eagerly ask for more.

I absolutely adore Touch of Frost, Midsummer Murders and Inspector Morse, but the thing I love about New Tricks is that it is contemporary, funny and still manages to be serious when it needs to be. True, it is a bit corny at times,my only criticism of the series, but it is sterling entertainment for those who want to relax in the evenings. Allun Armstrong is both touching and funny as Brian, a man of intellect and charm, but this is perhaps under-appreciated by his colleagues. James Bolam makes the most out of his character, and one of the main reasons I watch New Tricks in the first place. Jack Halford is seen as quiet and composed, yet there is a certain sadness to him that is quite appealing. Amanda Redman never disappoints in anything she's in, and she gives a thoroughly entertaining and sometimes serious portrayal of Sandra, and Dennis Waterman from The Sweeney and Minder delights with his vocals in the title song(which is quite catchy), and equally delights with his three-times-divorced, heavy-smoking character of Gerry Standing. The episodes allow the four stars to have fun, and the witty and fresh, though sometimes corny, script allows plenty of character development. Standout episodes are when Jack is slowly poisoned by a man played by Richard Briers, and Sandra finding out how and why her father died.(I felt sorry for her then)All in all, an entertaining and often funny series. 9/10 Bethany Cox.