Dalziel and Pascoe

RIP Warren Clarke November 2014. I am finishing watching this series this Holiday Season in a tribute to Warren's recent passing. Warren Clarke is absolutely BRILLIANT in this series. I first found it via Masterpiece Mysteries on my US PBS channel back in the 90's. After that, it was hard to find, until nice folkes uploaded episodes. I have watched Series 1-11 at least once a year for the past 5 years. I have waited for it to be available in the US and now you can order via Walmart.com...wonderful site. Will be purchasing for my birthday in January 2015. This, New Tricks and my other favourite UK Series will be added as $ allows. Back to Dalziel & Pascoe. I am 62, a film/TV buff since a wee child. Soupy Sales comes to mind when thinking of Andy Dalziel. Out of thousands of TV Characters seen over the years. Andy is truly in my Top 10. His thick Gaelic Brogue and his "true-to-reality" male behaviour are EPIC. You must watch a few episodes to realize Andy's HEART...some may be appalled with his "nose-picking", ball-scratching, lip-smacking" humouristic, characteristics. This is perhaps THE MOST REAL CHARACTER ever seen on TV. He is not your typical "Lovable Barnaby" DI, and not for fans of "Nicely Nice" DIs, calmly moving toward the obvious suspects. Dalziel will venture wild accusations, then apologize if he's wrong, and "gloat" as Peter Pascoe chides him, when he is found to be right. Dalziel is not a Politically Correct PC, he is unapologetically irreverent and brash. However, if you watch long enough, you will see Dalziel CRY soft sobbing tears in the face of loss and tragedy. I have never seen Barnaby cry. I guess the best way to put it, is...(Midsomer Murders which I love, finds an Adorable 1 Dimensional Barnaby) ANDY DALZIEL, is a MULTI-faceted character, a 3F man with flaws, failures & foibles. I have found him to be an admirable character. He is WISE, LOYAL, "A Dog With A Bone (me too)" and KIND with consideration. The Dalziel & Pascoe Series teaches that some crimes are resolved with "FATE" and lives lived with melancholy, instead of "booty". I love the supporting characters as well, although I hated "Ellie", Peter's wife...She was stunning to watch, beautiful and acted well, however, sad to watch her belittle Peter. Wieldy, the big silent softy, is a joy to watch and he provides a great supporting character to the mix. The female supporting cast members were fairly great as well...currently watching Posh Spicer, and she is good in her part and plays in 20 episodes. I haven't said much about Peter, sometimes I love Peter and sometimes, I simply want to smack him...His character is much more flawed than Andy's...While Andy loyalty is constant, Peter vasillates and has periods of doubt and suspicions. He is a brooding character, quite melancholy, but no Dalziel & Pascoe without Pascoe. There have been several characters that I have hated they killed off. Well enough...A QUITE WORTHY WELCOME Series and again, Andy stands alone with Alum Armstrong as Brian Lane in New Tricks as the MOST OUTSTANDING UK characters EVER! and to the person dissing this for A Touch Of Frost...I love that show as well...and the character FROST...he might be my 3rd., 4th or 5th. favourite DI.. WATCH IF YOU DARE! Not a sugar cookie, but a MACAROON!

We are in the middle of season 7 at the moment in Sweden, and I've been watching it since season 4. And I must say that I've liked what I've seen so far. Every summer they show Midsomer Murders on Swedish television, and I USED to enjoy that show until I found this masterpiece. Here the characters and environments are more realistic, the plots are more complex and interesting, and the endings are not alway crystal clear, which, for the thriller-interested viewer, is quite satisfying. The ongoing Dalziel-Pascoe relationship is probably the best in its genre, and Dalziel's one-liners sometimes make you laugh your head off! I hope they will continue to show Dalziel and Pascoe in Sweden, although I don't think it's well known here. It's as good as Frost, and much better than the latest seasons of Midsomer Murders. UK can certainly make my evenings a lot more fun.

This is easily one of my favourite UK Police series. Although it is called Dalziel & Pascoe, Superintendent Andy Dalziel, played effortlessly by the experienced Warren Clarke is easily the star of the show. He may not be real, but he is how senior Detectives should be. Hard drinking, perhaps a bit uncouth/crude, but also clever and someone who really does care. He is also a bit of a comedian, who has an habit of calling his staff by well known Nicknames. DC Harris is Bomber, DS Milligan is Spike, DC Novello is Ivor and WPC Jackson is Janet. The programme is set is Yorshire but because it is produced by the Birmingham studios a lot a scenes are shot in the West Midlands. There are now over 30 episodes and the early episodes also chronicle the progress of DS Pascoe's ( Later Detectective Inspector) family. An other regular, who has been absent for the past few episodes is DS Edgar Wield. The rugged Sergeant Wield is gay, but this is only occasionally referred to.

Something happened to those fabulous British crime and cop shows. Most of them finished and other than repeats, nothing much has taken their place.

I'm talking about the movie length series where we had coppers that no matter how tough the exterior, underneath was a genuine understanding of the human condition. There was usually just one murder to investigate, but they were always realistic investigations.

I don't count the Miss Marple's or things like "Midsomer Murders" with their endless novelty murders, and not "Death in Paradise", which depends a lot on the exotic location, an eccentric British detective and Josephine Jobert in shorts.

The ones I am talking about started out based on novels. "Morse" morphed into "Lewis" and now "Endeavour", but we also had "Wallander", then a throwback to another era with "Inspector George Gently". However we still have "Vera".

"Dalziel and Pascoe" belongs with this group. In a way it was one of the most complex. The best series are buddy movies. More effective than the lone hero, I am surprised more shows don't use the format. In a way Andy Dalziel (Warren Clarke) and Peter Pascoe (Colin Buchanan) are almost like brothers. Peter is more refined than Andy who can be rude and crude, and they often fall out usually with disapproval written across both their faces, but these guys are there for each other when it counts. Their relationship, almost co-dependence, even outlasts Peter's marriage.

Some of the stories are better than others, but the writers have nailed what makes these characters so appealing. It's their empathy, and their exposure of hypocrisy in high places. Humour was definitely a strong point.

Nearly all those series ended for various reasons and it wasn't necessarily low ratings. Sometimes the stars had had enough, and sometimes it was through whim. Occasionally a series "jumped the shark". You can usually tell when that happens; one story gets stretched across a whole season. "Hinterland" did this and is now gone. "Shetland" is doing it; a series that was slow, is now slower. "Dalziel and Pascoe" didn't do that; it actually left us hanging. But of course Warren Clarke is now gone.

There are few heirs to those shows. "Manhunt" with Martin Clunes, but episodes are few and far between. "Endeavour" and Vera plough on, but I can't help feeling an era has ended.

I love detective shows and have done for as long as I can remember. Dalziel and Pascoe is no exception. I agree to some extent it is not quite as good as it was, with the introduction with the somewhat bland Kim Spicer, but on the whole it is well acted and well written, and while it has lost its edge a bit it is quite intense still. The photography and locations are excellent and the music is haunting(courtesy of genius Barrington Pheloung), while the writing is both humorous and intelligent and the stories and episode ideas gritty, edgy, complex and incredibly engrossing. The characters in general are likable and interesting, with Dalziel unorthodox but clever and quite funny sometimes and Pascoe loyal but sticks to the book. The acting is great, with Warren Clarke easily stealing the show, then again I don't know about you but Dalziel is for me the better character of the two but they're both great. Overall, great show. 9/10 Bethany Cox