Keys to the Car

An excellent episode of Frost. An episode that starts out with what seems to be a minor crime - a man steals a car seemingly just to drive it - and ends with a murder with a compelx array of suspects.

Throw in a charming car thief, a mysterious, beautiful Dutchwoman, a new, more demanding boss for Frost and a story that unfolds slowly yet very intriguingly and it's one of the best of all the Frost episodes.

Was heading to be pretty much perfect but the ending felt a bit rushed and contrived. I'll blame the time restriction for that: given another 15 or so minutes the writers could have turned this into a masterpiece.

This is a nicely done episode. When Mullett take a couple weeks off, a woman who has ideas about changing the precinct takes over. She immediately takes a dislike to Frost, especially after he fails to follow procedure in investigating a serious assault that has left a young man in a coma. The suspect is released and his shyster lawyer and he laugh at the idiocy going on at the station. Frost hangs on to his job but Toolan is assigned elsewhere. Frost is sent to a golf course where Mullett is playing and where the Superintendent's golfing friend has his car stolen. This leads us to a search for a man who makes a career out of invading the locker rooms of courses and getting his hands on the keys. He is a handsome guy who also seems to get women to accompany him for a period of time. He seems irresistible to women. In all this mess a body (the guy that Frost was investigating, a serious drug dealer) is found in the back of one of the stolen cars. Eventually, they become connected to the police in Amsterdam because one of the woman seen with the car thief has gone with him to that city. What transpires is quite well done, though there are a lot of things that must fall into place to make it possible..

I never really cared much for David Jason as a comedian as he was mostly in series that went for cheap laughs and fairly one-dimensional acting. So I was really very pleasantly surprised at how great he is as Jack Frost. Frost is an interesting round character but does not dominate the film completely with his personal quirks. I particularly like the subtle built up of erotic tension between him and a visiting police woman. The story is very good, nothing is what it seems and you can't help being surprised at all the twists and turns. At the end there are a hell of a lot of coincidences but at the end of the day the solution is acceptable. For a TV show it's also quite well directed in terms of nice visual ideas.

'A Touch of Frost' is a personal favourite of mine, and one of my favourite shows from the detective/mystery genre. Do have a preference perhaps for the earlier-mid-show episodes over the later ones, but none of the episodes are less than watchable and none do anything to embarrass the show.

So much appeals about 'A Touch of Frost'. Love the mix of comedy (mostly through Frost's snide comments and quips) and dark grit, the tension between rebellious Jack Frost and by-the-book Mullet which has led to some humorous moments, how he interacts with the rest of the staff, the deft mix of one or two cases and Frost's personal life, how Frost solves the cases, the production values, music and of course David Jason in one of his best roles.

There may have been people initially sceptical about whether the show would work, and with Jason (a mainly comedic actor) in a departure from usual in the lead role. Scepticism very quickly evaporated, with the first season containing three consistently great episodes, even with the darker and grittier approach with less humour, that established the tone and characterisation so brilliantly so early on with no signs of finding-their-feet. Seasons 2 and 3 continued that high standard, "Appropriate Adults" and "Stranger in House" particularly being show highlights. Season 4 was also very good, particularly "Paying the Price" and "Deep Waters", the weakest "Unknown Soldiers" still being pretty good. All four episodes of Season 5 were brilliant, especially "Penny for the Guy" and "No Other Love".

"Appendix Man" and "One Man's Meat" were pretty good, if a couple of steps down from the brilliant previous season. "Private Lives", while still not up to the same level of the previous season, is an improvement but it's the conclusion to the sixth season "Keys to the Cars" that fares the best.

Maybe there are a few too many coincidences in solving the case. Otherwise there is really not much to "Keys to the Car" that comes over as wrong.

"Keys to the Car" is typically very well made. It matches 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.

The script is well written, with a few very amusing quips from Frost, and is thought-provoking with lots of things you don't expect. The story is absorbing with many twists and turns and things you don't expect. The ending ties everything together more than satisfactorily and is a fine ending on its own. Liked the erotic tension too, plus Toolan is back after being sorely missed in "Private Lives".

Frost is a remarkably well-established character , and one cannot help love his interaction with the rest of the officers and his chemistry with Bruce Alexander's stern and by-the-book Mullet, who constantly despairs of Frost's unconventional approach. Frost's new partner is a good character and works well with Frost.

Jason continues to excel impeccably, while Paul Jesson, Bruce Alexander, John Lyons and Manouk Van Der Muelen support him solidly. John Thaw's daughter Melanie also appears.

Overall, great episode and Season 6's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox