Dead Male One

Jack's weekend with Shirley is interrupted by a call from The Station, the body of a John Doe has been pulled out of the water, a man who had recently been in hospital for an appendectomy. At the same Adie Miller, Denton's local football hero almost dies after winning a match for the local side.

It's perhaps not my favourite entry from this excellent third series, but it's still a very good watch. Being a football lover this one has an extra appeal.

Intelligent storytelling, we have the concrete storyline of Adie Miller and the somewhat vague thread of Appendix Man, we don't learn a lot here, we'd have to wait until series 6, but it does give us an insight into Jack's dogged determination as a Detective.

As always there are a few touches of humour, and of course Jack's usual relationship woes, poor Shirley, the writing was always on the wall.

Hazel's final appearance as a regular and no Clive, instead George gets a bit more screen time, we'd get to see her again.

A young Danny Dyer is unmistakable, talented even in these early years, solid performances all round, once again David Jason is terrific.

It looks good, the football matches, supporters, players etc, visually it's very good.

8/10.

Interesting setting for this episode as the murder victim is a football star. Is as intriguing as ever. Another death also reminds you that you shouldn't expect everything to be resolved perfectly.

'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. The second season opener "A Minority of One" was up to their level. "Widows and Orphans" is a slight step down from the previous episodes but is still very good, and the otherwise very worthwhile "Nothing to Hide" was let down by a far too obvious ending. "Stranger in the House" was the best of the season and to me one of the show's best episodes.

Season 3 has been great, again with not a bad episode in the lot. The best is the gut-wrenchingly powerful and deeply moving "Appropriate Adults", and "Quarry" while still a slight step down (with Frost's cruelty to Barnard a slight turn off) is also great.

"Dead Male One" doesn't disappoint and generally a season high point. It is a particularly complicated case, with a lot going on, lots of suspects and a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and the portrayal of football is at times less than flattering but actually not that biased on either side. However, "Dead Male One" doesn't feel over-crowded, you can still tell who is who and everything still makes sense.

Visually, as ever, "Dead Male One" is a great-looking episode. The script is well written, with a few amusing quips from Frost, and thought-provoking, and the story is continually compelling and never bloated or confusing, dangers when a lot is going on. The ending is emotional indeed.

Frost is a remarkably well-established character for so early on, 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. Also love his interaction with the suspects.

Jason is brilliant as usual as Frost, while Bruce Alexander and John Lyons are just as good. The supporting roles are taken solidly.

Overall, yet another excellent episode. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This one is a bit of a dud.

A ponderous episode to keep David Jason busy and keep him away from making any more Only Fools and Horses for the BBC.

A dead body is fished out of the river which looks more like a pond. Apparently the dead man walked out of hospital after having his appendix removed.

He has a driving licence which belonged to a the head of a local high school. Frost wants to find out who the dead man is and how did the licence get in his possession.

The other story is a footballer who collapses after being kicked in the head during a cup match. It turns out that he he drank something that spiked with drugs. The footballer is left in a coma.

I could not even fathom a reason as to why culprit spiked the footballer's drink. It was so far out.

Watch out for a very young Danny Dyer.

Some insufferable British footballer ends up a vegetable after being poisoned in the locker room. At first it is suspected that an opposing player caused his decline by kicking him in the head three or four times. Frost begins to realize the high stakes of the soccer world and must gain an understanding of those that control the money. There is a secondary plot about a man who leaves a hospital and ends up in a fishing pond. I had a hard time getting caught up in this episode. There are numerous victims and the ultimate dehumanization of sports figures. Nonetheless, it is still a joy to watch Frost parry and thrust with the possible villains.