New Tricks (2003-2015)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Tricks is a crime drama which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2003.

 

The pilot, which was aired in 2003, was followed by twelve seasons 2004-2015.

 

Here is some basic information about this crime drama:

 

** Created by Nigel McCreary and Roy Mitchell

** Number of episodes: 107

** Run time: 120 hours

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Dennis Waterman (1948-2022) as Gerry Standing (2003-2015) – 99 episodes

** Amanda Redman as Sandra Pullman (2003-2013) – 84 episodes

** Alun Armstrong as Brian Lane (2003-2013) – 80 episodes

** James Bolam as Jack Halford (2003-2013) – 69 episodes

** Anthony Calf as Robert Strickland (2005-2015) – 64 episodes

 

The second group

** Denis Lawson as Steve McAndrew (2012-2015) – 37 episodes

** Nicholas Lyndhurst (2013-2015) – 26 episodes

** Tamzin Outhwaite (2013-2015) – 21 episodes

** Larry Lamb as Ted Case (2015) – 9 episodes

 

New Tricks is about UCOS, a fictional unit in the British police force. The four letters stand for Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad.

 

The UCOS staff are retired police officers who have a lot of experience. Only the boss is a serving police officer. At first Sandra Pullman, later Sasha Miller.

 

As the name says, this unit takes on cold cases when new evidence turns up. The unit has a high rate of success. They solve almost every case that they investigate and they work relatively fast.

 

The title of the series in inspired by the proverb “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

 

The theme song It’s Alright is written by Mike Moran and performed by Dennis Waterman (who is a member of the cast).

 

The theme song is actually a short version of The End of the Line written and performed by The Traveling Wilburys in 1988.

 

What do reviewers say about this series?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 79 per cent which corresponds to four stars on Amazon.

 

On Amazon UK the special box set which contains all 107 episodes has at the moment more than 1,000 ratings, more than 500 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.8 stars which corresponds to a rating of 96 percent.

 

If you ask me, the former rating (IMDb) is too low, while the latter rating (Amazon) is more appropriate.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS # 1. While this series is great, there is one serious blunder:

 

In 2013, Tamzin Outhwaite is brought in to replace Amanda Redman as the boss of UCOS.

 

She plays this role until the end of season 12. But this actress had already been used on this show before:

 

In season 09 episode 06, she plays the mother of a rising tennis player!

 

I have decided to regard this as a minor flaw, since it is only one small detail in a drama that ran for more than ten years.

 

PS # 2. Waking the Dead is a somewhat similar crime drama produced by British television (BBC).

 

A fictional cold case unit based in London investigates a series of unsolved mysteries.

 

The pilot, which appeared in September 2000, was followed by nine seasons.

 

A total of 46 cases were covered over nine seasons. The final episode was broadcast in April 2011.

 

*****

New Tricks

A television series on BBC

(2003-2015)

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