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There are few British drama series as genuinely critic-proof as New Tricks. In telling the story of three retired policemen who investigate unresolved crimes and the female officer tasked with overseeing them, its mix of camaraderie, naff jokes and detective work has routinely been lambasted by critics. And yet, here it is in its eighth series, with this opening episode having overnight ratings of over 8 million, a figure most drama series can only dream of. But was it any good?
I guess the first thing any reviewer of New Tricks has to do is declare their allegiances. Do they think the programme is a fun take on the detective genre? Or an abomination against the arts and all the BBC should be, as some people seem to think? Well, I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard fan, but I have to admit to being lured in by the obvious fun which all the actors are having, and the all-too-rare chance to see older people as the main characters on TV these days is always welcome.
But, for me, something about this opening episode fell a bit flat. Perhaps it was the strange undercurrent to the episode which was created by Sandra and Jack being on opposite sides about the disgraced pathologist; Jack’s loyalty to his friend was admirable, but seemed foolish when it turned out that his friend had made a mistake. And having them investigate a crime involving dinosaurs and old fossils should have produced a few slightly guilty laughs, but the episode was light on jokes, which seemed a shame. The solution to the crime also didn’t work at all for me; having the big corporation be responsible seemed like the easy and obvious route.
Yet, despite all this, New Tricks always has one thing going for it that never lets the show down: the actors. The guest actors were on the whole good, although the normally reliable Natasha Little gave an oddly detached performance that didn’t work for me at all. But it’s the four leads that bring the show to life, even if they’re not given a great deal to do as here. Dennis Waterman gives a reliably jack-the-laddish performance as Gerry, while James Bolam plays Jack’s misplaced loyalty well. Amanda Redman once again manages to do her best school mistress performance in trying to control them all. And yet, above and beyond them all stands Alun Armstrong, giving one of the best performances on British TV as Brian, the nerd who just happens to be a recovering alcoholic. In the past he’s done absolutely astonishing work on this show, and I hope he’s given the chance to do it again soon.
Overall, this was a fairly disappointing opening episode, raised up mostly by the four lead actors. For once in a detective drama, it’s the personal lives of the main characters that we really want to see, so bringing in more of that – along with the slightly naff sense of fun that usually pervades it – will make New Tricks its old self again.
New Tricks continues on Monday at 9pm on BBC1
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