New Tricks

New Tricks is a TV programme now in its’ ninth or is it tenth… or is it eleventh series. The premise is that a team of retired police officers have been brought together to work in a cold case unit under a serving officer. It started off with three amiable and eccentric ex-cops, each with their peculiarities, skills and background stories, played by Dennis Waterman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam; their superior was played by Amanda Redman. The series worked fantastically because it was clear that there was a great rapport between the actors, and the stories although sometimes far-fetched, hung together because of the great acting and the convincing way the actors played their characters with all their foibles, failings, believable ability to solve the crimes.

As was inevitable, one of the team decided to leave, and James Bolam was replaced by Denis Lawson, another great actor, whose character in the series just seemed to slot in with the others. He was completely different from the James Bolam character, and it all worked really well… then Alun Armstrong left to be replaced by Nicholas Lyndhurst. A fine actor but somehow he just doesn’t seem as convincing… the character just doesn’t seem realistic, and what is more the character doesn’t seem to gel with the others. Amanda Redman also left, replaced by Tamsin Outhwaite – again, a fine actor, but somehow her character was a clone of Amanda’s… even down to her being a feisty, tough, glamorous blond.

Somehow the heart has gone out of the series… and sadly the writing seems to have departed as well; I’m still loyally watching it, but the plots seem tired and convoluted, not engaging, and actually downright silly. I used to laugh out loud at New Tricks, as well as being on the edge of my seat with the plot developments and the dilemmas the characters find themselves in.

I will continue to watch… even though it now seems that Dennis Waterman will also be leaving… but it is a husk of the series it once was. Luckily I have the DVDs to watch…. so back to series 1…