Despite the fact that an awful lot of crap clogs up our screens, I'm a bit of a telly addict. Part of this is probably due to the fact I was only allowed heavily rationed viewing when I was younger and the novelty of unrestricted access has yet to fully wear off. The major reason however is that I really don't like the sound of silence. I agree with whoever first described the sound of silence as deafening. As I have said in previous posts, music leaves me rather cold, radio 4 (my default station) has some spectacularly good programmes but often take a bit too much concentration for background listening so often the best default option for a bit of background sound is television.
Amongst all the dross there are some gems. Police mystery dramas are high on the hit list for both my girlfriend on me. Even now, having watched far more than I should really admit to, there is an enduring appeal in a "whodunit" and a satisfaction at the end when the police get their man in the nick of time to full the alloted time slot. The perpetrator never makes a last minute dash and we never see them writing up paperwork well into the news. It's all just charmingly neat and tidy.
Anyway, one such programme that is currently riding high in my estimations is New Tricks. This is about a team of ex-detectives working for the Metropolitan Police to solve unsolved cases. The team is lead by Amanda Redman's character, the only serving police officer and Oedipal mother figure of the group with Alun Armstrong (the eccentric genius), Dennis Waterman (the cockney 'Jack the Lad' type) and James Bolam (the sensible one) playing the retired detectives.
The format wonderfully with the four main characters playing off each other nicely, each complimenting the others in terms of both ability and quirks. A steady bubble of humour grew around all of them as they teased each other, played windups and supported each other through personal trauma while occasionally solving crimes through extraordinary deduction and recourse to the 'good old days.
So far so good. Like I say, the format worked well over the series that this cast were together. That was until James Bolam decided to leave. I quite liked the handling of his departure. Even if it was a bit sudden and felt a bit forced (perhaps the latter was due to reading the back-stories in the press) the writers managed to tie up all the loose ends and give the character a decent send off.
This has meant that Bolam's character has been succeeded by a character played by Denis Lawson. My first impressions are that he is immensely likeable. He certainly seems to have what Glaswegians would call "patter". This is all well and good, the only problem is that his character is a bit of a chancer as well. This puts him firmly in the same bracket as Dennis Waterman and, unsurprisingly, over the course of the latest series, the two characters have become firm friends. In fact the other two are increasingly taking a back seat in episodes (again, according to the press, the actors are planning to leave the show therefore it's not exactly surprising).
I can see a spin-off happening in the near future - possibly involving a relocation to Scotland. Unusually where change is involved, I think this could be a rather good idea and work quite well. The way the two characters interact at the moment, they would certainly be playing more for laughs than drama but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
At any rate, I will be interested to see how things pan out in the series.
JR
Amongst all the dross there are some gems. Police mystery dramas are high on the hit list for both my girlfriend on me. Even now, having watched far more than I should really admit to, there is an enduring appeal in a "whodunit" and a satisfaction at the end when the police get their man in the nick of time to full the alloted time slot. The perpetrator never makes a last minute dash and we never see them writing up paperwork well into the news. It's all just charmingly neat and tidy.
Anyway, one such programme that is currently riding high in my estimations is New Tricks. This is about a team of ex-detectives working for the Metropolitan Police to solve unsolved cases. The team is lead by Amanda Redman's character, the only serving police officer and Oedipal mother figure of the group with Alun Armstrong (the eccentric genius), Dennis Waterman (the cockney 'Jack the Lad' type) and James Bolam (the sensible one) playing the retired detectives.
The format wonderfully with the four main characters playing off each other nicely, each complimenting the others in terms of both ability and quirks. A steady bubble of humour grew around all of them as they teased each other, played windups and supported each other through personal trauma while occasionally solving crimes through extraordinary deduction and recourse to the 'good old days.
So far so good. Like I say, the format worked well over the series that this cast were together. That was until James Bolam decided to leave. I quite liked the handling of his departure. Even if it was a bit sudden and felt a bit forced (perhaps the latter was due to reading the back-stories in the press) the writers managed to tie up all the loose ends and give the character a decent send off.
This has meant that Bolam's character has been succeeded by a character played by Denis Lawson. My first impressions are that he is immensely likeable. He certainly seems to have what Glaswegians would call "patter". This is all well and good, the only problem is that his character is a bit of a chancer as well. This puts him firmly in the same bracket as Dennis Waterman and, unsurprisingly, over the course of the latest series, the two characters have become firm friends. In fact the other two are increasingly taking a back seat in episodes (again, according to the press, the actors are planning to leave the show therefore it's not exactly surprising).
I can see a spin-off happening in the near future - possibly involving a relocation to Scotland. Unusually where change is involved, I think this could be a rather good idea and work quite well. The way the two characters interact at the moment, they would certainly be playing more for laughs than drama but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
At any rate, I will be interested to see how things pan out in the series.
JR
No comments:
Post a Comment