New Tricks-Series 4 (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	403:08 (Case: 400)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Jon East Graham Theakston Jamie Payne Paul Seed
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Amanda Redman Alun Armstrong James Bolam Dennis Waterman Anthony Calf
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$39.95	Music	Nigel Hess Martin Phipps Rohan Stevenson

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    New Tricks was first shown on the BBC in 2003 and has also been shown locally on the ABC. So far, five seasons of this series have been made and this two disc set includes the entire fourth season consisting of 8 one hour episodes. This show is a mixture of serious policing and some offbeat and quirky comedy which makes for a very entertaining combination.

    The premise of the show is that a high flying Detective Superintendent on the way up, stuffs up a major case by blowing a kidnap rescue situation. Accordingly she is reassigned to start up a new squad to re-investigate old cases which need to be looked into for a variety of reasons. They are to be called UCOS - The Unsolved Case Squad. She takes the job before realising that the 'squad' will be made up of three old retired detectives. By this fourth series the format of the show is pretty set and they are still working for Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bob Strickland despite moving to a new office.

    I thoroughly enjoyed the previous seasons of this show, and this season keeps up the quality. The characters are nicely rounded and are really coming together as a team both in terms of acting and in the show itself. The writing is excellent and all 8 episodes are of high quality.

    The main characters are:

• Det Superintendent Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman) - She is a tough cop who has been divorced and has great difficulty maintaining relationships. She learns a secret about her father during this series.
• Jack Halford (James Bolum) - He was once Pullman's mentor in the murder squad. He is now retired and his wife, Mary has died recently. He is still struggling to accept her seemingly senseless death. He learns more about her death during this series.
• Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong) - An obsessive compulsive with a computer-like memory for information. He has a long suffering wife, Esther and a new addition, his dog Scampi.
• Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman) - A top policeman in his time who left the force with suspicions that he was corrupt. He has three ex-wives and three daughters, one by each.

    The episodes included are:

1. Casualty (50:05) - The whole team are involved in a serious car accident which also involves the man who Jack thinks murdered his wife. During their time in hospital they find out about 3 suspicious deaths that occurred in the same ward 10 years earlier.
2. God's Waiting Room (50:16) - Sandra is trying to find a nursing home for her mother. An old resident at one says someone was murdered at the home.
3. Ducking & Diving (51:58) - Gerry is having financial troubles. The team investigate an old case involving as murdered woman who was having an affair. A delivery truck found at the bottom of a very deep lake seems to be involved.
4. Nine Lives (50:15) - Jack is visiting his lawyer when a man bursts in accusing the lawyer of stopping him getting what he is due. The case revolves around an old woman who left all her money to her cats but may have been killed by them.
5. Powerhouse (50:03) - A stash of money is found in a old house which seems to have been in the possession of a man murdered in the 1950s. He worked at Battersea Power Station. George Cole from Minder guests.
6. Buried Treasure (50:14) - The team are having a paperwork audit but somehow manage to investigate two cases which are opened up by Scampi finding human remains while out walking with Brian.
7. Curse of Beauty (50:04) - The 1987 murder of a photographer is reopened when a camera and film are found in a nearby building. Sandra gets involved with a suspect.
8. Big Topped (50:13) - Circus owner and performer, The Great Miraculo was burned to death in 1980 in a mysterious manner. Strickland wants to reopen the case at the instigation of the man's daughter but Jack hates circuses.

    This is an excellent English cop show which adds a nice twist of humour to the interesting cases on offer. Recommended.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced, which is probably the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout but certainly not to the standard of new feature films. There was no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was reasonable without being spectacular. There is some light grain which becomes slightly heavier in dark scenes.

    The colour was good although there was some colour bleeding especially from light colours.

    The only noticeable artefact was aliasing which was generally mild in nature such as on Venetians. There are also some occasional specks.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired which were clear and easy to read.

    The set contains two DVD9 discs. The layer changes were probably between episodes.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 256 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music includes two songs sung by Dennis Waterman and incidental music by Brian and Warren Bennett. Both do their job well.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used other than for some mild atmosphere.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    None.

Menu

    The menu was still but included music and the ability to select episodes and subtitles.

    This set is available in the same format in Region 2 and is not available in Region 1.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

    The set has no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall