Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As had been quite clearly flagged up at the end of the previous series, Series 9 included the first change of personnel amongst the four main characters since the show was launched in 2003, as Jack Halford retired from UCOS. However, he did appear in the first episode just to tidy up the circumstances of his departure. We had to wait until Episode 4 to meet Jack's replacement, DI Steven McAndrew played by Denis Lawson. He is a hard headed Glaswegian who has been drafted in to help the team. McAndrew is completely different from Jack Halford, and I think the script writers made absolutely the right decision here and it would have been a mistake to try to clone Jack which would have resulted in the inevitable and constant comparisons. Apparently James Bolam, who played Jack Halford, wanted to leave as he felt the show had become stale. I would beg to differ as the script writers have continued to come up with some very interesting and varied stories. For example one involves a murder which took place some 160 years ago - a real cold case! The team are as interested in the motives for wanting to solve it in after all this time, as the circumstances of the crime itself. Another is a contemporary case which is not a cold case at all and involves a body turning up in a morgue under a false name. To be fair though, the episodes were a bit more mixed than usual as far as quality went this time round and a couple were quite obscure. There is a reasonable sprinkling of the private lives of Brian Lane and Gerry Standing, including a particularly hilarious session where Brian has aspirations for his dog to be a star of stage and screen! However, we learn little of the background of the new recruit until the last episode. Certainly seeing the main characters away from the job was one of the charms of New Tricks when it was first released and I have felt that this aspect was rather lacking in some of the other series. As with Series 7 and 8, this series consisted of ten episodes rather than the eight of earlier series. It is good news that a tenth series of ten episodes has already been commissioned. However, both Amanda Redman and Alun Armstong who play DS Sandra Pulman, and Brian Lane respectively have said that they will be leaving after the 10th series. Thus if the show continues it will be quite different with only Gerry Standing played by Dennis Waterman, remaining from the original team.There seem to be strong hints towards the end of this series that any continuation may be with a new UCOS team in Glasgow, Scotland. When it was launched, New Tricks managed to break new ground which was quite an achievement as police series have been just about done to death from every angle over the years. I have mixed feelings about whether the show should continue after Series 10. On the one hand it was very much the main characters who made the show what it was, but on the other hand it would be a shame to see the back of a programme which shines out in a TV schedule which is sadly lacking much of the same calibre.