# New Tricks (BBC) Binge **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [January 22, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159 "2021-01-22T02:23:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/21 "2021-01-22T21:09:56Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > One of my favorites is Death in Paradise, changeover in that show is greater than Doctor Who. We like that also. Based on the DVD extras, it seems that filming there for a long time wasn’t easy for some of the actors. I think the same people who did New Tricks also did Death in Paradise. ---
**Author:** ![Ryz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryz/32/13213_2.png) [@Ryz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/22 "2021-01-22T21:10:50Z")
I haven’t watched much of the CSI variants, it’s not something I’ve been able to get into. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/23 "2021-01-22T21:11:41Z")
Funny, just finished that one last night. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/24 "2021-01-22T21:12:14Z")
> [@Ryz](#): > > If you mean the one with the airbase, (trying not to give anything away) I watched that one a couple of nights ago. That’d be the one. ---
**Author:** ![Ryz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryz/32/13213_2.png) [@Ryz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/25 "2021-01-22T21:18:23Z")
Yeah, I liked that one too. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/26 "2021-01-22T22:56:23Z")
I watched almost the whole series, but lost interest when too many of the main characters left. One of the things I liked about the show was that the guys were old farts, but they weren’t played for laughs or patronized. They were competent, experienced cops and brought a lot of knowledge and skill to the job. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/27 "2021-01-23T06:21:06Z")
I watched a lot of these episodes on regular cable some years back. I think I liked Jack the best, because he was willing to push back on Sandra’s high-handedness, as if he was her equal. My favorite episode was an almost completely character-based one, where Sandra was going to go to a reunion (at her high school, I think) where she had been a complete bully and was universally despised and feared. That was the most human I remember seeing her. The premise of New Tricks reminds me a little of a book series I have read a few of, the Bryant and May books by Christopher Fowler, about two ancient detectives (one rather like Jack, the other rather like Brian) who solve cases while creating havoc in their department and London in general. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/28 "2021-01-23T07:44:26Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I think I liked Jack the best, because he was willing to push back on Sandra’s high-handedness, as if he was her equal. IIRC, in terms of his pre-retirement rank, he was. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/29 "2021-01-23T11:15:29Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > IIRC, in terms of his pre-retirement rank, he was. In face, he had been Sandra’s boss, pre-retirement. I never could stand anything about Sandra. Maybe that was by design. Loved Brian “Memory” Lane. Even Gerry’s tendency to hit on every woman who came along was not an offensive trait in his character, as it was IMHO in Inspector Morse. You got the impression that for Gerry it wasn’t about conquest; he was a man who just genuinely loved women. As evidenced by his excellent relationships with his three exes. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/30 "2021-01-23T14:26:28Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](#): > > Far better than the CSI crap network offers There hasn’t been ANY “CSI crap” on network TV since 2016. The worst offender, CSI: Crapami went off the air in 2012. It’s safe to turn on your TV again. Of course, your basic premise is flawed. I watch and enjoy both, and New Tricks isn’t perfection on a stick. They have bad episodes, too. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/31 "2021-01-23T19:42:46Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > One of the things I liked about the show was that the guys were old farts, but they weren’t played for laughs or patronized. They were competent, experienced cops and brought a lot of knowledge and skill to the job. I think you’ll find that’s the entire premise for the show. The name’s taken from the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” > [@Voyager](#): > > The actor who played Jerry sang the theme, by the way He (denis waterman) does that a lot (see eg, “Minder”). He gets the p\*ss taken quite a bit in “Little Britain” for that very reason. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/32 "2021-01-23T19:44:04Z")
No kidding. 🙄 The premise is that you don’t need to teach an old dog new tricks because they already **know** all the tricks. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/33 "2021-01-23T21:22:14Z")
And they sometimes grouse because the new policing model doesn’t allow them to use the old tricks anymore. Gerry, for one, tends to lament that they can’t knock suspects about a bit. (Doesn’t stop them from stepping outside the boundary on occasion, much to Pullman’s dismay.) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/34 "2021-01-25T19:23:07Z")
NO SPOILERS Since we have already established in this thread that in later seasons characters are swapped out, I want to chat more about one of the replacements. Minor gripe - The character of Danny Griffin - It looks like he is established as a polymath, in order to replace Brian’s big brain. But they don’t stop there - every chance they get, they make him an absolute expert on whatever is going on, not just esoteric book learning, but technical / medical, and he can even play football! He’s the swiss-army-knife character. I fully expect at some point we will see him speak fluent Chinese, breath underwater, and fly unaided. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/35 "2021-01-25T19:38:10Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > He’s the swiss-army-knife character. He’s the British version of [Arthur Dietrich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Miller)? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/36 "2021-02-01T16:09:48Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The actor who played Jerry sang the theme, by the way. I watch with captioning turned on, and they always spell it “Gerry”. (It’s also “Gerry Standing” on Wikipedia). I’m on season 4. I’ve had to do some searching for some of the UK stuff, like [when they had ice cream and called it 99.](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/99-ice-creams-called-99s-12499757) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/37 "2021-02-01T16:17:55Z")
99s are an iconic part of childhood! No trip to the seaside is complete without one. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/38 "2021-02-02T05:12:32Z")
99s are a new term to me. Could you explain to a dumb American what exactly they are? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/39 "2021-02-02T05:52:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I watch with captioning turned on, and they always spell it “Gerry”. Amongst the many interesting contradictions of Gerry Standing is that he isn’t the “British to his bootstraps” Cockney he prefers to be portrayed as, rather his background is French Huguenot and he was born Gerard Lestade. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159/40 "2021-02-02T08:36:08Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](#): > > 99s are a new term to me. Could you explain to a dumb American what exactly they are? Nothing dumb about it, if you have’t grown up with wet weekends at the British seaside. 99s are [vanilla ice cream cones with a Cadbury’s chocolate flake stuck in the top](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Flake#:~:text=A%2099%20Flake%20ice%20cream,Flake%20bar%20has%20been%20inserted.&text=They%20are%20sold%20by%20ice%20cream%20vans%20and%20parlours.). The ice cream is a light, whipped variety dispensed from machines (and not about to win any ice cream prizes), generally dispensed from [mobile ice cream vans](https://www.google.com/search?q=mr+whippy+van&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB869GB869&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiewuii5sruAhX7UxUIHUMwDrQQ_AUoAXoECCIQAw&biw=1706&bih=1151). It’s been around since the 1920s, and the name is lost in the mist of time (there are MANY different ideas about that). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tricks-bbc-binge/931159.md?page=3)