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[[File:new-tricks1.jpg|frame|[[Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune|It's all right, it's okay. Doesn't really matter if you're old and grey.]]]]
{{quote|''"You shoot one dog in this country..." ''
|DS Sandra Pullman}}
''[[New Tricks]]'' (2005-2015)
* '''Jack Halford''' (James Bolam), an ex-Detective Chief Superintendent and Pullman's old boss and mentor, who left the job in grief over the unsolved hit-and-run death of his beloved wife Mary.
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* '''Gerry Standing''' (Dennis Waterman), a Jack-the-lad charmer with three ex-wives (that he is on excellent terms with), a gambling habit and some shady ethics, who left the force under suspicion of corruption after punching out his boss (who just happens to now be ''Pullman's'' boss). A softened-for-comedy version of what George Carter, Waterman's character in ''[[The Sweeney]]'', would be like today, complete with long hair, wide flashy neckties, constant smoking etc.
Also frequently appearing were Pullman's bosses (Don Bevan in the pilot and first series, Robert Strickland in the second onwards) and Esther Lane (Susan Jameson), Brian's put-upon and long-suffering but loyal wife.
Although a mystery series, much of the interest in the show comes from the characters and their various eccentricities, and in particular the culture clash between modern police methods (represented by Pullman and her media-and-statistics conscious superiors) and the old-school ways (Halford, Lane and Standing, are all cops from the seventies and eighties). Pullman is often exasperated by the corners cut and rules ignored by her colleagues, even as she herself is gradually 'corrupted' by them. In some ways, it can be said to foreshadow the popularity of ''[[Life On Mars]]'', only instead of the boringly squeaky-clean modern copper being sent to the past to be 'corrupted' by it, the past's veteran coppers return in the present.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Becoming the Mask]]: In the episode "Only
* [[Benevolent Boss]]: Strickland's grown into this role over time; having started as something of a politically-minded [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] he's gradually earned the respect of the team and vice versa.
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Jack, whilst normally a pleasant, gentle sort of fellow, possesses a sharp and sometimes violent temper if someone (usually a murderer or corrupt cop) has ''really'' managed to annoy him. Also Brian, when he hasn't been taking his meds.
* [[Big Secret]]: There are usually three or four of these per episode, invariably complicating the murder investigation.
* [[Blessed with Suck]]: It's established that Brian's remarkable photographic instant-recall memory and outstanding abilities as a detective and forensic investigator are the direct result of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a manic depression that, if he doesn't take his medication, leaves him with crippling, obsessive paranoia and at the best of times renders him an anti-social pedant. He is also a recovered alcoholic.
* [[The Charmer]]: Gerry.
* [[Conspiracy Theorist]]: Brian turns into one of these if he comes off his anti-depressants; most notably in one episode where the team are investigating the suspicious death of a prominent 1970s trade unionist, Brian — himself a member of the Police Union during his service — becomes convinced that he's being observed.
* [[Conveyor Belt of Doom]]: Gerry is almost dragged into a chopping machine when his jacket snags on a conveyor belt in "Dark Chocolate".
* [[Creepy Souvenir]]: The
* [[Da Chief]]: Sandra and her superior officers.
* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]: In "Only
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Each member of UCOS has their moments.
{{quote|'''Gerry:''' So, Ricky Hanson... mate of yours?
'''Jack:''' Biggest murdering, thieving, lying piece of morally-bankrupt shite I've ever laid eyes on.
'''Brian:''' Oh. Nothing personal then.
*
* [[Defective Detective]]: Brian, as mentioned above.
** To a lesser extent, the others as well: Jack most obviously with his grieving for his late wife Mary, but Gerry has to deal with borderline addictions to gambling and cigarettes (although he can control his booze, oddly enough) and a lingering reputation for corruption, and Sandra has to cope with being a workaholic with no social life and the lingering memory of her father's suicide.
* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: Brian's life has been very full since his retirement: grandchildren, gardening, football, swimming, day trips, gardening, car, pets, dogs, the wife... did he mention gardening?
* [[Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune]]: That's Dennis Waterman singing the tune, which he also wrote.
** George Harrison, famous as being one of the Beatles, actually wrote the song as
* [[Eureka Moment]]: Brian is sometimes given to these.
** Parodied with a subversion in one episode when Gerry sees someone he
* [[Everything's Better with Penguins]]: Brian's tattoo.
* [[Four-Temperament Ensemble]]: Sandra is choleric, Gerry is sanguine, Brian is melancholic, and Jack is phlegmatic.
* [[Giving Them the Strip]]: In "Dark Chocolate", Gerry escapes the [[Conveyor Belt O' Doom]] by taking off his jacket.
* [[Innocent Innuendo]]: Brian often tends to wander into these.
* [[Insult Backfire]]: At the end of the pilot, Sandra refers to the boys as 'criminals'. They react with
* [[Interservice Rivalry]]: When an old case crosses with a new case, most commonly due a murderer trying to cover their tracks, UCOS are supposed to hand the old case over to the people investigating the new case and back off. Needless to say they don't like doing this.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: In the pilot, the deputy commissioner tries to shut down Jack when he approaches him for a warrant by smugly pointing out that he's not actually a police officer any more. At the end, when the same deputy commissioner is getting his arse kicked in the climactic punch-up and begs Jack for help, Jack -- who, with the others, his happily standing on the sidelines watching the chaos -- 'apologetically' points out that he's "not actually a police officer anymore, remember?"
* [[It's Personal]]: Jack was hell bent on brining down crime boss Ricky Hanson, the man who murdered his wife. Jack actually tries to kill him with his car at one point, but only ends up
* [[Kick the Dog]]: Subversion / parody - in the pilot, Sandra - a decent person - is forced to shoot one that is attacking her, but the resulting public outcry completely derails her career and makes her a laughing stock ("You shoot ''one dog'' in this country...").
* [[Monkey Morality Pose]]: Brian, Gerry and Jack at the end of "Powerhouse".
* [[The Mourning After]]: Jack's wife may be dead, but he still considers himself very married.
* [[Necro Cam]]: Not as often as you'd think, though, especially given that most of the cases that are dealt with occurred up to 20 years ago and this isn't ''[[Waking the Dead]]''.
* [[
* [[No Medication for Me]]
* [[Noodle Incident]]:
* [[Off the Wagon]]: {{spoiler|Brian
* [[Old-Fashioned Copper]]:
** Played with at times; sometimes, the old-fashioned way of doing things makes things worse, and the new methods ''are'' the better ones, for their flaws.
* [[Pac-Man Fever]]:
* [[Political Correctness Gone Mad]]:
* [[Put on a Bus]]
* [[Red Baron]]: Brian "Memory" Lane and Gerry "Last Man" Standing. The former because of his impressive memory ("Memory Lane"). The
* [[The Seventies]] and [[The Eighties]]: Some episodes revolve around cases from that period.
* [[Ship Tease]]: Earlier episodes seemed to suggest some kind of potential relationship between Gerry and Sandra, but this was gradually dropped. The two nevertheless over time went from being quite sharp with each other to becoming quite good friends, however
* [[Shout-Out]]: A recent episode had Sandra describe some of Gerry's dodgier actions as being "out of the ''[[Life On Mars]]'' handbook". The two shows have often been compared by critics because their concepts can be viewed as mirror images (70s coppers back at work in the present vs modern copper in the 70s).
* [[Slave to PR]]: Sandra's bosses are very aware of the power of publicity and often saddles the team with pointless cases merely for the sake of
▲* [[Ship Tease]]: Earlier episodes seemed to suggest some kind of potential relationship between Gerry and Sandra, but this was gradually dropped. The two nevertheless over time went from being quite sharp with each other to becoming quite good friends, however,.
▲* [[Slave to PR]]: Sandra's bosses are very aware of the power of publicity and often saddles the team with pointless cases merely for the sake of favourable press. Averted for the team, they simply don't care as they are not technically policemen anymore.
* [[Someone Elses Problem]]: At the end of the pilot, the final arrest occurs at a dinner the villain is hosting, which results in a punch-up between the villain's family and friends and the cops, with everyone pitching in... except for one bloke, presumably not ''that'' fond of the villain, who just calmly finishes his meal with the chaos going on around him and walks out when everyone's gone, blithely muttering 'very nice' to the main characters as he leaves.
** In the same scene, Jack, Brian and Gerry -- having caused the fight in the first place -- decide discretion is the better part of
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: Several episodes end on a sombre or even bleak note, which can make it a bit disorientating when Dennis Waterman suddenly starts singing "It's alright, it's okay, doesn't really matter if you're old and grey..." in a cheerful tone with the end credits. Later series introduced a more melancholy ending theme which would be played in such situations.
* [[Stealth Insult]]: While investigating a crime in a museum, Gerry wonders what it is like to spend every day surrounded by fossils. Sandra thinks she has an idea.
* [[The Swear Jar]]: Has the detectives install one, which eventually allows them to go out for a nice meal on the town. Gerry's a bit aggrieved that he didn't get to choose, since he "put most of the bloody money in." ▼
* [[The Summation]]: A neat little subversion occurred once, in which Gerry explained how a crime ''didn't'' occur.
▲* [[The Swear Jar]]: Has the detectives install one, which eventually allows them to go out for a nice meal on the town. Gerry's a bit aggrieved that he didn't get to choose, since he "put most of the bloody money in."
* [[Theme Naming]]: The writer named Jack, Brian and Gerry after the oldest spectator stand at his
** Late in the series it turns out Gerry has relatives in the meat business. Their names? Barry, Harry, Gary, Mary, Larry, and [[Overly Long Gag|Terry]].
* [[Toyota Tripwire]]: Brian does this in "Good Morning Lemmings": opening the door of the
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[[Category:British Series]]
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[[Category:TV Series]]
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