Old Cop, Young Cop: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|'''Agent J''': ''[pointing at Agent K]'' Old and busted.<br />

 

A constellation of two cops or detectives, an older one and a younger one. Inevitably, the older one becomes some kind of father figure to the other. In addition to that, they are often presented as very different from each other, which may or may not result in conflict between them. Maybe the older one is experienced while the younger one is new to the job. Maybe the younger one is emotional and short-tempered while the older one is more like [[The Stoic]]. Maybe the younger one is idealistic while the older one tends more towards cynicism. Maybe it's a case of [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]. Maybe the older one is a [[Agent Scully|rationalist]] while the younger one tends towards more intuitive methods of investigation - or maybe the other way round. If they appear in a crime or mystery setting (and they are very unlikely to be seen elsewhere), expect them to be the main characters. Also, expect at least one of them to be personally involved in the case in one way or the other.

{{smallcaps| [[Anime]]}} and {{smallcaps| [[Manga]]}}:

* Ikari and Maniwa from ''[[Paranoia Agent]]''.

* ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' does this with a slight alteration: instead of cops, they're ''[[Corporate-Sponsored Superhero|superheroes]]''

 

* Somerset and Mills from ''[[Se7en]]'': Former [[Trope Namer]].

* Connor, the "senpai" ([[Sean Connery]]) and Smith, the "kohai" (Wesley Snipes) in ''Rising Sun''.

* If [[Space Police]] count, [[Star Wars|Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker]] follow this one to a tee.

** Arguably also Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi before {{spoiler|Qui-Gon's death}}.

* [[Sean Connery|Malone]] and [[Kevin Costner|Ness]] from ''[[The Untouchables]]''.

* Pierre Niemans and Max Kerkerian in ''[[The Crimson Rivers]]''.

* Bob Hodges and Danny Mcgavin from ''Colors''

* Goodman and Muldoon from R.A. Wilson's ''[[Illuminatus]]'' trilogy.

* ''[[Felidae]]'': Pascal and Francis. {{spoiler|Subverted ''hard''. At the beginning they seem to fit this trope, but at the end it turns out that Pascal is actually the killer and helps Francis only because he wants to [[Passing the Torch|pass the torch]] to him}}.

* Tony Hillerman's mysteries set on the [[The Rez|Navajo reservation]] feature Joe Leaphorn (older, world-weary, atheistic) and Jim Chee (younger, more idealistic, a practicing shaman).

* Occurs in ''[[Rivers of London]]'' with DCI Nightingale (since he is over 100 years old) being the old, refined, gentleman cop, and DC Grant as the wet behind the ears, yet inexplicably smart, sarky, and mouthy new cop.

* World-weary veteran DI [[Rebus]] spends most of the series partnered with the younger DC (later DS) Siobhan Clarke.

 

{{smallcaps| [[Live Action TV]]}}:

'''1992:''' [[Cool Old Guy|Lennie Briscoe]] and Mike Logan. {{spoiler|Logan was demoted to street patrol on Long Island for assaulting an acquitted murderer.}}<br />

'''1995:''' Briscoe and Reynaldo Curtis. {{spoiler|Curtis took early retirement to take of his multiple sclerosis stricken wife.}}<br />

'''2004:''' Joe Fontana and Green. {{spoiler|Fontana retired.}}<br />

'''2006:''' Played with this time: Average-experience cop Ed Green and total newbie Nina Cassidy. Cassidy left the show after one season, and was replaced with Cyrus Lupo, a cop with some seasoning, thus breaking the Trope. }}

*** This one is a bit of a variation, as both are experienced, but in their own time periods.

** ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'' - featuring DCI Barnaby and Sergeant Troy, [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|Sergeant Scott and finally Constable Jones]].

* ''The Streets Of San Francisco'' (1972-77), starring Karl Malden (older cop) and [[Michael Douglas]] (younger cop).

* Sully and Davis on ''[[Third Watch]]''.

 

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