The Last Detective (TV Series) Pilot (2003) User Reviews

"The Last Detective" is First-Rate, Friendly Television

[j_lesta · 7/10 · 19 September 2006]

"As usual, Davies gets the case at the bottom of the investigative pile. But it leads him to something much bigger: the unsolved murder of a 17-year-old girl. Davies works on the case unofficially with the help of his friend Mod, who is frequently available as he goes from odd job to odder job." (DVD summary)

Peter Davison (All Creatures Great and Small; Doctor Who; At Home With the Braithwaites) stars as downtrodden nice guy detective "Dangerous" Davies in probably the gentlest crime drama television has ever seen. Like its protagonist, "The Last Detective" is a rather ordinary, decent thing that might even teeter on the edge of bland. With liberal doses of light humour and as well as a touching storyline, "The Last Detective" is not for the hard-core CSI fan, slowly unraveling its unfortunate tale of murder over 90+ minutes, but leaving you feeling slightly better about the world at its conclusion.

The tightly plotted (but parochially paced) murder is just a backdrop to introduce us to the hapless but resolutely cheerful Davies, brought to subtle, quiet life by Peter Davison. As usual for many of Davison's characters, his charming portrayal is nearly overshadowed by the interesting personalities around him, including Davies' best bud, Mod (Sean Hughes in a happily eccentric performance), and boss DI Aspinall (a cantankerous Rob Spendlove).

Helped by a light, quirky musical score and good direction, this is a surprisingly good, entertaining pilot that is very consistent with the episodes to follow, as long as one is patient and not looking for a lot of dazzle. It contains a number of amusing little scenes--as when Davies and Mod are drunk and encounter a horse in the middle of a street--that add to the depth and charm of the series, plus a dramatic and satisfying denouement.

"Why aren't you one? I mean you're no chicken?"

[ygwerin1 · 8/10 · 1 August 2022]

DC Davies is part of a four detective CID department, which comprises DI Aspinall, DS Pimlott, DC Barrett, and Dangerous.

He is called that because all of his colleagues consider, him to be the absolute last resort in policing.

Whilst the reality is that Dangerous is the only real copper among them why, because he actually gives a monkeys about the job.

The DI appears to have long since given up the ghost, while the DS and DC seem to prefer, to cherry pick crimes for what's in it for them.

They all treat Dangerous merely as their dogsbody and the only way, that he can get any case worth having is to help himself to one.

Dangerous likes to imagine that he still has a relationship with his ex Julie, their divorce is not yet final and he persists in living in hope.

Dangerous best well in all honesty his only mate is Mod, a single bloke who seems to simply drift through, life aimlessly from one daft notion to another.

Comfy like your favourite pair of slippers

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 7/10 · 21 February 2021]

By its very style, this will never receive a 10 rating. It's not hard-hitting, little physical action and the humour is gentle rather than laugh out loud. As explained, this doesn't have the qualities of the regular detective show. It is appealing but this 2 hour opener was a bit of a stretch despite a good cast. What holds it back is it being set in an unfashionable area of London by an unfashionable ITV regional company. Like it's main character, it lacks ambition but the characters a likeable without anyone being too vicious. Great character writing by Leslie Thomas but the story just doesn't seem to get going but I guess that's the whole point. Dangerous takes the time to delve into the mundane looking for answers while the more determined would be pushing for results. Slow going but most watchable even if it is just to see the comedic timing of the late Sean Hughes.

Pilot

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 2 September 2017]

Peter Davison stars as 'Dangerous' Davies the dogged detective with a St Bernard's dog who gets all the jobs deemed to be a waste of time by his bosses who see him as old fashioned and dull.

The pilot episode is an adaptation of a novel by Leslie Thomas and was already made as a one off television movie in 1981 which starred Bernard Cribbins.

Davison's portrayal is not as idiosyncratic as Cribbins. He plays Davies as a decent man in a hard world, but Davies has a steely edge as well.

He stumbles into a cold case of missing 17 year old back in 1982 and decides to investigate her disappearance 20 years later and finds out that the police at the time did not do a good job.

I actually found the episode rather leisurely paced, the humour is more laid back and so is the quirkiness. In the Cribbins version, Davies kept getting bandaged up after every mishap, by the end of the movie he was almost mummified.

Joanne Froggatt plays the missing girl in flashbacks as well as her sister in the present day where the makers put a hideous wig on her.

I thought this was a disappointing first episode, subsequent episodes in the series were better.