Have always been a big fan of detective/mystery shows from a fairly young age, well since starting secondary school.
'Inspector Morse', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Midsomer Murders' (in its prime), 'Law and Order', 'Inspector George Gently', 'Criminal Minds', 'Murder She Wrote', you name them to name a few. 'New Tricks' has also been a favourite from the start (despite not being the same without the original cast in recent years). Although it can be corny at times (in an endearing sort of way) it has always been perfect for helping me relax in the evenings. Something that was needed during all the hard times endured in school.
"The Wolf of Wallbrook" is not a bad episode. It is another example, like the previous episode "The Curate's Egg", of not feeling the same, stale sums it up quite well, and that something is missing.
It doesn't feel the same without the original team. The new dynamic is charming and there are some fun and likeable moments, but it doesn't sparkle and lacks freshness. Things don't feel fully settled either, Ted is not a bad addition and fits better than he did in the previous episode but he is not very interesting yet and feels more comedy relief than anything else, certainly not as much as the other replacements and anybody on the original team.
Regarding the case, it is an interesting one with some nice twists and a good number of suspects (some suitably unpleasant) and things are not too obvious too early. It is a pretty slight one though and the episode does feel agreed padded with the rape angle, which is not as interesting as it looks reading the plot summary and doesn't gel with the rest of the episode, pretty pointless actually.
Not saying that this is a bad episode. It isn't. Liked the chemistry between Steve and Reid and there are some very funny moments and lines. The ending in particular is a riot, the funniest one of Season 12 and one of the funniest of the show in a while. Nice to see Sasha back, though the team's concern about it being too soon is very understandable.
Visually, "The Wolf of Wallbrook" is slick and stylish as ever. The music is a good fit and the theme song (sung with gusto by none other by Dennis Waterman himself) is one of the catchiest for any detective/mystery show and of any show in the past fifteen years or so.
Can't fault the performances with Larry Lamb showing some great comic timing at the end.
Overall, decent above average episode but could have been much better. 6/10 Bethany Cox