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.
After the promising and quite great pilot "The Chinese Job", "ID Parade" isn't quite as impressive. By all means, it's interesting with many great moments, but it is safe to say that there are better episodes when the show was fully settled. There is still, and actually even more so, a finding its feet feel.
"ID Parade" could have done with being about half an hour longer, because it did feel over-stuffed and at times rushed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the case, that is very compelling and the gritty and dark tone and the urgency in getting it solved is handled very well indeed.
The personal life subplots are more variable though. The most successful is Brian, beautifully written and acted as well as easy to identify with, it was also, along with Jack's, the one that was necessary in being explored from the get go due to being an essential part of Brian's character. Gerry's is one of the take or leave it ones, personally didn't find it that interesting, compared to the others, and it could easily have been introduced later on in the show's run.
With all that being said, "ID Parade" has a huge amount to recommend and a lot of what makes 'New Tricks' can be found here already. It does a fine job establishing who is who in the team, their ranks, what they did before, their already well-established personalities (that continued to grow throughout the show) and what their lives are like outside of the job.
Visually, the gritty look is done very well and matches the tone of the story to a tee. 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.
Story, or the case at least, is very compelling and holds many surprises. The final solution is not an obvious one and is well executed. The dialogue has a little fun but it was necessary for it to take a serious tone here and it does that excellently with class, sophistication and intelligence.
A huge part of 'New Tricks' appeal is the chemistry between the four leads and their performances. The chemistry is so easy going and charming, without developing too quickly, a little awkwardness is portrayed that was perfect.
Performances are great across the board. Alun Armstrong is very touching here while sharing moments of amusing rapport and being an essential part of the team. James Bolam's Jack is the quietest, most sensible and most composed of the team, with a tragic personal life that Bolam portrays very touchingly without any overwrought-ness.
The only woman on the team, Amanda Redman more than holds her own in what is essentially the boss role of the four. Dennis Waterman also does well, though the one with the least good material.
Nicholas Day is particularly good of the solid supporting cast, his authority and frustration being very believable.
Overall, pretty good but considering that 'New Tricks' is such a fun show and has a lot of great episodes it could have been a lot better. 7/10 Bethany Cox
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