CASE STUDY: NEW TRICKS

By Eleanor Roberts

(2003 -)

PLOT & GENRE New Tricks is a British crime drama that follows the work of the

fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) of the

Metropolitan Police Service. Originally led by Detective

Superintendent Sandra Pullman, it is made up of retired police officers

that have been recruited to reinvestigate unsolved crimes. The series

title is taken from the proverb “You can’t teach an old dog New Tricks

Genre: Crime Drama

Sub Genre: Comedy

but they are having to deal

with a new police force which

does not always appreciate their

old style policing

AUDIENCE

Aimed at an older audience of both genders. This

has been achieved by using actors and cases from

a time that the target audience would remember.

The sometimes unorthodox way they solve cases

interests the audience. The unconventional female

dominance and the inclusion of red herrings and

plot twists keep the audiences interest.

CHARACTERS

Heroin Cop: DCI Sandra Pullman & Sasha Miller

Both are assigned Head of the UCOS team.

Female. They challenge the predominantly male

‘lead roles’ and play the central role in driving the

Narrative.

They both dress appropriately and use their roles to lead

the team into success. They are both good cops and their

binary opposite are the ‘bad’ people within society.

THE BAD TEMPERED BUT BRILLIANT DETECTIVE: GERRY

STANDING

He often flirts with female suspects and witnesses, usually to

great effect. He was an old-style policeman, not afraid to

circumvent the rules to get a result. He is rumored to have

been corrupt - or at least a bit dodgy.

A ’Jack the Lad', Gerry is an old-school police officer. He was

a top 'thief-taker', who passionately enjoyed catching criminals-

but nevertheless he mixed easily with them. As a result,

allegations of corruption arose, which he angrily denies.

Although he is now a grandfather, he maintains his devil-may-

care lifestyle, but insists that he is "a naughty boy, not a

bastard"

THE QUIRKY DETECTIVE: DAN GRIFFIN

He is a reserved character who can nevertheless provide

surprising insights. His aloof manner rubs the team up the

wrong way in his first case.

His quiet nature and reserved character caused the other

characters to push him out of the group. He hides his private

life and uses unconventional techniques to solve crimes, for

example telling his disabled teenage daughter Holly about

the cases. They use these quirks to create ‘Verisimilitude’ in

the development of complex character relationships with his

co-workers.

GRUMPY SUPERIOR OFFICER: D.A .C STRICKLAND

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Robert Strickland is the team's boss. A

political animal who enjoys basking in reflected glory of UCOS's clean up

rate, his choice of cases is influenced by a desire to make his department

look good. Despite this, he is a strong supporter of the UCOS team, and

has used his influence to protect them when necessary.

Despite the fact that he is considered a somewhat self-serving officer, he

has nonetheless been quite supportive of their actions.

Though he will still discipline the team when they blatantly break the

rules, he is willing to accept their actions if a result is achieved. E.g.

Strickland even subtly gave Brian a chance to explain himself when he was

forced to fire Brian, and it was only when Brian made clear that he stood

by his actions that Strickland finally told him to go.

SETTINGS

Interview Room

London Streets

Squad Unit room

Bosses Office

Council Estates

Victims and Criminals Homes/Hideouts

The Crime Scene

NARRATIVEThe New Tricks Narrative is a Flexi-Narrative

The Narrative includes an ongoing story line but has closed

Narratives within each episode.

However, at the end of a series or special episodes all Narratives and

Cases will close. Then a new Narrative will start up again next episode

and continue through the series, as well as the cases closing in each

episode.

Some episodes have carried on to 2 episodes e.g. Series 10 The Rock

Part 1 & 2

CAMERA SHOTS

Medium close-up

Blur

Close-up

Medium long shot

Low-angle shot

Establishing Shot

Long Shot

Over the Shoulder Shot

Through the Mirror/Long shot

Out of Focus

SO WHY IS IT A CRIME DRAMA ?.. . .

This particular crime drama begins with an opening teaser. We see

someone attacked but we don’t see the perpetrator. This sets up a question:

What happened here? It’s a mystery and another name for this is enigma.

The enigma code sets up a riddle for the viewers to solve. The hero go on a

quest and receive clues to solve the case.

New Tricks use techniques such as : Cliffhangers, Red herrings, enigma

codes and dramatic irony to create story lines which interest the audience

and create drama.