I've just started watching the reruns of this series on TV (I had watched some of it originally). It is brilliant - so funny, original, well acted and with brilliant story writing, each episode actually being unique. All the cast members are great - I remember I went off it a bit when most of the original cast disappeared rather abruptly. The replacements were OK - just not nearly as good as the originals.It's a great shame the BBC doesn't produce such programmes any more. I rarely find the BBC watchable at all nowadays, with its dramas with unpleasant, ugly characters that one doesn't relate to or wouldn't aspire to be like, annoying forced PC messages, and generally poor scriptwriting.But New Tricks is thoroughly recommended!

What started as a rather risky and quirky show about retired cops dredging up old unsolved cases that ended up lasting 12 series with phenomenal ratings.The quality kept up until series 11 when the rapid cast turnover took its toll in the writing and the new characters did not gel quite like James Bolam, Alun Armstrong, Dennis Waterman and Amanda Redman.New Tricks was a phenomenal show for the BBC which started during the reign of Greg Dyke as Director General of the BBC and under his watch the corporation had a renaissance of successful and populist dramas.New Tricks rather reminded me of those Euston Film serials that ITV had in the 1970s and 1980s. A series with a healthy mix of drama and comedy such as Minder and featured a lot of location shooting.Apart from their office, each episode would showcase some part of London, it had a great cast of actors that certainly blended well and the mysteries were enough to keep you entertained. It really was a special show.It is just a shame the wheels fell off a bit when many of the original cast left in quick succession. The final series was a mild return to form but all good things have to end.

New Tricks is a wonderful Brit cop show. After you get used to BBC shows it hard to go back to the crap that American TV produces. The characters are stable throughout the multi year run and they have great chemistry. This show is one of many that I recommend, including Murphy's Law, Murder City, Life on Mars, MI-5, Dr. Who, Torchwood and Primeval. US shows like Numb3rs and NCIS may rival them, but we can learn a lot from the Brits. I've just ordered my second multi-region DVD player because the last four years of Tricks has not come out in the US. The good thing is the episodes are usually fuller and richer on the international DVDS. Come on BBC, give us some more good stuff.

For us Brits, it's always nice to see familiar faces back where they belong, and this show does that for both Dennis Waterman and James Bolam. While not quite reaching the heights that 'Minder' did for Waterman, it's nevertheless highly entertaining - and he does get to sing the title theme...AGAIN.The real star though, is Alun Armstrong, whose portrayal of obsessive alcoholic savant Brian is both funny and touching; and the storybase of a "cold case" police unit made up of retired ex-coppers allows plenty of latitude for self-deprecating humour. Amanda Redman is always good value too, and she doesn't disappoint here as the no-nonsense boss of this team of superannuated mavericks.Yes, there are lots of clichés and several improbable situations, but overall it's a good-natured romp with a bunch of old pros. I always try to watch it if I'm in.