alun armstrong

New Tricks – Pilot (26th January 2003)

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New Tricks clocked up an impressive total of 107 episodes between its pilot in 2003 and the finale in 2015. Like many popular series it went on far too long (each time one of the original cast left, the show lost a certain something) but the first half a dozen or so series remain very watchable.

For the dedicated follower of archive television, the appeal of New Tricks probably has a lot to do with the fact that the original cast (Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Amanda Redman, Dennis Waterman) were very familiar from numerous sixties/seventies/eighties series. The same can be said of the guest casts – they’re always full of naggingly familiar faces who send you rushing off to IMDb to look them up.

The 2003 pilot is a good example – there’s the likes of Jon Finch as Roddy Wringer (a career criminal with a thin veneer of charm hiding an ugly underneath) and Michael Culver (as Ian Lovett, a retired detective who gets on the wrong side of Jack Halford).

Indeed, the scene where Halford (Bolam) casually whacks Lovett in the chest with a golf club is one of the episode’s most memorable moments. It’s an early sign that the affable Halford has a core of pure steel. Although this moment leaves you wondering how often he did that sort of thing during his police days …

Gerry Standing (Waterman) and Brian Lane (Armstrong) are also given a number of scenes which quickly delineate their characters. Waterman’s playing very much to type – Gerry’s an unreconstructed alpha male who enjoys nothing more than a drink, a smoke and some female company. Out of the three ex-detectives recruited as civilian investigators by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman (Redman) Gerry seems to be the one with the fewest hangups.

And then on the other end of the scale you have Brian. An obsessive compulsive, he’s blessed with a photographic memory and cursed with an inability to let go of the past. Convinced that he was kicked out of the force via a shadowy conspiracy, the pilot teases the notion that Brian’s fight for the truth will become a running theme. 

Although this sort of continuing story beat is something that modern series do quite often, it’s worth remembering that the likes of The Chinese Detective also employed it. So there’s nothing really new under the sun …. 

Much of the humour in this first episode comes from the clash between these three old dogs and their attempts to navigate their way through a modern police force that’s unrecognisable in some ways from the one they left behind. Part of Pulman’s job is to act as a buffer between the senior management (who exist on a diet of PR speak and little else) and her new recruits.

And whilst she might display some initial despair at their unconventional ways, it’s easy to guess that before too long she’ll have embraced them all fully (even the cheerfully sexist Gerry). Once they’ve bonded together into a somewhat dysfunctional unit, then the serious business of a tracking down a murderer from twenty years ago can begin. 

Although each case is always at the heart of the episode, during the early series there was also plenty of time to explore how each of the four central characters ticked. It was when New Tricks began to concentrate more on the crime of the week and less on the regulars that the series became a little less interesting.

But for now, I’m looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the early episodes again. “It’s all right, it’s okay ….”

Play of the Week – Our Day Out. Simply Media DVD Review.

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Mrs Kay (Jean Haywood) runs a remedial class for illiterate children.  Along with the long-suffering Mr Briggs (Alun Armstrong) and two younger teachers – Susan (Elizabeth Estensen) and Colin (Lennox Greaves) – she escorts her unruly mob on a day trip from Liverpool to Conwy Castle in North Wales.  For Mr Briggs, it’s a day of considerable stress ….

Drawing on his own experiences of school trips (both as a teacher and a child) Our Day Out is a typically perceptive slice of drama from Willy Russell. Originally broadcast in December 1977 as part of the Play of the Week strand, it obviously struck an immediate chord with the audience as it was swiftly repeated just a few months later (this time as a Play For Today).

Although he wrote the play in just four days, it was a subject he’d been mulling over for some considerable time. Later turned into a musical, the original BBC play is one which Russell still regards with fondness today.  “The performances are exquisite. Shot on 16mm in just three weeks by a first time director working with a largely untrained cast it just seemed to be one of those charmed ventures in which everything just fell into place”.

Mrs Kay and Mr Briggs are two very different types of teacher – she’s the free and easy type whilst he’s stern and controlling. Which method works best? Mr Briggs maintains that you need discipline in order to make any headway in teaching these types of children but Mrs Kay – in a late set-piece monologue – is totally dismissive of this attitude.  Society at large, she maintains, doesn’t want them schooled – after all, if they were then where would the next generation of factory fodder come from?

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This is the most overtly political point in a play where the thorny topic of inner-city deprivation is never far from the surface. The difference between the streets of Liverpool (shown here in all their grimy 1970’s glory) and the countryside of Wales is marked, especially since it’s made plain than most of the children have never gone further than Birkenhead before. There’s a yearning melancholy on display from some of them which is heartbreaking – they want a better life, but there’s a sense that the system just won’t allow it.

The gulf in acting experience between the adult cast and the children is one of the most intriguing things about Our Day Out.  None of the children had acted before (and most wouldn’t again) which gives their performances a very natural and unaffected air.  To balance this, you have experienced actors such as Jean Haywood and Alun Armstrong in the central roles as well as decent cameos from the likes of George Malpas, Robert Gillespie and Peter Tilbury.

En route to the castle, they stop off twice – first at a motorway cafe and then at a zoo.  It does beggar belief that both times Mr Briggs would let them roam unsupervised – with the result that they pilfer all the sweets from the cafe and later attempt to steal half the zoo! This latter moment is high on comic value but low on credibility.  However it allows Armstrong (who is excellent throughout) a moment of high intensity as he roundly berates the children.

As you might expect, he eventually begins to relent and it’s his clifftop encounter with young Carol (Julie Jones) which is key. Jones tackles the substantial role of Carol with such gusto that it’s a real shame she didn’t continue acting.  Desperate to stay in Wales rather than return to her miserable existence in Liverpool, there follows a tense scene where Mr Briggs attempts to talk her back from the cliff edge.  This he does and the emotional connection he makes with her helps him to finally unbend.

A late visit to the funfair – his idea – ends the day on a happier note, but as the coach returns to Liverpool it’s easy to see Mr Briggs’ relaxed spirit slowly dissipating.  Will he modify his approach in future or simply revert to his stern ways once they’re back at school? This is left unresolved, but there’s one key moment which suggests that the latter course is the most likely.

Deftly juggling comedy with more serious themes, Our Day Out is a gem of a play which at 67 minutes doesn’t outstay its welcome.  Alun Armstrong is outstanding, but none of the cast disappoint and it’s the sort of play which should have considerable replay value.

Our Day Out is released by Simply Media on the 1st of October 2018, RRP £9.99. It can be ordered directly from Simply here (quoting ARCHIVE10 will apply a 10% discount).

The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Second Sight DVD Review

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John Jasper (Matthew Rhys), the uncle of young Edwin Drood (Freddie Fox), is a choirmaster, music teacher and opium addict who is secretly in love with Rosa Budd (Tamzin Merchant).  But she’s engaged to be married to Edwin (both are currently under age, but plan to wed shortly).  Rosa is clearly a desirable woman since she has also caught the attention of Neville Landless (Sacha Derwin), who – along with his sister Helen (Amber Rose Revah) – both hail from Ceylon.

Edwin and Neville take an instant dislike to each other and therefore when Edwin mysteriously disappears he’s an obvious suspect.  As is Edwin’s Uncle Jasper …..

Due to its unfinished nature (Dickens died, aged 58, before completing it), The Mystery of Edwin Drood has always been an object of curiosity and, yes, mystery.  Had Dickens’ lived, all the evidence suggests that John Jasper would have been unmasked as the murderer (Dickens’ son as well as Luke Fildes, who illustrated the story, were both told this by Dickens himself).  But exactly how Dickens would have resolved matters is unknown and since at his death only six of the planned twelve instalments had been completed, the story still had some way to run.

This has inspired something of a cottage industry over the last century or so, as books, plays, films and previous television adaptations have all sought to bring events to a satisfying conclusion.  The most recent is this one – which aired on BBC2 in 2012 – and featured a new solution from adapter Gwyneth Hughes.

Right from the opening minutes, we are privy to the tortured, opium-soaked dreams of John Jasper. A nightmarish sequence sees him murder Edwin in church whilst an impassive Rosa looks on. The style of this sequence is bright and warm (contrasting to the darker and muddier tone of the real world) so as the colours begin to fade, Jasper realises that he’s returning to reality.

And it’s a reality that’s increasingly causing him despair. He may be one of the most respected men about town, but this gives him very little joy. A possible reason for this – his desire for Rosa – is teased out as the first episode progresses. Since he’s a very internalised character, he’s not able to express his feelings openly, but various visual clues – for example, when Jasper plays the piano and Rosa sings, the camera closes in on her mouth – help to reinforce these suspicions (as do the comments of others).

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As for the eponymous Edwin Drood, he’s initially presented as something of a brash arrogant youngster, although quieter moments later help to deepen his character. The question of whether Edwin and Rosa really are in love or are simply content to go along with their forthcoming arranged marriage is a key part of the narrative which is explored in the opening episode. She regards the clucking of her schoolfriends with disdain (they’re overcome with the romance of it all, she’s not) whilst the first meeting we see between Edwin and Rosa is something of an icy affair – she tells him that they can’t kiss, because she’s sucking a sweet.

When the kind-hearted Reverend Septimus Crisparkle (Rory Kinnear) throws a small party to welcome the Landless’ to polite society, it only serves as another example of Edwin’s less attractive traits.  He thinks nothing of insulting Rosa in front of the others – a moment of arrogance which infuriates the previously monosyllabic and placid Neville Landless.

As is typical with a Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood offers some prime scene-stealing smaller roles (so often these are the highlights of any production).  Ron Cook is a delightful Durdles, a stonemason with intimate knowledge of Cloisterham Cathedral, Ian McNeice sports an impressive pair of mutton-chop whiskers as Major Sapsea whilst Alun Armstrong and Julia McKenzie are further welcome additions to the cast.

But The Mystery of Edwin Drood stands or falls on the performance of John Jasper.  Luckily, Matthew Rhys is excellent – giving a gloriously off-kilter performance.  Freddie Fox doesn’t have a great deal of screentime, but it’s long enough to highlight all the contradictions inherent in Edwin’s character – at heart, it seems that he’s a decent man who would be a loving husband to Rosa.  But it seems fated not to be ….

Tamzin Merchant may be the least developed of the three – Rosa tends to be objectified by both Edwina and Jasper and therefore rarely emerges as a character in her own right – but Merchant comes into her own in the second episode.  When Jasper finally admits to Rosa his depths of feeling for her, the wave of revulsion she feels is palpable.

Gwyneth Hughes’ solution to the mystery is quite ingenious (the viewer would be advised to consider the problem of the unreliable narrator). With a running time of only two 60 minute episodes, this is more of a sprint Dickens than a marathon one but The Mystery of Edwin Drood – even with the substantial section created by Hughes – is a compelling drama.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is released by Second Sight on the 6th of November 2017.  RRP £15.99.

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