Talk:New Tricks

Expansion

Hi, I'm a big fan of the series and have taken the time to flesh out this article a bit. I think there is still more to do though: we need better discriptions of the characters, and episode guide at some point, as well as perhaps puting in some of the critics' views. I'm still not sure whether we are allowed to use the picture I got from the BBC website, would someone be willing to check this out for me? Mathsguy 11:30, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

I'm a big fan of the series also and we view it on our PBS station, but only a few spisodes have been available. I hope our statewide Public Broadcasting station will consider airing all of the series. I have a question--what is the make and model of Gerry's green sportscar? 4jacks (talk) 06:18, 8 February 2009 (UTC)4jacks

Genre

It's played light-heartedly in terms of the rapport between characters, but I would not say it was a "comedy drama" ... 146.200.206.13 (talk) 08:04, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Australian Screening

Hi, I think the episode screened on the 28th of April is not from series 4 but rather s1e1, and they seem to be showing s1e 2 this Saturday Keiths 12:31, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

New Trick Theme Song

What is the name & artist of the shows theme song?

According to the credits, it was written by a Mike Moran, surprised you didn't recognise the singer as Dennis Waterman (he sings a lot of his theme tunes, hence the skits on Little Britain). QuagmireDog 04:33, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

In the pilot show (and some in series one)the theme tune used was "the end of the line" by The travelling willburys —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Braveheartbri (talk • contribs) 23:30, August 22, 2007 (UTC).

Yes. I just watched the pilot. The Mike Moran song used in later epidoes is so close to that one that it shares some lyrics.

The End of the Line:

Well its all right, even if the sun dont shine.

It's All Right:

It's all right, doing fine, doesn't really matter if the sun don't shine.

The End of the Line:

Well its all right, were going to the end of the line.

It's All Right:

It's all right, it's okay, we're getting to the end of the day.

Both songs have a skiffle-like freight train rhythm. The Mike Moran song almost sounds like a drop-in replacement. --TS 02:00, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

The article is very confusing, and reads like the theme song sung by Dennis Waterman for the vast majority of epsisodes is the Wiburys song, which it isn’t, it’s the Mike Moran replacement. I don’t know if Waterman sang a cover of the Wilburys track, or if the original was used, and I don’t know when the current song was used from, but perhaps someone with the knowledge could straighten out the paragraph, as it reads very poorly as it stands. Jock123 (talk) 22:46, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Roy Mitchell

The link on the page from Roy's name currently leads to a Louisiana Prog Rock band. Probably because a Roy Mitchell was their bassist. However, I doubt this the Roy Mitchell who writes for New Tricks. Particularly as he has fingers missing from his right hand. Could someone change this? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.9.37.103 (talk) 17:46:29, August 19, 2007 (UTC)

Scrapped

No new episodes, 'New Tricks' has been canceled due to cost cutting and the move away from continuing series to telenovella Djarra 18:00, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Any citation? mattbuck 18:29, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/category/tv_drama_index.shtml it's listed in the 'restructuring' section along with Lynley. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Djarra (talk • contribs) 18:46, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Nothing on the page link given, cant fnd any references elsewhere, so have removed the sentence. Mathsguy 19:09, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

In fact the only relevant link from that URL above is to this BBC page about New Tricks, which in June 2007 said they were to start filming a fifth series. Telsa (talk) 17:32, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Newtrickscast.jpg

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BetacommandBot (talk) 22:54, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Life on Mars in reverse

I had an accident and woke up in 2008. Am I mad, in a coma, or forward in time? Whatever's happened it's like I've landed on a different planet. --Tony Sidaway 22:05, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Emily Standing

The article states that she is Gerry's daughter. My recollection is that Gerry got a DNA test (misusing Police resources!) which showed that she is not, in fact, his daughter although he has not told her this. She continues to believe that Gerry is her father. I cannot point to any citation for this - can anyone confirm? If this is correct, the article needs to be amended accordingly. Prh47bridge (talk) 11:16, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

:Yes, you're right. The only cite would be the episode itself. I'll add one shortly. Ged UK (talk) 18:22, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Correction. No, actually, I think that was a different person; Emily is the youngish girl, the woman Gerry had a DNA test for was much older. Ged UK (talk) 18:25, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Conclusively, she was the subject of the DNA test referred to - it features again in series five. Sitush (talk) 00:33, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Figgis

Is the Figgis name referred to in the article another in-joke, as per the naming of Halford, Lane, Standing? I seem to recall that Figgis was the name of a character played by Bolam in a previous TV series (Only When I Laugh?) Sitush (talk) 00:33, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Possibly (probably even), but unless there's a source, it would be speculation. Ged UK (talk) 11:24, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Scruffy

I think something about Scruffy (Brian's dog) should be mentioned as he is often seen on the show, especially in the unwelcome company of Sandra Pullman. Matthew850 (talk) 14:35, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Brian's Son

It says in the article that Brian's son was first seen in series five. This isn't true - he was first seen in series 2 episode 3, after he went to a football match with his Dad. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Doctormouse (talk • contribs) 23:10, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Middle Initial

For those obsessive and eagle eyed enough, Brian's middle initial of E is briefly shown on screen in the pilot episode as Sandra opens his file after the interviews. Would people suggest this be included in the main page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.240.46.106 (talk) 02:31, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Similar Series

Is it worth referencing the much earlier Enigma Files? There is a link there other way. Somersetlevels (talk) 14:58, 13 August 2011 (UTC)

New Series without James Bolam

This came up Yahoo here, saying ‘New Tricks’ star James Bolam has quit the hugely popular drama, just days after it was announced that the show was to have another series. Dannman (talk) 15:09, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

List of guest stars

That list seems excessive and dominates the article too much, I think. -- Beardo (talk) 21:18, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

I agree. The guest stars are all listed in the episodes article anyway. I think the whole list should be removed with a link to the episodes article. Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 23:53, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

I was just about to comment on this, I think it should be cut out. But who's daring enough to do it...? Is there a certain number of people who need to agree on this before it can be gotten rid of? steveking89 20:07, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

I've removed the list of guest stars after ensuring that all those listed were included on the List of New Tricks episodes page, and I included a redirect to that page. Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 16:04, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

Steve McAllister or Steve McAndrew

The original BBC press release about Denis Lawson joining the cast gave his character's name as Steve McAllister, but the BBC listings for upcoming episodes say Steve McAndrew. I suppose we should wait until his first episode airs on 17 September to verify which is correct unless anyone has a more definitive source. Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 11:50, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

It's confirmed as McAndrew in the preview clip for next week's episode, so I've changed it. Lizzie Nonesuch (talk) 22:08, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Move. We have a fairly strong consensus that this is the primary topic. Cúchullain ^t/c 21:23, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

---

• New Tricks (TV series) → New Tricks
• New Tricks → New Tricks (disambiguation)

"tv series new tricks" produces over 63 million results. "bing crosby new tricks" produces just 48,600 results. --Relisted. -- tariqabjotu 22:50, 26 September 2013 (UTC) Unreal7 (talk) 19:07, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

• Support moving New Tricks (TV series) → New Tricks, with a hatnote which links to the album page.  Tentinator  19:20, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
• Comment seems a bit WP:RECENT. Though I'm guessing page views over the last 90 days would support this. Is it important to remove "TV series" from the article title? It is a TV series after all. In ictu oculi (talk) 07:46, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. The two albums by this name are both notable although we only have an article on one of them yet. There's at least considerable doubt as to whether there is a primary meaning for New Tricks. Best left as is. Andrewa (talk) 16:15, 26 September 2013 (UTC)
• Support: I tend to be skeptical about primary topics in the realm of pop culture, but the TV show has been running for a full decade and is still going, and its article got 216,000 views in the last 90 days. The Bing Crosby album had only 457 views in the last 90 days, so I don't think it's a major threat. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band article got 25,000, but this was only one of their approximately 20 albums – and a greatest hits collection at that – no one's likely to ever have a whole lot to say about a greatest hits album released in 2000 by a not-so-top-selling band of the 1960s. I think it's a pretty safe move in that regard. I was thinking perhaps it should redirect to You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks for an explanation of the colloquialism, but the article there seems to be about an album and there's no corresponding dab. —BarrelProof (talk) 00:22, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
• Support: This article is clearly the primary subject; in the last 90 days it has received almost 500-times the page views of the Bing Crosby album, over 200-times the page views of the "New Tricks" dab page, and almost 10 times that of the indirectly connected Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band article. The pages for that band's albums averaged around 1,800 hits each, in the last 90 days; if an article were created for their "new tricks" album, looking at the hits for their other albums and their main article, this article is still clearly the primary subject by a considerable way. --Rushton2010 (talk) 23:54, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
• Neutral - Abandoning "(TV series)" would make the title less precise than the current title is, and "new tricks" looks ambiguous. Plus, I don't see how the series is more significant worldwide than the album. Unfortunately, the album is not independently notable and would face deletion proposals, as I could not find a third-party reliable source that significantly covers the album. --George Ho (talk) 15:49, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
• Support per Rushton2010. I've never heard of this series, but having aired for ten years now, I'm not surprised to see the pageviews as they are. --BDD (talk) 19:20, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

Discussion

There seems some doubt above as to whether the compilation album New Tricks by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band will ever have its own article. We already have articles on three of their other compilation albums. As for the description of them as a not-so-top-selling band, their single I'm the Urban Spaceman charted at #5 in the UK, and also charted here in Australia where it received a great deal of airplay and still crops up occasionally. Andrewa (talk) 01:55, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Sorry to discount the band – any band called the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band has got to be worthy of great respect as far as I'm concerned, but even if an article is written about that compilation, I don't think it will be sufficient to say that something else that's getting thousands of page views per day won't still be primary. —BarrelProof (talk) 02:39, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Can I assume you apply the same logic to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (;-> ? It's no coincidence that this band's big hit was (co-)produced by Paul McCartney, and released the year after Sgt Pepper. Suggest you broaden your respect criteria a little. Andrewa (talk) 15:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Doubt as to whether the album would get its own article or not is rather insignificant. It may do at some point; it may not. Either way, it is beyond rationality that that article would gain as many hits as this article does; especially considering the article for the band themselves receives only one tenth of the hits and pages for their other albums averaged around 1,800 hits each, in the last 90 days. Wikipedia is not a Crystal Ball; we should assess on what the situation is a the minute. This is not the place for some drawn out argument about the notoriety of a band or the potential for an article unconnected to subject of this article. --Rushton2010 (talk) 23:44, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Agree that this isn't the place for personal opinions about the merits or otherwise of the band. Perhaps I shouldn't even have replied to them. The relevant thing is just, how important are they and their work, culturally? Not how much respect we may have for them personally.

But without wanting to descend to personal attack, I think we need to call a spade a spade and note that two arguments above, firstly that the band were not-so-top-selling, and secondly that their name alone is good evidence that they aren't all that significant, are both contrary to the easily demonstrated facts.

Agree that an article on the BDDDB album would currently get even fewer hits than the band does. It's a guess but I think a good one. And agree that it may never have an article, but I also think it would be unsafe to assume this, in view of the many other compilation albums that do, including ones by this particular band.

But the cultural significance of both albums is anything but trivial, which is the main reason I concluded that it would be better to consider this a case of no primary meaning. Andrewa (talk) 12:58, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

Andrew, I think you may be misreading those remarks. When I said the band was "worthy of great respect", I actually meant it – I think the band has a great name. As for "not-so-top-selling", I just meant that they don't seem to be in the elite group of best-selling artists of the era – e.g., The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Donovan, David Bowie, CCR, Traffic, Cream, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, ELP, ELO, Genesis, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, James Taylor, and Cat Stevens. I just meant that they don't seem to be in the category where every little thing they have done is a matter of extreme importance to a very large number of people. For example, they are not mentioned at British pop music, Rock music, Pop music or British rock. Even if I'm wrong about that (or listed some examples I shouldn't have), please lighten up and give me a break. This is off-topic relative to New Tricks anyhow. Sorry for hitting a nerve. I already said I was sorry once before. I listened to some of their music yesterday and enjoyed it. —BarrelProof (talk) 16:17, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

Apologies, I evidently read sarcasm where it wasn't intended. The significance (or otherwise) of this band is still likely to lead into WP:OR, unfortunately. But they are a very early and significant example of a band that stretched the limits, and a precursor for example of Blue Man Group, the Residents, and even Monty Python. Their connections and creativity were always impeccable, and they have endured as a creative force, even almost two decades after the death of one of the two founders, with several early key members still involved.

And I don't think the other album needs any statistics or discussion to establish its importance. So I'd still say, safest to leave the DAB where it is. The TV show is rightly popular, I watch it regularly, but enduring significance? Nope. It's just a good show. Andrewa (talk) 22:49, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

and statistics

I think the survey above shows the danger of relying on statistics to determine primary topic (which is already contrary to the relevant guideline. Both albums are of enduring notability and educational value. In view of this, there is great doubt as to whether the TV show has substantially greater enduring notability and educational value than any other topic associated with that term. It's a very good show, but once it inevitably ceases production, there'll be little interest in it. That's not WP:BALL, it's what enduring means, and it's one thing the guideline asks us to assess.

All support for the move so far, including the original proposal, relies entirely on the current statistics. Andrewa (talk) 21:44, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

It's not good practice to tell other editors what they were thinking. You have no idea what was going through other's heads and should not make claims as such.
I for one made my decision to support the change based on the relevant Primary Topic Guidelines and came to my decision to support it based on that policy, with my mind on both on current statistics and enduring notability and educational value. And I still stick with my assessment to support the change. --Rushton2010 (talk) 23:28, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

I said no such thing. I based my comment purely on what you [1] and others said, not what I guessed you were thinking. And thank you for clarifying your thinking on this.

If the consensus is that the show is of enduring cultural interest comparable to that of the albums, then that should be reflected in the decision. I find that rather surprising, but there you are.

I'm not always right. That's why we collaborate. Andrewa (talk) 16:59, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Bonzo

Does no one read Wikipedia? As the Bonzo Dog band's popularity increased, they were asked by Paul McCartney to appear in the Magical Mystery Tour film at the end of 1967, performing "Death Cab For Cutie".[1]2601:150:0:DA40:D1CB:C6E6:B3CB:2031 (talk) 18:26, 12 July 2015 (UTC)amancalledhorse

WHEN

" When Bevan's attempt to hire Sandra Pullman onto S010 fails, he pulls Izzy out of UCOS and instead offers him a place training with a firearms unit. "

This NEVER HAPPENED in the show? Where has this come from?

Series 2 happened, and Izzy was missing, no mention. 86.144.169.139 (talk) 11:39, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Is Izzy Clark? Because I was going to ask why there is no mention of him. And also lament tht he was pulled (rewatching Series 1).PhilomenaO'M (talk) 13:53, 4 January 2022 (UTC)

Danny Griffin's rank

I note that my previous correction of Griffin's rank has been reverted. The New Tricks wiki and the Daily Mail both state that he is a retired DCI. I have altered the article to reflect this. However there are some online sources that state he was a DS and most sources don't give a rank at all. I wonder if there was a continuity error here or if the show avoided naming his rank. I don't have DVDs so I can't check. Perhaps we should consider altering the section on Griffin to simply describe him as a former murder squad detective and avoid naming a rank? --Prh47bridge (talk) 15:08, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Spelling.

This is a British show therefore should be referred to as a "programme" not "program".213.205.242.99 (talk) 21:17, 9 May 2018 (UTC)

Cocks?

How does "Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad" abreviaste to "UCOS"? What happened to "Case"? Is it some sort of joke around how UCOCS might be pronounced?

Evidently. See series 5 episode 4. 109.155.126.181 (talk) 19:02, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

Series should be used exclusively not mixed with season

The article is inconsistent in the use of series and season. It is a UK produced programme so series should be used exclusively, unless it aired differently in the US, where the term season is used.

Any objection for me to replace the use of season with series in the article? Lkingscott (talk) 17:34, 27 January 2023 (UTC)