A Case Study about BBC’s Crime Drama NewTricks (GCSE Standard). Settings, Narrative, Camera Shots, Character representations& final analysis. Useable for revision and study.

1. CASE STUDY:
NEW TRICKS
By Eleanor Roberts
(2003 -)

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. THE BAD TE MPE RE D BUT BRIL L IANT
DE TE CTIVE : GE RRY 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"

6. THE QUIRK Y DE TE CTIVE : 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.

7. GRUMPY SUPE RIOR OFFICE R:
D. A. C STRICK L AND
 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.

8. SETTINGS
 Interview Room
 London Streets
 Squad Unit room
 Bosses Office
 Council Estates
 Victims and Criminals Homes/Hideouts
 The Crime Scene

9. NARRATIVE
 The 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

10. CAMERA SHOTS
Medium close-up

11.  Blur

12. Close-up

13. Medium long shot

14. Low-angle shot

15.  Establishing Shot

16. Long Shot

17. Over the Shoulder Shot

18. Through the Mirror/Long shot

19. Out of Focus

20. 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.