19 out of 24 people found the following review helpful:
superb..................
williamsgwynfa from ,
25th July, 2007
this dvd is superb. James Bolam, Alun Armstrong and Denis Waterman play three retired CID officers, who are recalled from retirement, to investigate long standing unsolved murders. Their boss and the only serving police officer, is Sandra Pullman played by Amanda Redmond. Each of the three male stars has a distinct personality. The most reliable of the three, is Jack Halford (played by James Bolam) who was once Sandra Pullman's boss. Jack Halford was also the most senior of the three, and has the strange habit of talking to his wife's grave, which is in his back garden. Halford who apart from this habit, appears to be the most sensible of the three, also has a ruthless side which appears when needed. Dennis Waterman plays Gerry Standing, with three ex -wives and daughters - Paula, Emily, Caitlin and Amelia, who he calls 'The Coven'. The impression given is that Gerry Standing, was not above bending the rules to catch a criminal, or above taking the odd backhander. Unlike the other two, Gerry has not accepted that he is getting old, and when the other two show him their various pills for blood pressuire, heart and depression etc, the only pills he has are viagra. The last of the trio is Brian Lane played by Alun Armstrong. Brian Lane is a recovered alcoholic, and suffers from various mental health problems. He is also known as Memory Lane, because of his photographic knowledge of Police Officers, criminals and crime. Unlike the other two who are always smartly dressed, Brian is normally dressed in a scruffy tracksuit. His wife Esther played by Susan Jameson struggles to cope with his demanding behaviour, and eccentricities. The trio are controlled and kept on track, just about, by Sandra Pullman, a high flying police woman played by Amanda Redmond. Sandra is split between defending her team from her bosses, and her frustation and irritation at some of their 'old school habits'. The pilot episode begins when, Roddy Winger is released on appeal after serving twenty years for the murder of a nightclub hostess - a crime he always claimed he did not commit - his case gets reinvestigated by UCOS - The Unsolved case squad. In episode 1, UCOS investigate into the death of a policewomen-whose case was closed years ago-following the recovery of the murder weapon from a lake. Brian's wife Esther moves out when he becomes too self absorbed in clearing his name. In episode 2, the discovery of a fake painting in the Queen's art collection, sends the UCOS team on a hush-hush mission to uncover the forger. Their investigations swiftly uncover a trail of high class frauds, and suspicious deaths, but also lead to suspension for one of the squad. Gerry finds out he is about to become a grandad. The team rib him about this and about the bright yellow Fiat Panda he is driving. In episode 3, the UCOS team investigate the murder of a young peace protestor, killed at the outskirts of a nuclear base in 1984, and realise that they may be in danger of exposing a Special Branch cover up. In episode 4, Det Supt Pullman returns from a holiday in Italy, to find her team keen to re-open the case of a child, murdered on a prestigious golf course. The teenager accused of the crime committed suicide, when the police made him their only suspect, and Jack wants to clear his name, for the sake of his dying father. In episode 5, when a missing person case, which Brian Lane originally investigated gets re-activated, he's determined to crack it. But when the team swiftly uncover another two mysterious disappearances, they start to think they've got a serial killer on their hands. In episode 6, Jack goes to see a clairvoyant, trying to reach his late wife Mary, and instead gets to meet a girl who died, in a shipping container in 1982. Jack gets the case re-opened. Det Supt Pullman is tempted away with promotion to a job at S010. well worth renting out.
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