Have always been a big fan of detective/mystery shows from a fairly young age, well since starting secondary school.
'Inspector Morse', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Midsomer Murders' (in its prime), 'Law and Order', 'Inspector George Gently', 'Criminal Minds', 'Murder She Wrote', you name them to name a few. 'New Tricks' has also been a favourite from the start (despite not being the same without the original cast in recent years). Although it can be corny at times (in an endearing sort of way) it has always been perfect for helping me relax in the evenings. Something that was needed during all the hard times endured in school.
"The Chinese Job" is a very promising pilot episode, and a great one. Of course there is the feeling of it still finding its feet, this is understandable as this is the pilot episode after all. Plus a lot of shows are like this, shows being perfect straight away is not exactly common (though it has happened). It is a grittier, not as tightly paced and more serious episode to usual, with a darker, grittier visual style, one of the team's darkest cases and not as much humour (though not devoid of it). And sure, it is agreed that it is very easy to associate the actors with a certain role and find it hard at first to shake it off.
With that being said, "The Chinese Job" has a huge amount to recommend and a lot of what makes 'New Tricks' can be found here already. It does a fine job establishing who is who in the team, their ranks, what they did before, their already well-established personalities (that continued to grow throughout the show) and what their lives are like outside of the job.
Visually, the gritty look is done very well and matches the tone of the story to a tee. The music is a good fit and the theme song (sung with gusto by none other by Dennis Waterman himself) is one of the catchiest for any detective/mystery show and of any show in the past fifteen years or so.
Story is very compelling and holds many surprises. The final solution is not an obvious one and is well executed. The dialogue has a little fun but it was necessary for it to take a serious tone here and it does that excellently with class, sophistication and intelligence.
A huge part of 'New Tricks' appeal is the chemistry between the four leads and their performances. The chemistry is so easy going and charming, without developing too quickly, a little awkwardness is portrayed that was perfect considering it's the first pairing.
Even at this very early stage, Alun Armstrong achieves a perfect balance of funny comic timing and touching pathos which was maintained all the way up to his final episode. James Bolam's Jack is the quietest, most sensible and most composed of the team, with a tragic personal life that Bolam portrays very touchingly without any overwrought-ness.
The only woman on the team, Amanda Redman more than holds her own in what is essentially the boss role of the four. Dennis Waterman may be my least favourite of the four, but his Gerry is still delightful and amusing with some seriousness without any tonal unbalances.
Regarding the supporting cast, they are all very good.
Overall, great and very promising pilot. 9/10 Bethany Cox