A Touch of Frost
A Touch of Frost
DI Frost is an old-school, no-nonsense copper who believes in traditional policing methods. Frost uses what he knows about the street to find answers to crimes as a member of Denton's CID. His home life is complex, but his daily nemesis is the station's commander Supt. Mullett, who is constantly worrying. He doesn't appreciate DI Frost's rough-and-ready manner, which doesn't stop him from trotting him out--with his George Cross bestowed upon him.
匚卂尺ㄥ reviewedFebruary 4, 2025
The complete collection comprises 29 discs and 18 years worth of David Jason being dramatic. Personally, I feel that this is his the magnum opus of his acting career; quite possibly what garnered him the knighthood. A very good series in both plot and production values, there are by-and-large only a few scripting instances that make you realise the early episodes are from the mid-1990s. The programme is quite often gritty with a bleak outlook on life which is leavened with occasional flashes of comedy, sometimes within the darkest of scenes. A plethora of fantastic scripts often deal with contemporaneous social issues with a barbed anger against economic and social inequalities, many of which sadly still trouble us all today, that manifests itself in DI Frost's attitude and interactions. Furthermore, a interestingly wide cast of supporting law enforcement personnel, such as Caroline Harker, John Lyons and the guy from Hollyoaks, populate the show, particularly within its earlier seasons, giving a stronger verisimilitude to the police station setting than most police procedural dramas have. The guest casting is also often impressive with well written roles for such luminaries as Sue Cleaver, Noel Clarke, Danny Dyer and Linda Bassett springing up throughout the 29 DVDs, although the star really is Sir David Jason who stuns in his role as the world-weary detective who breaks all the rules, giving an albeit different combination of cliched TV tropes humanity breathing life into them to become a believable human being. Equally good is Bruce Alexander in making the comedy/bureaucratic boss role human too, his character of Superintendent Mullett is obsessed with figures and good press, but Alexander's performance (and the scripts) ensure that we know Mullett and Frost have roughly similar goals for the police force but with very different outlooks.
Packaged quite compactly, the only negative I have find with this box set is the double stacking of discs within the cases, which makes it a faff to access some discs as the ones at the bottom of each stack require me to remove three discs before I can reach them.
Overall, a excellent drama series to sit down with on a Sunday evening with a glass of rosé or Tizer and a packet of Freddos or Cadbury's Spira bars. Marvellous.