New Tricks (TV Series) Life Expectancy (2015) User Reviews

The Perfect Build-up!

[Robinson2511 · 9/10 · 3 May 2016]

The end of New Tricks is near, and it's time to begin the build-up to the show's finale, Life Expectancy does that perfectly. This is an emotionally gripping case that highlights the best moments of the show, and the very best of these characters.

The case is very interesting, and features plenty of hard-hitting moments which shake the team's performance and causes doubts among them as to whether they can still do their job.

Also, we have a lot of character building towards the end of the team. Sasha has been offered promotion, Danny is considering moving to Aberdeen, Steve believes he may have caused a suspect to commit suicide, and Ted has lost the most valuable and sentimental item he owns, his lucky cigarette case. You can sort of tell which direction the series is heading in at this point, and it feels powerful.

The acting is brilliant by everyone, especially the main cast, but the supporting cast are pretty brilliant too.

This episode has a proper sense of finality to it, it works wonderfully as the build-up to the show's final episode. With one episode left, we had the foundations for a truly brilliant finale, but did the finale deliver?

No!

An enjoyable mystery and questions about the futures of main characters

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 30 September 2015]

In their penultimate case the UCOS team are called in when a sinkhole disturbs a graveyard exposing a possible murder weapon; a phrenology skull. The victim, and former owner of the skull, was a proponent of alternative medicine who had apparently told the woman who occupied the grave that she should stop her conventional cancer treatment. Her daughter had been a suspect at the time and now the skull has turned up in her mother's grave she is the prime suspect again. She isn't the only suspect of course; the dead man's business partner has taken their business in a more profitable direction; one apparently at odds with the victim's ideals; his brother is also suspected; he disagreed with his brother's medical views… not that his own are exactly mainstream; he runs a business cryogenically freezing people at the moment of death in the hope they can be fixed in the future! Away from the case Sasha is offered a promotion and Danny's girlfriend Fiona gets a new job in Aberdeen.

This was an enjoyable case with some amusingly bizarre suspects; I was particularly entertained by David Haig's performance as the victim's brother; the way he denied that those he had frozen had died was delightfully batty. All too often one can guess the killer as they are often played by somebody who has 'been in a lot' but with the most likely suspects played by David Haig and Ramon Tikaram this doesn't work as both are fairly familiar faces. When we do eventually learn what happened it is enjoyably convoluted so that even those who guess the killer are unlikely to guess many of the details. With only one more episode to go after this the subplots involving Sasha's possible promotion to a new position and Fiona, and possibly Danny's move to Aberdeen are more interesting than they might have been as is quite possible that they could actually leave UCOS; if the series were to be returning it would be unlikely that cast members who only recently joined the team would be leaving already. Overall an impressive episode with an enjoyable mystery and questions about the futures of major characters.

UCOS is getting shaken up

[scsaxe · 7/10 · 23 April 2022]

This episode feels quite different from the previous "standard police procedural" ones, though overall I liked it about the same. The cryopreservation and other nonstandard medicine storyline is weirder than others, and it is combined with action in police politics and in the main character's lives: clearly setting up the end of the series.

The end is near

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 27 March 2018]

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.

"Life Expectancy" is one of the best episodes of Season 12, the best since the "Last Man Standing" two parter and one of the best of the latter seasons. Can't really fault it actually, other than lacking the extra something that made the show's prime era so good.

Ted, although generally he never became one of the most interesting lead characters and not one of the most well-developed, has settled well and the chemistry is natural, charming and likeable if not as sparkling as with the original team. The personal side-stories are the best and character building all season and had a lot of heart and like they were going somewhere without being soapy.

Here in "Life Expectancy", the case engages hugely and has some nice surprising twists.

Mix of comedy and seriousness is handled well, without either over-powering the other. The former isn't too corny and the seriousness isn't too sentimental.

Visually, "Life Expectancy" is slick and stylish as ever. 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.

Good performances from the whole cast, the four leads carry the episode beautifully and David Haig's turn is one of the season's best supporting performances.

All in all, great penultimate episode and builds things up very well. 9/10 Bethany Cox