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A TOUCH OF FROST 12/92 - 01/00, ITV reviewed by Iain Griffiths |
September
2000
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A Touch of Frost is almost taken for granted nowadays because of ITV's constant repeats. Yet although you may remember much of the story, it's still a pleasure to watch. A Touch of Frost is, in many ways, a simple programme, yet it remains compelling viewing, simply because of the details and variety of characters within each episode. At first glance, Frost is an archetypal copper: scruffy, unorthodox and a despiser of paperwork; yet he is also warm, passionate and - most importantly - humane. He feels for the victims and broods when events turn for the worse. In each episode there is some new facet of Frost uncovered, as he copes with loneliness or searching for a new home. Superintendent Mullet (Bruce Alexander) provides the perfect foil to Frost's haphazard working methods. As the correct and fussy chief, he, with some calculation, antagonises the detective so that Frost feels obliged to prove "Horn-Rimmed Harry" wrong. Touchingly, however, despite the fact that Mullet finds him slapdash, there is a respect of sorts, a silent understanding between the two men. Minor characters are a delight because they are rounded human beings, with hope, desires flaws and failings. Similarly, Denton Police station feels real. Small details matter: as a heat wave strikes everyone in the station has a sheen of sweat; half empty sauce bottles and spilt tea add touches of humanity that you don't find in other programmes. You don't expect Poirot to spill his wine or get a flat tire; for Frost this is a part of life. The plots of Frost are unlike those of - say - Inspector Morse with its supercilious dons, cryptic clues and cold crimes. Frost deals with the clutter of life (gas bills and searching through rubbish) with the character fittingly living at the drabber end of the spectrum. This grittiness, however, is not sullied by excessive expletives and gore. Here gritty means chaotic yet mundane rather than violence in language and deed. In Frost all the characters are important, more so than a bleak reality. Whereas Morse deals with murder as a game imagined by a crossword compiler, Frost juggles with domestic problems and the close-up complications of living. Alongside this there is also a lot of humour, ranging from black and bitter irony to whimsical asides, normally tossed about in corridors. Somehow this feels more real; life is a complex tapestry of sadness and humour - often within minutes of each other. That Frost does not have a regular partner is another interesting aspect of the programme, allowing a counterpoint to the main storyline to be made by the "new" partner each week. As each case develops, a new relationship forms often reflecting the investigation. In "Fun Time for Swingers" (transmitted 28 January 1996) Frost is paired with a dour Scot who has given up on "carnal pursuits", can't wait to retire, and has been deserted by his wife. The main storyline is devoted to a murder of a gigolo for older women. This may be a contrived device but it works because the freshness of the new partner makes interesting viewing. Crucially, nothing ever settles into a complacent routine, like Cagney and Lacey or Holmes and Watson. Each time common ground must be found and compromises made. Much can be made of the cast and scripts, yet this doesn't explain the sureness of A Touch of Frost. There is something extra: confidence in the character and storyline that just isn't present in other programmes ostensibly of the same genre. Frost is probably the best crime drama around, but not because of clever plots and devious motives, because of the mixture of the mundane with murder. |
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