A Touch of Frost (TV series)
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| A Touch of Frost | |
|---|---|
 Series title card |
|
| Genre | Police procedural |
| Created by | based on the characters created by R. D. Wingfield |
| Starring | David Jason Bruce Alexander John Lyons |
| No. of series | 13 |
| No. of episodes | 37 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Yorkshire Television/ITV Productions |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | 1992 – Present |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
A Touch of Frost is a detective television series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV in the United Kingdom.
It stars Sir David Jason as Detective Inspector William Edward Frost, G.C., known as Jack to everyone but his late wife (after the 1st episode). He is experienced and dedicated to his work, but he is always clashing with his superiors, mainly represented in the series by Superintendent Norman "Horn-rimmed Harry" Mullett, played by Bruce Alexander. The two have highly incompatible personalities. Mullett is an ambitious buttoned-down by-the-book administrator, and Frost is a down-to-earth "street copper". Nonetheless, they appreciate each other's professional abilities.
Contents |
[edit] Characterisation
Frost has a cavalier approach to the rules. He has a tendency to become emotionally involved in his cases, which Mullet considers unprofessional. However, there is usually someone to guide him back into line before he goes too far, and he does produce the goods. He has a good reputation among his colleagues because, when he is not overwrought about a distressing case, he is approachable and sympathetic, and it is clear that many of the younger detectives seen in the series look up to him as a role model.
Many also regard him as a hero because he was once shot while on duty, for which he was awarded the George Cross (G.C.), however Frost himself is modest about this, regarding himself as unworthy of the honour. The reality is that he was depressed and drunk at the time and approached the armed man out of recklessness, not caring whether he lived or died. Nonetheless, the incident made him the Chief Constable's blue-eyed boy, and this protects him from being fired or retired by Superintendent Mullet. Frost's wife dies in the first episode, leaving him to cope with life on his own, which he finds difficult, throwing himself into his work instead, and living mainly on police canteen sandwiches and takeaways.
[edit] Setting
The series is set in the fictional town of Denton, which from geographical references in the series sometimes appears to be in or near Oxfordshire, more precisely in the upper Thames Valley, or (infrequently) at a non-descript northern location. There are at least ten places in the UK named Denton, including one in Oxfordshire, though the town in the series is not directly identified with any of them.
Early episodes include references to nearby places such as Oxford and Reading, briefing-room meetings held in front of maps showing the recognizable shape of Swindon displaying the M4 and A417 and (in one case) the actual name "Swindon" clearly visible. This, together with locations that are in the general area, collectively point to the original (unstated) location of "Denton" being Swindon in Wiltshire. However, in the Season 6 episode 'Keys to the Car', Crawley is mentioned as being 60 miles away. Swindon is 106 miles away from Crawley.
In later episodes the program makers may have changed tack or forgotten this; one recent episode clearly shows a map of Reading in the briefing room - another, Maidenhead. In the Season Two episode 'Widows and Orphans', a constable makes reference to the Plymouth (In Devon) force sending DOWN the criminal record of a suspect, suggesting Denton is in fact in Cornwall, although that seems unlikely and is unsupported elsewhere in the series. There is however supporting evidence of this in Frost creator RD Wingfield's radio writing. In his 1982 (non-Frost) radio serial Outbreak of Fear, set in the village of Polford somewhere on the Devon/Cornwall coast, one of the characters is on a temporary transfer from nearby Denton. However, the narrator does state that names have been changed and geography altered to conceal the reality of certain points in his account of 'real' events.
The general impression remains one of the Thames Valley force. In one episode, a postcode with a DN prefix (which in real life would apply to the area around Doncaster) was shown to exist within the Denton area, but this was subsequently acknowledged to be a production error. Various individual location scenes have been identified by sharp-eyed viewers as shot in North London, Oxford, Reading, Swindon, Devizes, Bracknell, Bristol and Birmingham.
Since the programme is produced by ITV in Leeds, most of the outdoor locations are shot in West Yorkshire. Several of the scenes are filmed in the small town Castleford, West Yorkshire. They are currently filming there for the new series for 2008.
[edit] Supporting cast
Unlike most TV detectives, Frost does not have a single regular sidekick, and indeed some of his sidekicks are seen in only one or two episodes. There are, however, a number of regular supporting characters who are frequently seen and often promoted to a "sidekick" role:
- DS George Toolan (John Lyons), Jack's long-time friend and colleague, with whom he shares an office. George is about the same age as Jack, but a rank lower. He is more cautious. He appears (in some capacity) in most episodes.
- WPC Hazel Wallace (Caroline Harker) is a young, happy-go-lucky uniformed officer. At the end of the third series she moved to CID, and though she ceased to be a regular she continued to make guest appearances in later series, and was promoted to detective sergeant.
- DC Clive Barnard (Matt Bardock), nephew of the Chief Constable. Most people believe he has only got into CID through his family connections, but Frost sees beyond that and takes Barnard under his wing. Later promoted to DS, but killed off in a 1997 episode.
- DS Terry Reid (Robert Glenister). A tough London detective, he has often been in trouble in the past for his extreme methods, though he has mellowed by the time we see him.
Other regular characters include a newspaper journalist named Sandy Longford (Bill Stewart), who is always pestering Frost for information on his latest case, and sometimes has some useful information of his own, and police archivist Ernie Trigg (David Jason's real-life brother Arthur White).
[edit] Production
The saxophone solo heard during the show's theme music is performed by Barbara Thompson.[1]
The series is based on the novels of R. D. Wingfield:
- Frost at Christmas (1984)
- A Touch of Frost (1987)
- Night Frost (1992)
- Hard Frost (1995)
- Winter Frost (1999)
[edit] Episodes
| Episode | Title | First broadcast | Main sidekick | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | |||||
| 1 | Care and Protection | 1992-12-06 | DC Clive Barnard | Frost's wife dies | |
| 2 | Not with Kindness | 1992-12-13 | DS Gilmore (Tony Haygarth) | ||
| 3 | Conclusions | 1992-12-20 | DC Webster (George Anton) | ||
| Series 2 | |||||
| 1 | A Minority of One | 1994-01-09 | DC Carl Tanner (Lennie James) | ||
| 2 | Widows and Orphans | 1994-01-16 | DS Maureen Lawson (Sally Dexter) | Start of Frost's relationship with Shirley Fisher | |
| 3 | Nothing to Hide | 1994-01-23 | DC Costello (Neil Dudgeon) | ||
| 4 | Stranger in the House | 1994-01-30 | WPC Hazel Wallace | ||
| Series 3 | |||||
| 1 | Appropriate Adults | 1995-01-08 | DS George Toolan | ||
| 2 | Quarry | 1995-01-15 | DC Clive Barnard | ||
| 3 | Dead Male One | 1995-01-22 | DS George Toolan | Frost moves in with Shirley. | |
| 4 | No Refuge | 1995-01-29 | DS Maureen Lawson | ||
| Series 4 | |||||
| 1 | Paying the Price | 1996-01-07 | DS George Toolan | Frost's house burns down | |
| 2 | Unknown Soldiers | 1996-01-14 | DS George Toolan | ||
| 3 | Fun Times for Swingers | 1996-01-21 | DS Rab Prentice (Russell Hunter) | ||
| 4 | The Things We Do For Love | 1996-01-28 | DS Frank Nash (Neil Stuke) | ||
| 5 | Deep Waters | 1996-02-04 | DS Clive Barnard | ||
| Series 5 | |||||
| 1 | Penny for the Guy | 1997-02-09 | DS Liz Maud (Susannah Doyle) | Bit-part guest appearance by a young Daniel Casey, later to take up major role as Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy in ITV's Midsomer Murders. | |
| 2 | House Calls | 1997-02-16 | DS George Toolan & DS Liz Maud | ||
| 3 | True Confessions | 1997-02-23 | DS George Toolan | ||
| 4 | Love Me Tender | 1997-03-02 | DS Clive Barnard | Barnard's last appearance. | |
| Series 6 | |||||
| 1 | Appendix Man | 1999-03-07 | DS Hazel Wallace | ||
| 2 | One Man's Meat | 1999-03-14 | DS George Toolan & Kaiser | ||
| 3 | Private Lives | 1999-03-21 | DS Sharpe (Philip Jackson) | Few of the regulars appear in this episode. | |
| 4 | Keys To The Car | 1999-03-28 | DS Bill Dorridge (Paul Jesson) | ||
| Series 7 / 1999 Christmas Special | |||||
| Part 1 | Line of Fire (1) | 1999-12-25 | DS Bill Dorridge & PC Susan Kavanagh (Georgia MacKenzie) | The first two-part story.A detective is killed in strange circumstances and a mysterious death takes place at a power station when a worker falls to his death.Plus Frost is taken hostage during an armed robbery at a bank. | |
| Part 2 | Line of Fire (2) | 2000-01-01 | DS Bill Dorridge & PC Susan Kavanagh | ||
| Series 8 / 2001 New Year Special | |||||
| Part 1 | Benefit of the Doubt (1) | 2001-01-14 | DS Terry Reid (Robert Glenister) | ||
| Part 2 | Benefit of the Doubt (2) | 2001-01-15 | DS Terry Reid | ||
| Series 9 / 2002 New Year Special | |||||
| Part 1 | Mistaken Identity (1) | 2002-01-27 | DC Ronnie Lonnegan (Michelle Joseph) | First appearance of Pam Hartley (Susan Penhaligon) | |
| Part 2 | Mistaken Identity (2) | 2002-01-28 | DC Ronnie Lonnegan | Guest starring Kate Maberly | |
| Series 10 | |||||
| 1 | Hidden Truth | 2003-01-19 | DS Terry Reid | Frost loses his winning lottery ticket | |
| 2 | Close Encounters | 2003-03-03 | DS Toolan and DS Wallace | Wallace has had a baby since her last appearance. Guest starring Jim Sturgess |
|
| 3 | Held In Trust | 2003-09-14 | DS Terry Reid | Frost gets promoted, then suspended at the conclusion of the episode. | |
| Series 11 | |||||
| 1 | Another Life | 2003-10-26 | DS Maureen Lawson | Guest starring Amanda Root. Frost is allowed to return to duty as a DI. | |
| 2 | Dancing in the Dark | 2004-02-22 | DC Jasper Tranter | ||
| Series 12 / 2005 special | |||||
| 1 | Near Death Experience | 2005-09-25 | DS Sharpe | ||
| Series 13 / 2006 | |||||
| 1 | Endangered Species | 2006-11-05 | DC Robert Presley (Blake Ritson) | Episode aired on ITV1, Sunday November 5, 2006 at 9pm UTC | |
| Series 14 / 2008 | |||||
| 1 | In The Public Interest[2] | TBA 2008 | Guest starring Mel Martin, Tam Williams, Julia St. John and Adrian Lukis | ||
[edit] DVD Releases
MPI Home Video has released Series 1-12 on DVD in Region 1. Series 13 will be released April 29, 2008. [1]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 3 | March 30, 2004 |
| Season 2 | 4 | May 25, 2004 |
| Season 3 | 4 | July 28, 2004 |
| Season 4 | 5 | November 23, 2004 |
| Season 5 | 4 | March 29, 2005 |
| Season 6 | 4 | June 28, 2005 |
| Seasons 7 & 8 | 4 | September 27, 2005 |
| Seasons 9 & 10 | 5 | April 25, 2006 |
| Seasons 11 & 12 | 3 | October 31, 2006 |
| Seasons 13 | 1 | April 29, 2008 |
[edit] International broadcasters
| Country / Region | Alternate title/Translation | TV Network(s) | Series Premiere | Weekly Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
Seven Network and UK.TV | Wednesday, 8:30pm | ||
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
VRT | Saturday, 11 pm | ||
 Canada |
Knowledge Network, SCN, TVOntario | |||
 Croatia |
Frostov pristup ("Frost's approach") | HRT | ||
 Denmark |
En sag for Frost ("A Case for Frost") | DR1 | Monday, 11 pm | |
 Finland |
Komisario Frost ("Inspector Frost") | YLE | ||
 France |
Inspecteur Frost ("Inspector Frost") | France 3 TMC | ||
 Italy |
Jack Frost ("Jack Frost") | La7 | ||
 Japan |
フロスト警部 ("Detective Inspector Frost") | Mystery Channel | ||
 Netherlands |
KRO | |||
 New Zealand |
UK.TV | |||
 Norway |
Detektiv Jack Frost ("Detective Jack Frost") | NRK1 | ||
 Poland |
Universal Channel | December 6, 2007 | Thursday, 9 pm | |
 Sweden |
Ett fall för Frost ("A Case for Frost") | SVT1, Kanal 9 | Varying nights, 9pm | |
 United States |
A&E Network |
[edit] References
- ^ Biography page of Barbara Thompson.
- ^ "ITV picks up new 'Touch of Frost'", Digitalspy, 15 October 2007.
[edit] External links
- A Touch of Frost at itv.com
- A Touch of Frost at epguides.com
- A Touch of Frost at the Internet Movie Database
