The entire team is on alert when Strickland’s past comes back to haunt him. Troubles in the present seem to link to an unsolved case which the team tackles, while Strickland, alongside his olde ‘friend’ Stephen Fisher, attempts to get to the bottom of just why they have been targeted now.
About
The eighth episode of series nine of New Tricks, ‘Part of a Whole’ aired 22nd October 2012 on BBC One. The series was created by Roy Mitchell and Nigel McCrery and this episode was written and directed by Julian Simpson.
It stars Denis Lawson as ‘Steve McAndrew’, Alun Armstrong as ‘Brian Lane’, Amanda Redman as ‘Sandra Pullman’ and Dennis Waterman as ‘Gerry Standing’. Guest starring this episode are Anthony Calf as ‘Robert Strickland’, Tim McInnerny as ‘Stephen Fisher’, Jana Carpenter as ‘Ruth Bisley’ and Gabrielle Glaister as ‘Sarah Maitland.’
As mentioned, this was the ninth episode of the series to air, but is labelled on the DVD as episode ten. As it nicely bookends with the first episode of the series—not reviewed on this blog as it doesn’t contain Denis Lawson—I think it’s best seen as the last episode of the series. If you’d like to understand a little more about Stephen Fisher’s relationship with the team, I’d recommend watching that first episode, but you’ll be fine if you don’t.
Availability: Available for purchase in the UK on DVD and digitally. Episodes also occasionally pop up on iPlayer, and television reruns are common—be aware that broadcast reruns are often cut down to fit in the hour timeslot with advertisements. Also available on DVD and digitally in the US.
Part of a Whole
In a nice London neighbourhood, Stephen Fisher returns home. When there’s no hot water, he examines his boiler—only to realise it’s been tampered with. It explodes, but not before he makes it out. The following morning, the team meet Strickland in a parking lot—not the office. The team have prior dealings with Fisher, an intelligence officer who’s an old friend to Strickland.
Strickland tells them that when Fisher was at Sandhurst, he was involved in a clandestine military intelligence operation. Simon Bisley, a journalist, was the target. Bisley was killed two weeks later in a hit and run and the killer was never found. Fisher thought this was odd at the time. He came up with a code word to be circulated to his team if they thought they were in danger. One member of the team is already dead, and the word, ‘Maelstrom’, has been circulated.
The team are charged with looking into Bisley’s death. The file was updated three weeks ago when Bisley’s daughter Ruth came forward with new evidence. Sandra’s suspicions are immediately raised and she and Brian go to visit her. Ruth, when clearing out her mother’s house, went through all of her father’s papers, trying to piece together what he was working on when he died. A sheet was missing from papers pinned above his desk. Amongst the papers that are left, Brian spots the name Carl Dillon: a man known to the police for his role in organised crime.
Strickland engages in some subterfuge, breaking and entering into an unidentified house and getting a gun pointed to the back of his head for his troubles—by Fisher. Fisher claims to have no idea what’s going on.
Gerry and Steve go to see an old mate of Gerry’s, one who could tell them who set the bomb in Fisher’s flat. He’s light on information. Gerry leaves Steve to threaten the guy. Steve is … far better at that than he should be. He must have picked up a trick or two in Glasgow.
Fisher and Strickland go to see another of their old friends; Christopher Maitland. He didn’t receive the text—changed his phone since—and hasn’t had any threats to his life, yet. His wife, Sarah, and Strickland are old flames, and that’s awkward. She seems only partially aware of what’s going on, but knows enough to be concerned. Fisher suspects that one of their old teammates, Jane Ross, went to work for MI6—and when he calls in a favour, he finds that she’s hiding in a safe house.
Brian and Sandra go to see an old journalist friend of Simon Bisley’s. He’s rather short with them, claiming he’s on a deadline. Upon further examination of the file—notably, how thin it is—they get him to say more; off the record that is. He spoke to the chief investigative officer, and knows of four witness statements that were taken on the day, but none of that made it into the file. He worked out Bisley’s story; Carl Dillon was selling drugs for the IRA.
Gerry and Steve track Dillon down. Brian looks into the records; he thinks that Dillon is being protected by someone on the force. Brian does some more digging, finds a case file opening by the investigating officer for a murder which never happened; that’s where all the information that isn’t in the file went.
In a cafe, Steve watches Dillon’s bodyguard closely. A man in a motorcycle helmet comes in. Steve calls Gerry, then discreetly slides his mobile along the floor to where Dillon’s bodyguard is talking to the motorcyclist. Gerry hears the conversation; an address is exchanged.
Fisher enters the safe house, alone, leaving Strickland outside. Jane Ross is there. Ross questions Fisher about the case, but neither of them come up with answers. Gerry and Steve find the address; it’s the safe house. Strickland, who’s waiting outside, knows he has to do something. He’s not quick enough. The assassins shoot Fisher, twice. A further attempt is thwarted by Gerry, who drives his car straight at one of them; the other makes an escape on the motorcycle. The one Gerry hit attempts to escape on foot; Gerry and Steve follow him to a parking garage, where they are rescued by Hitch—the missing member of Fisher and Strickland’s team.
Hitch was the one who saw the missing document. The document showed money going in and out of an offshore account owned by Ellis-Finch—who are a cover for the security services. The whole thing points to there being a link between the security services and the IRA.
The investigation has stalled, as all that’s in the unearthed full Bisley file is the witness statements for the day he was killed. Steve, however, thinks that their lead lies with Carl Dillon; someone gave his bodyguard the address of an MI5 safehouse. Gerry, Steve and Strickland decide to pursue that, whilst Brian realises that there is something in the witness statements. They don’t agree on the car that hit Bisley, but they do all agree on something else: the woman who pulled Ruth Bisley back. The witnesses saw the woman throughout the day, in the same place as Ruth and her father. Ruth remembers the woman, barely—Sandra and Brian think she had something to do with her father’s death.
At the cafe, Strickland interrupts Dillon’s poker game. Strickland is fuming, and not in the mood for Dillon’s trickery. Steve gets in a physical altercation with Dillon’s bodyguard—just like the one he got into in his first episode—and swipes his phone.
That leads Strickland back to Christopher Maitland. Strickland explains the situation with Bisley and Dillon. And then he pulls his trump card; Dillon’s source, the one who handed over the information on the MI5 safehouse. Strickland has their number. He dials the number. Sarah Maitland’s mobile rings—she’s worked for MI5 since she was at Cambridge. Strickland demands Carl Dillon for the murder of Simon Bisley, and he’ll leave the rest of this murkey business be. The Maitlands tell Strickland that he ought to think better of threatening people like them.
Strickland is not cowed. He can place them both at the scene of Bisley’s murder, as well as being able to testify to their involvement in the entire business. Sarah Maitland agrees; he can have Dillon.
Verdict
Sandra and Strickland butt heads often, with Strickland occasionally seeming more concerned about politics than the team. Here, there’s none of that; Strickland is in danger and Sandra and the team will do whatever is necessary to get him out of it. Strickland is family too. When the chips are down, they’ll always come through for each other.
“There’s no license to kill at MI5” is such a wonderful jab by Strickland at another franchise.
We’ve come a long way since Steve’s first episode, where he was getting told off for his slightly underhand tactics; here, Strickland endorses them, relying on Steve to get the information he needs. Steve is also very fond of getting up in people’s faces. He’s pint sized, but he does not let that stop him. He’s also just a little too good at threatening people; one wonders what he got up to back in his Glasgow days.
This episode is heavily focused on Strickland and Fisher; the UCOS team’s screentime is accordingly diminished. After nine series though, I think the change of pace is fine—though admittedly, I prefer the later series for mixing it up a little, which I know isn’t well-liked amongst a lot of fans in the series. The spy shenanigans are perhaps a little overwrought, but not exceptionally so.
All in all; it’s not your usual New Tricks episode. But it is nice to see Strickland’s character expanded upon. With the cast change this series, as Lawson came in, and the upcoming changes next series, it’s nice to know a little bit more about Strickland, who’s been with the show a long time and has warmed and softened to the team over the course of his tenure. The team are their usual excellent selves—Gerry and Steve being angry about almost getting shot is a highlight—but they aren’t the main focus of the episode.
Next time
It’s back to the 1980s for controversial BBC drama Dead Head, a noir thriller that sees Lawson’s character framed for a murder he didn’t commit and get caught up in all sorts of murky business that goes right to the top. All that and more in Dead Head: Why me?