A Touch of Frost

Yorkshire Television

Drama Crime Mystery
English     7.5     1992     United Kingdom

Overview

Jack Frost is a gritty, dogged and unconventional detective with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice who attracts trouble like a magnet. Despite some animosity with his superintendent, Norman “Horn-rimmed Harry” Mullett, Frost and his ever-changing roster of assistants manage to solve cases via his clever mind, good heart, and cool touch.

Reviews

Peter McGinn wrote:
I have now watched the entire run of A Touch of Frost, stretching over 15 seasons and twenty years, which is quite an achievement for any drama show. To be honest, I never really connected with the lead character in the way I did Vera or Jimmy Perez on Shetland. It was the storylines that impressed me more, I suppose, except for a few clunkers where I napped in the middle and didn’t bother rewinding to catch up (Perhaps I shouldn’t watch TV in my comfy recliner!). There are a few elements you can expect in every episode; he is going to yell at someone about the injustices against the downtrodden or victimized; he will mock his boss and usually be one step ahead of him (though Mullett scores points just often enough to keep it interesting); he will be hard on his assistants, often a new one for each new show as they don’t have much longevity. At least good old George hangs around to provide continuity. I wouldn’t say there is a lot of character growth in DI Frost over the years: what you see is what you get. He will always bend rules and rush headlong into danger. Although near the end of the show’s run, he does start to value allowing personal space in his life for women, who seemed to be as short-lived as his assistants much of the time. And why wouldn’t he appreciate them more? Although he never attracts women half his age, they are always very attractive women, never a gray-haired grizzled veteran of life as he is. But hey, it is television, not real life.

Similar

In 2002 (Heisei 14), public relations officer Mikami Yoshinobu of D Prefectural Police, is having an intense confrontation with the correspondents’ club, over the issue of the anonymity of a perpetrator in a traffic accident that caused serious injuries. Meanwhile, the public relations office is informed by the top brass that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department commissioner’s visit to the home of the family of the victim in “64”, an important unsolved case with its statute of limitation about to run out, has been decided one week later. The case which the police refer to internally as “64” is the kidnapping and murder of Shoko-chan which took place in just seven days in January 1989 (Showa 64). It was the worst in D Prefectural Police’s history. Mikami is under strict orders to obtain the family’s consent as well as to give the reporters’ questions beforehand. The visit is meant to emphasise the police’s resolve to put all effort into solving the case. However, the victim’s father, Amemiya Yoshio, rejects the commissioner’s visit and the correspondents’ club refuses to cooperate for the commissioner’s press conference. Mikami is torn between the top brass, which operates on organisational principles, and the correspondents’ club. The club denounces the complete change in Mikami’s attitude which had been open until then. In fact, Mikami has a big problem at home. His only daughter, Ayumi, has been missing since several months ago…

More info
ロクヨン
2015