The Last Detective

2003
7.8| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

"Dangerous" Davies always gets the cases no one else wants, and no one notices when he eventually succeeds. But his old-fashioned decency and dogged determination have won him legions of loyal fans.

Director

Producted By

United Productions

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Vineeta Rishi

Reviews

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece
Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!
RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
ennor 'The Last Detective' is again being shown on ABC1-TV in Australia late on a Saturday night. I reckon this is at least the third showing of some episodes, and I'm still watching them. So, what does this mean? If I can watch anything for the third time and still be entertained, then it's well written, well acted, and probably quite unique.Peter Davison is perhaps best well known as playing Dr Who in the first half of the 1980's. As 'dangerous' Davies, he walks a fine line between being a hero and being a loser. Mostly he manages to squeeze into the hero role, much to the derision of his work colleages, DC's Pimlott and Barrett. PC Davies is an old-fashioned copper who would like an old fashioned life, but between being given the soft cases by his boss, DI Aspinall, and being given the shove by his bitchy wife - well played by Emma Amos - his life is usually one long uphill climb. Peter Davison handles this role with the skill we have come to expect from him.Whist the scripts verge on the comedic, genuine light relief is provided by Sean Hughes as Mod, Davies' mate and confidant.Mod: What do you call a dozen rabbits walking backwards? Davies: What?Mod: A receding hairline. After which follows a discussion about whether a bunch of rabbits can be called 'hares', since hares are completely different from rabbits.Gentle, but addictive and entertaining.
pawebster Peter Davison is just right for this role. He plays Dangerous as a real person, who is actually clever and strong at the same time as being a soft touch, basically because of sheer niceness. This could easily be cloying or sentimental, but Davison avoids this pitfall with seeming ease.As with so many detective series, our hero (who solves every case, while his colleagues and superior are getting things wrong) is seriously undervalued by the police force, so much so that he is still a detective constable when he must be close the the police retiring age. This is as unbelievable here as it always is.His friend, played by Sean Hughes, is a handicap to the series in my opinion. He is supposed to be there for quirky comic relief, but I just find him irritating.On the other hand, Dangerous' bossy hot-and-cold wife is a definite asset.
John (opsbooks) There are so many things happening in this episode that I re-watched it within a day and found more to check out on a third viewing. Dangerous's wife, or ex-wife, has complaints about the house maintenance, to-wit a side fence which the dog supposedly leaned against and caused to fall down. Nice guy that he is, Dangerous and pal work on it throughout the episode. And there's that landlady up to something, one's never quite sure what! This series is outstanding for its script, production values, acting, everything. You won't find another show like it. Read the episode synopsis which covers the main plot strands and you'll find still other little things happening not pick up by us.
karldinnel I'm currently watching the latest series on ITV1 in the UK. This show works for me because of its treatment of the 'everyman' character of Dangerous Davies.This is a man who you'll usually find in every workplace: the chap who just doesn't fit in. But that doesn't mean that he's not good at his job, only that his colleagues assume that he can't be very good at it because he's not 'one of the lads' at work.He doesn't have the 'nasty' qualities (nor the ambition) that would help him to rise above the rank of detective constable in the CID. And it's this niceness that seems to be the reason why his marriage has failed.Peter Davison does a great job of showing that 'nice guys finish last' most of the time, but not all of the time. Meanwhile the script has an appropriate balance of humour and drama. Sean Hughes, as Mod, is also a good character, not only laying on the comedy, but also as a device that allows us to see a bit more of Dangerous's character through their conversations.I plan to read the books (although they were published a long while back), and will have a look at the Bernard Cribbins film version from the early 80s. But please, please keep this version going for at least another series ITV!!