User Reviews

There are two cases that Frost takes up after his dismissal from the force (a rather anti- climactic hearing, to say the least). The first is a strange connection to ballroom dancing where participants have been found dismembered. The second involves a man who is leading a double life. He has wives in two places. Unfortunately, he has been found murdered and Jack has been put on the case. The former shows us competitive ballroom dancing to be quite cutthroat, if you will. It has a sort of Sunset Boulevard character who can't seem to find the right partner. The latter brings in some factors not put into evidence. Jack is his usual crusty self, taking over like he had never been gone. The writing here is inferior to prior efforts. He does have some nice moments with Sally, his partner for this one. She is a lesbian and Jack seems to have finally come to grips with this fact.

As has been said by me numerous times already, 'A Touch of Frost' is a personal favourite of mine, and one of my favourite shows from the detective/mystery genre. Do have a preference perhaps for the earlier-mid-show episodes over the later ones, but none of the episodes are less than watchable and none do anything to embarrass the show.

So much appeals about 'A Touch of Frost'. Love the mix of comedy (mostly through Frost's snide comments and quips) and dark grit, the tension between rebellious Jack Frost and by-the-book Mullet which has led to some humorous moments, how he interacts with the rest of the staff, the deft mix of one or two cases and Frost's personal life, how Frost solves the cases, the production values, music and of course David Jason in one of his best roles.

There may have been people initially sceptical about whether the show would work, and with Jason (a mainly comedic actor) in a departure from usual in the lead role. Scepticism very quickly evaporated, the first six seasons were top notch with a few not-quite-outstanding-but-still-very-good episodes but most of them being near-perfect to masterpiece. Was not sure initially as to whether the Seasons 7-9 two parters would work, having seen two parters not quite work with 'Lewis' for example, but all three worked brilliantly.

Most of Season 10 was of a very high standard, "Held in Trust" was my personal favourite of the episodes but Jim Sturgess' performance in "Close Encounters" is one of the show's best supporting turns. Was a little let down however by "Hidden Truth", which was still decent and much better than a lot of weaker episodes from other shows but considering the high quality of Seasons 1-9 decent didn't seem quite enough.

Season 11 only had two episodes, generally 'A Touch of Frost' had less episodes of each season with only 2 or even 1 (the only exception was Season 14). The first one is this "Another Life". For 'A Touch of Frost', "Another Life" is very good if not one of my favourites. The writing has been slightly more focused before perhaps and for 'Frost' there are parts where the cases take a slight turn for the weird, which for Frost is unusual. That's all personal opinion of course.

Production values as always are incredibly well done. It matches the dark, gritty tone of the episode beautifully with atmospheric lighting and the stylish way it's shot. The music is haunting without being over-bearing.

The script is mostly well written, with a few very amusing quips from Frost, and is thought-provoking, the best moments being between Frost and Lawson (love the chemistry between the two of them). The story, comprised of more than one case as is often the case with 'A Touch of Frost', has a bit of weirdness here and there and suspense levels could have been more, but is mostly fun and absorbing and it all just about comes together in terms of sense at the end.

Frost is a remarkably well-established character, and one cannot help love his amusing interaction with the rest of the officers, his personal life and his chemistry with Bruce Alexander's stern and by-the-book Mullet, who constantly despairs of Frost's unconventional approach.

Can't fault Jason as Frost, he is simply brilliant in the role as always with not one foot put wrong. All the supporting cast are on point, Bruce Alexander, John Lyons and particularly Sally Dexter all solid as rocks.

In conclusion, very good if not quite great or outstanding. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Another intriguing episode of Frost . Two murders to solve and they're not necessrily linked. The fact that one of the victims has two wives makes for some interesting interactions. There's also the usual Frost humour, this time largely provided by a damaged tooth.