A Touch of Frost

For the novel, see A Touch of Frost (novel).
A Touch of Frost
Genre Police procedural
Based on Characters created by
R. D. Wingfield
Starring David Jason
Bruce Alexander
John Lyons
Theme music composer Barbara Thompson
Jon Hiseman
Composer(s) Barbara Thompson
Jon Hiseman (1992–97)
Ray Russell (1999–2010)
No. of series 15
No. of episodes 42 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Yorkshire Television
Running time 24 × 1h41m
2 × 1h14m
4 × 1h13m
4 × 1h38m
3 × 1h33m
3 × 1h32m
2 × 1h28m
Production company(s) ITV Studios
Release
Original network ITV, STV, UTV
Picture format 4:3 (1992–2000)
16:9 (2001–10)
Original release 6 December 1992 (1992-12-06) – 5 April 2010 (2010-04-05)

A Touch of Frost is a television detective series produced by Yorkshire Television (later ITV Studios) for ITV from 6 December 1992 until 5 April 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. D. Wingfield. Writing credit for the three episodes in the first 1992 series went to Richard Harris.[1][2]

The series stars David Jason as Detective Inspector William Edward "Jack" Frost, an experienced and dedicated detective who frequently clashes with his superiors. In his cases, Frost is assisted by a variety of different detective sergeants, with each bringing a different slant to the particular case. Comic relief is provided by Frost's interactions with the bureaucratically-minded Superintendent Norman "Horn-rimmed Harry" Mullett, played by Bruce Alexander.

A number of young actors had their major debut as supporting cast in the show, including: Matt Bardock, Ben Daniels, Neil Stuke, Mark Letheren, Colin Buchanan, Jason Maza, Damian Lewis and Marc Warren.

Background

The series is set in the fictional South Midlands town of Denton, and is marked by a gritty tone. It is believed that Denton is in either Berkshire or Oxfordshire, though there are many references to Reading, Oxford, and in particular, Swindon. In the earlier episodes, the M4 and A417 were often seen, and the map of Swindon was seen in the control room, although a map of Reading was used occasionally. The programme is produced by ITV in Leeds, and most of the outdoor locations are shot in West Yorkshire. Several scenes are filmed in and around the city and district of Wakefield and neighbouring small towns of Pontefract and Castleford, West Yorkshire.[3] The role of Frost was notable in changing the public perception of David Jason from a predominantly comic actor to a dramatic actor.

At a press conference in London on 15 September 2008, David Jason announced that he would be quitting the role of DI Jack Frost. Jason's main reason for quitting the role was that Frost was by now the oldest detective on television and he felt that it was 'natural' to retire as Frost. At 68, a police detective would already have been retired for eight years. Sir David said: "You wouldn't want me to play Frost in a wheelchair, would you?...Frost is getting a little long in the tooth. I still enjoy doing it and it's a great part but I just think he's got to retire. It'll be a sad day."[4]

Several episodes have direct allusions to "Star Trek". Dr McCoy's catchphrase "I'm a doctor not a..." is heard in several episodes, turned into "I'm a police surgeon, not a..." or "I'm a pathologist, not a...". Frost himself states that "the only place with more warp factors than Denton is Starship Enterprise", in response to a remark by Mullett about warped minds.

Cast

Character Number of episodes Year(s) featured Portrayed by
DI Jack Frost 42 1992–2010 David Jason
Supt. Norman Mullett 42 1992-2010 Bruce Alexander
DS George Toolan 39 1992–2010 John Lyons
DCI Jim Peters 4 1996–1997 Nigel Harrison
DCI Charlie Hawkes 1 1995 Matthew Marsh
DCI Jim Allen 5 1992–1994 Neil Phillips
DS Sandy Gilmore 1 1992 Tony Haygarth
DS Hazel Wallace 11 1992–2003 Caroline Harker
DS Clive Barnard 4 1992–1997 Matt Bardock
DS Maureen Lawson 3 1994–2003 Sally Dexter
DS Frank Nash 1 1996 Neil Stuke
DS Rab Prentice 1 1996 Russell Hunter
DS Liz Maud 2 1997 Susannah Doyle
DS Billy Sharpe 2 1999–2005 Philip Jackson
DS Bill Dorridge 3 1999–2000 Paul Jesson
DS Terry Reid 4 2001–2003 Robert Glenister
DS Annie Marsh 1 2008 Cherie Lunghi
Sgt. Bill Wells 15 1992–2010 Paul Moriarty
Sgt. Arthur Hanlon 10 1992–1995 Bill Roarke
Sgt. Johnnie Johnson 10 1992–1996 Stuart Barren
Sgt. Don Brady 25 1996–2010 James McKenna
PC Lambert 2 1992 Martin Moss
PC Jordan 4 1992–1994 Ian Driver
PC Keith Stringer 5 1992–1994 Christopher Rickwood
PC Simms 12 1992–1996 George Thompson
PC Ernie Trigg 27 1994–2010 Arthur White
PC Mike Austin 3 1994 Colin Buchanan
PC Craven 3 1996 Ian Mercer
WPC Claire Toms 1 1996 Colette Brown
WPC Lindsey Hunter 1 1996 Katrina Levon
WPC Elizabeth Brent 3 1996 Jan Graveson
WPC Annie Holland 2 1997–1999 Miranda Pleasance
WPC Susan Kavanagh 2 2000 Georgia Mackenzie
WPC Harmison 1 2006 Emily Corrie
DC Webster 1 1992 George Anton
DC Mark Howard 9 1992–1996 Jon Sotherton
DC Carl Tanner 1 1994 Lennie James
DC Frank Costello 1 1994 Neil Dudgeon
DC Ketley 4 1994–1996 Jim Shepley
DC Collier 2 1997 Charles De'Ath
DC Ronnie Lonnegan 2 2002 Michelle Joseph
DC Jasper Tranter 1 2004 Nicholas Burns
DC Robert Presley 1 2006 Blake Ritson
Dr. McKenzie 20 1992–2008 David McKail
Dr. Derek Simpkins 18 1992–2006 David Gooderson

Characters

Main characters

Detective Sergeants

Other characters

Jack's girlfriends

Production

The series is based on the novels of R. D. Wingfield:

Despite the show still being produced when the last two novels were written, they were never used as source material for episodes, possibly due to their more graphic subject matter. "Hard Frost" was the last and perhaps most closely referenced novel filmed, and was split across two almost-unrelated episodes due to its length. This also occurred with "A Touch of Frost" (split across three episodes) and "Night Frost" (two episodes, although the element of DS Gilmore's marriage break-up was used in season 4 episode "The Things We Do for Love", which has no other reference to "Night Frost", for the series-only character of DS Nash). By discarding several minor sub-plots in "Frost at Christmas", the two major cases were able to be investigated in the one episode, being the pilot "Care and Protection". This novel, and the pilot, introduced the characters of Frost, Mullet, DI Allen (DCI in the series), DS George Martin (Toolan in the series), Sgt. Bill Wells, Sgt. Johnny Johnson, DS Arthur Hanlon (uniform sergeant in the series), DC Barnard, PC Jordan, PC Simms, WPC Hazel Page (Wallace in the series), PC Stringer, newspaper reporter Sandy Lane (Longford in the series), Dr. McKenzie, pathologist Drysdale (Simpkins in the series), his assistant Miss Grey, and Shirley, Frost's on/off love interest.

The iconic saxophone solo heard during the show's theme music was performed by Barbara Thompson.[5]

The aspect ratios of A Touch of Frost have been the subject of discussion. From series 1 through to 5, the series was originally shown and transferred to DVD in the 4:3 aspect ratio (which was still mostly the UK television norm in the 1990s). From series 6 onwards, the show was shown in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. The DVD releases reflected this change. However, from 2012, ITV3 HD have been broadcasting a growing number of episodes of the series in high definition, remastered from the original 16mm source. In these HD versions, even the opening series are shown in widescreen. Comparisons to the 4:3 version of the shows (still available on DVD) have shown that the frame has been "opened-up" to include previously unseen parts of the frame. This means that the episodes fit the widescreen ratio without cropping out important material.[6]

Episodes

DVD releases

Title Number of Episodes Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete First Series 3 30 March 2004 18 October 2004 4 August 2008
The Complete Second Series 4 25 May 2004 18 October 2004 3 November 2008
The Complete Third Series 4 28 July 2004 18 October 2004 3 November 2008
The Complete Fourth Series 5 23 November 2004 18 October 2004 2 February 2009
The Complete Fifth Series 4 29 March 2005 18 October 2004 2 February 2009
The Complete Sixth Series 4 28 June 2005 18 October 2004 1 May 2009
The Complete Seventh Series 2 27 September 2005 18 October 2004 1 May 2009
The Complete Eighth Series 2 27 September 2005 18 October 2004 1 May 2009
The Complete Ninth Series 2 25 April 2006 18 October 2004 26 June 2009
The Complete Tenth Series 3 25 April 2006 18 October 2004 26 June 2009
The Complete Eleventh Series 2 31 October 2006 21 November 2005 31 July 2009
The Complete Twelfth Series 1 31 October 2006 21 November 2005 31 July 2009
The Complete Thirteenth Series 1 29 April 2008 6 November 2006 31 July 2009
The Complete Fourteenth Series 3 28 July 2009 27 October 2008 8 June 2010
The Complete Fifteenth Series 2 30 November 2010 12 April 2010 8 December 2010
The Complete Series 1–5 20 N/A 18 October 2004 27 November 2009
The Complete Series 6–10 13 N/A 18 October 2004 N/A
The Complete Series 6–15 22 N/A 16 August 2010 N/A
The Complete Series 1–15 42 N/A 15 August 2011 N/A

Broadcast

In Australia, the series aired on ABC, UK.TV and 7Two. In Canada, the series aired on Knowledge, SCN and TVOntario. In New Zealand, the series aired on Prime (New Zealand), TV1 and UK.TV. In the United States, the series aired on A&E Network.

References

  1. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1206994/index.html The British Film Institute's page on A Touch of Frost.
  2. http://epguides.com/TouchofFrost/guide.shtml Seasonal credit list forA Touch of Frost at epguides.com
  3. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=219015
  4. Daily Telegraph David Jason quits as Frost.
  5. Biography page of Barbara Thompson.
  6. http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-rays-dvds-download-services/1567695-touch-frost-series-1-5-dvd-aspect-ratio.html

External links

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