New Blood: Oh buddy what a double act
In the summer TV doldrums, the BBC has passed the Thursday evening drama baton from Peaky Blinders to the excellent New Blood.
Mark Strephan and Ben Tavassoli in New Blood
By Henrietta Knight
In the summer TV doldrums, the BBC has passed the Thursday evening drama baton from Peaky Blinders to the excellent New Blood.
While all ITV has to offer is repeats of tired old Vera, iPlayer presents a different kind of thriller set in the sunshine of India and London. Writer Anthony Horowitch said he wanted to inject some fun back into the crime genre after several series of serious Nordic Noir.
Case One, Part One of New Blood opens in Mumbai where six cash-strapped back packers take part in a sinister medical drugs test for which they are paid £600 each. Henry, who is slightly unhinged anyway, goes all rogue male and stabs someone in the hospital.
Fast forward to London six years later and the travellers are all being knocked off one by one. There is clearly more to the uber-rich and powerful corporations, individuals and governments who hide behind legitimate facades. Step in ambitious trainee detective Rash (Ben Tavassoli) who is good at solving crimes, as opposed to his bad-tempered old sidekick who never misses an opportunity to knock him back.
Stefan (Mark Strephan) who is working undercover for the Serious Fraud Office at the shady government organisation that has links to the dodgy drugs company.
With their boy band looks Rash and Stefan add a sprinkle of stardust to this fast-paced thriller. Stefan is from Polish heritage and is competitive and clever, while Rash, who has Iranian roots, is ambitious and maverick. They meet during a bicycle race in which they both compete and later one saves the other’s life after his Cristal Champagne is spiked at a party.
The result is a bit of a bromance, they go on a road trip and move in together. They discover they are both working on the same project to uncover the dodgy pharmaceutical company, so they join forces. They leap in and out of the windows of cars like Starsky and Hutch.
The three parts are set in the glamorous back drop of sunny London with shots of the Shard, the Gherkin and loads of Canary Wharf. There are lots of speeded up cameras, which are then slowed down and revved right back up. It sounds silly, but it works.
Mark Bonnar from Line Of Duty and Undercover makes an appearance cleverly disguised in a pair of spectacles. The grumpy copper DS Sands is played by Mark Addy and SFO boss Eleanor Davies (Anna Chancellor).
There is a comic scene when Rash and Stefan argue over who is going to be the bad cop in the good cop, bad cop scenario. And watch out for the Lethal Weapon rip-off when they jump off a roof into a swimming pool.
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New Blood: Oh buddy what a double act!
By Kevin O'Sullivan
New Blood… old ideas. Say what you like about the Beeb’s bid to create the TV equivalent of a buddy movie, subtle it ain’t.
Say hi to Stefan and Rash. Not perhaps the snappiest sounding double act in screen history, but a fun partnership nevertheless.
To establish their action-men credentials, our two heroes left no cliché unturned. Rolling over car bonnets Starsky & Hutch-style and theatrically leaping into the water far below like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. More Cricklewood than Hollywood. But full marks for trying.
Adding to the all too familiar recipe for seen-it-all before success, the first panto-villains in writer Antony Horowitz’s good-versus-bad saga were evil drugs company bosses. How stunningly original.
Naturally, talented young copper Rash’s youthful enthusiasm is dashed at every turn by cynical old detective sergeant Derek Sands (Mark Addy) who is always wrong.
“What do you think this is?” snarls dozy Derek as the murder toll rises by the hour. “Some kind of conspiracy?” Yes, you idiot!
But thanks to spirited performances by Mark Strepan and Ben Tavassoli, the Stefan and Rash thing works far better than the hackneyed storylines. It’s the investigators who deliver the entertainment. Rather than the investigation.
Set against the ominous backdrop of dangerous London, this slick looking and fast paced production is that rare thing… a TV drama in the summer that’s worth watching.
While Rash proves himself in the CID, Stefan is an undercover guy for the Serious Fraud Office. Next up on the dynamic duo’s saintly agenda is government corruption and the building industry. Boo.
Now the crime-busting pair are buying a flat together. And Stefan has set his romantic sights on his friend’s sister. Rash is horrified. There may be trouble ahead…