History Series / NewTricks

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Jack, whilst normally a pleasant, gentle sort of fellow, possesses a sharp and sometimes violent temper if someone (usually a murderer or corrupt cop) has ''really'' managed to annoy him. His interrogation of a phony psychic in one episode is conducted almost entirely in calm, reasonable tones, but it's extraordinarly evident that he is beyond outraged by the nature of the crime; watching the scene will send ''shivers down your spine''. Similarly, Brian is normally just a little bit awkward, but becomes more than a little bit scary when he hasn't been taking his meds.

* DotingGrandparent: Though he was shocked about discovering his daughter Paula was pregnant and intended to be a single mum to her child Gerry unashamedly adores his grandson Gerry Junior, Brian and Esther will clearly become this trope with the news that they would become grandparents in their last full series as regulars.

* BlessedWithSuck: It's established that Brian's remarkable photographic instant-recall memory and outstanding abilities as a detective and forensic investigator are the direct result of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a manic depression that, if he doesn't take his medication, leaves him with crippling, obsessive paranoia and at the best of times renders him an anti-social pedant. He is also a recovered alcoholic.

* ConspiracyTheorist: Brian turns into one of these if he comes off his anti-depressants, although he has shades of this even when he's on them (indeed in at least once he came off them because he was convinced modern medicine was a conspiracy); most notably in one episode where the team are investigating the suspicious death of a prominent 1970s trade unionist, Brian — himself a member of the Police Union during his service — becomes convinced that he's being observed.

* TheSwearJar: Has the detectives install one, which eventually allows them to go out for a nice meal on the town. Gerry's a bit aggrieved that he didn't get to choose, since he "put most of the bloody money in."

--> '''Strickland:''' Surrey ran the third sample through the National Criminal Database. And while they didn't find an exact match, it did flag up someone from the ACPO files with a very similar genetic profile... i.e., a direct and close relative.
--> '''Sandra:''' Really? Who?
--> '''Strickland:''' [[spoiler: You]].

* ActorAllusion: Jack Halford is played by James Bolam, who played Jack ''Ford'' in ''Series/WhenTheBoatComesIn''.
** There have been a few ''StarWars'' references since Denis Lawson joined the cast.

* PutOnABus - P.C Jon Clarke, the squad's uniformed IT officer-slash-gofer, disappears between Series 1 and Series 2.
* RabidCop: The retired detectives have slightly CowboyCop attitudes compared to modern police methods and standards. So they see nothing wrong with creating a fake Rabid Cop scenario where the interrogator gets so insanely angry that he shoots the suspect's public defender lawyer. The 'lawyer' is another retired cop and the gun is a starter pistol.

* RealLifeRelative: Gerry's [[spoiler:illegitimate and heretofore unknown]] daughter is played by Hannah Waterman, Dennis Waterman's real daughter. [[spoiler:Paternity tests prove that she's not his, but he refuses to tell her. She finds out.]]
** Also, James Bolam and Susan Jameson, although not married to each other in the show, have been married to each other for over 35 years, playing husband and wife in ''Series/WhenTheBoatComesIn''.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Especially in later series, many episodes are inspired by real crimes or types of crimes that have been in the news. For example, "Queen and Country" involves a civil servant misplacing a laptop with sensitive information, something which (as the episode itself notes) embarrassingly happened several times during GordonBrown's premiership.

* TheSeventies and TheEighties: Earlier episodes revolve around cases from that period. As the show has gone on, cases from TheNineties and even the TurnOfTheMillennium (crimes committed during the earlier part of the show's run, chronologically!) have featured.

* ActorAllusion: Jack Halford is played by James Bolam, who played Jack ''Ford'' in ''WhenTheBoatComesIn''.

** Also, James Bolam and Susan Jameson, although not married to each other in the show, have been married to each other for over 35 years, playing husband and wife in ''WhenTheBoatComesIn''.

In the course of of Series 9 (2012), Jack was PutOnABus and replaced with '''DI Steve [=McAndrew=]''', played by Denis Lawson (AKA [[StarWars Wedge Antilles]]), a FishOutOfWater retired detective from Glasgow who originally came down to help with a case relevant to his past.

* NewOldFlame: Sandra acquires one in the form of DCI James Larson in "Objects of Desire". This does not end well when James [[spoiler:turns out to be a DirtyCop]].

* ThisBearWasFramed: In an episode, a man broke into a zoo and was assumed to have fallen into a tiger enclosure and mauled to death by the tiger. When the tiger dies a few years later it is revealed that its death was caused by a piece of a knife that was stuck in its body since that night. The team reopens the case and finds that the man was killed elsewhere and the body dumped in the tiger cage which is when th tiger was stabbed. Not only was the tiger framed but it was also another victim.

* ItsPersonal: Jack was hell bent on brining down crime boss Ricky Hanson, the man who murdered his wife. Jack actually tries to kill him with his car at one point, but only ends up hospitalising himself and the whole team. Taken UpToEleven when Hanson takes the opportunity to try and smother him in his hospital bed (while [[KickTheDog rubbing his wife's death in his face]] no less) and ''still gets away with it'' due to having a ruthlessly efficient lawyer who destroys the case by referencing all of the team's flaws (including Jack's obsession with bringing Hanson down), to make them all seem like unreliable witnesses. The team celebrate with champagne when they finally bring him down in a later episode.

[[indent:10:'''Gerry Standing''' (Dennis Waterman), a Jack-the-lad charmer with three ex-wives (that he is on excellent terms with), a gambling habit and some shady ethics, who left the force under suspicion of corruption after punching out his boss (who just happens to now be ''Pullman's'' boss). A softened-for-comedy version of what George Carter, Waterman's character in ''TheSweeney'', would be like today, complete with long hair, wide flashy neckties, constant smoking etc.]]

** George Harrison, famous as being one of the Beatles, actually wrote the song as 'End of the Line', which Dennis Waterman changed to 'It's Alright'.

* ShipTease: Earlier episodes seemed to suggest some kind of potential relationship between Gerry and Sandra, but this was gradually dropped. The two nevertheless over time went from being quite sharp with each other to becoming quite good friends, however.

** Although it is played with, in that their hard work and achievements have been noted and rewarded several times over; Sandra has been offered 'better' jobs but [[StatusQuoIsGod for whatever reason]] has always chosen to stay with UCOS. A bit of FridgeBrilliance is also at play -- having been dumped out-of-the-way in the basement in the first series, each season has seen them be moved to increasingly nicer rooms before they reached their current, rather swish offices, suggesting that their overall reputation has gradually improved even if they do remain the butt of a few jokes.

* BackstoryOfTheDay: Episode "Into The Woods" has Gerry suddenly always had a well known deep phobia about wooded areas. This contradicts several other episodes where he has been perfectly at home in them.

Provides examples of: