Status beendetSender ZDFneoErstaustrahlung 24 September 2013Laufzeit 60 MinutenGenres Comedy, Crime, Drama

Die viel versprechende Karriere von Hauptkommissarin Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman) bei der Londoner Kriminalpolizei scheint frühzeitig zu enden, als sie bei dem Versuch eine Geisel zu befreien, die Kontrolle über den Einsatz verliert: Anstatt die chinesischen Kidnapper in Schach zu halten, feuert ein Polizeikollege unkontrolliert einen Schuss ab, durch den ein Hund zu Tode kommt und der gekidnappte Millionär so erschrickt, dass er in Panik aus dem Fenster stürzt und auf der Intensivstation landet. Nach diesem Desaster legt ihr der stellvertretende Polizeichef Donald Bevan (Tim Woodward) – als letzte Chance – die Führung einer neuen Spezialeinheit nahe, die noch nicht abgeschlossene und unaufgeklärte Fälle der Vergangenheit lösen soll. Kleines Handikap: Wegen akuter Personal- und Geldeinsparungen sollen ausschließlich pensionierte Kollegen aus dem Ruhestand reaktiviert werden. Keine leichte Aufgabe, wie sich herausstellt, da die meisten, infrage kommenden Beamten entweder verstorben, alkoholisiert oder nicht greifbar sind. Nach einem längeren Auswahlverfahren gelingt es Hauptkommissarin Pullman schließlich, ihr neues Team zusammenzustellen: Jack Halford (James Bolam), Pullmans ehemaliger Vorgesetzter, mit dem Hang zu verdrehten Wortspielen, Kommissar Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong), der Mann mit dem fotografischen Gedächtnis und hypochondrischen Zügen, und last, but not least Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman), der Kommissar mit der höchsten Aufklärungsquote, der sich im Privaten mit seinen drei Exfrauen und fünf Töchtern auseinander zu setzen hat.

A car in which five years ago a teacher was murdered is returned to the victim's husband. Pullman re-opens the unsolved case, hoping her team can track down the dead woman's secret lover, and a clue soon leads them to a male prostitute. Pullman had worked on the original case and been troubled throughout by the lack of emotion shown by Nancy's husband Stephen

The murky death of Joe Walsh, General Secretary of the Crane Driver's Union, whose body was found in the Thames in 1975, is reinvestigated. At the time of his death, Walsh stood accused of stealing money from the union's account. The team find themselves at the centre of a political minefield, with suggestions of misappropriated union funds, MI5 involvement and a union leader whose threats of strike action were gravely threatening the national interest.

When a serial dog killer starts stalking local parks, the team are reluctantly forced into taking on the case.

The vicious criminal Chopper Hadley, who has been back in the country for a week, is searched for by the team. However, Halford is viciously intimidated and the squad start to realise the full danger of their target. Desperate measures are used and Brian is sent undercover to get Hadley once and for all.

A young woman insists that the suspicious death of a local librarian was because of witchcraft and the team are drawn into the world of magic and the supernatural. A series of strange events occur and they are put under increasing pressure. The squad gets convinced that the supernatural exist and struggle to remain cynical.

Ray Cook, a legendary criminal has turned prime time celebrity. The team set off to find him, because there was a notorious bank job which left a cashier dead. He is a suspect, but was he responsible, or is he as innocent as he claims?

The team are on the case of the ice cream bandit, an armed robber who's targets were the ice cream vans of two feuding ice cream manufacturers in the mid 1990s. The battle between the two families erupts into violence, so UCOS decide to track down the bandit and stop the conflict once and for all.

Pullman struggles to keep the boys in line as their chequered pasts begin to be revealed. Halford is determined to nail a vicious criminal who has so far eluded him and in doing so he puts himself in grave danger. Standing receives a surprise visitor which shocks him. Pullman is increasingly frustrated and weighs up an opportunity that could end her time in UCOS.