The ninth feature-length episode in the British mystery series Dalziel and Pascoe, "Child's Play" is set, as usual, in Yorkshire, the home and workplace of weary, aging police detective Andy Dalziel (Warren Clarke) and his young, eager-beaver partner, Peter Pascoe (Colin Buchanan). The case at hand involves a middle-aged man who shows up uninvited at the funeral of a much-hated local dowager, claiming to be the dead woman's long-lost son (lost for fifty years, in fact) -- and the sole heir to her fortune. Meanwhile, Dalziel and Pascoe's colleague Sgt. Wield (David Royle),a closeted homosexual who keeps his preferences secret for fear of being dismissed, is plagued by a blackmailer. These two plot streams converge into one when murder rears its ugly head. Originally telecast as single, two-hour special in the U.K., Dalziel and Pascoe: Child's Play made its American debut as a two-part miniseres, shown on November 6 and 13, 1998, by the A&E cable network.
by Hal Erickson
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