We have come under some criticism for some of the things we say about Barry as an actor and writer and Sreve as a character. One of the characteristics of the Amateur Detective genre is that the police aren't as good as the amateur, although not a bungling detective it is therefore necessary for him to get it wrong now and then. We have a few running jokes about this in the episode guide. As an actor, I think he does great light comedy and even better light romantic comedy, (he is great in Trapped In Paradise and the drippy scenes with Charmin Lee in Sins Of The Father are superb). Some of the best exchanges in the series are between him and Jesse. But he is also the muscle of the team and his delivery of tough guy dialogue consists largely of shouting. As for his writing we simply do not enjoy his episodes as much as some of the others. I also think that these suffer because they centre around his children, rather than Mark, Jesse and Amanda.

The scriptwriters sometimes do him few favours, allowing him to miss even simple clues. A good example of this is in Down Among The Dead Men, in this great episode with Steve at the centre, we see him save Jesse's life and brilliantly find some fingerprints in a stolen car. But then following a shooting at a bar he tamely allows the gunman to leave.

Nevertheless we agree that we are a little unfair now and then by pointing out things that make him look stupid when taken out of context, particularly the "fact" that every time he arrests someone he is proving them innocent.