Take the scruffiness, intelligence, affability, and keen skills of Peter Falk's Columbo, stir in the bull-dogged stubbornness, and piss & vinegar, of a politically incorrect working-class-hero, and you'll have the show's main character: Detective Inspector Jack Frost.
Portrayed by David Jason (who, until this show, was known as a comic actor - skills which I believe contributed hugely to his success in this role), one sees that what makes this character work is his not being a shiny hero. He is, in fact, a rather rusty-crusty-barnaclely hero... a gray haired, grizzled veteran who knows too much because he's seen too much, and wishes the world would change for the better. Yet, he knows no other way to live.
By the way, be sure to have your "deciphering UK colloquialisms" hearing-ears on. You'll pick up some interesting idioms, such as the use of the word "porkies".
Oh, and I can't help but think that The Thin Blue Line (Brit TV comedy starring Rowan Atkinson) intentionally parodies aspects of A Touch of Frost.
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