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| Law & Order: UK | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 23 2009, 11:08 PM (1,684 Views) | |
| Alice | Feb 23 2009, 11:08 PM Post #1 |
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Lost Lilly
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A topic for discussion of the new series Bill is starring in. Enjoy! ''Law & Order: UK is a British police procedural and legal television program that marks the seventh installment worldwide to be based on the original US series, Law & Order. L&O:UK premiered on ITV1 at 21:00 on 23 February 2009. Writer and director Chris Chibnall based the first series of episodes on scripts and episodes of the parent series. Based in London, and following the formula of the original, Law & Order: UK stars Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber, Harriet Walter, Ben Daniels, Freema Agyeman, and Bill Paterson. CAST: * Bradley Walsh as DS Ronnie Brooks – The lead cop and "a real East End copper’s copper", Brooks is an ex-alcoholic with "an inner peace". Brooks has two ex-wives and two distanced daughters. A West Ham fan and season ticket holder for 35 years, Brooks uses a "laconic wit" to deal with the realities of his job. * Jamie Bamber as DS Matt Devlin – Brooks' less wizened and more impulsive partner, friend, and surrogate son. From an Irish-Catholic family in Kilburn, Devlin has a romanticized idea of policing and absolutely loves his job. Despite rejecting the "absolutism" of his upbringing, Devlin still has a black-and-white view of the law—people are either innocent or guilty. * Harriet Walter as DI Natalie Chandler – As Brooks and Devlin's boss, it's Chandler's job is to push her detectives, making sure they stay within the lines of propriety and to play devil's advocate to their investigations. A working mother, Chandler brings a sympathy and softer side to her detectives, considering their families even when they don't. Despite maintaining her emotionality, Chandler will be the one bastion of objectivity when all others cannot. * Ben Daniels as James Steel – The lead London prosecutor, a "man on a mission for justice" and "the absolute moral centre of the show." Prior to his eight years with the CPS, Steel was a "brilliant" defense barrister; but the coincision of a three-time rapist's case and the birth of his first child changed his outlook on life, and he defected to the CPS. However, his new passion for the right side of the law consumed his life, alienating him from his family until his wife left for Edinburgh with his son; his work now fills that hole as well. * Freema Agyeman as Alesha Phillips – Steel's "hard-working and strong-willed" assistant and a "brilliant young barrister". Phillips grew up on a council estate with her single mother and attended university on scholarships and hard work. After being rejected from four different law firms, Phillips became worried about whether it was because of her credentials, or because she was a "black woman from Hackney". Definitively on the side of "the disadvantaged, the underdog, with the people that haven’t been given a fair shot at life", Phillips brings the empathy and shades of gray to her working relationship with Steel. She is the "ying to [his] yang". While Phillips works as a crown prosecutor, because she trained as a solicitor, her title is "solicitor advocate"; as such, she doesn't wear the wig, because she didn't train as a barrister. * Bill Paterson as George Castle – The head of the Crown Prosecution Service for London. Castle runs his office with an iron hand, keeping the pressure on Steel and Phillips. [Ironically, in the BBC thriller Criminal Justice, Paterson played a detective superintendent who referred to the CPS as the "Can't Prosecute Service". Never attracted to law as a student, Patterson now finds the theatricality of law akin to acting, "You prepare a sort of brief of your work and you present that day in court or on stage as though it was the most important thing in your life. Then you walk away with your colleagues and go and have a drink." After a spate of teenage stabbings affected Patterson's neighbourhood, the actor had the opportunity to watch the cause and effect of criminal proceedings when he shadowed Law & Order: UK's legal advisor while the latter was a defence lawyer on the case. Watching the trial in the Old Bailey, the experience "brought an intensity" to Patterson's role. Patterson also expressed an interest in meeting up with Law & Order's Sam Waterston, with whom he worked in 1984 on the set of The Killing Fields.] EPISODES: 1) 'Care' (Original Airdate: 23 February 2009 | Viewing Figures: 6.96 million) After finding the abandoned body of a toddler at a central London hospital, Brooks & Devlin's investigation leads them to Kings Cross where the area's "redevelopment and gentrification" is riling up local residents. The detectives find the child's mother and learn that the child died due to poisoning from a sabotaged heating system. After a suspect is arrested, Steel & Phillips have great difficulty keeping the case afloat in the face of their boss and their opponent, the devious and unprincipled Robert Ridley QC. 2) 'Unloved' (Original Airdate: 2 March 2009 | Viewing Figures: 6.24 million) Brooks and Devlin are emotionally affected by the case of unidentifiable 13-year-old boy who was kicked to death at Euston Station. DI Chandler holds a press conference which leads to identifying the victim as Danny Jackson. Steel and Phillips face an "old flame" from Steele's past in trial, Beatrice McArdle (Dervla Kirwan), who attempts an audacious defense of genetic predisposition towards violence that could upset the whole British legal system. 3) 'Vice' (Original Airdate: 9 March 2009 | Viewing Figures: 6.1 million overnight) The murder of an ex-vice cop in Paddington leads Brooks and Devlin to investigating both the victim's boss (Sean Pertwee), as well as a children's clothing store in Barnes (run by Juliet Aubrey and Deborah Cornelius). Steel and Phillips face off against "formidable defence barrister" Phyllis Gladstone (Lesley Manville), who presents a case of self-defense. 4) 'Unsafe' (Original Airdate: 16 March 2009 | Viewing Figures: 5.77 million) The unearthing of a shallow grave aside the Thames forces Brooks and Devlin to reopen a contentious murder case that was closed by Senior Crown Prosecutor Steel eight years prior. When the suspect, Luke Slade (Iain Glen), represents himself in court, it becomes less about the trial and more about the vendetta between the two men. 5) 'Buried' (Original Airdate: 23 March 2009 | Viewing Figures 6.11 million) The remains of an eight-year-old boy are uncovered, twenty-five years after he was reported missing. DSs Brooks and Devlin re-interview the man arrested during the original enquiry. The boy's childhood friend reluctantly agrees to undergo EMDR therapy and appears to recall the events of the night that Tommy disappeared, but George Castle is sceptical about the value of her recovered memories. 6) 'Paradise' When an arson attack on a Turkish club claims 17 lives, DS Ronnie Brooks and Matt Devlin are under pressure to discover just who was behind it. Their search is complicated by a trail of false identities, and the devious method of starting the fire. But when the arsonist is finally identified, James Steel and Alesha Phillips struggle to build a case. They begin to question whether the attack was really racially motivated. As George Castle puts pressure on for a result, James is suddenly placed in an awkward situation with an old friend. 7) 'Alesha' A respected gynaecologist is accused of sexually assaulting a patient during a routine examination, but Brooks, Devlin and Chandler struggle to find any firm evidence and the team becomes divided. Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips refuses to accept defeat and takes on formidable defence barrister Phyllis Gladstone. Official show website at ITV - http://www.itv.com/Drama/copsandcrime/LawandOrder .&. So, thoughts? Opinions? Edited by Adam, Mar 31 2009, 10:38 PM.
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| Untoldlove | Feb 23 2009, 11:16 PM Post #2 |
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Darth Mod
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Ehehee, you beat me to making the topic ![]() I thought it was good, a solid drama but it wasn't amazing, despite having such a fantastic cast! I feel a lot more could have been done with such good actors, but it is only episode 1, so maybe more is to come on that front. That said, the plotline was decent and of course, acting wise, everyone was great, specifically Bill, Bradley Walsh and Jamie Bamber. Ok, ok, maybe I have a soft spot for Mr Bamber because boy, he's cute XD , but he's also a damn good actor as anyone who watches Battlestar Galactica will know, so, here's hoping they have more plans for his character than him just following Walsh around looking moody? |
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| Alice | Feb 23 2009, 11:20 PM Post #3 |
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Lost Lilly
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Why, of course! ![]() I've never really sat down and watched the original L&O series, was it exactly the same? Do the characters get developed more, or are they the sort of "you can describe them in 2 words" kind? Jamie Bamber is a good actor, but you couldn't tell from this, since basically all his lines consisted of spelling out the plot. |
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| Untoldlove | Feb 23 2009, 11:28 PM Post #4 |
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Darth Mod
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Eh... pretty much, I think? The feel of it was a bit different, it didn't feel like a US show, if that makes any sense. Which is good, although... I guess I feel it could have been grittier. I love shows centered around this kind of thing, so I've seen a lot of different takes on the genre by now, and I think I'd say this was in the middle. Not the best, but not bad, either. It was just ok, to me. The L & O US chatacters are eventually more developed than, say, ones in CSI. I'd like to see more banter between Bamber and Walsh, if only they'd give them some breathing space from the plot. I know it's a fast paced show, but little bits here and there are always good. |
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| Mark | Feb 24 2009, 12:29 AM Post #5 |
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Where's Tina?!
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I honestly do not like Chris Chibnall as a scriptwriter, so I wasn't expecting much, and perhaps because my expectations for it were so low ( ITV dramas have always been a disappointment to me, also), I quite enjoyed it. It wasn't thrilling, it was wrapped up far too quickly, the theme song was awful (what was wrong with the US one? If they can keep the instrumental pieces between each scene entrance, couldn't they have kept that?) and the script was average at best, but somehow I still liked it. Well, perhaps liked is a tad strong, but I may well tune in next week to see how it evolves. I want to say something about Bill Paterson's performance, but he had so little to do that I literally can't think of anything to comment on. He was solid and reliably good, but he was hardly given a chance to show what an astounding actor he is in the few short scenes he featured in. But, we'll probably see more of him. Bradley Walsh surprised me, he was very good indeed. And I did chuckle at the "Can you not get mozzarella on the files, please" line. Other than that it was a slightly grim faced affair, but so is the US version, so, can't complain I suppose! I have to wonder why Freema Agyeman keeps getting high profile roles in tv shows, doesn't anyone realise that she can't actually act? |
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| BeautifulDawn | Feb 24 2009, 03:09 PM Post #6 |
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Clairevoyant
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Oh my god, I hope they give him more to do. It's a little cliche so far, with the eccentric, troubled older cop guy, and the energetic young cop guy, but that's basically the staple for most series so I'll let it slide for now, as long as they get more interesting. Jamie Bamber didn't get all that much to do to show off his acting this episode, but on a completely shallow note, he sure looked good I also find it incredibly weird hearing his real accent, I'm so used to his American Apollo voice, so, I was taken out of the scenes by that. Anyway, err, other thoughts.......... The cast was good, if a little cliche (okay, very cliche. Tough, nasty opposition lawyer, bright sparky young lawyer -- seriously, god, how many times have we seen this scene?: "Good work, Alesha." "*beams* Thank you!" LOL, sorry, I just bloody hate that standard 'look! we're showing you how smart and sparky she is, and how proud her workmates are of her, so we'll linger the camera on this scene for longer than necessary!". Blah. We get it. Stop spoon feeding. Is it bad I don't really remember Bill's character all that much? He shouted, he seemed pretty tough.... and that's all I got! They also completely over did the 'doing doing' L&O noises. We get it, this is our version of L&O, no need to remind us every scene with the iconic noise. It seemed so stupid during all the short scenes at the start. Like the producers got carried away in their excitement, lol, "Shall we add the L&O noise?" "I dunno... do we really need it?" "Nah, not really, but... can we add it anyway? Please? I just love it so much!" "Oh alright." *doing doing* |
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| j e n. j e n | Feb 24 2009, 06:53 PM Post #7 |
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Sceptical Ghost
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I think we should cut it some slack since it's only the first episode and they're probably finding their feet. I think it perfectly balanced original Law and Order influences with a nice British feel. It'll do well when it airs back in the states ![]() it's also not meant to be a very wordy show, so I didn't have a problem with the fast pacing, short scenes, and sometimes minimal dialogue. They were setting up all the characters, and their positions, and of course, the cast was brilliant. Omg, so many fantastic actors in this series, it's a treat! Bradley Walsh was easily my favourite (sorry Bill !!!) I love his character already! Though obviously Bill's going to play a very strong character in the show, can't wait! And oohhhh yes, Jamie Bamber looked very fine indeed agree they over used the Doing Doing to begin with though.
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| CraigFan | Feb 25 2009, 06:51 PM Post #8 |
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Adorkable Craig <3
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I think I might've enjoyed this a bit more than some others, but basically my own opinions have already been covered, so all that's left for me to say is.... I agree? ![]() Especially about the 'doing doing', sometimes they happened so soon that I thought they'd cut off an end bit of dialogue!
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| Ollie | Feb 25 2009, 10:27 PM Post #9 |
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New
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This is my first post here,so excuse for interrupting before introducing myself but if it's alright I'll just jump right in..... I thought it was a very good merge of the usual British law centric show and the American franchise, the music dun dun every scene was perhaps a bit over done? But I don't think the writers were too excited, I think they just tried to copy the way L + O is done originally, and over shot the mark. I also think maybe people are being a bit harsh on the writing, since I agree with j e n. j e n who said it's not supposed to be wordy. It's not all that different from CSI. Oh and I'd say that judging from the character info in the OP post, they will be developed. I enjoyed it and will watch again next week, not just because I'm a Bill Paterson fan, but because over all the show entirely impressed me, much to my surprise. Anyway, hope I posted that alright! |
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| hidden_locket | Feb 25 2009, 11:04 PM Post #10 |
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Member
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I agree with Jen.Jen and Ollie, and I think people here are nitpicking. There isn't much to fault the first episode, so cut it some slack guys! We should support Bill's shows, not poke holes in them when they've only just got off their feet.
Exactly why I'm wondering why people are complaining, it's only episode one, the characters were being set up so surely it's understandable that, heaven forbid, we don't know every single detail and quirk about them! It's a tv show, not a narrative book. Not to seem peeved off, I don't mean to nitpick at people's comments myself, but I think this is uncalled for
Hardly fair to point her out is it? I saw nothing wrong with her performance. It's a slight actor bash. Is it not??? Anyway, sorry to get flustered. ![]() |
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| Erica | Feb 26 2009, 12:38 AM Post #11 |
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Soulsearcher!
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Hey hidden_locket, though I totally agree that nitpicking a show one episode in can be a real bugbear, I don’t think anyone is doing that here. Everyone’s being very constructive with their criticisms! People shouldn't have to pretend to love it in order not to feel guilty about picking at its first episode. If it needs improvement, we should be able to discuss that without feeling we ought not to, you know? I don’t see what real difference it makes, a first episode is often choppy and bloated with scene setting, but if viewers can’t crit it then it can’t improve! Everyone’s speaking with the knowledge that sometimes first episodes are shaky, no one’s judging it solely by this. Rambling here, but to get to my underlining point: I think critiquing a first episode based on that first episode is alright, critiquing a whole entire series based solely on a first episode (and one that wasn’t by any means atrocious) is a bit silly, but no one’s doing that here, so don’t worry! ![]()
Agreed. But I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt, as you say, ‘tis only episode one. I'm also in agreement with the general crit here that it was ok, but, I couldn't put it on par with Bill Paterson's last legal drama, Criminal Justice. I'm thinking it'll improve vastly for next episode, but, you know, for the most part, I thought it was a well paced, stylish, well acted, episodic drama, I enjoyed it, except for a few irks here and there.
Oh yeah, just to pick up on this: was it just me that thought Jamie Bamber’s accent sounded a bit... well, off for someone who’s natively British? Maybe it’s just me. I found a lot of the accents weirdly broad in this. I love regional accents (have a Northern one myself) but they seemed a bit put on? Even though I know they’re not. Could just be me... making something out of nothing!! As a side note, welcome (back!) to the forum, Ollie! Your post was fine, tis always great to have more people discussing! Edited by Erica, Feb 26 2009, 12:40 AM.
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| Mark | Feb 26 2009, 02:58 PM Post #12 |
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Where's Tina?!
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Why? Why should we cut it slack? Talented actors, a professional script writer who has lifted all the episodes from American Law & Order episodes, thus it was a very easy job for him....if, even despite that, I feel it’s not up to scratch, why should I cut it slack? Just because there are actors I happen to like in it? So, if I go to see a film starring an actor I like, and the film is the pits, I should swallow my dislike and pretend I enjoyed it? For what purpose, exactly? The actors and writers aren’t here, I’m not insulting them personally, I’m giving constructive criticism that I believe to be truthful. I’ve not said anyone has to agree with me, I’m not saying people can’t like it or that you’re wrong for doing so, I’m just saying what I personally felt. Many forumers hated series four of Sea of Souls, but no one condemned them for saying so.
My above point should also extend to your accusation of ‘actor bashing’, so I can’t critique an actors performance, either? I can’t have any other opinion that’s not positive? Actor bashing is insulting an actor’s appearance, I had gathered, perhaps I’m wrong, but all I gave was my personal opinion on her acting. I’m not insulting the actress, just saying I didn’t like her performance. Much like, I’m sure, no one would accuse me of ‘player bashing’ if I said I disliked a football players performance on the pitch. |
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| Untoldlove | Feb 26 2009, 06:46 PM Post #13 |
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Darth Mod
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Guys, guys, let's keep things nice and calm! No one is actor bashing, no one is condemning, no one is trolling in a negative way about the show. It's a discussion topic, both positive and negative reviews and views are completely welcome, as is debate, as long as it's kept friendly. Feel free to debate your opinions on the episode's highs and lows, but let's not have anyone telling anyone what they should or shouldn't be saying, agreed? |
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| ScarletInLondon | Feb 26 2009, 11:32 PM Post #14 |
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Member
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I don't see the problem with the script, I tthought it was perfect for the type of show it is, and it exceeded my expectations. 8/10 |
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| BeautifulDawn | Feb 28 2009, 05:45 PM Post #15 |
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Clairevoyant
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I don't really see the connection of non-wordy script > slack off on the writing. Plenty of shows aren't 'wordy', most shows aren't, but the good ones manage to still add a bit more colour to them, so that they're not just perfunctory. But I'm thinking maybe the writing will improve, so I'll reserve my snark for Sunday Welcome to the forum, btw, Ollie! Also, I don't see how me or any other member here is "nitpicking".
That.... doesn’t even make sense. TV shows have narratives too, you know. But I don’t know why you’re comparing them as if anyone else has been doing that. We’re, err, aware it’s not a book. o_0 If it were we’d be critiquing its use of syntax or something. And no one is dissing Bill’s show in a negative way, we all love Bill Paterson here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t objectively analayse a show he’s in. We’ve not even critiqued his role in it. He’s not the problem. And Mark isn’t actor bashing, bashing is when you insult what an actor looks like. I think your being overly sensitive to people’s comments, hidden_locket. People should be allowed to express their opinions on a tv show, if I didn’t like aspects of it, I should be allowed to say why, if you liked aspects of it, you should be allowed to say why. I’m not stopping you from enjoying it or challenging my points of view, but you shouldn’t tell me what I can and can’t say. |
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10:52 PM Jul 10
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I also find it incredibly weird hearing his real accent, I'm so used to his American Apollo voice, so, I was taken out of the scenes by that.


!!!) I love his character already! Though obviously Bill's going to play a very strong character in the show, can't wait! And oohhhh yes, Jamie Bamber looked very fine indeed
to begin with though.






10:52 PM Jul 10