See you in court
It's just like the BBC to force us to stay in for five consecutive nights just to watch a drama. (I understand there is such thing as a futuristic device that allows you to watch television programmes at a time quite indistinct from that at which they are broadcast, but where's the fun in that?) Criminal Justice is a "major new drama". You can tell this, because it's been trailed for weeks and because ... it's on for five consecutive nights. Actually, it's a big new-fangled risk for BBC1 to sign the keystone 9pm-10pm slot over to the same thing, Monday to Friday. What if people get bored? The pressure is on for Peter Moffat, the writer, to keep putting up new hurdles for the main protagonist to deal with. (Ratings holding steady from 5.5 million to 4.8 and back up to 5 over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, so all is looking well.)Since it's ongoing, and I know some of you won't be watching it when it goes out across five consecutive nights, here's what I am allowed to tell you without ruining it: Ben Whishaw (one of the Bob Dylans in I'm Not There) plays a snivelly and slightly daft young asthmatic who gets arrested and put on remand before being tried for a murder he doesn't remember committing, and is pretty sure he didn't commit, despite being out of it when it happened. The drama takes us through the criminal justice system to see what it's like. It's not very nice. Prison is full of mostly scary men and one nice old man who barter with mobile phone usage and fags and get drugs delivered in dead pigeons being thrown over the wall. Barristers are corrupt. The posher they are, the more corrupt and venal. The more crumpled the lawyer, the more chance he'll be one of the good guys. The police are a bit useless and a bit corrupt. Deals are done. Pleas are bargained. The CPS don't prosecute anyone. Targets run the police. Everyone grandstands in court, as if they are on the television. One old-school detective grumbles. And Ben Wishaw has a rubbish time. Really, really rubbish. If it were a book it would be impossible to put down. I'm three episodes in and desperate to find out what happens in the end, even though if the person I think did it actually did it, I'll be a bit disappointed.
Peter Moffat, ex-barrister, wrote the fabulous North Square, a zippy, fast-talking, cynical drama about barristers that was on Channel 4 in 2000 (God, was it that long ago?), a sort of This Life for grown-ups and without the E, and centred around Phil Davis, which can never be a bad thing. It was larger than life, and the dialogue was perfect. Because Criminal Justice is a bit more realistic, or pretends to be, some of the dialogue sounds a tad theatrical. This is OK in court, but less so in the other bits. It's not a deal-breaker, but it does run counter to some of the realism. I'm into it anyway. The performances are all solid, from old dependables like Bill Paterson, Lindsay Duncan and Pete Postlethwaite, to newer faces like David Harewood and Juliet Aubrey. I'm taken with Con O'Neil as the crumpled lawyer with eczema feet. If there's a dramatic flaw, it's that our snivelly and slightly daft ashmatic hero, who might or might not have dunnit, seems to be fighting a one-man war against the criminal justice system, and we've not really seen any evidence (geddit?) that he's the kind of person who'd take that upon himself. It's convenient for the story that he does, but he looks to me like the very person who'd give in and do what he's told.
Nothing more to add, really. Quality drama. Unnecessary scheduling gimmick. Especially when BBC1 are running a new series of Celebrity Masterchef over three consecutive nights. (We're supposed to get on with our lives when exactly?)
posted by Andrew Collins @ 3:15 PM
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*runs away from Jay Z discussion as has lost track of own opinion*
I started catching up with this last night and it is really blowing away my low expectations. Pingu from Nathan Barley is a revelation and like you I'm finding Con O'Neil to be excellent. I recognise the face but am not sure I've seen him in anything before.
The opening set up was a little too obvious but from that point on it's been ascending in quality...
Loving this show. No spoilers please - I'm only halfway into show 2.
By the way - anyone been watching Summer Heights High on BBC3? It's absolutely hilarious.
You look up Con O'Neil and it's standard CV of Ultimate Force, My Hero, Doctors, Trial & Retribution, Waking the Dead, Heartbeat, Wycliffe ... honest work for any thesp, which means we've probably all seen him before but nowhere big. I shall look out for him now. It only takes one juicy role in a ratings smash for the interesting jobs to come in.
The 5-nights thing, they're doing the same thing with the next (mini-)series of Torchwood.
I think what I like most about this, is the fact that the actors are not only good but they're not the usual TV faces: Julie Graham, Sarah Smart, Mark Benton, Sarah Parish, etc., who are in everything.
Not that they're not all good per se, but I get sick of seeing the same people in everything. So this makes a refreshing change.
Look at the trailers for Bonekickers: same old bloody faces.
I wasn't going to bother with it, but I'm glad I did. Quality writing (albeit a little cliched in places), great acting, very enjoyable.
Frankly if it was me in that position, I'd have gone for manslaughter, chalked it up as a bad experience and never borrowed my dad's cab again.
Centred on, Andrew, not centred around.
I shan't watch this, but I shall be buying your new paperback book.
Yours predictably pickily,
Tom
Andrew, Con O'Neil already has an interesting role coming up, he's due to play Joe Meek in the film Telstar, which I for one am looking forward to.
Also really enjoying this series, though anyone over 30 could tell the poor young guy that the sort of wacky free-spirited chics who want to drive to the beach at night and drop an e are always nightmare very-high maintenance basket cases. Both in drama - and in real life.
Although I suppose perhaps the dramatic irony of this contributes to the enjoyment.And nice to see Bill Paterson playing a baddie for a change (up there with Ricki Fulton's Pribluda in Gorky Park)
Also agree about Con O'Neil, always very watchable and here at his very best.
Sadly I gave up after 10 minutes; the original set-up just seemed too bizarre and unlikely. When he crashed the taxi and the police officers attending the accident also went to the murder scene I just said, "Enough already, no-one is that unlucky". It just seemed overdone and unnecessary.
Looks like I missed out though. Oh well, it'll be repeated some time no doubt. I'll have to skip the intro when it is, mind.
I saw the first Summer Heights High and really didn't get it at all. I think it may have suffered from over-billing.
Anyone seen the write ups or trailers for Ch4's Fall Out? Sounds like a British attempt at The Wire to me, which is actually quite off putting.
Sorry haven't seen CJ so that's why I'm off topic.
After all the trails and promo, which bright spark thought it would be a great idea to not start the first episode until 30 minutes after the advertised time due to two blokes knocking a ball backwards and forwards?
It was the scheduling gimmick that put me off. It's possible for me to suffer "Great Drama Overload" regardless of how brilliant the production may be. I love beef stew and dumplings, but I couldn't eat it every day!
I've really enjoyed this programme and can't wait to see how it ends tonight.
And I never never never want to go to prison!
Zoe
I watched this for the 1st time last night. Staying at my parents who watch tv passively. It's just always ... on. Like the fridge. Didn't have a clue what was going on. Something to do with a court by the look of it? And highly unrealistic it looked at that. I've long since given up on tv drama. It's almost always rubbish - especially on the BBC and especially when they build it up. That said I don't mind the period dramas. They should stick to them. I watch Bleak House on dvd once a year whether I need to or not.
Then I watched Question Time which was filmed not 100 yards from the tv I was watching it on. Honestly. Quite strange. David Mitchell very, very bad on it. Why would he even bother?
I was quite enjoying this whodunit until they committed the cardinal sin. We found out they'd been withholding vital information from us ...
(Please look away now if you havent watched last night's episode yet ...)
We found out last night that the body had been held down during the stabbing and would have needed a person bigger and stronger than the accused to do so.
Also that there were hand marks on the victim, not matching the victims.
Okay, this was all couched in the 'in my expert opinion' manner. But that's not on.
It's becoming harder and harder in certain genres (thriller & horror especially) to second guess the audience - who have seen just about every scenario a dozen times.
The cheap trick of holding back vital information till the end is shoddy and moves this drama for me back to being just a very long episode of Judge John Dead. Disappointing.
Watching this sent me to imdb to check out Con O' Neill - he's one of those actors that make me say 'ooh I like him' every time he comes on, but looking through imdb the thing that I think I remember him for is Dancing Thru the Dark and that was in 1990. I can't believe it!
It was also a bit odd to see Bill Paterson whom I last saw with a very daft beard pretending to be Beatrice Potter's dad.
Anyway, it has had me well hooked - to the point I am worrying about the outcome and stressing that 'criminal justice' may allude to something even more terrible meted out in prison.
And as for Masterchef - why couldn't the lovely man from Corrie have gone up against the no-hopers in last night's second round - then him and Claire could have gone through - I thought she looked bonny too.
* Note to self, must get out more.
Did you guess right Andrew?
I have to say, I was quite disappointed in the end. Hyped as a flagship show and ran over 5 nights with such a good cast - and that was it?
Slightly disappointed, Paul (and no, I didn't guess right - who would have? it was so random, really). Then again, I'm not sure what kind of ending could actually justify five nights on the trot. The case was solved, justice was done. My least favourite episode though.
I watched it on 'the' iplayer - compulsive viewing if I may drop a Points Of View style soundbite.
Just caught up with this on iPlayer, I was totally gripped by it until the flaky ending. It seems to me that a grimmer ending would have been more appropriate - one not without hope, but leaving the viewer feeling he may get out of it, but it will be a long long haul. It is a real shame that dramatic structure (need for a resolution and some justice, with some implausible events - barrister kisses him, expert evidence found at last minute etc - making it happen) overtook the documentary realism of the justice system and prisons. I would have preferred it if they had stayed true to that impulse, which was what gave it the power it had. Some great scenes and acting, though.
Oh, I forgot to mention, since nobody else has - the music/sound design was outstanding, especially combined with wordless images and scenes. Really effective and full of tension and dread.
Watched all five episodes last night on the iPlayer (the volume goes up to 11!) and I thought it was the tv equivalent of unputdownable.
If Ben Wishaw and Con O'Neil aren't up for Baftas next year I'll be very surprised - best drama since Boy A I thought.
That said I agree aout the last episode. Aside from the out of nowhere resolution, it seemed too rushed compared to the pacing of the other four eps.
I can't help but feel I'm being picky though. Four and a half hours of the five were outstanding and I'm very pleased that I got round to watching it.
God has anyone seen Bonekickers? Absolute simple-minded drivel made by who? The Life on Mars team?
Quite unbelievable cack
Luke
Well I say hank the Lord for the BBC iPlayer. I had completely dismissed this show until everyone started banging on about it and it I felt like I was missing out.
Not the greatest show ever and possibly not the most realistic (although they had Erwin James as a consultant and he is an ex-con that used to write a column in the guardian). But anyway, all of it scared me. Could we get Criminal Justice & Midnight Express shown to all impressionable teenagers. These scary visions of prison life would be enough to make anyone think twice about being criminal minded. I for one have decided to cancel the bank robbery I was planning.
As for you, David Blunkett, with your Channel 5 reality tv prison show? No smack & mobile phone up the crack on that show, is there. Make the bad lads take the Nokia 30 second challenge, that should sort the scary men out from the weedy Britpop boys....
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