ITV saved!
Well, probably not, but amid all the obituaries for this once-great, now-bust broadcaster, may I make a case for something really good on ITV1? It's that rare thing, a successful translation of a US drama: Law & Order | UK. For those that aren't up to speed, the long-running American original, which has been going since 1990 - 1990! - has a simple premise: each hour-long episode covers one stand-alone case and follows it through from investigation and arrest to prosecution and verdict. Simple. But brilliant.Thus, it's a show of two halves: the cops and the silks; law and - geddit? - order. In our version, which is currently recycling scripts from the American version by Britishing them up in a very effective way, that's Bradley Walsh as crumpled, divorced old cop, Jamie Bamber as pretty, idealistic new cop and Harriet Walter as wry, seen-it-all commanding officer; and Ben Daniels (who I once saw in a bathroom shop) as not-crumpled-but-actually-well-turned-out, possibly-not-divorced old-ish prosecutor, Freema Agyeman as pretty, idealistic new prosecutor and Bill Paterson as wry, seen-it-all CPS boss. A cracking cast - the biggest revelation among whom is Bradley Walsh, who seems born to play DI Ronnie Brooks. I never saw him on Coronation St, so only know him as himself ie. insufferable, certainly on Maestro, where he seemed pathologically unable to stop messing about. But a fine actor. Who knew? And the quality of one-show-only guest starts they've managed to line up is an almost Red Riding-like parade of TV talent: Patrick Malahide, Dervla Kirwan, Lesley Manville, Juliet Aubrey, Sean Pertwee, with Iain Glen to come next week. (Alright, so Sean Pertwee is a bit "in reception", but I'm always glad to hear his unique throaty voice, even in a supporting role as the boss of a paintballing company.)
Allison Graham in my very own Radio Times was down on it, but I think she may be too enamoured of the original to give it a fair crack of the whip. Three episodes in, and I'd say it's really shaping up to be appointment-to-view. That's a drama on ITV1. I repeat: a drama, on ITV1. (Ratings have slipped a bit from a solid 6m debut to closer to 5m, but let's hope that plateaus out. And that ITV doesn't cancel all drama, of course.)
The best part is: I've never seen Law & Order | US.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 7:54 AM
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20 Comments:
I totally agree. I watch too much US Drama, (all the good stuff I might add) so it's nice to see something British and good at the same time. What's really impressing me, apart from Mr Walsh who is great, is Jamie Bamber. He's in Battlestar Galactica (The Best thing on any TV at the moment) is the States and he's great in both shows.
I am currently in the midst of watching older UK TV shows on DVD such as 'State of Play', 'Edge of Darkness' 'GBH' and 'Our Friends for the North. I was too young when they first came about, so now is a great time to look badck and see what great Britsh drama can be.
Does anyone have any more suggestions?
Shane Knight
I watched the first episode, thought Bradley Walsh was being Gene Hunt, thought Jamie Bamber was terrible and found the storyline yawnsome.
My exact words at the end of it were "well that'll teach me to watch something on ITV".
I'm surprised you thought the exact opposite on almost all counts.
Caught this almost by accident for the first time last night. It was good enough to keep me watching to the end but I have some reservations.
Some of the dialogue was dreadfully clunky, spelling out key themes and issues in words of one syllable in case we were too stupid to understand them. The scene in which the murder victim's widow appeared suddenly in the prosecutors' office ahead of the trial (can you just wander in to the CPS like this?) and launched into a 'who's getting justice for my husband' speech was toe-curling and unnecessary.
And the generally excellent cast is badly let down by Freema Agyeman who may be supposed to be the 'ingenu' of the legal team but just seems out of her depth.
That said the relocation to London worked well and the location captions - 'posh school, Barnes, SW13' - really adding something...to this London resident anyway.
Also, for this London resident, when they said "Barnes" it looked to me as if they really were in Barnes.
I understand reservations - but to cram that much story into what is in fact much less than an hour, I guess some shortcuts must be taken. In general, I'd say the dialogue was pretty naturalistic - for an ITV drama anyway - quite chatty in places.
I watch most ITV dramas for ten minutes, if that. I always give them the chance not to treat me like an idiot, and when they blow that chance, I remember how much other stuff there is on the other side.
At last - someone actually admitting to liking a UK drama. I thought it was never going to happen again.
I think it's good, a little bit predictable as it's always the billed guest star who's done it, so 'with Juliet Aubrey' (she's cousin of The Edge, incidentally) is a dead giveaway, whereas there's no mention of Sean Pertwee in the opening credits, so we know it can't be him.
But a fine cast and good reworking of a top US show, though I prefer Law & Order: SVU, personally, and the 'law' bit is always more exciting than the 'order' bit, though it's a top show and deserves to do well. (Alison Graham hates everything - for someone who writes in a TV magazine she's not exactly encouraging).
And yes Bradley Walsh is a great actor, but just not a very nice person.
I have to say I wasn't enamoured. I know it's kind of nit-picky to say things like "real investigations and prosecutions aren't really like that", but this series was really bad for inaccuracies.
Since when do barristers (a QC no less, judging by the wig) tread the streets of London looking for witnesses? The most exciting thing they do is strenously read bundles of evidence, in my experience. Though of course that would make rubbish telly. Unless you threw in a controversial "paper cut" scene.
It wasn't quite as bad as Judge John Deed. But then, nothing ever could be.
ITV broke new ground last night when a mans penis was refered to as a 'Ninky Nonk'.
Next weeks episode will feature the dead body of 'Upsy Daisy' after a swinger party at the 'Ponty Pines' turns nasty.
Shane Knight
@Shane Knight "Does anyone have any more suggestions?"
Might not be your thing but if you havent seen them I can thoroughly recommend the Le Carre adaptations from the 70s/80s. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "Smiley's People" and "A Perfect Spy". Slow, pessimistic and at times impenetrable they demand the viewer is really watching and paying attention.
The intelligence world portrayed in TTSS shows how it probably was. Call boxes as a primary means of communication, photographs pinned to cork boards, clandestine discussions on park benches and a methodical construction of the truth from threads and vague strands. Originally broadcast pre-VCR and without a same-week repeat, it demanded absolute attention from the viewer. In other words, it's almost everything that Spooks is not. We may never see anything like it again as the pace, non-linear plotting and donnish plodding probably wouldn't be commissioned these days.
I would suggest in all three cases that the books are much better - but again I realise Le Carre is not to everyone's taste.
Ratings update:
Last night's L&OUK (as nobody's calling it) put on viewers and went back up to 6.1 million - according to those fabled "unofficial overnights." So, it began with 6.4, slipped to 5.8 last week, and recovered slightly this week. Good. Imagine what its number might be now that I have said it's good!
This blog's numbers make fascinating reading. According to Google Analytics, which seems far more accurate than the antiquated diary system used by TV, I draw between 200 and 300 unique visitors a day. (You see? Every one of you is unique.) The average number of pageviews is about 500 a day. Interestingly, when Mark Kermode gave me a plug on the Monday after the Oscars on 5 Live, the number of visitors spiked at 486. The power of the Kermode. It quickly settled back down, although the average has remained slightly higher, which means a few of his fans stayed (while a couple of them were moved to call me a twat - ha ha).
(while a couple of them were moved to call me a twat - ha ha)
I think you'll find that was just Richard Herrin.
bye
AS
It was Kamode that turned me onto you.
Shane
RE Shane Knight suggestions:
Have a go at 'A Very Peculiar Practice'. That's one of my favourite ever dramas. Written by Andrew Davies before he started working his way through the classics.
I'll check amazon. Thanks for the heads up.
I hear 'Not going out' is UKTV at its highest order.
Shane
Shane
- If you've got GBH, get Boys from the Blackstuff - brilliant stuff.
L&O is tried, tested, and successful, the baffling thing to me is I would have thought it was easy enough for some of my work colleagues to follow - but no, they found it boring.
machine levine
I haven't watched this yet because there's something on on the other side at the same time.
But I quite like the US version and it looks like it follows the plots fairly similarly (with Britishisms added) so I may give it go.
Not sure about Bradley Walsh though.
Bradley Walsh was the only good thing about Corrie. When he left I lost interest in it.
And he was superb as the Pied Piper/Clown villian in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Why he bothered doing that rubbish comedy act for years when he is such a fine actor is a mystery.
RE Shane Knight suggestions:
I'd strongly recommend "Takin' Over The Asylum" - it was repeated on BBC4 recently, but you can get it on DVD.
Jon
Recommendations for the best dramas on British TV? Try "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin". Sure, it's pitched as a sitcom, but oh boy, it's so much more than that. (And oh, the horror of the idea that they are remaking it. Why?!)
I too tend to give ITV dramas about 10 minutes before giving up. I confess that I didn't even give L&O that, but I'm glad several people told me to give it a go; it is indeed rather good.
-- David
i saw an episode of this and i thought the prose was a bit weak. needs a stronger script editor.
I've quite enjoyed it but I think there's been some pretty good drama on ITV this year, including The Children and Unforgiven, not to mention Whitechapel, which is more than can be said for Auntie (though I thought Wallender was absolutely fantastic).
--Francis, very pleased with his attempt at italics
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