peter_uk
I find myself somewhat astonished at the BBC's recent production of Judge John Deed. And it is a feeling I have not been subject to in a very long time where British television productions are concerned. Simply put, this is a work of pure genius, and there it is. This coming from a man with the utmost suspicion of our judicial system and the officers set up on high to enforce such an institution, and yet, I am in constant agreement, albeit to my own amazement, with the antics both of the judge and his underlings, and the way in which the court system is so succinctly depicted in this on-going series. Having happened across the DVD's by mistake, and eventually taken the time to view the contents, despite my reservations of having an age old storyline supporting the injustices of our political bodies, their avaricious motives, and the long standing old-school nepotist constitution forced upon me yet again, I instead found myself almost instantly engrossed by the in-depth characters, the surprisingly believable story lines, and the outright exceptional scripting. Unlike many of the mainstream drama's that the BBC have a tendency of vomiting into unsuspecting audiences sitting rooms, without any concern for the damage they might be doing to our sense of rectal restraint and gag reflexes, Judge John Deed is without doubt a complete and utter reprieve for the British Broadcasting Company. Not only does this exquisitely crafted drama give the concept of a truly fair and just British legal system, doing it's utmost to defend the rights and privileges of victims and criminals alike, but it is not afraid to show how the Executive, i.e. the presiding governments long arm of political interference, the British police force, and the CPS (Criminal Prosecution Service) allow their personal departmental agendas and blinkered drive to gain convictions at any price, and indirectly perverting the course of justice.As a complete layman, I have little insight into what really goes on in our courts of law, other than what I find regurgitated in the local press, of which most I am well aware, is dramatised for the sole purpose of selling yet more over-inflated tabloid drivel, or accompanying propagandist putrescence. Yet, in spite of my long standing cynicism for the pretence we all commonly refer to as 'The Authorities', I suddenly find myself comprehending the inconceivably difficult and complex responsibilities our high court judges must face, and deal with on a day to day basis. Of course this is only a drama, and yes it is played up for obvious entertainment value, however I hate to admit it, but I have learned more about how our legal system works and operates through the contents of the first fifteen episodes of Judge John Deed, than I have throughout my entire life living and working in the United Kingdom. I am shocked to say it, in fact I would go as far as to say I am entirely astonished, that a simple television program could sway my tainted opinions quite so much, and with such compelling dynamism, that I have actually begun to have some real faith, however small, in our British judiciary.I have to hand it to G.F. Newman, and the production team of One-Eyed Dog. Between them they have smashed through the monotony of drab, mind numbingly inept, and the endlessly anal-retentive montage of legal drama's, we as an audience have had to endure from so many other would- be purveyors of truth, and actually delivered an honestly frank and genuinely sincere rendition of reality, without compromising the real meaning of entertainment in the process. This series should be presented as a part of every law school curriculum, a core module and de-facto benchmark of what is expected of every lawyer, solicitor, barrister and judge in the United Kingdom, not to mention our somewhat errant ministers of parliament at present. This drama's stark acceptance that people, no matter their redoubtable positions, are still human beings, and can still make mistakes in their private lives, but making little difference in the court room while common sense, an unbiased conviction to seek out the real truth, and still offer up authentic, honest-to-god verdicts and sound justice, is a joy to behold. No one is above the law in Judge John Deed's courtroom, CEO's, MP's, even other judges; they all come under the hammer of John Deeds (Martin Shaw), insurmountable intellect and fair minded ethics.Suffice to say, I love this series and endeavour to get my hands on the rest of the episodes thus far unseen. Congratulations to the BBC, and the entire cast of Judge John Deed. You have made this unbeliever think twice before speaking out against the 'system' without first thinking about what I really do know, and what I don't. You have dared to stand out from the crowd on this one, and I applaud you for it. Ignore the criticisms, the winging companies, who even now seek to curtail the truths and facts of the products this series has openly exposed to the light of day, and long may you continue to reveal the notorious sabre rattling of our ruling political bodies, to put money before the citizens who have given them such misguided trust.
mmunier
I am rather disappointed as the series unfolds. What started as something very special and believable, is turning into a total farce. When I say "what started" I mean when I started to watch it, I have no idea what episode it was, actually I did only watch one or two episodes at first, and much latter got involved more regularly with it. But the last episode I watched was a case against animal right protest people who seemed to have maliciously planted a bomb in some animal lab resulting in someone's death. The problem with accepting so many side stories with the case is that eventually the case seems secondary to the stories. And the whole show seems bogged in a lot of superficial gossip material that does very little to entertain me. Just try this for evaluation. A judge has in his court for a murder trial his inexperienced and not really qualified daughter left in charge of the defense, occasionally helped by HIS deserting mistress - and here we're supposed to be talking about a Conservative judge! This is rather worrying - are we going to end up with judge john Days-of-our-life? There is no doubt about Martin Shaw's charisma. He is very good. I imagine, with series, directors and writers have to stretch beyond themselves and their talent for the show to go on. What a pity!
