Trial & Retribution (TV Series) The Lovers: Part 1 (2005) User Reviews

Rip off

[Gary-161 · 11 November 2005]

According to the endless conveyor belt that is British 'drama', there are so many serial killers dropping citizens in the UK, you wonder why the authorities are even worried about bird flu. The lack of imagination is depressing. "Viewers may find some scenes disturbing." Then why make it? Do you really think anyone has a pressing need to see distressing scenes of victims crawling in their own excrement and having to drink their own urine? Well, yes, but it's usually a minority taste, not prime-time audience.

Lynda La Plante has just become another hack. Her overrated hit 'Prime Suspect' borrowed from the film 'No Way To Treat A Lady' (the mother and her lipstick). Here she tastelessly uses the Ted Bundy case but with sloppy plotting. Why would the killer put his plaster cast on a different hand on a previous occasion? Where on earth would he park in Covent Garden? It couldn't be miles away if he needed to ask someone for help and with that many people around somebody would see something. You might be able to knock out a girl, but a man? How did he kidnap the two girls without one of them screaming while the other was attacked? Or maybe he kidnapped them separately on the same day which is an even more tasteless appropriation from the Bundy case. Also, none of the victims appeared to die of instant suffocation, just the opposite. You can't just suddenly will a fit body to die, it is ludicrous. Especially a young fit body.

La Plante also shamelessly plagiarised the film 'The Vanishing'. Did she think we wouldn't notice? Come up with your own ideas, preferably without recourse to serial killers, it is nauseating.

To cap it off, the ending is laughably preposterous and drearily right wing. Don't bother with this one.

From strength to strength

[benbrae76 · 10/10 · 1 September 2006]

Without a doubt "Trial and Retribution IX" is the best of the series to date. Superb contributions by all concerned. This episode is unmissable. Miss La Plante goes from strength to strength. Her characters are so utterly believable and her killer here exudes so much evil (with a smile), that I couldn't help shuddering, and I'm a hardened thriller and "whodunnit" freak. She also manages with complete ease (which must be irritating for lesser writers), to put into context the plights of both police and victims alike, and highlights what a difficult job our guardians of law and order have.

The lady is such a genius of the genre, (and if she'll forgive the slightly sexist remark) the best master-craftsman of the day. If there is a down side to the production, it's only a personal one. I do so hate the use of split-screen camera work. Happily in this case it wasn't too irritating. I'm given to understand that "Trial and Retribution X (The Sins of the Father)" is currently in production, so I look forward to its screening with relish.

Lynda La Plante's Trial and Retribution - The Lovers

[jaahda · 6/10 · 10 March 2006]

i've just watched the latest Lynda la plante offering of "the lovers". tho i found it interesting to read that she may have plagiarised the work of others this plagiarism isn't important in view of my concerns.

what interests me more is the way that, over the years the crime shows have changed to incorporate latest behavioural research and findings. it seems that so many shows have resident profilers these days.

i was very disappointed when the grandfather of one of the victims shot the killer as the judge was deciding the sentence (but i guess that is supposed to be retribution). with supposed being the operative word. through my work i've been inside the heads of some pretty 'nasty' types, including serial killers, who invariably say to me that the greatest punishment is in being kept alive. prisons go to lots of trouble to ensure that prisoners can't easily kill themselves (or others for that matter) - and it is probably hard for someone unfamiliar with a prison environment to imagine how this might manifest. Yet despite the prison systems best efforts many of these real 'nasty' types do manage to kill themselves inside - and most often after a period of long incarceration has already been served. yes - the idea of retribution presents many challenges and is a whole different issue, and i realize that the show i am making comment on is called 'trial and retribution' after all. however - i felt i needed to vent the feeling of intense disappointment that i felt in the shows rendition of retribution. maybe if i am gonna work in prisons i should stop watching crime shows LOL. or start writing some myself.

Thanks for listening.

Is La Plante running out of ideas ?

[olofinsboots · 5/10 · 9 November 2005]

An enjoyable drama, well acted and well directed , but any readers familiar with the cult novel Het Gouden Ei (The Golden Egg) by Tim Krabbé , or the dutch movie Spoorloss and its Hollywood remake The Vanishing will find this a curious offering, particularly as full writing credits are given to La Plante.

This is essentially a re write of a re write, and leaves a question mark in my mind over the validity of its existence. If imitation is the greatest form of flattery Krabbé can sleep well in the knowledge that his work has found its way from the cult arena to the mainstream. If not the lack of recognition this has earned him.