ianlouisiana Review of Law & Order: UK

Law & Order: UK (2009–2014)

Two brilliant performances keep your mind off the inaccuracies..

[7/10 · 9 February 2010]

Let me from the start declare the breadth of my ignorance of U.S. cop shows.I have never seen the original "Law and Order" nor any of the "CSI" or "NCIS" series nor any combination thereof. I came to "Law and Order - U.K."with no preconceived ideas,no knowledge of the format therefore nothing to compare it with. The first thing that struck me was the ludicrous juxtaposition of the separate functions of the police and the C.P.S. In England the police are not the lackeys of the Proecutors,they do the investigating,compile the evidence,submit it to the C.P.S. in a so - called "Soup Report".The function of the C.P.S. at this stage is to decide whether there is a realistic chance of getting a conviction i.e. a 75% or more likelihood of convincing a jury of the accused's guilt. If this criterion is met a prosecution may go ahead presuming it is in the Public Interest to do so. The C.P.S. do not investigate - they prosecute.They rarely consult officers of such low rank as D.S.Brooks.Rarely see victims or their relatives,grieving or otherwise.Never plot revenge if a villain gets a "Not Guilty". The real life consequences of such a verdict are diametrically opposite to the ones in "Law and Order - U.K." The Prosecutors are philosophical and blase - it is the police who get outraged.And who can blame them if all their hard work for months has counted for nothing;the painstaking gathering of evidence,the coaxing of witnesses,the arrogance of the "No Comment" interview,the distress of the victims,they see all of this made worthless by some obscure technical point of law or the machinations of a weasel lawyer and they are mightily annoyed. That D.S.Brooks should smile and shrug it off is quite unthinkable. I knew a D.S. of about his age who would throw his papers on the desk in disgust and stomp out of the court whenever he lost a case.That's how much it should mean.Brooks should offer more than a wink and a smile and a "That's life",he really should.He and his oppo seem do to a lot of walking too,don't the C.I.D. run to motors nowadays?I suppose it's an excuse to show the scuzzier side of Sarff London,but I bet he still claims his Car Allowance..... Despite all this,"Law and Order - U.K." is compulsive viewing.Two reasons.First the inspired casting of Mr Bradley Walsh and Mr Bill Paterson,the only believable characters in the show.They act their respective juniors off the screen with absolutely no effort.And secondly the care with which the minor parts are cast.Too often these are the province of "resting" soap veterans,but L & O has a habit of using new faces that is very refreshing. It's entertaining if you don't know how the system really works,annoying if you do,but Messrs Walsh and Paterson are worth an hour of anybody's time.