Not to be confused with Granada's 2002 series 'The Jury', this interesting drama series centred on the rape trial of a retarded man - Donald Fleming. The first twelve episodes focused on the everyday lives of the jurors, people drawn from all walks of life ( two were having a steamy affair - construction firm site manager Steve Jackson and academic Elisabeth Robbins - hence their episodes were combined. The affair did not last, much to Steve's bewilderment ), amongst them jack-the-lad builder Mick Thompson, single mother Mary Matthews, would-be athlete Christine Cywinska, and housewife Ann Coombs, the latter having been raped herself years before, a fact she struggles to conceal from the others.
The quality of the stories varied, a few veered off into soap opera, but any shortcomings were more than compensated for with the superb final episode. In true 'Twelve Angry Men' fashion, it had the jury gridlocked over the verdict. Powerful acting from Gabrielle Lloyd and William Gaunt. Critics grumbled, at least one described it as 'the longest rape trial in history', but it was riveting stuff for the most part. Theme music by Sonny Rollins.
