It's not Rumpole.
Could be a bit too early to say but at the moment take away the 18th Century setting and it's a run of the mill legal series. It is also suffering the same nonsense as the Geraldine McEwan, Miss Marple series. Stick a pretty woman in it and give the masses a hope of romance, there must have been at least 20 meaningful glances between our hero Garrow and the fictitious heroine Lady Sarah Hill, wife of the MP Sir Arthur Hill in this episode. This doesn't bode well for the series.
I was disappointed with it. I really enjoyed C4's City of Vice and was hoping for something similar, but it lacked the panache of that programme and was a bit shallow re it's characterisations. I'll have another look next week but like Freddy I am not holding my breath.
I don't expect the interview was flagged up on Lord Brett's forthcoming 'Radio and TV this week' list since the format of the programme is usually decided well after Radio Times printing, but the main actor Alun Armstrong appeared on the BBC Radio 4weekend 'Loose Ends' programme talking about his role in the show.
Informative, particularly since the show's host is the celebrity-barrister Clive Anderson. Its still on the BBC i-player play again facility for a few days yet.
"Loose Ends". BBC Radio 4, Saturday 31 October. 6.15 pm.
i thought 'garrow's law' was ok-and a welcome break from all the dancey dancey talent show crap that's on constantly!
Worth a second or third view....it's not like we're spoilt for choice on a Sunday night....
name='jaycad']i thought 'garrow's law' was ok-and a welcome break from all the dancey dancey talent show crap that's on constantly!
I agree ,shame it was up against ITV's only decent weekend programme,Doc Martin.I watched Garrow and recorded the good doctor.Garrow shows promise so I'll be sticking with it and I have no complaints about Lynsey Marshall(Lady Thingyummy),most taken with her portrayal of Cleopatra in "Rome"
Interested to hear these comments. I have recorded it but not yet watched it. When this prog was first announced I made a connection to a bit of TV gossip I had heard to the effect that a year or so ago Kenneth Branagh had been in talks with the BBC to film C J Sansom's novels set in Tudor England featuring the lawyer Matthew Shardlake. The novels are long but very good and I guess Branagh would have done them well BUT now he has taken on Wallander I presume they won't happen. Maybe Garrow is the alternative choice from the Beeb for a law based series set at that sort of time.
This is a 4-parter about Sir William Garrow from his beginnings as a Barrister at the Old Bailey.
It's not meant to be an entertaining fictional legal series - it's the biography of a man who turned our justice system around and made it the envy of the World.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was thinking of the huge painting canvas used in Brothers in Law, with a fast script. I found this very tight with a small cast - minimum sets minimum cost? I would appreciate that angle if it is to see if the thing floats.
Interesting enough but can be boring unless it expands more. I will tire of the Judge very quickly.
It seemed a run-of-the-mill legal drama that could have been placed anywhere in history with a few changes made for period detail. I hope this was just an opening get-to-know-the-characters and that future episodes will be meatier with more of a back-story.
on the whole,i enjoyed 'garrow's law' and hope there's a second series planned!
after some of the negative comments here after the first episode did anyone who made them think that it improved?
name='jaycad']here after the first episode did anyone who made them think that it improved?
I think it got a bit better once the characters were established, but on the whole it didn't grab me in the way City of Vice did. A good try and would get a 6/10 from me.
name='batman']I think it got a bit better once the characters were established, but on the whole it didn't grab me in the way City of Vice did. A good try and would get a 6/10 from me.
i think 'garrows law' suffered a bit from having only four episodes-as you say,it takes time for the characters to develop and just as they were established the series was over!
'city of vice' had the benefit of being part fact/part fiction and featured more infamous criminals such as 'the bow street runners'-not to mention nudity!
I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it deserved at least 6 episodes, hopefully there will be a second series. I was also very impressed with Andrew Buchan, much more so than his frozen faced killer in The Fixer.
name='Ray']I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it deserved at least 6 episodes, hopefully there will be a second series. I was also very impressed with Andrew Buchan, much more so than his frozen faced killer in The Fixer.
i think andrew buchan comes across as 'reserved' in a lot of his performances-then again,what can one expect from roles such as a barrister and clergyman!
name='jaycad']'city of vice' had the benefit of being part fact/part fiction and featured more infamous criminals such as 'the bow street runners'-not to mention nudity!
this was fact/fiction too.
The cases in Garrow's Law were entirely based on fact. Garrow's own autobiography was used.
The main fiction was the annoying subplot with the posh bit who kept following him about.
BTW I think you'll find that the Bow Street Runners were Henry Fielding's proto-police force, not "infamous criminals"!
name='GRAEME']this was fact/fiction too.
The cases in Garrow's Law were entirely based on fact. Garrow's own autobiography was used.
The main fiction was the annoying subplot with the posh bit who kept following him about.
BTW I think you'll find that the Bow Street Runners were Henry Fielding's proto-police force, not "infamous criminals"!
the posh bit following garrow around was a bit irritating i must admit!
'the bow street runners' reference was off the top of my head-i've only seen 'city of vice' once but remember having heard of some of the names before and got mixed up-i obviously need a referesher course!
I couldn�t understand why it was deemed necessary to mix fact with so much fiction with somebody like Sir William Garrow.
In the second episode about Renwick (Rhynick) Williams, Williams did exist and he was tried, accused of being The London Monster; his first trial was a farce and he was granted a re-trial � but he was never defended by Garrow. His lawyer at his second trial was an Irish poet named Theophilus Swift.
Williams was convicted on three counts and sentenced to 6 years, but he didn�t commit suicide � as suggested in the episode - and the attacks continued while he was in prison.
I watched all four episodes but IMHO it should have been made as a fictional drama series; I think it was an insult to use Garrow�s name.
Thought I'd bump this thread as the new series has started.
Has anyone changed their opinions, if you're still watching, of course?
Not really,it's watchable but repetitive,the 'Lady Sarah' plot is as tedious as the 'Mr Bates' one from 'Downton Abbey' and needs to be resolved-fast! I watch 'Garrows Law' on a Sunday but I wouldn't be too miffed if I missed an episode.Originally Posted by ChuckEddie
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