Anyone watch "Trial & Retribution"? [British crime series]

Cafe Society
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I just discovered this series on Acorn TV for free, so I’ve been binge-watching it from the very beginning–it started in 1997. I’m only in season 6 (2002). Apparently there were/are only two episodes (comprising one story) per season, which isn’t surprising, as together they run about three hours, and they’re very long and complicated with a couple of subplots and lots of different locations.

At first, the occasional split screen kind of annoyed me, but after a while, I could see the value of watching two related scenes at the same time.

In the first season, you saw some chemistry developing between police officers Mike Walker and Pat North. At the end of season two, he was trying to get up the nerve to ask her out. At the beginning of season three–whoa!–they’re moving in together.

And what an incredibly realistic dysfunctional couple they are! The arguments and exchanges they have-- I’ve had them. Talking at cross purposes, holding back on thoughts and feelings, starting out trying to get along and then disintegrating into hurt, anger, and slammed doors. Very true to life. Mike himself is a cocky, short-tempered, hot-headed piece of work, who knows he’s not the smartest guy in the room, and can’t bear it. Pat is plain, unglamorous, cool, and keeps herself hidden. His drama queen stuff drives her nuts.

Then there’s Mike’s ex, his kids, his mom, and the ex’s psycho boyfriend. Sometimes I have to laugh right out loud at the audacity of the writers as they heap trial after trial upon our protagonists.

And speaking of trials, I’m enjoying the courtroom portion of the show that comes at the end. The British trial process (as portrayed here) seems more focused on finding the truth about whatever happened than what I see in American courtroom dramas-- each side hiding information, and especially the defense crying “foul” over any incriminating piece of evidence that wasn’t kept hermetically sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnalls’ front porch up until the moment it was introduced in court.

In one episode, Mike had a colleague’s friend hack into a suspect’s bank account and then turned over the info to the prosecutor, who happily used it. Mike also got a tip about a murder weapon from an old case that had been hidden for years. He retrieved it from an abandoned building, tucked it into a sandwich bag he had in his pocket, and took it to the prosecutor, who also happily used it. No defense attorney on Law & Order would have stood for such a violation of the chain of custody!

Anyhoo, the show is engaging, well-crafted, well-written, a total nail-biter, and doesn’t always tie up loose ends neatly. I give it a thumbs-up.

Any other fans?

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Gee, apparently I’ve done it again… posted on a topic that absolutely no one is interested in.

Anyway…I’m not saying that either of these shows, or any TV drama for that matter, portrays the American/British criminal justice systems with perfect accuracy. But after OD-ing on many hours of Trial & Retribution, I just watched an episode of Law & Order, and I was reminded that the focus of many L&O episodes is the defense’s attempts to get evidence excluded on technicalities (which the defense does not see as technicalities, but as violation of their clients’ civil rights). The focus of the trial does not seem to be to find out what really happened and to determine if the defendant is guilty. It’s kind of mind-scrambling to watch the shows one after the other.

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I watched it and enjoyed it way back when. I remember it being quite ahead of its time in terms of the screen effects and so on. In the UK it was very much pitched as Lynda la Plante’s gig - she is a writer, particularly screenwriter, with a long and noble history of TV cop dramas, including the sublime Prime Suspect. Generally her stuff is very well-regarded in the UK, and her name was always a big draw.

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I didn’t realize she was behind Prime Suspect, too. I enjoyed that series, watched recently, but not at all when it first came out. Those episodes were also sparingly provided, just a couple each year.

Ah… those big-shouldered suits for women. I remember them well.

If anyone is like me and never watched T&R back in the day, I highly recommend it. It’s on Amazon prime for not-cheap, but if you subscribe to Acorn TV (British shows only), the channel is something like $7.00 per month and well worth it.

Thank you for your post. I was getting very lonely.

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I’ve slogged my way up to the last episode of season 11 (2008). One more season to go on AcornTV.

The show has gotten better in terms of plot and crime-solving. There’s less about the dysfunctional personal lives of Mike and crew.

The character of Roisin Connor is one of THE most hateful, snide, cold, insensitive TV law enforcement types of all time. In these later episodes Mike is having to tell her to tone it down when she sneeringly tries to get people to confess to crimes they didn’t commit. She is an equal opportunity bitch on wheels-- nasty to suspects and victims, as well as her colleagues.

Mike has become more well-rounded and less of a hothead than in earlier episodes. Fashion note: some men can wear an open-necked shirt with no tie; he is not one of them. Without a tie, he looks like he’s wearing pajamas and forgot to get dressed. And how can a professional actor have such bad teeth? Maybe he’s wearing dentures to give credibility to his character’s humble origins.

He has given up smoking, but can someone explain to me why, when he was smoking, he bought filtered cigarettes and broke the filters off? Why not just buy unfiltered ciggies?

In the last episode I watched (season 11) he now seems to be with Scotland Yard. When/how did that happen?

One of the things I enjoy most about this series is the British courtroom scenes. There’s less “objecting” all around and people can shout things out from the gallery without censure. I love the ritual formality and the costumes. The judge does a lot of talking, instructing, and summing up, and I like that, too. The courtrooms are small, boxy, and multilevel with compartments for everyone in contrast with wide-open American courtrooms.

Any comments on this series?

<ThelmaLou cocks her head to one side, listening for crickets chirping…>

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Ha! Episode two of season 12: another cop finally told Roisin that she’s a cold-hearted bitch. Very gratifying.