Another Law & Order spinoff; this time with the same exact premise as the original, but set in London. Even though I stopped watching L&O a few seasons ago I found this new series very interesting. Everything was familiar, yet different. The only thing I remember about the original episode this was based on was the thing with the one juror being able to speak French (it was Spanish originally). Jamie Bamber speaking in his natural accent his a whole new level of hot. I can see Arther Branch and Jack McCoy, but which young female ADA is Freema Agyeman channeling (& why wasn’t she wearing a wig like the other barristers ).
This whole season (well series ;)) is to consist of adapted scripts, no original scripts. What are some the major changes needed to accommodate the British setting (other than superficial stuff like wigs, gowns, dock, detectives not having guns, etc)? Aren’t English courts a little looser with admitting evidence (alot of L&O episodes seem to involve problems with warrants)? I know there won’t be any episdoes involving the death penalty.
I caught about 2 minutes of this last night. The lawyers were talking about some crim that had dealed down his sentance. I didn’t think you could do that in British courts. Maybe I’m wrong.
No, mostly you can’t. Plea bargaining is quite rare in the UK mainly becasue we don’t need to do it. In the US the right to a “fair and speedy trial” means public prosecutors and defenders will negotiate on charges, in the UK it basically comes down to what charges the Crown Prosecution Service thinks it can make stick.
That’s not to say it never happens, such as when dealing with high level or organised crime. We still cut deals, but generally only when it’s part of something bigger.
The two things which really stuck out as weird to me were that
A) There was no swearing in it.
Apart from Inspector Morse and Inspector Barnaby, all British police officers on telly swear like it was going out of fashion
B) The description of the dead baby as African Caribbean.
Is that proper police speak? It might be, but it sounded really out of place because I’m used to hearing the sort of code the other dramas all use - IC and a number. Even the term sounded odd and made up. I’d heard of Afro-Caribbean as a descriptor, but not for years and years. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard of African Caribbean.
Those two things aside, Bradley Walsh was unexpectedly alright and anything that has Bill Paterson, Harriet Walter and Ben Daniels in it is alright by me. Especially Ben Daniels.
Yum.
I was wondering about that. Where is alphaboi867 watching this?
And it sounds like Dick Wolf found yet another way to extend his Law & Order franchise and make even more money from it (especially if he’s not bothering to commission new scripts).
Criminal Intent scripts are recycled for a French version starring Vincent Perez (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven), called Paris enquêtes criminelles. I would love to see some of these English and French versions!
Yeah, and how the heck did the police know the baby was African-Caribbean anyway? It’s not like people of African descent from the Caribbean look any different from those from Africa. Sure, there are lots of African Caribbeans in London, but they’re by no means the only black people in London. For example, I live in a neighbourhood with a large Nigerian population. King’s Cross, where I seem to recall the baby was found, has a few Ethiopian restaurants, so there are probably lots of African Africans living there as well.
I, too, would like to see these episodes. Is there any (legal) way to watch them in the U.S.? Are they on any available cable channels, or is there a site on the web where they can be seen? C’mon, don’t hold out.
Also, I wonder if there’s a chance of Richard Belzer appearing as Munch? He’s supposed to appear on Paris enquêtes criminelles, the French version of Law and Order: C.I. That will make a total of nine different shows in which a character (Munch) played by a single actor (Belzer) has appeared, including such non-L&O series as Arrested Development and The X Files. An appearance on L&O: U.K. would increase that to ten.
More importantly, is the ADA (or semi-sliproad-roundabout-jollygood-bobsyouruncle-barrister-slag) a ridiculously unbelievable, drop-dead, gorgeous hottie?!!
Thanks for the link, Lungfish, but I can’t watch it because I live outside of the UK. Since it’s produced by Universal, hopefully they’ll start showing it on USA, if not on NBC itself. Maybe it’ll even become available on Hulu. But for now, I can’t watch it, alas.
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