I assume this arose from the way I spell certain words. But, to clarify I am indeed American, I just have a habit of using the British spelling for much of my vocabulary, as it became a habit in my doing research and writing Silk fanfiction and is now stuck.
And, YES. It is spelled “Niamh,” and it is an Irish name. It translates to “bright.”
Those crazy Irish…
Actually I love the show, mainly because I love anything the star Maxine Peake is in. If you haven’t seen it yet, look out for her in The Village, a new BBC period drama set in a small northern village at the out break of WWI. They’ve only done one series so far but plan to do many more, following the village right up to the present day.
Back to Silk, I find the story lines a bit daft - Maxine Peake never loses a case for starters, and the idea that she only ever gets five minutes to read up on a case - but I enjoy the pace and the outfits and can park my disbelief for an hour. Bit like Downton in that respect.
Any thoughts on why Maxine Peak’s character was so blase when her pupil admitted stealing his wig and gown?
I always thought she’s the sort of person who doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and bends the rules herself when she needs to. She’s in the legal game because she’s loves the fight, not out of some high moral position. Just my opinion anyway.
I can’t believe the shop didn’t go after the kid. Maybe this is a “rite of passage” kind of thing and the shop will just send the bill to the firm and they take it out of his stipend/pay/hide, whatever. There can’t be THAT many pupils running around loose at any one time… a few phone calls would track him down. It wasn’t a small piece of change.
I got the impression she thought he was joking…
Me to.
No comments on last night’s episodes? I thought the scene in the pub when Rupert Penry-Jones sits down and sees Billy was killer.
I am loving this series. Not so much the court cases but the behind-the-scene machinations are gripping.
The contrast between Nick and Niamh is interesting. She’s confident, has excellent family connections, and certainly seems like she should be a better lawyer. Nick on the other hand seems like a bumbling fool who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but he might actually be the better lawyer. The shoplifting thing sure has to stop though.
I think I’ve seen that story before; the trainee with all the advantages who just isn’t good at the job, against the striver who has natural ability. (For one example, that was an element of The Paper Chase. Hart was the farmboy from the sticks who was a gifted law student. And I think one of the members of his study group was the son of a distinguished lawyer but he struggled with the material.)
And I got the impression that the appointment that Martha missed was for an abortion. Is that correct? Because I know that American television is often reluctant to mention abortion but I was surprised to see a UK show being shy about it.
Yes.
And I got the idea that her decision to have the baby was somehow connected to the boy-prostitute whom she tried to help and couldn’t. I think.
For a while I thought Billy was the father (I guess we were supposed to think that), but I really liked the way Clive stepped up to the plate when she told him it was his. That, combined with his aborted (as it were) attempt to leave the firm kind of knocked his world into a cocked hat and he came out a nicer guy.
I’ll have to see a lot more British courtroom shows before I even begin to understand how the cases are assigned and researched and argued. There were some strategy points that flew by and I didn’t catch at all.
Martha’s argument in the n-word case was very clever and made perfect sense, after she finally got her client to speak up. Geez, these clients who sit on their stories and won’t come clean with their lawyers make me nuts.
That black woman member of the firm is a real bitch on wheels–yikes! (Love her hair, though.) Talk about conniving. And the young man who is licking her boots…I guess he is hitching his wagon to what he thinks is her star. And Billy is quite the clever strategist, ain’t 'e?
(Wheee! The ThelmaLou Metaphor Fest!)
Alright. I was busy today, but I did find time to sit down and watch the episodes on TV. This time, I did so side-by-side with my DVD on my laptop to not miss anything. I’m going to start by laying out exactly what was cut, and, I must say, in seeing these cuts, I understand why everyone is rather confused as to the storylines. PBS seems to be cutting out a handful of important parts that connect the storyline together.
Cuts
**Episode 3 **
A VERY large and important part was cut out before Nick and Niamh’s trial. In this bit, Nick goes to Martha for some advice before they head off-which explains how he goes about the trial and how he knows what to do. With it, we get an interlude in the clerk’s room where they discuss the pupils, which is also rather important to the plot.
Another Martha and Clive interlude was cut as well, where they talk after Mark Draper leaves the café and more of their characters and outlook on things are explored.
Later on, Clive talks to Billy about his observations of Nick and Niamh in court and Niamh is given a brief in her name while Nick is free for the following day. He then talks with Martha about his case and learns something he missed before.
The final cut was another Nick and Martha scene where they talk about his error in court and you see him reading up on the brief, doing his best to get a hang of it, and later Clive comes in and makes a comment that Martha contests.
**Episode 4 **
Part of Martha’s con is cut out, and then the whole part where Billy hands off the Mark Draper case to Clive has been cut, both important parts. Both Forgotten.
A five-minute cut with Jake and Jimmy discussing Martha and her walking in on them is cut. Jake reveals what Billy said and she stomps out, thoroughly pissed and decides to prove him wrong by taking on both cases. Meanwhile, Clive meets mark for a con in the youth court and explains why he can’t get bail and is there until Martha shows up and takes over.
After Martha’s failed bail application, Clive has another conversation with Mark that’s left out
When Clive and Martha are in the pub, a small bit of their conversation is cut out. “F*** me, Martha.” “I did.”
So that everyone can get the gist of what I’m speaking of, I went ahead, cut my DVD rip and uploaded the cuts to YouTube finally.
First, here’s the ones from episode two that I forgot to post last week: ***- YouTube ***
Episode Three: ***- YouTube ***
Episode Four: ***- YouTube ***
Comments and Questions:
On Nick and Niamh. I’ll admit, I ship them. HARD. They have this hidden chemistry and you can tell that they’ve been crushing on each other since the moment they met. It’s just…Fangirl Squee I mean, that kiss? He was trying to prove it and, by the look on her face, you could tell she wanted more. Now, as far as Niamh goes, she does have an upper hand having watched her father for years, and perhaps Nick didn’t have that, but he’s not oblivious. I think he’s just young and confused and trying to find his footing. Like anyone in a new job, he’s afraid of failing, hence the fumbling around. He’s trying his hardest to do well with what he has without messing up and having people judge him as a bumbling fool. Niamh has this issue as well (being nervous and wanting to do well) she just hides it better. And, I wouldn’t say she’s a bad lawyer, she just needs a bit more practice and has to learn to loosen up a bit more. Oh, and for the record, the shoplifting does stop at this point.
Yes, Martha missed her abortion. And, the decision to keep the baby actually started with the rape trial and Annie’s words about how “would you keep a baby if the father raped you?” I always had the idea that Martha felt it wrong after that because of circumstance. Now, I feel as if they didn’t say it outright because, let’s face it, in real life, people aren’t that open about it either. They don’t like to touch it because it’s a rather taboo subject, and you could tell that Billy knew, so there wasn’t any need to say it.
On Kate, I never liked her too much, though I have to agree that she makes some points. I just always thought there was a FAR better way to go about it. Also, I’m sure she and clerk John are having an affair. There’s this chemistry about them that makes me think they’re involved…Thought it’s not as half as romantic as my OTP chemistry.
I’ll agree that Billy’s plan was genius. However, I always had an issue with the fact that they dragged poor Niamh into it. It makes her look like a bad, unloyal person when she’s really just naïve and confused and unsure of what to do. I mean, wouldn’t you have done the SAME thing in her position?
Honestly, I have to say that I HATE the way PBS is handling this series. They should have just aired all SIX the way they were meant to be seen and cut NOTHING. It’s rather frustrating to watch, and putting myself in you guys’ shoes makes me see why everyone is SO confused. The parts they’re cutting are rather important to the plot now and things are SO jumpy. The editors need to be hit in the head with a brick, seriously. Plus, they also tend to cut out character development pieces, which I feel are just as important as everything else…
I think that’s it for now, if anyone has any other questions, let me know!
Wow, LBU, you are The Bomb. Thank you so much. I feel like we are really getting cheated on this series! Considering how much has been left out, it’s a wonder we can follow the plot at all. 
Yeah, she definitely thought he was making a small joke - that she didn’t find funny.
(I watched the first two episodes yesterday and am enjoying it quite a bit)
The breakneck pace of this show and the way they work really gets me. Many scenes of people rushing from place to place carrying big bags full of shit. (It’s almost Aaron Sorkin-esque.)
I didn’t get the feeling anything significant was left out of last night’s episode. Didn’t have the disjointed feeling I did after the first dual episode.
After decades of watching American courtroom shows, I’m still fascinated by the British courtroom setting. Although they dress formally, the procedures seem to be quite informal. People can speak out of turn, even shout out from the gallery if so moved. The judge and Martha were kind of speaking back and forth in shorthand and leaving Martha’s loser colleague in the dust. Clever how she won his case for him while opposing him. I like how in her interview Martha lamented the ineptitude of her opponents not because of the lack of sport but because justice suffered on account of it.
This firm, however! Holy crap. Talk about backbiting, eavesdropping, watching from windows, listening at doorways, peeking into each other’s stuff, and just plain sabotage. Everyone seems to know and no one seems to care that Clive is the father of Martha’s baby. You really have to be on your toes to work there.
Next week ‘Foyle’s War’. Sweet:)!
You mean that was the end of it?!?
PBS has been doing this for DECADES, with viewers complaining about it all the way. :mad:
Your post enrolls you as a member of an elite group of guerrillas who have been recovering the lost treasure, to the delight and gratitude of fandom. 
The cuts in Foyle’s War (up next) were reclaimed on a fansite that doesn’t seem to have them up any more; there is Downton Abbey stuff everywhere. The posters on the pity-less boards have descriptions of the cuts for many more-recent British-import PBS series. 
LOL. On PBS maybe.
Isn’t it on Netflix? Fwiw, on Amazon S1 and S2 seem to be more expensive in $US than £sterling.
Ironically for the most recent series of Downton Abbey PBS actually put scenes back in that were cut for running time in the original ITV airing.
Is it just me, or does that seem like something that should be unethical enough to warrant disbarment? :dubious: Also does the modern CPS use mainly barristers from the independent bar or barristers it has on staff? I ask because on Law & Order: UK the CPS seems to have counsel on staff to handle everything, but that may just be a conceit in order to keep the same general format as the US version. Every other British legal drama I’ve seen has prosecutors drown from private practice (usually from the same chambers as defence, how common is that IRL)?