The Idiot Box: TV Season 2010/2011

[Krensky]

Well, I'll be happy if it gets it's full eight episode run and they tie things up.

[Wolverine]

The British Legal System, as explained by Law & Order: UK

(aka Martha Jones and Apollo Adama fight crime)

[Crafty_Pat]

The British Legal System, as explained by Law & Order: UK

(aka Martha Jones and Apollo Adama fight crime)

Ha! The "speak in code" bit is brilliant. I've yet to check this one out. Being mostly tapped out on procedurals I wasn't all that keen to poke my head back into the L&O franchise, but the cast and change of venue have piqued my interest.

[Krensky]

The British Legal System, as explained by Law & Order: UK

(aka Martha Jones and Apollo Adama fight crime)

Ha! The "speak in code" bit is brilliant. I've yet to check this one out. Being mostly tapped out on procedurals I wasn't all that keen to poke my head back into the L&O franchise, but the cast and change of venue have piqued my interest.

It's good. They are all adapted from US episodes though.

[Crafty_Pat]

The British Legal System, as explained by Law & Order: UK

(aka Martha Jones and Apollo Adama fight crime)

Ha! The "speak in code" bit is brilliant. I've yet to check this one out. Being mostly tapped out on procedurals I wasn't all that keen to poke my head back into the L&O franchise, but the cast and change of venue have piqued my interest.

It's good. They are all adapted from US episodes though.

Wait, seriously? No original stories? No British stories?

[Mister Andersen]

Nope. Clearly they felt it would be cheaper to simply regionalise the (proven success of the) US scripts rather than hire people to write new ones.

I imagine once it's got a season or two under its belt that might change

[Wolverine]

It's good. They are all adapted from US episodes though.

Wait, seriously? No original stories? No British stories?

Apparently not until the 4th series, or so IMDb says. I'm guessing this is probably due to the production teams being the same and taking some shortcuts in order to get the show off the ground quickly.

(Also, as it says in the comments below the video, 'knackers' aren't pants, they're testicles)

[Crafty_Pat]

Uh.... yeah. So... Not gonna be wasting my time with that show then.

Shame, really, as I do really like that cast. Ah well, better things to watch, I suppose!

[Crafty_Pat]

David Brent will be stopping by The Office on January 27: Don't blink or you'll miss him.

[jameswllorimer]

(Also, as it says in the comments below the video, 'knackers' aren't pants, they're testicles)

Oh yes, as in "kick him in the...."

[Krensky]

Uh.... yeah. So... Not gonna be wasting my time with that show then.

Shame, really, as I do really like that cast. Ah well, better things to watch, I suppose!

I did say adapted.

The writers took a plot outline from the best of the US show's run and then write a UK show from it.

And frankly, since most of the episodes in question are from the early 1990s, I haven't recognized them until I look to see what the original one was.

[ThunderMonkey]

Uh.... yeah. So... Not gonna be wasting my time with that show then.

Shame, really, as I do really like that cast. Ah well, better things to watch, I suppose!

I caught a few episodes and have really enjoyed it. If they are rehashing old scripts, it's been so long since I've seen some of them, I can't tell if I hadn't seen that particular episode before. That said, and as it was mentioned earlier, this is a cop/law procedural and once you seen about dozen or so... you've pretty much seen them all.

[Crafty_Pat]

I caught a few episodes and have really enjoyed it. If they are rehashing old scripts, it's been so long since I've seen some of them, I can't tell if I hadn't seen that particular episode before. That said, and as it was mentioned earlier, this is a cop/law procedural and once you seen about dozen or so... you've pretty much seen them all.

Precisely, which is why I was only really interested in the show if they were making an honest attempt to expand the franchise into a new country, complete with stories derived from their headlines. The only other thing that might interest me enough to tune in is if they included strong B and/or C plots focusing on their characters, as again, I really like that cast. Character-driven narrative is not L&O's strong suit, however, so I'm back to not bothering.

[ThunderMonkey]

I caught a few episodes and have really enjoyed it. If they are rehashing old scripts, it's been so long since I've seen some of them, I can't tell if I hadn't seen that particular episode before. That said, and as it was mentioned earlier, this is a cop/law procedural and once you seen about dozen or so... you've pretty much seen them all.

Precisely, which is why I was only really interested in the show if they were making an honest attempt to expand the franchise into a new country, complete with stories derived from their headlines. The only other thing that might interest me enough to tune in is if they included strong B and/or C plots focusing on their characters, as again, I really like that cast. Character-driven narrative is not L&O's strong suit, however, so I'm back to not bothering.

(click to show/hide)

What surprised me is that Freema's character is actually a victim in one case and puts herself in position to be victimized again in order to catch the perp.

It does seem that the reach of the UK police is a bit longer in regards to going after someone, but the prosecutors (I'm at a loss for the proper term) need A LOT more to actually press for a case.

[Mister Andersen]

The UK has the Department of Public Prosecutions, which is essentially a burueacratic monolith that applies probability of success to determine whether or not it will proceed with a case. The US system seems far more geared to the whims of the person elected to the position of DA, given they can can be replaced more easily and more often than their UK equivalent.