Law and Order UK

[firehawk12]

So, I tend to avoid the L&O series because I just find the idea of little character development to be uninteresting. It's why I burn out fairly quickly on procedurals.

Anyway, the UK series just started and I felt kind of obligated to watch it. It feels exactly like the mothership series - down to that stupid chime that plays every time there's a title card, except that I can barely understand any of the accents.

I guess the nice thing is that Bamber doesn't have to do his fake generic American accent anymore.

 

[cultcross]

Watching it now on ITV catch-up. I'm less than a minute in and my professional bullshit alarm is already ringing - why are PCSOs dealing with a major security alert and suspect package, apparently by themselves?

 

[firehawk12]

Haha, yeah, that was weird. Like British people don't have bomb squads apparently.

 

[Deckerd]

Watching it now on ITV catch-up. I'm less than a minute in and my professional bullshit alarm is already ringing - why are PCSOs dealing with a major security alert and suspect package, apparently by themselves?

Your professional bullshit alarm must go off at regular intervals surely?

The one that always bugged me was CSI where the forensic team were somehow allowed to interrogate suspects.

 

[cultcross]

First, a moan - the overly convenient bollocks - he just happened to be dumped in a coat traceable to a handful of shops, the mother happened to have it delivered...

Secondly, some praise - it's funny, the detectives are good realistic characters, remind me of more than one DC I know IRL.

Anyway, gotta go to work (yawn) so will watch the rest later. Promising start, ignoring the Law and Order usual cheats

 

[firehawk12]

Watching it now on ITV catch-up. I'm less than a minute in and my professional bullshit alarm is already ringing - why are PCSOs dealing with a major security alert and suspect package, apparently by themselves?

Your professional bullshit alarm must go off at regular intervals surely?

The one that always bugged me was CSI where the forensic team were somehow allowed to interrogate suspects.

It's weird because they all seem to be different depending on the department. In the NY series they're also cops.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

First, a moan - the overly convenient bollocks - he just happened to be dumped in a coat traceable to a handful of shops, the mother happened to have it delivered...

Secondly, some praise - it's funny, the detectives are good realistic characters, remind me of more than one DC I know IRL.

Anyway, gotta go to work (yawn) so will watch the rest later. Promising start, ignoring the Law and Order usual cheats

I think if I continue to watch it will be because of those characters, depends on how it goes over the next couple of weeks, but if the general plots don't grab me the characters have to entertain me. So at this point I'm willing to give it a go for a few weeks.

 

[MyCylon]

I saw the first episode last week and quite liked it, mind you. Nothing spectacular, but the change of setting is very welcome (I do like the other settings, but a bit of fresh air is nice).
I'll be seeing the second episode this evening, hopefully.

P.S.: I also liked the detectives most. I think they created a pretty good team there, actually, who are enjoyable to watch.

 

[JoeZhang]

Watching it now on ITV catch-up. I'm less than a minute in and my professional bullshit alarm is already ringing - why are PCSOs dealing with a major security alert and suspect package, apparently by themselves?

Your professional bullshit alarm must go off at regular intervals surely?

The one that always bugged me was CSI where the forensic team were somehow allowed to interrogate suspects.

Same with any "profession" based drama - there is a series that is on currently about teaching, completely far-fetched.

 

[cultcross]

^ Waterloo Road?

But it's fun

 

[cultcross]

Anyway, finished watching the thing, I really quite enjoyed it in the end - the detective characters in particular make the show - they're fun, interesting, connect with the audience. The CPS characters are more 2D, but that's just the L&O format for you.

Procedurally, apart from our couple of Pistol PCSOs in the opening scene, it's not half bad for a TV show. One or two gripes, but it certainly wipes the floor with The Bill on realism. But don't get me started on the CPS bit -

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I'll have to check it out when I get the chance. I've been curious about this for awhile.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Watching it now on ITV catch-up. I'm less than a minute in and my professional bullshit alarm is already ringing - why are PCSOs dealing with a major security alert and suspect package, apparently by themselves?

Your professional bullshit alarm must go off at regular intervals surely?

The one that always bugged me was CSI where the forensic team were somehow allowed to interrogate suspects.

Same with any "profession" based drama - there is a series that is on currently about teaching, completely far-fetched.

Fo'sho. Procedural dramas often rely on the false tension of jurisdiction, when, in fact, law enforcement agencies often coordinate with other agencies to solve cases.

I am a fan of NCIS but they always use the jurisdiction card to create conflict. Now there's also a show on the ID cable channel called The Real NCIS, and they constantly show NCIS working with local police and federal agencies to solve their cases.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

To be fair, that opening scene didn't have that much to do with the rest of the episode. They were minor characters and helped make a pretty compelling lead.

You know what's sad? I've seen Law and Order so many times that, even when the script was rewritten with an entirely new cast and new location, I remembered which episode it was and who was guilty about a third of the way through. Still, it was a good episode. The acting for the cops and the head crown prosecutor were spectacular (Freema was about normal for her). Let's see how things go from here. It might be worth it for me to keep watching.

 

[cultcross]

Procedural dramas often rely on the false tension of jurisdiction, when, in fact, law enforcement agencies often coordinate with other agencies to solve cases.

You'd have trouble with 'jurisdiction' tension in England; unlike the US, "the police" are one homogeneous body tasked with the umbrella mandate "prevent and solve crime". We don't have to worry about city/state/federal divisions etc. True, our police are split into regional forces for administration reasons, but an officer still has full powers anywhere in England & Wales.
The only thing that 'jurisdiction' has been removed from the police for is non-obstruction parking fines (double yellow lines, etc.). And I think it would be pretty hard to create a powerful drama around that.

The card I see being pulled on this show as the 'tension generator' is the IPCC - the Independent Police Complaints Commission, a sort of procedural bogeyman that has cropped up in nearly every crime based drama on British TV.

To be fair, that opening scene didn't have that much to do with the rest of the episode. They were minor characters and helped make a pretty compelling lead.

Oh I know that, I understand the dramatic reason for it, but even putting them in police uniform (instead of PCSO kit) would have helped the realism. Two PCs would deal with a sus. package fairly regularly but two PCSOs?

Let's see how things go from here. It might be worth it for me to keep watching.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well I have to say I quite like the 2 cops Ronnie and Matt but The CPS characters seem a little more stereotypical.

 

[MyCylon]

^
The cops are what are making this show for me right now. Just like with the first show, I was sorry when their part ended. The whole 'law' part of the story is fine, but the police part is where the good stuff is, I think.

Come to think of it, I also tend to favour the cop part on the original L&Os.

 

[Deckerd]

Well I actually watched this week's episode because I remembered. I liked the detectives characters. They work very well together. Who would have thought Bradley Walsh could act? It has a natural feel to it. I also liked the legal bods too. I suppose everything hinges on whether the writing does the cast justice now.

Talking about cops, did anyone see the cop falling into the pond on Police Interceptors? Pratfalls. They get everyone guffawing.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well I have to say I quite like the 2 cops Ronnie and Matt but The CPS characters seem a little more stereotypical.

My original thought was that I liked the cops and not the CPS, but I thought James Steel's speech at the end was very powerful, so he at least has some presence. We'll see if that side improves a bit as time goes on.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well I have to say I quite like the 2 cops Ronnie and Matt but The CPS characters seem a little more stereotypical.

My original thought was that I liked the cops and not the CPS, but I thought James Steel's speech at the end was very powerful, so he at least has some presence. We'll see if that side improves a bit as time goes on.

The CPS were definitely better than last week. I hope they both improve over time and it could become a show I really enjoy.