Defending The Guilty

Another worthless "sitcom".

Loved it. Will Sharpe's amazing.
It reminded me a bit of This Life and Teachers.

I'd describe this as a "very decent" sitcom.

On the negative side, it's bound to suffer dreadfully by comparison with the utterly glorious "Rumpole of the Bailey" which, while not actually a sitcom, was nonetheless about barristers and frequently very amusing.

Still on the negative side, the dialogue includes references to a "pupil master", something that has not existed for quite some time. The correct term is "pupil supervisor".

On the positive side, the characters are interesting, the dialogue is slick and witty, production values are high, and it gives the public a reasonably accurate insight into the little-known world of barristers.

Oh, and did I mention that it was funny? It's certainly funny and, when you think about it, that's all a sitcom has to be, isn't it? When watching a sitcom, anything else you find on your televisual plate is a bonus.

It's a "Yes" from me!

I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the series.

Looks a good cast. Was that Jim Moir (Vic Reeves)?

I checked out the writers, I hoped it was the poster that always said she was writing a barristers/legal sitcom.
She was one herself. Jennifer was it?

Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 12th September 2019, 10:17 AM

I checked out the writers, I hoped it was the poster that always said she was writing a barristers/legal sitcom.
She was one herself. Jennifer was it?

Jenny? From Derby?

How often is it that a pilot also becomes the first episode of the series? Freezing is the only other one I can think of.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 21st September 2018, 12:56 PM

it's bound to suffer dreadfully by comparison with the utterly glorious "Rumpole of the Bailey"

It's nearly a year since I wrote the above and only today I found a review of Defending the Guilty written at almost exactly the same time that said: "The decline of our great British nation over the last forty years can be measured by comparing an episode of 'Rumpole Of The Bailey' with this infantile abomination!"

If anybody else comes across that review, please don't think it was me that wrote it.

I like Defending the Guilty. Laughing out loud

The six-part series starts tomorrow night at 10 PM on BBC2 with a repeat of the pilot episode.

I shall be watching Netflix but I'll tune in the following Tuesday for episode two, which I haven't seen.

Is this the first series then? Was it originally on Netflix and now being shown on BBC2?

Quote: Chappers @ 16th September 2019, 7:27 PM

Is this the first series then? Was it originally on Netflix and now being shown on BBC2?

It's not on Netflix: the pilot episode was shown originally on BBC and, presumably because it was popular, they commissioned a series of episodes.

RadioTimes.com says there are six episodes including the pilot.

How did this get a series?

Quote: Charlie Boy @ 16th September 2019, 8:21 PM

How did this get a series?

Partly because it's funny and er . . . that's about it, really. Laughing out loud

Quote: Chappers @ 16th September 2019, 7:27 PM

Is this the first series then? Was it originally on Netflix and now being shown on BBC2?

It is the first series.

It's a BBC Two original. Rood Eye is saying he'll be watching Netflix rather than 'Episode 1', because it is in fact a repeat of the pilot as aired last year.

Incidentally, the series was commissioned in April last year, and the pilot aired without announcement or fanfare. It was never supposed to be broadcast as a pilot, only ever as Series 1 Episode 1.