Eternal Law

I admit it, I enjoy Eternal Law an ungodly amount every single week. The episodic plots are rarely good. The occasional weekly supporting actor can be atrocious. There are some dodgy special effects.

But the show has heart. It has a beguiling sense of optimism, hope, and the belief that love - while painful - is worthwhile. The show doesn't take itself seriously at all. It knows it is ridiculous. It's not trying to be Drama. The angel lawyers have gigantic wings that suddenly appear in scenes, with very little rhyme or reason. There are scenes in which angel lawyers smoke cigars on top of York Minster with their wings unfurled! But, and this is important, whilst the cheese is strong with this one, there are also a lot of balancing scenes. There are some good, tasty water crackers being used as a base for the cheese (with maybe a bit of pepper, if that's your thing) so that the taste isn't all boursin.

I adore all of the characters, who are well-rounded, with complex motivations and understandings. This is including the villain of the piece, Richard, who is a fallen angel, rather menacing, and yet completely hilarious every second he's on screen. There are compelling dynamics between the leads, not to mention some fantastic dialogue (after the pilot, which still had stellar lines such as "What happens if we get shot in this world?"/"Hurts to buggery.") Zak has epic angelpain, yet still manages to be wise and witty. Tom is adorably confused and on the steep learning curve that is life. Mrs Sheringham is supportive yet tortured. Hannah is oddly compelled to the craziness that is Zak Gist and his emotional temperature control of doom. It's all golden.

And it isn't merely the characters I have fun with. Apart from the somewhat dodgy SFX on occasion the show is shot beautifully, with interesting yet not jarring camera-work and York shown from every stunning vantage-point. The music and credits are similarly quality work.

I am very much looking forward to buying the DVDs. And whilst I doubt there will be a second series, I will jump for joy if there is one. Eternal Law makes me happy. It isn't High Art, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. It is, in its own, special, way. When it's good, it's wonderful, when it's bad, it's laughable. But I am never, ever bored.

This series hit me in so many ways - it had intrigue, Machievellian plots and soul. I really don't think it was promoted enough so that it reached enough people. Perhaps show series one again and see how it goes down. Promote it effectively and see how it goes. The characters were utterly believable despite the whole 'are angels real, or not?' question. It also took in a beautiful location that will appeal to not only the Brits but any foreign visitors to the UK who have visited York. I particularly liked the segue between every day people that the 'lawyers' served and the angelic realm. The end notes of each program where you saw the angels on top of York minster in their true angelic forms, when they hashed over the last case always showed the angst experienced by the angels while dealing with the case. Please just try again with this and promote it professionally.

OK, so it's not the best thing I've ever seen but it has real charm and wit. The leads are excellent and the stories and dialogue have just enough quirkiness to lift it out of run-of-the-mill.

I am not normally a fan of UK shows being remade but I do feel that this would work well redone for an American audience - maybe we Brits just don't do angels too well - too cynical - and Americans would buy into the premise a bit more.

I'd love to see it get a 2nd series, so long as it takes the characters somewhere and doesn't simply degenerate into the 'case-of-the-week' that just happens to contain angels!

Why only 1 season?

When so many shows come and go and then you get a Charm like this with so many roads to go down and possibilities to unfold.

Why just stop?

Maybe this is show better received and enjoyed in 2024 than 2012.

I started out watching it and then I got hooked to it.

Interesting twists and turns that made the show interesting.

Even though it's only 1 season and if I really realized that at the first I might have not ventured in to it.

But I urge everyone if you want something different and not boring...Give the Show a Warch You will not be disappointed!

I binged over 2 separate seatings.. Sorry that it's over!

I am really enjoying the individuality of the characters and their strangeness. The stories are enjoyable and so far have had the endings I prefer, but I doubt that will continue throughout, else characters like Richard Pembroke would be wasted.

The only drawback I see is that so far, several of the characters are exactly like they are in the places I know them from. I immediately recognized Zak Gist (Samuel West) as Siegfried Farnon (All Creatures Great & Small), then Richard Pembroke (Tobias Menzies) as "Black Jack" Randall (Outlander), and Mack Steen as Argus Filch (Harry Potter).

Pembroke's likeness to Jack Randall makes me detest him at least as much as I'm supposed to do, and Gist frustrates me just as Siegfried does, but he does have that likeable side as well.

Each angel has its quirks, and their struggles are interesting and endearing. One moment they are angelic, and the next they are very human. I am very entertained and interested to see what comes next.