Der Anwalt des Teufels

This is one of the finest televised dramas I have ever seen. I was watching it on the TV channel that brings us wonderful British shows, Part 1, knowing that Part 2 would be aired the next week. About and hour into the telecast, the TV went dark and I looked about and there were no lights anywhere. We were undergoing a power outage. Determined to see the entire production, I ordered the DVD which I then did as gifts for film aficionados. I had no prior introduction to the work of David Tennant but was so impressed. Learning of his amazing career is a pleasure. He admires Derek Jacobi, an actor long admired in the States beginning with "I, Claudius." I was privileged to have drinks with Sir Derek in Stratford in the autumn of 1982 following his stellar performance in "The Tempest." He continues turning out marvelous performances.

Suspenseful, dark and frankly more than a bit creepy in paces. David Tennant is excellent in this. The (brilliantly cast) adversary is uncomfortable to watch,. If you took the facial features of Tim Curry, Stephen Mangan and Steve-o and removed the menacing parts from each and smooshed them all together, you would get an oddly attractive bad guy. This is him.

You might love or hate this piece, however one thing is absolutely sure: David Tennant has given us some brilliant acting in this show, and even if it is for that only it deserves 10/10.

Definitely an implausible storyline and utterly far fetched, but then many compelling dramas have peculiar twists, and often events would never happen in reality. So I wouldn't consider this to be a valid criticism. The principal cast are talented and accomplished, and the acting is the strongest element. The final episode seems to cram into the plot too many crucial aspects of the story that weren't suggested or introduced in any way during the preceding episodes. This gave the impression that the story was somewhat rushed towards the end. Setting out the storyline in greater depth earlier in the series would have allowed the whole thing to make more sense. However that would probably have required an additional episode, which presumably the producers wished to avoid.

Well, we love David Tennant (late of his Phileas Fogg presentation on PBS & Dr. Who, in the past). So, when this 2013 entry popped up on PBS-Prime, we jumped at the chance. Tennant plays an emerging Brit Solicitor (defence attorney) who is undefeated. Hence, he is given a case involving a nasty young man who (allegedly) ritualistically murdered a young female.

Tennant is happily married, with an adolescent son of his own in this 3-part story. He has misgivings about the case, but finds a way to get a result. Sadly, soon, things begin to go wrong. No spoilers here, but in part 3, Tennant is forced to take drastic action to protect himself & son. The outcome was nothing like one might expect, and, really incongruent to the story we started with.

I often find Brit mystery shows will deliberately omit details or fabricate plot holes to make the story work. Most of these are forgivable, but, in this story, it almost seems the writers had an axe to grind with the courts allowing dodgy defence tactics to win acquittals. I enjoyed the first 2 episodes, but the closing was WAY out of left field. No problem with the performances, mind you-but I would like to have a long chat with the writer.

7/10.