The Advocates

I don't know which is the bigger surprise- that this is out on video or that such an obscurity would be so pleasurable to watch. A three part TV mini-series set in Edinburgh about a pair of newly minted lawyers investigating a murder. They have the odds against them dealing with the town's complex web of loyalties ranging from the highest to lowest rungs of society. Nothing at all revolutionary here; what's here has been done a million times. What makes it a decent ride are the highly enjoyable performances by Ewan Stewart, Isla Blair, Stella Gonet and the rest of the cast. Much credit should also go to its writer Alma Cullen. Anyone who appreciates that famous British knack for wordplay will find plenty here to savor.

We found the first season very confusing because the first episode dumped us into a complex plot with lots of characters. It took a while to learn who they all were and what they had to do with each other. We ended up following most of the threads but not all.

Season two was much better. It would have gotten a 10 by itself. Great acting. And it was as if the directors realized that the audience needed help, so they summarized the situation at the beginning of Episodes 2 and 3.

No gimmicks. No flashy videos. Just a good story and good acting. And some beautiful scenery. And good music - a few repeated themes, one of which seems to be a traditional song.

I do not think that this was shown outside Scotland,but it was not a bad attempt to combine a legal drama with social comment. It involves aids and prostitutes and corruption in Ediburgh. If you know Edinburgh you might feel that the story is not very far fetched. The whole tone in like a Ian Rankin novel,upper classes and low lives mixing after dark. Shirley Henderson is amazing as a young street prostitute caught up in tangled plot. Ewan Stewart is good as a investigative reporter. Ewan Stuart has for some reason never become a star,despite being a good actor and fairly handsome. This was available on video a long time ago but has yet to come out on DVD.

Most of the lead characters from the original return for this one. Like before, this three part mini-series takes place in Edinburgh. This time out, there's a lawyer arrested for the murder of his wife. Is he the actual one responsible, or is the town's uncaught serial killer the one to blame? This series is a different animal from the first one. One of the charms of the original was the chemistry between Stella Gonet and Ewan Stewart. With Gonet gone, Stewart has no one to bounce off lines with. A sometimes exotic looking Rachel Weisz plays his girlfriend, but their pairing is more for service of the plot. Their age disparity ensures that no sparks ensue.

The script lacks the wit of the first series. With a different writer this time out(John Cooper), the mechanics are typical TV gyrations. What's more, the motivation given for the setting off of the killer is nothing more than a contrivance. So it's up to Stewart, Isla Blair and the rest of the cast to sustain attention. Thankfully, they do.