Trial & Retribution

If law and order in Britain were anything like this series, they'd get it wrong even when the evidence jumped into their arms and grabbed the ubiquitous scotches and cigs. Well-acted intriguing characters -- always LaPlante's forte -- are worth watching, even if rampant incompetence among police, lawyers, judges and juries seems to be what drives the stories rather than clever twists. Some of the gap between concept and execution should probably be overlooked because this is the first series, and extra points granted for roaming outside the well-defined lines of the genre. The irascible DCI Walker (Hayman) commands the screen and the squadron and the well-fleshed minor characters are hold it well when Walker's not around. Fans of LaPlante's style won't be disappointed, but casual viewers might want to tune in to later series.

I think that the plots are good and all the actors are really good. David Hayman is an outstanding actor - BUT not good enough to bridge this huge flaw that the writers carved into this series. He simply is not "lead man" material and the dynamics between him Pat North are incredulous. It's a poor match and on top of that, the writer(s) dwell way too much on this horrific flaw. I also find David Hayman's character, at times, annoying in that it verges on a caricature of a detective. In fact, the writer has managed to turn David Hayman's character into an incredibly dislike, unsympathetic protagonist. To say that he is obnoxious, at times, would be an understatement.

I agree with pretty much everyone else that the later seasons aren't as good as the early ones and that the Roisin character is not an adequate replacement for North...not sure why they did that, I'm guessing the original actress wanted out for some reason? Otherwise it would have been madness to do this. But I want this to have a really good rating here on IMDb, because despite the flaws in the later seasons, it is still a million times better than anything American TV has to offer!! Gritty, realistic (for the most part), gripping and horrifying. Everything a good police drama should be, unlike it's US counterparts. So I'd highly recommend watching this!

After 4 seasons we gave up on this because the character of David Hayman was just obnoxious, egotistical and abusive, especially to women.

This behaviour would not be allowed on any police force even in the late 90s. We just couldn't watch it anymore. It would bet an 8 from us with better character development or growth, maturity or decency.

If you enjoyed Prime Suspect you'll love this. As you can tell from the other reviews here, Lynda La Plante isn't for everyone. Her storylines can be harrowing - brutal at times, but I loved it. David Hayman, as Mike, is an egotistical, old school misogynist, and you'll hate him at times. But that's what's so good about it IMO. Kate Buffery was amazing throughout. I'm personally annoyed with La Plante, because the story goes that she wanted the Kate Buffery to "glam-up" playing Pat North, but Buffery rightly refused and eventually left. Her character was brilliant, just as it was. So then we get Victoria Smurfit, who is ok but the show loses something from then on. Production-wise, I think it ages relatively well compared to other crime procedurals from the same era. In case it helps anyone reading with a view to watching, I'm a 50yo woman and my favourite detective/police dramas of all time are The Sweeney and Columbo. But I've also sat through the whole of Taggart with my husband (something of an endurance test at times... Now THAT was a hit & miss show!). I hope anyone watching Trial & Retribution (currently on ITV X - you can watch free with Ads) enjoys it.