Judge John Deed

I saw Judge John Deed as I like legal dramas and I love Martin Shaw. Judge John Deed is not bad, but it is not perfect. And I admit I prefer Rumpole of the Bailey and Kavanagh QC. Judge John Deed is wonderfully photographed and the locations and scenery are stunning, and the music is great. In the first four seasons or so, the writing has in general been excellent and the stories are engrossing, with exception of the baby episode which is easily one of the weaker episodes for me. And the acting is fine, Martin Shaw is brilliant in the title role, and he has a good chemistry with the lovely Jenny Seagrove who plays Jo, while the direction is pretty solid and the courtroom scenes on the whole compelling. However, I do have to agree that some parts of Judge John Deed is unrealistic such as the sinister government schemes, making Deed a womaniser and such. Also the pacing can be a little slow at times, and in seasons 5 and 6 the writing and story lines sadly aren't as strong, with the writing lacking the intelligence of the earlier seasons and the stories becoming a tad unoriginal and repetitive. And there were some characters that came across as cardboard, on occasions Judge John Deed and Jo are the only well-developed characters. To conclude, it is good thanks to Shaw, but it has lost its quality. 6/10 Bethany Cox

There have been two series so far of this programme. It seems deliberately to set out to contradict the impression of the British legal system portrayed by the excellent "Rumpole of the Bailey", of senile judges and smug arch-conservative barristers.

Here, the main character has radical leanings, a messy private life and a very active libido. Much of the sub-plot is involved with side-swipes at the (Labour) government of the day, although the implication is that power corrupts; the political complexion of the office holders doesn't affect their greed or ambition.

The one common factor with other screen portrayals of the British legal system is the very precise diction and grammar used by barristers and judges. The courtroom scenes are well worth watching.

Some elements of the plot rather strain belief, but the series is quite enjoyable.

This is a great legal drama series. The cast is stellar, the dialogue is wonderful, the legal drama is intelligent.

One downside is that the writers limited every courtroom battle to Deed presiding over his ex-wife, his love interest and daughter. The story lines would have been just as compelling even if other barristers had appeared in front of him.

Also, had Deed sabotaged himself in ways other than just sleeping with women who appeared before him, it would have still made for compelling viewing.

Some of the antagonists are written as one dimensional cartoonist villains. There was plenty of scope to make them and their motivations more complex, so we, the audience, could have been more challenged. eg the CEO of the telco acted like a slimy bond villain.

Judge John Deed is a series about a High Court Judge, seen in both his private life (mostly: sleeping with the women he meets in court) and in his court life. The protagonist is nicely played by Martin Shaw, whose pronunciation of English is a wonder to behold, but most of the other characters are one-dimensional cardboard types.

Even more, a court presided by a judge where his ex-wife, his daughter and his mistress plead, accompanied by sinister government schemes in every episode is wholly unrealistic, alas. The earlier seasons where a bit better in this review, but season five and six are horrible. Perhaps the writers ran out of stories.

Having been bought up in Australia with a father who was a barrister and once offered a Supreme Court judicial appointment - I have to say that this program goes a long way to showing the true imperialism of the judicial system.

My father rejected the overtures for his own reasons but having watched Deeds I have to say I have seen it all. A judge is a mentor, a guardian, an executioner but most of all a human being. The politics that goes with the position is common.

Look at your own life! Change Deeds into the counselor at school, the mediator in a dispute, the local parish priest, the HR officer at work and somewhere there is a Deeds in it.

To look upon the law and see the stupidity of it is a gift most lack because there is no law just politics and Judge John Deed highlights that more than any law and order program now or in the past. I believe this is the intention of the program. Entertain - definitely - educate on how the system is and can be twisted more than likely.

Watch Deeds and say to yourself "Why is it so =- how can this happen - and how many times has it happened?". Watch again the next week and ask the same question.

Be prepared to think