kete

I'm actually on the fairies' side. Give them back their homeland and their powers!

I don't know if the showrunners intended it that way, but I'm fine with the ogre eating everyone in Henson as long as he starts with those Grace-family jerks and leaves the kittycats alone. Bon appétit!

God, that kid Jason is one ugly bugger. All the teenage characters just rub you the wrong way, but he's in his own special league. Bad mistake to age the kids to teenagers instead of younger kids. The cuteness that made some things just palatable is sadly lost.

The lack of magical creatures just adds to the overall disappointment. And was it really necessary to shoehorn in the difficulties of dealing with mental health issues? This story is meant to be a fairytale, not a sociology docu.

And why do the Graces suddenly have to be black? How likely is it that a black family has owned this mansion for many generations?

The only thing I worry about is if devouring the Graces will upset the poor ogre's stomach as much as it did mine.

In this pilot we'll meet Judge John Deed whose professional life and private loves will shock and enthrall, rivet and intrigue, in short highly entertain us for the next twenty odd hours of this truly excellent British TV show. It's the best court room drama I have ever watched, with scripts worthy of the BBC's reputation and actors like you'll only ever find on English shows. This is a very unconventional judge as his stuffed-shirt brother judges find out to their dismay: a man not afraid of unpopular decisions and emotional engagement. A judge who is an upright human first and a member of the English judiciary next. An (ex-)husband, a father, brother, son and not to forget, a lover. Meet Judge John Deed, you won't regret the acquaintance.

When 'The Professionals' was aired at first in Germany - I believe it must have been some when in the eighties - I *loved* this show. I had never seen anything that grim and realistic before. What I liked most about it was that the 'good guys' weren't really 'good', they were complex character- and morality- wise and, especially the Bodie character, could as well have played on the other side of the fence. The violence was portrayed rather realistic and unstylised and the characters looked gritty enough to feel real.

Feeling somewhat nostalgic (must be my old age) I just bought the complete DVD set and found that I still like it a lot - although I see it differently nowadays. Analysing my feelings for it I found that what I like most about it now is the interaction between the main characters, and on my second watching of the complete series I find myself often ff-ing through the story to the parts with the lads (MS and LC). For me it's all about seeing pretty (but undoubtedly male) men run, jump, fight, shoot, saving each other's lives and - banter with each other. No wonder that it still has a major following among females and inspires reams of fanfiction!

Nearly thirty years since it was first seen on TV and still highly enjoyable despite the outdated fashion, hairstyles, motors and technique (have a look at those computers!) - this is a true classic that has proved its erstwhile critics wrong. An endeavour all participants (including Martin Shaw) can and should be proud of, I think, because it is no small feat to inspire such love and loyalty in their fans.