Rumpole of the Bailey

Mortimer is such a clever writer and his creation Rumpole is a work of genius,and who better than to pull it all together than Mckern. The author always weaved in 3 stories within an episode, the case,the chambers & home life with She Who Must Be Obeyed.Every episode is worth watching and even some of the weakest bare strong comparison with any other drama. McKern is mesmerising and you cannot take your eyes off him when he is on screen.This is truly great entertainment and the supporting cast are magnificent. This series is probably the greatest of all time as courtroom drama.

Perfection.

I think everyone can identify with the lead character Horace Rumpole. That's because he's a crafty, witty barrister surrounded by a bunch of stuffed shirts and idiots. There's Claude Erskine-Brown, the close confidant of Rumpole's who seems to stumble from one disaster to another; Phylida "Portia" Erskine-Brown, Claude's wife and about a third of his source of problems; Judge Gutherie Featherstone, a rather hapless man who gets caught up in a sex scandal right as he's trying to decide on a case in that matter; junior clark Liz Probert, played wonderfully by Leo's daughter Abigail McKern; the hapless Timson clan, who Rumpole constantly rescues from trouble despite their antics, and most of all, we should not forget "She who must be obeyed" - Hilda Rumpole. The cast was a superb choice and the writing was excellent. What was sad about this series is its ending - it's the kind of thing you don't want to end.

Rumpole, a barrister spewing poetry and thunder and husband of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, entertains with a unique style of oratory, wit, and his own particular slant on the world. In a world drowning in political correctness, Rumpole is a life saver. Rumpole is also one of my favorite of all time characters. The stories and supporting cast are refreshingly British and the entire series is an absolute delight! I'm so pleased this was finally released on dvd.

I saw 16 or so episodes of this show a long time ago, but the memories of it are enduring. While the show's tone was humorous, the legal drama was as intense and as interesting as anything on American TV. Leo McKern's Rumpole is funny and charming, but with a serious sense of vocation underneath that Falstaffian bulk. He's been sort of a hero of mine ever since. I hope PBS will re-air this series, or BBC America will air the unedited, unabridged Rumpole in the not-too-distant future.

Over the past decade I've watched The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad and The West Wing.

Rumpole stands alongside them as classic TV.

Great stories, brilliant scripts and fantastic acting.

It has that mark of a really great piece of drama in that after watching an hour long episode, I'll sit and discuss it for an hour more.

It's amazing to see, almost 40 years later, how much has changed in the UK....and how much hasn't! It may be dated in a few places, but it's universal in many many more....I imagine that it cost less to make EVERY episode of Rumpole (and there are lots!) than it did to make one episode of Breaking Bad or West Wing.

Just go watch it!