North Square

This was a pithy, intelligently handled 10 part series that was a pleasure to watch each week.

Seldom if ever have I seen something that was as enthralling, fast moving and that had characters who seemed to jell.

Congrats. to TVO (TV Ontario - Canada) for having given me the opportunity to look forward to an episode each week. The ten weeks came to an end all too soon.

I'm really sorry to learn that the creators won't have a chance to make another 10 episodes.

BJS.

A great, slick, angry, and so very intelligent legal drama. Great casting and acting, and my intro to McCrory. One of those series, oh fantastic, building up characters over episodes and then, for no good reason, being cancelled and wiped out. How very very annoying, especially seeing what Reality TV that Ch4 pulps out year after year instead. I still miss knowing what development might have occurred in this stunning show. And great to see a top lead vehicle for Phil Davis. That moment at the end, his fatherly role, looking round at his troupe in the pub... perfection.

North Square was an excellent one-hour drama series with a great cast and great characters. The scripts were plausible and funny and it looked like a sure-fire hit. What happened? We only get one series of this and yet we're on the third series of the lame 'Teachers'. North Square was a sharp as The West Wing in places. Sometimes I really don't understand how television works.

Here in Australia our ABC is currently doing a repeat screening of this top notch British legal drama/comedy, and not a moment too soon. 10 episodes is just not enough of North Square and it's completely criminal that more were never made.

North Square may not be a realistic portrayal of legal life (though my own experiences as a law student and one-time article clerk do make me wonder if there is a grain of truth in North Square) but it has witty dialogue and fascinating characters. It's hard to pick a favourite part of North Square but my vote goes to barrister Tom Mitford's method of swaying juries and judges - with quotes from The Merchant Of Venice....it's adaptable to any case, even indecent exposure.

But there are heaps of great moments in this show. Find a copy, watch it, and let it endear you to the legal world of Leeds.

Another Channel 4 great canned long before it's time. Compelling acting from Phil Davis and the rest of the cast. Sexy, intelligent and funny. I remember watching it at the time and even then, asking around, no-one had really heard of it. But trying to find someone now who can recall it is even harder. Perhaps Channel 4 don't do their job well enough in drumming up the enthusiasm needed. Either that or the general public is too interested in the TV vomit that is Big Brother. I suspect the latter. Downloading of Garth Merengie's Dark Place prompted Channel 4 to release a DVD of that series. Let's hope the same can happen with North Square.