Eternal Law

This show is definitely innovative. At first I thought it might be like "Touched By An Angel"....but it's much darker. Seems the angels have an impossible job, and it's interesting to watch them overcome challenges. The "devil" is also well played. I do think the show endings are borrowed from "Boston Legal" but it's fantastic to see those gigantic wings they sprout during those segments! I'm disappointed that the series is over after six episodes! Admittedly I was less than enthusiastic about some of the episodes, because the some of the story lines didn't quite flow well, resulting in confusion on my part. But now that I know it's over, I'm gonna miss seeing it....unless the writers can somehow contrive to "erase" the ending. Remember how they erased an entire season of "Dallas" saying it was all a dream? Encore, encore...and bravo for this drama!

I am really enjoying the individuality of the characters and their strangeness. The stories are enjoyable and so far have had the endings I prefer, but I doubt that will continue throughout, else characters like Richard Pembroke would be wasted.

The only drawback I see is that so far, several of the characters are exactly like they are in the places I know them from. I immediately recognized Zak Gist (Samuel West) as Siegfried Farnon (All Creatures Great & Small), then Richard Pembroke (Tobias Menzies) as "Black Jack" Randall (Outlander), and Mack Steen as Argus Filch (Harry Potter).

Pembroke's likeness to Jack Randall makes me detest him at least as much as I'm supposed to do, and Gist frustrates me just as Siegfried does, but he does have that likeable side as well.

Each angel has its quirks, and their struggles are interesting and endearing. One moment they are angelic, and the next they are very human. I am very entertained and interested to see what comes next.

Okay so I watched the first one of these because I thought with this cast it deserved a look. Was a bit strange and not you traditional law drama but thought I'd watch it again this week (second episode) and I think it's actually quite good. Sure there will be people for whom the concept doesn't fit but I think if you can get you head around it and accept it it's actually a good drama, none the least because of the acting, all the main cast are good and Sam West is superb, that and the random but cool songs they seem to like playing in the end credits for me means it deserves a lot more than the 4.8 its currently rated at on here! If your open minded and like a your drama well-acted give it a try.

I admit it, I enjoy Eternal Law an ungodly amount every single week. The episodic plots are rarely good. The occasional weekly supporting actor can be atrocious. There are some dodgy special effects.

But the show has heart. It has a beguiling sense of optimism, hope, and the belief that love - while painful - is worthwhile. The show doesn't take itself seriously at all. It knows it is ridiculous. It's not trying to be Drama. The angel lawyers have gigantic wings that suddenly appear in scenes, with very little rhyme or reason. There are scenes in which angel lawyers smoke cigars on top of York Minster with their wings unfurled! But, and this is important, whilst the cheese is strong with this one, there are also a lot of balancing scenes. There are some good, tasty water crackers being used as a base for the cheese (with maybe a bit of pepper, if that's your thing) so that the taste isn't all boursin.

I adore all of the characters, who are well-rounded, with complex motivations and understandings. This is including the villain of the piece, Richard, who is a fallen angel, rather menacing, and yet completely hilarious every second he's on screen. There are compelling dynamics between the leads, not to mention some fantastic dialogue (after the pilot, which still had stellar lines such as "What happens if we get shot in this world?"/"Hurts to buggery.") Zak has epic angelpain, yet still manages to be wise and witty. Tom is adorably confused and on the steep learning curve that is life. Mrs Sheringham is supportive yet tortured. Hannah is oddly compelled to the craziness that is Zak Gist and his emotional temperature control of doom. It's all golden.

And it isn't merely the characters I have fun with. Apart from the somewhat dodgy SFX on occasion the show is shot beautifully, with interesting yet not jarring camera-work and York shown from every stunning vantage-point. The music and credits are similarly quality work.

I am very much looking forward to buying the DVDs. And whilst I doubt there will be a second series, I will jump for joy if there is one. Eternal Law makes me happy. It isn't High Art, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. It is, in its own, special, way. When it's good, it's wonderful, when it's bad, it's laughable. But I am never, ever bored.

I liked the premise of this short series - but many of the episodes story lines simply "ran out of runway". They needed more time or perhaps more of an arc should have been developed so that episodes always left you wanting to see the next one (as in LoM/A2A). This is, of course, difficult to establish ...

We need more high-concept, intelligent moral dramas like Eternal Law - but they really are hard to justify for a highly commercial, prime time slot like ITV1 which has to constantly bring home the bacon on a number of fronts.

My guess is that a more sympathetic and sustainable audience could still be gained on rerun without the pressure of generating huge audiences - this is not LoM/A2A after all - it could easily establish a solid following if more sensitively positioned. (By the way, we all watched it here unfailingly - even my youngest teenage daughter!)

I will certainly be buying the DVD ... there were some good if occasionally uneven performances and the ideas behind the writing were actually top class (with a number of stunning LOL throwaway lines) - just perhaps a bit rushed and a little too "implicit" in places.