Law & Order: UK
When gorengal requested participants for this week of L & O love, I had to volunteer to chat a bit about the newest addition to the family, ITV's Law & Order: UK, which premiered this past spring. As appears to be the case with international versions of the Mothership, the scripts for the episodes are selected from original L&O episodes and updated/revised to fit the nuances of the new country's legal system. I've been a long-time viewer of all US flavors of the franchise for many years (and I thought I'd quite have liked Trial by Jury had it got off the ground), and when I heard there would be a UK version of the show, I was instantly intrigued. Freema Ageyman's role as the "junior" prosecutor was really just the icing on the cake. *clears throat*
In putting together this post, I realized that this new show with only seven aired episodes to date (there are six more filmed; these will be released this fall) exists in a very small little fan universe. With that in mind I offer you the Top Five Reasons Why You Should Hunt Down L&O: UK For Viewing and a guide to the LJ fandom offerings. Enjoy!
Top Five Reasons Why You Should Hunt Down L&O: UK For Viewing
- Familiar Scripts: I've been playing a game with the release of each new episode to sort out from the 1-2 sentence blurb which original episode provided the base script, and I've been so pleased that for the most part they selected ones that were legally and emotionally compelling for adaptation. The one that I'm torn over (and I won't spoil you for it yet) is one that rankles many fans of the Mothership, and for good reason. Still, the familiarity of the storylines made it easier for me to suss out what was really important to me about this new version:
- The British Legal System: Seeing such a familiar and favorite show translated into a new system, location, and idiom is a real treat for a geek like me. The courtroom scenes alone are a feast of almost-familiar strangeness (robes! wigs! no walking around!), the British legal system bearing many similarities to the US with some marked dissimilarites that make for interesting speculation about how a trial may go. Add to that the use of CCTV in police work, and you get a new set of issues surrounding investigation and prosecution, with many of the same ethical concerns that plague the detectives and prosecutors on either side of the pond.
- Ground Floor Canon Building: With only seven episodes to catch up on, this is an ideal space to explore the L & O verse without the burden of nearly twenty years and hundreds of episodes of backstory. The stories may seem familiar, but the characters are new, and we're watching them and their relationships develop with each passing episode. Which brings me to...
- Shippy As Hell: I've been a bit surprised at how easy it's been to see the development of the two main potential ships on this show; without entirely violating the franchise's tradition (at least the Mothership's) of keeping the private lives (mostly) private, this version has managed to let slip enough moments to build plausible trajectories for relationships between Alesha Phillips (Crown Prosector) and either James Steel (Senior Crown Prosecutor) or Matt Devlin (Detective Sergeant). Ship 'em separately or together; it's all good and it's all gorgeous.
- Great Characters: Overall, the characters feel like new versions of the Mothership characters we love; I've never felt, though, that the actors have been constrained by those other performances, and I find that I appreciate each performer's take on these staple types. Aside from the main ships being launched, there are other great and fun characters. Ronnie Brooks (Detective Sergeant) has an ongoing love affair with food, particularly french pastries. For Doctor Who fans, there's the mystery of why Detective Inspector Natalie Chandler has a TARDIS on her desk. George Castle, cranky head of the Crown Prosecutor Service, hates going to social functions. My favorite secondary character, though, is Angela, who I see as the equivalent of the Mothership's Tony Profaci, always ready to help out the detecting stars; she's quite good with the internet stuff.
Interested? Check out the following links and LJ comms:
Law & Order: UK (official ITV website)
Law & Order: UK (Wiki page)
louk_mattdevlin (Don't let the name fool ya'; this is a general comm)
lawandorder_uk
james_alesha: A James/Alesha shipping comm
landoukicons
How to Watch?
UK viewers should be able to see episodes via the ITV site.
The show will air on Canada's CityTV starting June 11, 2009.
US viewers: We wait for TPTB to show it on some US network or find alternate means.