BBC Mini-series: Garrow's Law, episode 1 of 4
Starring: Andrew Buchan, Alun Armstrong, Lyndsey Marshal, Aidan McArdle, and Rupert Graves. Originally aired on BBC1 on November 1, 2009.
Premise: The 18th century legal world comes to life in new drama inspired by the life of the pioneering barrister William Garrow. Garrow's Law is set in the Old Bailey of Georgian London against a backdrop of corruption and social injustice and is based on real cases from the late 18th century. Each episode begins with the investigation of a case sourced from the Old Bailey archives, from rape and murder to high treason and corruption, and follows Garrow and his associate Southouse working to uncover the truth or fight for justice. In an age where the defence counsel acted in the minority of cases the young Garrow championed the underdog and pioneered the rigorous cross-examination of prosecution that paved the way for our modern legal system of today.
I watched the first episode of this four part mini-series last night and will be continuing to watch because it was very good. Some images from the first episode below plus some mild spoilers. I give away the outcome of Garrow's first trial - but that's in a lot of publicity material anyway as it serves as a catalyst for his zeal blah blah ...
Andrew Buchan plays Garrow. I've never seen Andrew Buchan in anything before, but he's very good in the rôle of the passionate and zealous garrow.
BBC Description: A passionate believer in social and legal justice, as a defence counsel Garrow's desire is to change the law and revolutionise the proceedings of a criminal trial forever: to give defendants the representation in court that they had never previously had, at cost not only to their innocence but also their lives. His championing of the poor and his onslaught on the corrupt reward-driven criminal justice system makes him some powerful enemies. But he is also his own worst enemy - falling in love with Lady Sarah Hill, who is married to a powerful MP. Professionally and personally, William Garrow is a man who cannot resist confronting the status quo.
Alun Armstrong plays Southouse, Garrow's instructing solicitor in many instances. Alun Armstrong also played Monsieiur Thénardier in the original cast of Les Misérables.
BBC Description: Southouse is Garrow's mentor - an attorney/solicitor who took on the idealistic young man as an apprentice at the age of fifteen. A sober and disapproving 'father' to Garrow's wayward, iconoclastic 'son', their relationship is at the same time warm and combative. Southouse despairs of Garrow's behaviour in and around court, but is also impressed by the results he gets. At times, Southouse instructs Garrow in a case and gives the brief to defence counsel, but when all of Southouse's clients start expressly asking for Garrow as their counsel he knows he has to bow to the inevitable.
Lyndsey Marshal plays Lady Sarah
BBC Description: Sarah is a would-be social reformer, but is hampered in any such ambition because she's a woman, and because she's caught in an establishment marriage. In Garrow, with his passion for change, Lady Sarah sees a like-minded soul. She has to help him surreptitiously and, more than that, she also has to hide the passion that she is beginning to feel for him ...
Rupert Graves plays Sir Arthur. Alas, Rupert Graves' days of being the cute and hot younger brother of Helena Bonham Carter's character in A Room With A View.
BBC Description: An MP with a special interest in law and order, Sir Arthur Hill is sharp, witty and ambitious. His ambition makes him dangerous and he dislikes Garrow's attitude, perceiving his radical intentions as a threat to the law. However, he also begins to see Garrow as a threat to his marriage to Sarah. For both of those reasons, he wants Garrow brought down ...
Aidan McArdle plays Silvester
BBC Description: Silvester is a prosecuting counsel, and thus Garrow's rival in court. He's also a man very much on the side of the status quo. Silvester is languid, insouciant and thinks he is Garrow's social superior, but he has a gnawing sense that, in Garrow, he has more than met his match. Silvester would have been perfectly happy treating the law as a 'game for gentlemen', but with the emergence of Garrow into the Old Bailey he knows he has to up his game and do whatever it takes to win the cases against him, by fair means or foul ...
Note from Koala: Sometimes his face looks like Andy Garcia.
Michael Culkin plays Judge Buller
BBC Description: Well he doesn't get one - but he's obnoxious, pompous and clearly does not like Garrow at all :D
*
In episode 1, young idealistic barrister William Garrow is given his first criminal defence case at the Old Bailey by attorney and mentor John Southouse. He defends Peter Pace, who is accused by renowned thief-taker Edward Forrester of robbing a man at gunpoint.
Garrow in his barrister's robes looks very splendid.
Edward Forrester is none other than Steven Waddington who played the Francophonic albeit barbecued Duncan in The Last of the Mohicans!
Alas, notwithstanding Garrow's eloquence and passion ...
He loses to the Silvester, the rather evil barrister and his client is taken away to be hanged by the neck until he is dead
His pride and self-assurance takes a severe blow
Nonetheless, Garrow's impressive words and manner have caught the eye of Lady Sarah Hill who arranges for her husband to invite Garrow to dinner
Garrow and Lady Sarah have a definite chemistry.
Speaking glances
She instructs him to defend a helpless serving girl, Elizabeth Jarvis, who stands accused of murdering her newborn baby.
But not to tell her husband as he would consider this sort of behaviour infidelity
Garrow of course agrees to keep matters confidential
The new Garrow has learned from his mistakes. Determined to be even more prepared, he insists on going to visit the prisoner himself rather than just accepting all information from his instructing solicitor as is the practice
To Southouse's horror, he researches into the birthing practices and newborn babies. While Southouse hides in the hallway -
Garrow's in the room watching and listening intently - see Southouse peeking through the window in horrified fascination, though :D
As the case goes to trial, Lady Sarah watches intently
Silvester is as arrogant as ever before the judge who clearly despises Garrow.
What is to happen? Buchan is excellent as Garrow. He reminds me of many barristers I know - tall, physically imposing, eloquent and very arrogant. His arrogance is tempered by a genuine desire to do good. The acting is excellent, the sets are also very good and I am finding the glimpse into the past very fascinating.
Also, a fascinating blog here set up by the legal consultant for the series.