Rumpole, struggling grifter at law
The weird thing (or maybe not so weird) thing about listening to Rumpole of the Bailey episodes (and by that, I mean the mp3 rips I've done off the BBC tv series that was done 80-90s with the amazing Leo McKern and the two Liz Proberts who are both still somewhat hot, though Samantha Bond has aged better, but then Abigail McKern was more the girl next door than the glam-Bond-girl)--but I'm digressing.
Anyway.
The thing about listening is realizing what a damned con artist and mastermind Rumpole is. He is like the male Sophie Deveraux without the lust for cash and sex appeal (I like Leo, but Rumpole is rather sexless in his way). He manipulates the fuck out of everyone around him (and Hilda, his wife, is a bit grifter, herself--but she'd have to be to survive him).
And he usually does it in similar ways to how Sophie and the Leverage team played on peoples' prejudices and perceptions (racism, sexism, ableism, etc). Usually, he mostly plays on the sexism to get people to do his bidding.
Which I suppose shouldn't surprise me, given my love of Justice and Revenge (Dark Justice wasn't watched for its plot, ok. And Leverage fills the same revenge-kink-niche that The Pretender).
But it does make me wonder what his reaction to the Leverage crew would be.
The above all said, I have also discovered that there have been recent radio plays about a younger Rumpole which have included both Benedict Cumberbatch and Julian Rhind-Tutt (and LET ME TELL YOU, listening to the opening of the one on youtube after having recently re-listened to some Green Wing and McKern-Rumpole was a bit jarring). Somehow, I must find more of these. sigh.
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)
Anyway.
The thing about listening is realizing what a damned con artist and mastermind Rumpole is. He is like the male Sophie Deveraux without the lust for cash and sex appeal (I like Leo, but Rumpole is rather sexless in his way). He manipulates the fuck out of everyone around him (and Hilda, his wife, is a bit grifter, herself--but she'd have to be to survive him).
And he usually does it in similar ways to how Sophie and the Leverage team played on peoples' prejudices and perceptions (racism, sexism, ableism, etc). Usually, he mostly plays on the sexism to get people to do his bidding.
Which I suppose shouldn't surprise me, given my love of Justice and Revenge (Dark Justice wasn't watched for its plot, ok. And Leverage fills the same revenge-kink-niche that The Pretender).
But it does make me wonder what his reaction to the Leverage crew would be.
The above all said, I have also discovered that there have been recent radio plays about a younger Rumpole which have included both Benedict Cumberbatch and Julian Rhind-Tutt (and LET ME TELL YOU, listening to the opening of the one on youtube after having recently re-listened to some Green Wing and McKern-Rumpole was a bit jarring). Somehow, I must find more of these. sigh.
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)