OUTLAWS
BBC3
Philip Hoult
When you are handed the task of reviewing a new television series about lawyers, your heart sinks at the prospect of yet more ‘mavericks’ invading the small screen.
Indeed, you can almost get to the stage where you would rather watch a programme about a straight-as-a-die solicitor, who is battling with the drafting of a will or a lease or struggling to fill in timesheets.
It is therefore a relief to report that ‘Outlaws’, a BBC3/BBC2 co-production, is – judging by the first episode at least – much better than your average legal drama.
Set in a northern city, the programme follows criminal defence solicitor Bruce Dunbar (played by Phil Daniels of ‘The Long Firm’ and, many moons ago, ‘Quadrophenia’) and his public school-educated trainee Theo Gulliver (Ray Emmett- Brown, see below) as they go about their work in the magistrates’ courts and the local police station.
Their relationship is at the heart of the programme. Dunbar is a cynic motivated mainly by how much he can charge the Legal Services Commission, handing out business cards to young people outside the courts while telling them not to behave. Meanwhile, Gulliver is an idealist who does not want to just get his clients off but wants to help them sort their lives out as well.
Their dealings with the Crown Prosecution Service and the police, along with the idiosyncrasies of their mixed bag of clients, provide much of the humour as well as the opportunity for the scriptwriter to make a few points about the workings of the criminal justice system.
Old-hand defence lawyers will no doubt be up in arms about some of the scenes, but a programme that was entirely faithful would not work half as well.
Despite the occasional scene that seems a bit contrived, ‘Outlaws’ has a lot going for it. Above all, Daniels and Emmett-Brown are convincing as the leads, handling the legal jargon and the court scenes deftly, while the support is well cast. The fast-paced way the programme is shot, the two-tone opening credits and the accompanying ska soundtrack also work in its favour.
Give me Outlaws ahead of ‘Kavanagh QC’, ‘Judge John Deed’ and the like any time. It may be a bold claim but ‘Outlaws’ could prove superior to ‘This Life’, which was made by the same company.
And who can fault a programme that name-checks the Gazette in the first two minutes of episode one.
• Outlaws will be shown on BBC3 at 10.30pm on Friday 1 October and on BBC2 at a later date.
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