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llywelaFriday night last brought the return of the Judge to our screens for what will probably be the last series. So - hooray and dismay in equal parts, there.
I watched with Small present, and as a result my viewing was kind of, well, patchy at times. However, I saw enough to be going on with, and my shiny new recordable DVD will allow me to watch again soon for any details I may have missed...
The opening scene brought us bang up to speed on just about everyone - an official and very formal function of some kind, with what seemed like every recurring character - major and minor - in attendance. John flirting with the new and very young female Judge, Morag, was only to be expected, but seemed to mostly be responding to her flirting with him. And he promptly made eyes at Jo again, seemingly trying to convince her that he wasn't serious. George, Charlie, Luke Shaw whose character name I forget...everyone was there, dancing around one another in that oh so political way they all have.
Party over, John and Jo disappear off back to his digs for a part of their own, and it seems all is well with them as a couple. But things are not quite as rosy as they seem, it seems, as a couple of hours later John finds a morose Jo sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and worrying about their relationship. Why is she worrying? The same old reasons, apparently. She isn't convinced she can really trust him and, shockingly, is no longer even sure she loves him! Shock horror. John tries to reason with her, but it's the middle of the night, so he quickly gives up and goes back to bed, leaving her to stew.
And leaving me to wonder if these two will ever break out of this pattern they've been stuck in forever. Doesn't seem healthy, for either of them.
Oh, and there's a case or two to hear, as well. First up is the b-case, which John, Joe Canning and new judge Morag are hearing on appeal - a drunk driver who killed a 17 year old lad appealing against the length of his sentence. I must admit that this bored me rigid, mostly because I couldn't quite work out the reasoning of the arguments between the three judges. They mostly seemed to be debating each other around in circles, arguing from lengthening his sentence, to shortening it, and ultimately deciding to remove him from jail completely, transmute his 4 year in jail into 4 years community service, and have him attend mediation with the boy's parents.
I don't have much to say about any of that, so shall move on swiftly.
The main case was that of a black prison inmate who'd been murdered and partially eaten by his racist cellmate. A very unpleasant case, with lots of twists and turns and unpleasant personalities involved, eventually untangling to reveal something extremely rotten in the prisons service as it emerged that a group of prison officers had not only been complicit in the man's murder, but had actively arranged for it to happen by deliberately manipulating events. Nasty stuff.
But as always, the case itself exists only to further the politics around it - in this case, John's decision to hear the evidence without a jury, the guilty party having pleaded guilty, raising all kinds of a stink at the home office, where George's dear Neil took extreme exception to this, especially as the rot in the prisons service began to emerge.
I enjoyed the continuity detail of dear old Monty having switched to John's side, and therefore mo longer being trusted by 'the establishment'.
But while John is untangling his case, Jo's support is proving hard to pin down, as Marc unexpectedly reappears in her life, having moved his family - including her precious Michael - over from South Africa. Why didn't they tell her they were coming? she asks. Because Marc didn't want her reaction to be a factor in his decision, he explains winningly. And after all the stale sputterings of her relationship with John, I find myself really wanting her to run off with this other bloke and have done with it. No doubt the coming episodes will show how the triangle plays itself out.
I watched with Small present, and as a result my viewing was kind of, well, patchy at times. However, I saw enough to be going on with, and my shiny new recordable DVD will allow me to watch again soon for any details I may have missed...
The opening scene brought us bang up to speed on just about everyone - an official and very formal function of some kind, with what seemed like every recurring character - major and minor - in attendance. John flirting with the new and very young female Judge, Morag, was only to be expected, but seemed to mostly be responding to her flirting with him. And he promptly made eyes at Jo again, seemingly trying to convince her that he wasn't serious. George, Charlie, Luke Shaw whose character name I forget...everyone was there, dancing around one another in that oh so political way they all have.
Party over, John and Jo disappear off back to his digs for a part of their own, and it seems all is well with them as a couple. But things are not quite as rosy as they seem, it seems, as a couple of hours later John finds a morose Jo sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and worrying about their relationship. Why is she worrying? The same old reasons, apparently. She isn't convinced she can really trust him and, shockingly, is no longer even sure she loves him! Shock horror. John tries to reason with her, but it's the middle of the night, so he quickly gives up and goes back to bed, leaving her to stew.
And leaving me to wonder if these two will ever break out of this pattern they've been stuck in forever. Doesn't seem healthy, for either of them.
Oh, and there's a case or two to hear, as well. First up is the b-case, which John, Joe Canning and new judge Morag are hearing on appeal - a drunk driver who killed a 17 year old lad appealing against the length of his sentence. I must admit that this bored me rigid, mostly because I couldn't quite work out the reasoning of the arguments between the three judges. They mostly seemed to be debating each other around in circles, arguing from lengthening his sentence, to shortening it, and ultimately deciding to remove him from jail completely, transmute his 4 year in jail into 4 years community service, and have him attend mediation with the boy's parents.
I don't have much to say about any of that, so shall move on swiftly.
The main case was that of a black prison inmate who'd been murdered and partially eaten by his racist cellmate. A very unpleasant case, with lots of twists and turns and unpleasant personalities involved, eventually untangling to reveal something extremely rotten in the prisons service as it emerged that a group of prison officers had not only been complicit in the man's murder, but had actively arranged for it to happen by deliberately manipulating events. Nasty stuff.
But as always, the case itself exists only to further the politics around it - in this case, John's decision to hear the evidence without a jury, the guilty party having pleaded guilty, raising all kinds of a stink at the home office, where George's dear Neil took extreme exception to this, especially as the rot in the prisons service began to emerge.
I enjoyed the continuity detail of dear old Monty having switched to John's side, and therefore mo longer being trusted by 'the establishment'.
But while John is untangling his case, Jo's support is proving hard to pin down, as Marc unexpectedly reappears in her life, having moved his family - including her precious Michael - over from South Africa. Why didn't they tell her they were coming? she asks. Because Marc didn't want her reaction to be a factor in his decision, he explains winningly. And after all the stale sputterings of her relationship with John, I find myself really wanting her to run off with this other bloke and have done with it. No doubt the coming episodes will show how the triangle plays itself out.
