Law & Order UK: Series 3 Episode 1

The London-set version of the long-running US police procedural returns to ITV1 for a third series of crime and punishment storylines.

Remaining faithful to the originals’ premise of showing both the police investigation and the courtroom prosecution, this opening episode finds detectives Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and Devlin (Jamie Bamber) investigating the death of a child in a dilapidated housing estate in south London. After quickly discounting a suspect, it becomes apparent that the perpetrators are to be found closer to home, in a rather queasy echo of the Jamie Bulger case. It is then left to Crown Prosecutor Steel (Ben Daniels) to convince the jury to reach a somewhat surprising verdict, whilst battling some rather archetypal underhanded defence barrister stalling and chicanery.

The split format of the show means that often the plots fall between two stools: the crimes are solved rapidly without the tricksy, complexity of shows like the CSI franchise or the playfulness of Sherlock, whilst the courtroom scenes are never given the space to breath in the way they are in a show like Murder One.

Fortunately this episode surmounts these shortcomings through a combination of solid performances - Walsh is now far more believable as a hardened, careworn East End detective than he was in the first series, whilst Daniels turns in a commanding performance in the courtroom segment - and a decent script that resists the temptation to topple over into mawkishness; whilst the grittier side of London is convincingly captured.

Although at times frustratingly shallow, this is one of the better (semi) homegrown police shows currently being made, and is all the more welcome following the recent demise of The Bill.



Airs at 9pm on Thursday 9th September 2010 on ITV1.

Reviewed by Sam Monk.