The First Season

New Street Law is a television drama from the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC). The series is a courtroom procedural drama that focuses on the two rival lawyer groups made up from prosecutors and defenders. The show has an episodic approach and tackles some big issues, as well as small. Typically, the defense works against the odds with little resources to overcome the prosecutors who are full of experience and have lots of money at hand. For a courtroom procedural drama, New Street Law makes for an intriguing watch, but at the same time it is not anything new or remarkable.

The show's primary star is Jack Roper (John Hannah). Jack started his career working under Laurence Scammel (Paul Freeman), a renowned prosecutor. While a prosecutor, Jack decided he wanted to defend clients. He felt an urging need to defend the innocent. He left Laurence's team to start his own practice of defense attorneys. Jack is adamant about the types of cases he works. They must be truly innocent. For instance, at one point he refuses to defend rapists or take on cases that test his ethics/morals. His team includes Charlie Darling (John Thomson), Al Ware (Chris Gascoyne), Annie Quick (Lara Cazalet), and Joe Stevens (Lee Williams). They are a smart bunch who repeatedly face the highly experienced Laurence and his wife Honor (Penny Downie) and daughter Laura (Lisa Faulkner).

In the series' first season, there are a total of eight episodes. Each episode has Jack leading a fairly big case against the Scammels. There is also a smaller case, which some of the other defense attorneys take on. In general, the episodes play out with a fair level of intrigue. The cases tackled include murder, illegal disposal of hazardous materials, assault, theft, con artists, and more. The format is similar from episode to episode: Jack takes on a big case, which looks to be too much for his team, they have never ending financial problems, and something always happens in the end to give him the edge to win the case.

What is good about the show is John Hannah's performance. He makes a compelling good guy and reveals his character's emotion with professionalism. Jack's passion to do the right thing, no matter the costs, makes him a strong and likable character that you want to see succeed. His chemistry with former mentor Laurence Scammel is also of note. While Scammel has had opportunities to squash Jack, he enjoys the competition and essentially toys with Jack (and loses). His daughter Laura is also of note. She is relatively new to the law game and looks upon Jack with respect.

On the flipside, some of the cases they get into can be pretty tame and a little hard to swallow. For instance, the second episode deals with a community who has developed cancer after a large corporation dumped toxic waste near their homes (think The Rainmaker). The case itself is pretty big and everything is wrapped up in a single episode. It would seem a case of this grandeur would take longer to close, but of course, this case which appears to be a lost cause is miraculously settled in the episode's final minutes.

All in all, New Street Law's first season is a promising collection of episodes. While it is not the strongest television drama I have seen, the characters are compelling and have fairly good chemistry. The problem is the episodic approach. I think longer, drawn out cases would serve the series better (think Murder One). Needless to say, if you enjoy courtroom procedural dramas, New Street Law: The Complete First Season is worth taking a look at.

Episode Guide

1. Episode 1: Jack takes on a young arsonist's case, while Charlie tries to get two fraudsters off the hook.
2. Episode 2: Battling a polluting landfill company brings Jack's chambers to the edge, and Joe has girl problems.
3. Episode 3: Jack defends a man accused of murdering his wife, while Joe tries to help a nurse.
4. Episode 4: Charlie's keen to defend a TV presenter, but Jack's reluctant to take on an alleged assault.
5. Episode 5: Jack and Charlie defend policemen accused of torture, while Lee visits a mental institution.
6. Episode 6: A medical negligence case brings discord to the Scammel chambers.
7. Episode 7: Jack defends a young man accused of shooting a policeman - but is he too close to his client?
8. Episode 8: Jack goes out on a limb to defend a widow accused of hiding evidence in a murder.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.78:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It is a relatively clean picture with minor color distortions and ordinary compression artifacts.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital surround sound. The track is dialogue driven and audible throughout the presentation.

Extras:
For special features, there is an outtake reel that runs for just under eighteen minutes.

Final Thoughts:
New Street Law is a British television drama about the courtroom procedures between the prosecutors and the defenders. The show follows Jack Roper, who is played by John Hannah. Hannah gives a strong performance as the lead and details his efforts to fight against the odds to defend the innocent well. From episode to episode, the show has a common format with some miraculous last minute development leading to a win for the defense -- no matter how bleak the case. For what it is, New Street Law is nothing special. However, it has strength in its characters and their chemistry together. If you enjoy courtroom procedural dramas, then you will want to pick up this DVD.