New Street Law: The Complete First Season DVD Credits:

Region: 1

New Street Law: The Complete First Season DVD Release Date: 4th December 2007

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New Street Law: The Complete First Season DVD Review:

It’s hard to create a fresh television show these days. It’s even harder when you’re working against a popular genre such as the one-hour legal drama. New Street Law: The Complete First Season is a legal procedural from the BBC that may not be the most original program but fans of other similar shows, especially the American legal dramas, will be able to somewhat enjoy it.

New Street Law isn’t great and cutting edge but like any of the procedural dramas, if you stick with it for a time, you’ll no doubtedly get locked in. It won’t hold up for those devoted law drama enthusiasts because it is not terribly original but it’s something else to watch. Jack Roper, played by the talented John Hannah, is the protagonist who heads a small firm that defends “the little guy.” He is the typical genre hero that is completely gung ho on exposing the truth rather than worrying about financial gain through the practice. And of course, he has a somewhat complicated past that slowly leaks out through the duration of the season (eight episodes). The main antagonist, besides injustice, is the prosecuting lawyer, Laurence Scammel (Paul Freeman) who was Jack’s mentor in the past. However, we find out that Laurence is more concerned with winning while Jack left to be on his own because he cares about truth and justice.

That main tension is somewhat new but the supporting cast of characters is quite familiar. There’s Charlie Darling (John Thomson) the charming but underachieving lawyer who likes to drink and has a rough exterior but also has a good heart. And now I suppose we know where the idea for Back To You’s “Chuck Darling” came from. Also, there’s the female lawyer who is constantly looking out for everyone’s well being, the strong headed realist guy (who happens to be gay), and the new guy. These lawyers make up New Street Law and are the main focus. I suppose the most original thing about the show is the basic premise of a new law firm that is struggling for money and barely staying alive. However, that’s not enough to keep this series fresh.

The cases are smart and interesting but it’s still like anything we’ve seen before. Also, it exposes the corruption within the legal system as we see deals being made in halls, witnesses being manipulated, etc. Luckily, the show does not become too wrapped up in over the top speeches or lawyers going out and doing ridiculous detective work of their own. New Street Law stays true to form by developing character arcs and keeping t he action in the courtroom. From the beginning we can tell what the arc of the season is going to be like but there are still a few surprises. One of the most enjoyable things about the show is viewing the differences between the British and U.S. court systems. However, it’s also interesting to see how similar they are in how things are run as well as how devious lawyers can be.

There are no Special Features on the DVD set so we get absolutely no insight into how this show came into existence. All we get are three discs with eight episodes of legal drama.

After you get used to the accents and the quite different style of British television, New Street Law does become enjoyable to a certain degree. It’s not the show that you’ll be raving about to you friends and family, or the DVD set that you hope for during the holidays but it will be something that will entertain if you give it the chance to.

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New Street Law: The Complete First Season DVD review written by: Bryce Carlson