Law & Order

How to describe this mini-series - how about trying? While the idea of taking a set of circumstances and looking at them from different angles is by no means new, usually we are shown only two perspectives, here the viewer is given four, hence the word trying.

People who know about bent coppers, especially the way they were in the 1970s, will probably agree with the way they are portrayed here, but the portrayal of prison officers is more than a little uncharitable; they do a difficult job, and discipline must be maintained especially in those prisons that house the most dangerous and ruthless offenders. The lawyers including the barristers and the crotchety old judge are well characterised.

The villain at the centre of "Law & Order" may have been fitted up for the big one, but he had clearly been making a living at the expense of others for many years, so don't shed too many tears for him.

To make proper sense of this film you really need to watch all four segments, but to enjoy it, don't watch it in one sitting.