The Twelve

I don't know if this show has taken on too much. I like the snapshot of modern Australia but the episodes are too long and drawn out and achieve nothing to build on the character arcs or carry the plot. At the moment they're exploring about six story lines featuring trouble women who battle BPD, complex trauma, PTSD, DV & alcoholism. On the other side they're tackling misogynists, addiction, racism and abusive / over protective fathers. This is all centred around a murder trial contrast against a historic murder by a guy that was maybe wrongly accused? Despite being so plot heavy the show makes absolutely no comment on Australia's the justice system, the entire centre of the show - Crazy right? I think this would have been better off as a two hour movie we are seven episodes in and have achieved absolutely nothing in terms of character development or wherever the hell this story is going.

Kate Lawson stands trial for the murder of Claire, her niece, despite having no body, The Crown make a convincing case for the prosecution, A Jury of twelve have to decide whether she is guilty or innocent.

Overall, it's good, but one thing I have to point out, it's taken me four months to go from start to finish, and there's something in that. Some episodes are truly excellent, some are agonising.

What would have made a huge difference, is if had been over six episodes, at ten, it's just way too long, it drags on far too long.

ITV clearly got frustrated with it, and I imagine so did the viewers, which is why it ended up being shown at random, late times, I get why people got frustrated with it.

I would have liked more focus on the Kate story itself, too much filler when it came to the jurors, some stories were interesting, some weren't.

Interesting to see how the system works, and how day to say stresses can have a big impact on a Jury, it can be a tough thing to do.

Of course Sam Neill is wonderful, when isn't he, but he's in some good company here, I have to highlight Brooke Satchwell, I think she's excellent as the tormented mother, walking on eggshells. Standout for me, Kate Mulvany, with that hair and those lips, she's packing charisma, I really rate her.

7/10.

Well it was a long and painful wait, with some cringeworthy bits but overall the outcome was worth it. Quite satisfying on a few accounts. Would not like to be on a murder trial after watching this!

This 10 part miniseries about a murder trial where there is no body and a suppressed backstory is really more about the lives of the jurors, how the trial (and other jurors) impact them and how it informs their thoughts about the case.

There are many characters with concurrent and intersecting stories on each, as well as the trial itself. Some are more convincing than others and especially in the first 4-5 episodes, it was a little slow going at times and I wondered if some of the scenes were even relevant. Perhaps it needed a bit of trimming to maybe 8 episodes to tighten it up a little.

The script is decent and occasionally brilliant, especially in the second half of the series. The acting is variable - Brooke Satchwell shines as juror Georgina, who portrays wrestling with her personal circumstances perfectly - although generally the standard is at least competent. Sam Neil is his usual urbane excellent self as the defence attorney although interestingly there is no personal story attached to either prosecutor or defence.

The ultimate trial outcomes may be the epitome of injustice when taken on face value, but on reflection maybe the right results were achieved, even if the methods to get there were highly flawed. If this was intentional, then it's worth an extra star!

One thing though - if all juries are like these people, best not to come before one!

I am enjoying this series though it is a bit drawn out. There is some good acting - Sam Neil, Kate Mulvany and a few others.

I find it hard to connect with a lot of the characters. Largely because they make such obviously bad decisions so often and try to cover up their tracks most of the time. It gets a bit predictable.

There have been quite a few twists and turns, most of which are implied an episode or so before they are revealed, making them less impactful when we find out.

It has a classic Australian feel to it, though I would love to see some Aussie drama that has characters that represent a smarter, more self aware side of the Australian psyche.