Silk (2011)

We have a friend who is currently a pupil in a barrister's chambers and she hates Silk and it's portrayal of the profession. She's too close to it though, whereas I can suspend my disbelief - clearly I know that dozy Nick would never be accepted as a pupil as I know the volume of work and effort my friend put in in order to get the pupillage - and enjoy the show for what it was - a damn good drama! It was the combination of Rupert Penry-Jones (Clive) and Maxine Peake (Marta) that drew me in, along with the knowledge that the creator also wrote the unfairly forgotten North Square, set in a similar world on Channel 4 many years ago, and it was the intrigue and the enjoyability factor that kept me watching. 

Although at times I was utterly lost in the procedures of barristers, solicitors and courts, I could follow the cases and cheer Martha on, and boo Clive as necessary. Peake - the best thing in Deep Blue Sea - had a bit of an odd accent, sort of half posh, half working class, and Penry-Jones needed a hair cut, but these are minor, aesthetic issues in a polished production. The stories themselves involved some interesting moral dilemmas to ponder, as Martha served as defendant for some dubious customers - sometimes it was difficult to see how her winning could be good for anyone. It stopped things being simplistic and black-and-white and added to my interest in the show.