Garrow's Law

Set in a time before those accused of a crime had any real rights before the court, this fascinating BBC series features some terrific performances, lead by Andrew Buchan (looking like a young Russell Crowe) as the barrister who helped pave the way for the modern legal system. It takes good acting and even better writing to make a courtroom drama work, and the people who created this series do a fantastic job. The dialog in the courts and in the jails crackles with intensity. The romance between Garrow and the wife of a young MP is less effective, but at least the wife, as played by Lyndsey Marshall, has some good scenes of her own to make her stand out as more than the barrister’s plaything.