New Street Law, C4: ONE of the great television disappointments of recent years was the axing of C4's excellent legal eagles drama North Square after a brief run.

On the face of it, New Street Law might seem a suitable substitute.

Alas, I would submit, m'lud, that the series stands accused of peddling old ideas and dreary drama in the name of primetime TV.

Watching it is like going back in time as it pits idealistic young defence barrister Jack Roper (John Hannah) in one chambers against grasping older lawyer Laurence Scammell (Paul Freeman) in another.

Roper is a former pupil of Scammell and obviously despises his methods if not his legally-minded daughter Laura (Lisa Faulkner). He and Laura obviously have a history judging by the lingering looks they give each other.

Dialogue consists of people explaining who they are (name badges would save a lot of time) or passing comments along the lines of "See you in court" and "Enjoy your flasher".

Roper is too good to be true in his bid to lead "the best defenders in town", which makes him sound more like a soccer player than legal person.

Scammell comes from the old, materialistic school that sneers at younger members of the legal profession, chuntering on about "the days we all had Latin".

John Thomson is employed as the comic relief, a barrister obsessed with how hard up he is. He supplements his income by doing restaurant reviews for the local paper that pays him £250 for one article. I must ask him for their phone number as they must be the best payers in the industry.

In between the professional and personal chit-chat, they're in court, with cases involving a teenage girl accused of trying to burn down the house with her father in it and a property scam occupying their attention, if not ours, this week.

"What is it that keeps you going - the money?," Jack was asked.

"No, the truth," replied Jack so piously I felt like hitting him. Perhaps I should have done, I'm sure he could have got me off in court.

Ace Bhatti turned up in chambers as well as in the Bradford Riots - "a drama based on real events" in which writer-director Neil Biswas put a human face on the events of 2001 when Asian youths fought with police on the streets of the Yorkshire city.

The cancellation of a multi-cultural festival for reasons of public safety - the National Front were reported to be gathering - had the opposite to the desired effect of calming things down.

The story of the riots was told through one family, more specifically through two brothers who became embroiled in the violence for different reasons.

You could make up your own mind whether justice was done on being informed in an end caption that 191 people were given custodial sentences totalling 510 years in the harshest and most widespread sentences for public disorder since the Second World War.

Published: 05/05/2006