ianlouisiana Skirting the rickety scenery with surprising agility,Mrs Overall brings the cast of "Acorn Antiques some of her delicious macaroons...ooops,sorry,just a bit of stream of consciousness there,brought on by Julie Walters' playing of "liberal" defence QC Emma Watts in her best "I'm just a Brummie,folks" manner. "The Jury",which could have been done and dusted as a two - parter was dragged out over five nights no doubt because it could sell more dog food and hairspray that way.Just in time for the Christmas adverts for stuff most of us can't afford anyway.Or maybe I'm being cynical. Whatever,at the root of the programme lies the "drama"of the personal lives of the jurors,many of whom would not have passed the Jury Selection process,(Selection Process,what Selection Process?)thus making the whole concept invalid. But,regardless of such niceties,at least some of "The Jury" might have been forgivable if it hadn't reminded us of just about every Movie or TV show about juries there has ever been,and that's a heck of a lot. Indeed,"Coronation Street" the other week featured a pair of counsels who were far more convincing - and that's a soap made for about 200 quid per episode with no delusions of grandeur. Frankly after the first episode I didn't care about whether the defendant had done it or not or what the jurors did in the privacy of their own homes as long as it wasn't in front of the servants. And if I have to see Ms Walters in a "serious" role again I will try my very best to forget Mrs Overall....honest.

swanzer A very compelling story about a young Seikh man who is charged with murdering a classmate. I enjoyed the relationships the characters formed with each other and how they were brought together for the conclusion of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed Gerry Butler's role as a young man fresh out of rehab struggling to make a new life for himself despite all his difficulties. The ensemble cast draws you into their own personal trials as well as their fight for the truth in the trial they sit for. The story keeps you guessing and even in the end, you still are not sure what is the actual truth. A great British version of the American-types of "Law and Order" and "The Practice" series.

jonathan baron Having now seen parts of this twice, I think that what makes this really great, and gripping, is the character development and the acting. I especially liked the recovering alcoholic and Rose, but all the characters were well developed and real (except, perhaps, the judge, the lawyers, and the defendant - but this is about the JURY).I am as much against political correctness as the next person, but I don't think that was what this was about. That was part of the background, but not the story. The story was about the people.

davideo-2 STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsKudos to ITV for the good idea of this six-parter series,which shows we can do it and that it's not just Hollywood that can make this kind of thing work.In Britain (and certain other countries) it's considered every working citizens duty to perform 'jury service'.That is,twelve people (men and women usually these days) from completely different walks of life and with presumably no previous experience of the judicial system must come together to decide the fate of a defendant on trial for a crime.In this case,a 15/16 year old Pakistani student has been accused of hacking his classmate to death in a field.It is a very high profile case which has ignited racial hatred between the White/Asian community,and the series cleverly examines not only the opinions of the jurors,but also how this alien and stressful experience affects their lives outside work.The acting is pretty good stuff.Veteran Derek Jackobi is lively,spirited and ingenuitive as the defence barrister.Plus Anthony Sher is suitably cold and uncompromising as the prosecution.The people on the jury impressively convey the uncertainty and fear that overrides them all.Jack Shepherd is a good character actor,here playing the murdered boy's father,but is given little to do except sit in the courtroom looking tense and agitated.Also,Tim Healy gets to spread his wings and fly in something that isn't another annoying Uno advert.The ending is something of a cop-out ,with a few unexplained matters not being resolved.But it's all acted with such sincerity and dash,with engaging pace and dialogue to match,that you feel compelled to watch it to the end if only to support British big/small screen productions.***