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But no. North Square is Channel 4's new barristerial drama, which documents This Life-style the trials, tribulations and... err... trials of a young, trendy Chambers in Leeds (gosh, the North, see, that's how Channel 4 it is. No more of John Bird posturing around the dreaming spires and Cappuccino outlets of Chancery Lane). No. In this series, it rains too. These criminal barristers are trendy young things who get through their cases on an edgy street wit coupled with a sort of middle-class suavity. Out of court they rip off their bodices... sorry... I mean gowns, slip into funky Hawaiian shirts and have a bit of a punch-up to relieve the tension. They all reminded me so much of Jamie Oliver that I wasn't at all surprised when, immediately after the birth of one of the barristers' baby, they all have a really cool dinner party which only gets broken up when one of them is arrested. Dead realistic. Dead Gritty. Dead Northern. Dead Channel Four. According to the press release, they're a "group of young, irreverent, successful barristers making their mark in a dynamic Leeds defence chambers. From professional rivalries to not-so-professional relationships, North Square is a new ten-part drama series that uncovers the hidden world of the barrister." (Yes. Very 'Hidden', the barrister's world, isn't it? I mean, you can't turn on the wretched television without being bombarded with hard-hitting legal or veterinarian dramas. I'm only hanging on to my TV licence until they show 'Vets in Malpractice Suits': the final synthesis.) But these guys are so wacky. They bet their sports cars on cases. Happens all the time, doesn't it? I mean, around Lincoln's Inn, they've all switched Jags more times than John Prescott. By now, it's gotten so crazy that you have to go into the car park and press the 'remote key' just to find out which car's yours. However, before I come over sounding like an old grouch and get the sort of poignantly phrased death threats I received after lambasting poor little Ally McSqueal, I'll admit I love their old-fashioned cockney villain of a chief clerk Peter McLeish (played by Phil Davis). He's the one behind the new set, and will go to any lengths to steal clients from his former set for his funky new flock. While we may not approve of his methods, you've got to love his style. Of course, it's just a coincidence that the series has begun in the same month that 12 New Square announced their merger with 1 New Square to form New Square Chambers. Of course, the politics there can be nothing like those at the fictional North Square set...or can there? (25/10/00) If you have any comments about this or any other news item or feature, please respond via e-mail to: newsroom@butterworths.com |
'Did you see North Square?' seems to be
the question of the week. I had an interesting conversation with a friend at
a local high street firm who had not yet had the pleasure and mixed it up,
unaccountably, with Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. She thought I was
talking about some new costume drama in
which people flounce around in silly wigs and gowns... ahem.