Law and Order: UK - Series 4 [DVD]

Now firmly established in its own right, Law & Order UK’s fourth series arrives on DVD, and continues to build on the franchise’s winning formula. The approach to the UK version remains the same, in that the show’s makers have based the six episodes of series four on scripts that previously formed part of the American show. But said scripts have then been adapted and worked to fit a more British-centric show, with some skill.

It works, too. Law & Order UK maintains the guts of what makes the franchise so popular, but manages to put a welcome UK spin on it. So the source stories are not literal transplants: they’re worked into a show with a tone and feel of its own. What helps, too, is that the casting works. There were some eyebrows raised when it was announced that Bradley Walsh had been cast in the show, but he’s proven to be a real success. As, too, have the likes of Jamie Bamber, Freema Agyeman and Harriet Walter.

The six episodes of series four, then, cover the likes of an infant death, the death of a Premiership footballer, and the murder of a pregnant woman. There are a few surprises along the way, and the quality of drama throughout is suitably strong, and inevitably, both the law and order sides are brought heavily into play.

It’s really enjoyable telly, this. It’s well made, and worth seeking out. In short, Law & Order UK continues to impress. Long may that continue. We suspect it might. --Jon Foster