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Silk, BBC One

Silk, BBC One

Is barrister-turned-writer Peter Moffat a credible witness? The jury's still out

by Tuesday, 22 February 2011
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Spot the Harrovian: Rupert Penry-Jones and Maxine Peake play rival barristers in Silk

There was a moment in last night’s Silk when a young solicitor turned up late for a trial. He was also an actor, he explained to his client’s counsel, and had to attend an audition. For a Head & Shoulders ad. The USP of Peter Moffat’s courtroom dramas is that, more than any writer since John Mortimer, he knows whereof he speaks. Having once been a barrister himself, the serpentine ins and outs of chambers, the politicking and skulduggery etc etc are his area of expertise. So you take it on trust that the events dramatised here are the truth and nothing but.

There was a moment in last night’s Silk when a young solicitor turned up late for a trial. He was also an actor, he explained to his client’s counsel, and had to attend an audition. For a Head & Shoulders ad. The USP of Peter Moffat’s courtroom dramas is that, more than any writer since John Mortimer, he knows whereof he speaks. Having once been a barrister himself, the serpentine ins and outs of chambers, the politicking and skulduggery etc etc are his area of expertise. So you take it on trust that the events dramatised here are the truth and nothing but.

If these two catalogue models are trainee barristers then I’m the Lord Chief Justice

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Comments

Submitted by Chris (not verified) on Wed, 23/02/2011 - 17:20
Not sure if I can agree with this review. To be honest, a courtroom series might be a bit too dull or "heavy" without a bit of drama on the side to make it interesting. And to criticise the show because the actors are too attractive is , quite frankly, a bit petty. And yes, there is a lot of exposition in the episode; but it is the first episode of the series. If they didn't give a bit of exposition you would likely criticise it for that. In short I found it an enjoyable episode and am interested to see more and while I can see some of the flaws you pointed out, none of them seemed big enough that they would ruin the show for me.

Submitted by Paul (not verified) on Wed, 23/02/2011 - 23:52
Utter tripe. The programme was superficial, the characters shallow. The storylines simplistic. If I didn't know better I'd have assumed it was a spoof. John Thaw would turn in his grave. Very disappointing.

Submitted by Victoria (not verified) on Tue, 01/03/2011 - 20:08
I thought the first episode was excellent entertainment and a fantastic portrayal of life at the bar. Maxine Peak's performance was completely faultless.

Submitted by phaethon (not verified) on Wed, 02/03/2011 - 15:58
I'd like to know how much the producers were paid by the tobacco industry to have the lead character smoke in the very last scene..?

Submitted by Charlotte (not verified) on Fri, 18/03/2011 - 18:25
Actually, I'm loving 'Silk'. Whilst I agree that Nick of the tousled hair would likely have been told to un-tousle his hair by now (and yes, he's relaxed come backs to his pupil-mistress seem unlikely) it is only fair that the audience have a Rep - afterall, there are few people who have an understanding of our legal system and I can put up with a bit of explanation from time to time if it means those who might be scared away from such a topic will get to enjoy this drama. Popular arts of any type (novels, films, television) are tidied up and packaged nicely - that's what the viewer wants. Silk is a bedtime story for grown ups and if it was all raw banter and untied ends then we'd feel short-changed. I think it's a great little show and I'm very much hoping it is commissioned for a second series. Rumpole meets Iago (from Othello) meets Morse meets Catherine off of CSI. A worthy hour of my time before sloping off to bed to face another day of untied ends and raw banter in the real world.

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