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Kavanagh Q.C. is notable for its fine production values, strong cast and
topical storylines, and for making television legal dramas much more dynamic. It
was designed expressly as a vehicle for John Thaw and as a contrast to his
previous series, Inspector Morse (ITV, 1987-2000).
Unlike the Oxford detective, Kavanagh is gregarious and affable, still sees
his relatives in his native Bolton and is married with children. In the first
episode, however, we learn that Kavanagh's wife Lizzie had a brief affair with
another barrister, but the two reconcile well before her death at the end of the
third series.
Courtroom dramas can often be stage-bound and verbose, but Kavanagh largely
escapes that trap. 'The Burning Deck' (tx. 11/3/1996) is set in a naval court
martial, with some filming taking place aboard HMS Victory, while for 'In God We
Trust' (tx. 14/4/1997) Kavanagh travels to the USA for a death penalty case. 'A
Sense of Loss' (tx. 18/3/1996), directed with great panache by Colin Gregg, ably
explores the contrast between the barristers' trappings of wealth and the
industrial wasteland inhabited by the defendant's family.
Kavanagh also looks at entrenched attitudes and traditions in chambers and
the legal profession. Sexism and racism are explored through the experiences of
female junior barristers Jenny Jones and Julia Piper with their pompous
colleague Jeremy Aldermarten. Existing chiefly as a foil for Kavanagh or for
comic relief, Aldermarten's character is rarely developed, although he elicits
some sympathy when betrayed by a confidence trickster played by Lesley Manville
in 'True Commitment' (tx. 26/2/1996).
Some episodes follow the traditional path of overlapping plots at work, home
and in chambers, but many are highly ambitious. Charles Woods' 'Mute of Malice'
(tx. 3/3/1997) deftly combines a religious crisis of faith, a Robert
Maxwell-style pensions scandal and the conflict in Bosnia, in a story about a
priest shocked into complete silence by his brother's death and memories of war
atrocities. Equally good is Nigel Kneale's 'Ancient History' (tx. 17/1/1997), a
Holocaust story triggered by the new war crimes laws clearly modelled on the
case of Dr Wladislaw Dering, already the subject of Robert Reid's celebrated
documentary According to the Rules (BBC, tx. 31/3/1972).
In the concluding episode, 'The End of Law' (tx. 25/4/2001), the now widowed
Kavanagh is offered the chance to become a judge and has a romantic liaison with
his old friend and frequent sparring partner, Eleanor Harker.
Sergio Angelini
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1. The War Crimes Act (4:14)
