Gulity Pleasures

We all have our moments of madness don't we? Well mine was to watch the first series of Judge John Deed mant moons ago and I can honestly say, in the style of somebody attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 'My name's Paul and I like watching Judge John Deed'.

I know that some(all?) of the stories lack credibility but for two hours a week I can submerge myself into another world where all Government ministers and officials are corrupt and where it's only one man's principles that are saving us all. At least Martin Shaw doesn't have to leap across the bonnet of a Ford Capri wearing the daftest hairstyle this side of Kevein Keegan as he did in his previouslt best known television role.

It's great viewing for all of us who believe that old saying about power corrupting and absoloute power corrupting absolutely - everybody in it, with the exception of the good judge himself, are on the take.

There are two points I have to make about the series, firstly being written by G.F Newman you know what to expect, Newman was once described by a writing colleague as being 'one of those from the 'all coppers are bastards' school of writing. He was actually banned from writing by the BBC back in the sixties because he put forward the suggestion for an episode of Z Cars that began with D.S Watts accepting a bribe for £500 to turn a blind eye. The second point is that the plotlines show time after time how a man in power can be influenced by a woman, the judge has trusty 'Coops' to look after him but he can't let Mrs Mills go, he worries about his daughter and he jumps into bed with almost anything in a skirt quicker than you can say 'I like a well hung jury'