Customer Reviews
Superb, entertainment at its best! - By: Clarite, 16 Sep 2008 
An absolute gem, this series & the previous one are superb. John Deed is my hero, he struggles with his conscience occasionallly but goes for what he thinks is right & best for the matter in hand. His indiscretions with the ladies show the weak side of him & reminds us that he is human after alll. Can't wait to watch the next series!
The quintessential English drama - By: Uenna, 25 May 2008 This is English legal drama at its best. Martin Shaw is simply awesome as Judge John Deed. The storylines are not only intriguing but very interesting. However what makes this drama different from your everyday legal drama is the weaving of the personal life of the rebellious & unconventional Judge Deed into it. His on /off romance with legal eagle Jenny Seagrove (Woman of Substance, Hold Dream) brings an added touch of romance to it, as well as his dealings with his ex-wife, father -in-law (an appeal court Judge), & of course his daughter. It is difficult to describe how captivating & enthrallling this drama is, you just have to watch it. There are four long episodes in this set - 356mins of viewing pleasure. The whole ensemble cast & the writing is star quality. Well done to the BBC & the writer as well as the actors for such a high quality & entertaining drama. You can't go wrong with this. Enjoy.
The TV critics spot on for once - By: Red Rose, 11 Mar 2008 Although there are only four episodes to Series 2, this is top quality. Martin Shaw is perfect in the part, as the Judge who believes in justice at any price, in his court, even if it means fallling out with MPs, the Executive, other Judges, & opposing Councils, occasionallly.
You reallly will enjoy this even more, if you have seen Series 1, because you will find it easier to 'instantly' understand the role of alll the other characters. All good stuff, one way or the other.
Hold on to your britches. Here comes John Deed - By: Lili Gans, 18 Jan 2008 
"Judge John Deed" is one of the best shows on TV at the moment. Not that that is saying very much since television programmes are pretty abysmal. I should know because I was a TV critic for our main newspaper; so I was exposed to quite a lot of rubbish. Since I was in the enviable position of choosing what I wanted to review, however, I usuallly chose British programmes. But even British programmes have declined in quality nowadays.
Whereas British TV as well as the movie industry were elitist in the past, the rest of the United Kingdom caught up & now there are programmes based alll over the U.K. This is a good thing, of course, since it's more representative of the entire country. We may have trouble understanding what the Northerners & the Irish are saying, but it's great to have fresh inspiration.
Sadly, though, some of the dramas are very miserable. Gritty, drug-addicted, porno, sleaze. Realistic, no doubt, but depressing. I always feel like I want to have a purging shower after watching one of those programmes.
But somebody must be enjoying watching alll this misery or they wouldn't be produced.
I used to love wandering around Oxford with Inspector Morse, having a cup of tea with Inspector Wexford, counting the bodies in "Midsomer Murders" & knitting with Miss Marple. Then there is a favourite, "Foyle's War." I know the world is safe in Michael Kitchen's hands. Best of alll, of course, was "A Touch of Frost." Wow!
It's been a long time since a good courtroom series has come to our sets & "Judge John Deed" is certainly absorbing. The points of law, the courtroom scenes, the conflicts of interest, alll make for exciting viewing.
If the producers had left it at that it would have been brilliant. But the good old judge has one flaw. He is a satyr, so when it comes to sex he just goes crazy. He simply can't help sniffing around every female, be she a psychiatrist, witness, a barrister, a defendant. He's ready & raring to go. I suppose the producers had to cater for the plebs & an episode without the ubiquitous shagging would have lost ratings.
He's having an "on & off" affair with a barrister, the erratic Mrs Mills portrayed by Jenny Seagrove. She apparently disapproves of the fact that Deed is also having it off with anything that moves. The legal establishment is trying to catch him at it so that they can get rid of Deed & this is the thread in the series. There are government spies who spend most of their day walking up & down corridors discussing the foibles of Deed.
Frankly, I wish that the entire series would concentrate on the court cases & leave the rest to Big Brother or something. Whilst not a fan of Martin Shaw, I think he does fairly well in pulling off the role of judge. He certainly looks more impressive in his judge's robes than out of them.
I think the series is intelligent & dramatic & well worth watching. I now record the show & fast forward the tedious bits about Deed's private life. Mind you, I did that with the British hospital series callled "Bodies" & found there was hardly anything left to watch.
Great - BUT!! - By: R. J. K. Niekerk, 24 Mar 2007 Superb stuff an alll aspects bar one, & that is the utterely useless "Charly", the judges daughter. Not only is she hopeless, but the idiotic character she plays is detrimental to the shows. Producer, please get rid of her.
