I agree with pretty much everyone else that the later seasons aren't as good as the early ones and that the Roisin character is not an adequate replacement for North...not sure why they did that, I'm guessing the original actress wanted out for some reason? Otherwise it would have been madness to do this. But I want this to have a really good rating here on IMDb, because despite the flaws in the later seasons, it is still a million times better than anything American TV has to offer!! Gritty, realistic (for the most part), gripping and horrifying. Everything a good police drama should be, unlike it's US counterparts. So I'd highly recommend watching this!

If law and order in Britain were anything like this series, they'd get it wrong even when the evidence jumped into their arms and grabbed the ubiquitous scotches and cigs. Well-acted intriguing characters -- always LaPlante's forte -- are worth watching, even if rampant incompetence among police, lawyers, judges and juries seems to be what drives the stories rather than clever twists. Some of the gap between concept and execution should probably be overlooked because this is the first series, and extra points granted for roaming outside the well-defined lines of the genre. The irascible DCI Walker (Hayman) commands the screen and the squadron and the well-fleshed minor characters are hold it well when Walker's not around. Fans of LaPlante's style won't be disappointed, but casual viewers might want to tune in to later series.

There may be better and more consistent shows in the crime genre than 'Trial and Retribution', but despite its problems mostly in the later seasons at its best 'Trial and Retribution' was excellent.

It is agreed that 'Trial and Retribution' was better in its earlier seasons, particularly in the first six cases of the show with Pat North still in the show. By all means, the early episodes aren't flawless either, with "Trial and Retribution I" containing some loose ends that made the outcome of the court-case surprising and unsatisfying and a little too much time is spent on Mike and Pat's relationship, which was nicely fleshed out and played but sometimes like in "Trial and Retribution IV" it was almost like it was too much of the main focus.

However, a great job is done developing the police and law cases methodically and in great detail, and it really worked giving the episodes two hour length and taking time for the story to develop. The storytelling could easily have been thin in the show but on the most part they are incredibly absorbing with enough twists and turns to keep one on one's toes and to create genuine surprise. Some of them have a wonderfully unsettling atmosphere, particularly "Trial and Retribution II" (with the scene with Linda Henry being one of the show's greatest scenes) and "Trial and Retribution III" (with a disturbingly off-the-wall Richard E. Grant), and the court-cases avoid falling into hammy melodrama.

While the later seasons are certainly watchable, they aren't as good in my opinion. "Sins of the Father" is the only outstanding late episode, with such a complex and cleverly told story that actually took its time to develop (at a time when the show started feeling rushed). This said "The Lovers" (a very close second best later-season episode, with a very creepy Michael Feast and the investigation given top-priority, a real shame that the final courtroom scene felt too hasty and incomplete), "Rules of the Game" and "Tracks" are also very good and "Paradise Lost" provides parts that do resonate emotionally and a main suspect that in a rare case we feel sorry for. Plus Mike's family issues are written in a way that balances with the cases well and are easy to relate to. However, despite some interesting cases, good acting and well-fleshed out characters the later episodes suffer from being rushed as a result of telling a lot of story in too short a running time (which has been halved) which causes parts that don't feel explored enough and don't come over realistically, with too much emphasis on soap-opera-style relationships which cause the investigations to be rushed through and the courtroom scenes which are even shorter to feel even more so and not come over entirely plausibly. Some of the episodes are also either too thin ("Kill the King"), not explained enough ("Siren", had trouble following in the second half) or too obvious ("Mirror Image", which gives it away from as early on as the title!, "Closure" also with the killer being revealed too early). "Blue Eiderdown" is spoilt too by a ridiculous ending.

Another factor is that Pat North is a more interesting, engaging and likable character than Roisin Connor. Roisin has moments of charm and fire, particularly in the enjoyably combative tension between her and Mike, but is far too one-dimensional and is developed barely at all, very cardboard-like. Victoria Smurfit is also to me an inferior actress to Kate Buffery. Smurfit tries and has moments but her range is limited, making some of the more authoritative parts on the forced side, none of her acting comes close to the emotions of unspeakable terror and affecting poignancy that Buffery showed in a particularly tense moment in "Trial and Retribution III".

'Trial and Retribution' is an incredibly stylishly made show, the 3-split-screen camera work was not distracting to this reviewer and was used interestingly, while the gritty look the show has suits brilliantly. The show throughout is compellingly directed, sparingly but understatedly scored and very tightly and succinctly written with little being forced or gratuitous. Acting is good on the whole, much has been made already about Smurfit but there are also a couple of exceptions in supporting roles, notably the grotesque overplaying of Tim McInnerny, the damp squib underacting of John Lynch and (although it is a very short early role, in a career that has really grown) Rosamund Pike's relative inexperience shows that she comes over as annoying and robotic. David Hayman is a superbly commanding lead though, while Kate Buffery is similarly great and Dorian Clough brings some much needed humanity to the show. Simon Callow makes a few juicy appearances as a barrister but is underused.

Overall, 'Trial and Retribution' is problematic but it is very absorbing and at its best excellent. 7/10 Bethany Cox

There are 3 series on TV that I would vote the best ever and Trial and Retribution is one of them, however I would only apply this to the first 6 stories. Everything about it is superb. The stories are really interesting and gripping, good acting from the main characters, and the 'guest' actors for each story line are also excellent. Actors like: Helen McCrory, Iain Glen, Richard E.Grant, Tim Mcinnerny, Charles Dance. From T&R 7 onward the series definitely misses D.I Pat North, played superbly by Kate Buffery. I enjoyed the personal story lines, with all the great supporting characters like Lynn Walker, Satch, as well as Mike Walkers family; his mother, Violet and brother, Jimmy. I would have liked DI North to have been in future episodes and preferably would have liked to have seen Mike and Pat married. There was no real explanation why they split up and Pat's quiet, yet no-nonsense personality was perfect for Mike. To replace the wonderful Kate Buffery with the awful Victoria Smurfitt was a travesty. Her character is very irritating and she is just not as good an actress as Kate Buffery.

Although the later stories are not in the same class as the first 6, Charles Dance was brilliant in No. 7 and 'The Lovers' No. 8 were excellent to which I would give 9/10.

The remaining episodes, I would give 6-8/10.

If you are wondering whether or not to give this a go, then my advice is to always make sure the character of Pat North is in the Cast. Excellent, well rounded character who proves a brilliant foil for (at times) nasty Mike Walker.

While I understand that in 'real life' police are not all good or all bad for that matter, did we really need the appallingly two dimensional - and thoroughly unlikeable - Roisin Connor?

No.

A genuine low point in La Plante's characterisation work, this woman is so awful you want to punch her.......or the script writers. Not believable at all. As the Seasons go on, her character turns more and more into a Panto Villain Cop, if you can imagine this nightmarish vision.

.....and did we really need yet another nasty Irish woman stereotype?

Again: NO.

This is a good strong entertaining English cop drama if you like the genre (and I do), but the Pat North years were definitely the best. Those would be a 9 out of 10. Wonderful stuff.

Linda LaPlante is a terrific writer, and the first episode of this series was fairly well done and interesting. The second episode, however, about the brutal murders of 3 women, was badly written, badly directed, and badly acted. The endless, busy camera work, with the screen divided into 3 parts, was distracting and ineffective. The trial scenes were interminable, with endless pontificating and bad acting by both the actor playing the lawyer for the defense and the actor playing the lawyer for the prosecution, to the point that I thought it was some sort of bad joke, but unfortunately, it was not. Linda LaPlante usually produces work much better than this. I have no idea why this was so below her usual high mark, but if you're a LaPlante fan, don't waste your time on this; it's sure to disappoint.

I enjoy the show and despite some people saying the endings were not clear, I thought they were pretty good. Sometimes you were undecided whodunit. Or not to see it til the last minute. The thing I did not enjoy is the misogyny of the main character who shouted at people, especially the women and seemed to use women like servants, calling them names as he did so. The stories were good despite him. Would have been great without him.

Written by Lynda La Plante, I naturally wanted to see this TV series. She has written some really good crime shows. The character of Mike Walker was very hard to like. He had an over-inflated ego and turned everything in his personal and professional life into "why, oh why, me". He was a terrible husband and father and I was glad when the show stopped focusing so much on his personal life. After watching all 22 series more than once, I can truthfully say I never did warm to him but the stories and other characters made this series worth watching. The first 6 series are the best although I never felt there was any chemistry between Mike & Pat. I hated to see her leave the show. The character Roisin Connor was not as warm and easily liked as Pat North. I really liked the character David Satchell - the long-suffering sergeant who worked with Mike, Pat and Roisin. If you like crime shows, you'll probably like this series. At least give it a try.