Search - Kavanagh Q.C. - True Commitment on DVD

"While you breathe, Jim, the age of chivalry is not yet past

Mary Whipple | New England | 09/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first three episodes of Season Two (1996) of Kavanagh QC continue the character development of esteemed Queen's Counsel James Kavanagh, and adds to our understanding of both his family life and his professional acumen. Actor John Thaw, as Kavanagh, began this series as soon as his hugely successful Inspector Morse series ended in 1995 (though he did one Morse special a year from 1995 - 2000), and he must have enjoyed these family-oriented dramas that play out here within wonderfully constructed mysteries, in contrast to Morse's solitary, somewhat hermetic, existence and more exotic mysteries.

A cast of repeating characters, the beautiful attorney Julia Piper (Anna Chancellor), the fatuous (and hysterically funny) Jeremy Aldermartin (Nicholas Jones), and Kavanagh's executive wife (Lisa Harrow) and two teenage children have their own issues, which become subplots throughout each episode and lead to the viewer's developing knowledge of the peripheral characters.

In "True Commitment," Mark Holland (Stuart Laing), a young college-age member of Direct Action, admits to killing a skinhead member of the Patriotic Front during a confrontation/demonstration which he attended with his upperclass girlfriend. Whether Mark actually committed the murder or is protecting his girlfriend becomes the primary issue here. In a hilarious subplot, Jeremy Aldermartin finds "true love" with a woman he has defended on a robbery charge, and his behavior during their love scenes (surprisingly graphic) will keep viewers in stitches. Lizzie Kavanagh, who has been working in Strasbourg, decides that her weekend marriage to Jim is not working well. "Man of Substance" begins with a drug bust, and Kavanagh acts as prosecutor here, a nice change of pace. Here young son Matt suffers the pangs of love for the first time.

"The Burning Deck" is, I think, the best episode from among the first ten episodes. Kavanagh defends the son of an admiral at a court-martial in which the son, along with his childhood friend, a seaman, are accused of arson. The acting is absolutely first-rate, with Rupert Penry-Jones as the young lieutenant, putting in an award-winning performance, matched by Ray Winstone, as the hard-nosed chief who despises both defendants. The subplots involve Eleanor Harker QC, whose husband has left her after sixteen years, Julia Piper's agonizing over whether to accept the proposal of long-time sweetheart, and Lizzie's attempts to get away with James for a weekend.

If you loved the Morse series, I think you will like this one at least as much! Though I LOVE the Morse series, I have to admit that in many ways this is a stronger series. The mysteries are much tighter, and Kavanagh's family orientation makes him much more human than the crusty Morse. The (repeating) supporting cast partially makes up for the loss of the wonderful Sgt. Lewis from the Morse series, though, overall, the Kavanagh series lacks some of the funky charm of Morse. John Thaw managed to make two brilliant series, back to back, starring as two different characters whom viewers will equally admire and eventually love. n Mary Whipple
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