What separates this from its U.S. partner is the depth with which the viewer is able to get involved with the personalities and the procedures involved. Each episode is at least 90 minutes long, with no breaks for commercials necessary, so each case plays out more like a full-length film and its sequel.

Another key difference – and one of the most interesting aspects about this show – is its inventive use of the TV screen space. During some key moments in a particular case, the screen is divided up into squares of varying sizes, with each one taking a different viewpoint of either the court proceedings (which in the second episode allowed you to watch the harrowing testimony by a crime victim and the expressionless face of the man accused of perpetrating it) or actions that are happening parallel to one another in time but in different locations. It allow for a depth in the storytelling that so many shows of this ilk miss out on and brings a great deal of information at the viewer at once. It is a DVD set that practically demands multiple viewings.

There should also be special notice given to the writer and creator of the series Lynda La Plante (also the creator of the brilliant Prime Suspect) for her deft ability to weave the story arc of lives of the police men and women (with the barristers, the only constant figures in the show) in between the often grisly details of the cases they are tracking. Their personal lives tend to take a back seat to the procedures of police work, but that she is able to humanize these figures of authority and add shades of color to their personalities that sneak up on you throughout is something that far too many TV writers should be taking notes on.