Silk: Season One

Six Episodes Of Cutthroat Courtroom Competition: A Solid, If Not Spectacular, Legal Drama From Britain
Television has been populated by so many legal dramas through the years, it has become increasingly difficult to make the genre seem fresh and exciting. "Silk" is just the latest affair from the BBC. Premiering in 2011, the show is ramping up for the debut of its third season later this year in Britain after having its second season nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Program. Unlike comparable American programming, British television tends to be served up in much smaller doses. Therefore, Season One of "Silk" is defined by only six hour long episodes. The show is based around a group of ambitious barristers (led by Maxine Peake as Martha Costello) who all seek advancement within the legal field. The next step up the career ladder is to appointed to the Queen's Council (QC) and that honor is referred to as "taking silk" due to the gowns worn at that level. As this is a merit based appointment, it is imperative to be noticed as a winner. So "Silk," while episodic in...
Enjoyable British Legal Series
If you like British series and legal dramas, this is a delightful combination of the two. The primary characters, though flawed, are endearing. You follow barrister Martha Costello (Maxine Peake) and her colleague -- and sometimes friendly rival -- Clive Reader (Rupert Penry-Jones) as they argue cases in court whilst striving to get their "silk" and Queen's Counsel status. Once barristers attain the rank of Queen's Counsel, they are allowed to wear a long wig and a silk robe. Costello's and Reader's law firm works with a mix of English society. Cases they try include burglary and assault, rape and attempted murder among other offenses. Nothing too grisly is portrayed.

It's fun to note the differences between the British and American systems - in one episode there's a jab at the American court protocol when the judge tells a young attorney to quit moving around so much, that it's not an American court of law.

You observe the wild frumpy wigs, and see where the...
Queen's Counsel
"The series' title refers to the act of being appointed a Queen's Counsel, known as "taking silk". Queen's Counsel wear distinctive full-bottomed wigs and silk gowns when they appear in Court. It is this gown which gives rise to the colloquial reference to Queen's Counsel as "silks" as well as to the phrase "taking silk" referring to their appointment." Wiki

Silk is a superb drama from BBC that follows a set of lawyers or barristers as known in the UK. Life for a barrister is a little different than layers in the US. The Chambers or barristers' chambers are the set of professional rooms used by a barrister or an association of barristers. There is a senior clerk who runs the chambers financially and All the legal work. He assigns all the cases that come to his chambers, and it is very competitive. Billy Lamb, played by Neil Stuke leads this chamber.

Martha Costello, played by Maxine Peake, is one of the best and most intelligent of...
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