Crown Court (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television
for the ITV
network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court
system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions
in the legal system of England and Wales
, to 1984.
A court case in the crown court of the fictional town of Fulchester
would typically be played out over three afternoons in half-hour episodes and the most frequent format was for the prosecution case to be presented in the first two episodes and the defence in the third, although there were some later, brief variations. Although those involved in the case were actors, the jury
was made up of members of the general public from the local Granada Television
area taken from the electoral register
and eligible for real jury service: it was this jury alone which decided the verdict. Indeed, production publicity of the time stated that, for many of the scripts, two endings were written and rehearsed to cope with the jury's independent decision which was delivered for the first time, as in a real court case, when the foreman was asked by the actor playing the judge
, while the programme's recording progressed. However, the course of some cases would lead the jury being directed to return "not guilty" verdict
s.
Unlike some other legal dramas the cases in Crown Court were presented from a relatively neutral point of view rather from the perspective of any particular party and the action was confined to the courtroom itself with occasional brief glimpses of waiting areas outside the courtroom. The stories featured a wide variety of criminal charges and also some civil cases such as libel, insurance
or copyright
claims.
The first story to be transmitted was "Lieberman vs. Savage" from 18 to 20 October 1972. Unusually this was a civil case, whereas the vast majority of subsequent instalments featured criminal trials with an occasional libel dispute providing a civil exception. There was an untransmitted pilot or experimental episode called "Doctor's Neglect?" which was eventually broadcast as part of a repeat run on satellite channel Legal TV over thirty years later. Like the first transmission this was a civil case - in this instance of negligence. The pilot story differs in style in some important respects. Most notably it featured informal conversations between the barrister
s in their quarters as well as them giving advice to clients. Neither aspect figured in broadcast episodes which strictly confined legal discussions to the courtroom. David Ashford, a regular in the programme's early stages as barrister Charles Lotterby, played a barrister called Derek Jones. Actors Ernest Hare
and David Neal
made their only appearances as a judge and barrister respectively.
This was not the only example of untransmitted stories. In February 1974 the scheduled "Traffic Warden's Daughter" was replaced by "The Getaway". In 1979 "Heart To Heart", intended for transmission from 15—17 April, was replaced by a repeat of "A Ladies' Man" (originally broadcast 15—17 February 1977). Although neither was ever broadcast on terrestrial TV they both received airings on Legal TV. "Doctor's Neglect?" and "Traffic Warden's Daughter" have since been released on DVD.
There were some subtle changes in presentation in the early years. In the first year or so stories often opened with photographs of key figures or incidents around the alleged offence over which the "court reporter" would narrate the background to the case. In other instances there were filmed sequences but these were without dialogue and rarely showed the alleged offence. They were phased out a little earlier than the photos. Thereafter the action would immediately start in the courtroom.
Although the standard format was stories with three episodes each lasting twenty-five minutes there were occasional variations. In 1973 there were two stories lasting just one and two episodes respectively. The Christmas "special" mentioned above lasted fifty-two minutes. In July and August 1975 a number of stories were presented in single extended episodes at 8.15pm on Saturdays - a prime time scheduling. They occupied a slot of seventy-five minutes with just over one hour for the story on-screen after adverts were taken into account. This was a brief interlude and the programme reverted to its standard format and daytime location thereafter.
The series was occasionally humorous and was even capable of self-parody
. On 27 December 1973 an hour-long self-contained episode "Murder Most Foul" had a distinctly light-hearted theme and even featured special Christmas-styled titles and music. The 1977 story An Upward Fall, written by absurdist
playwright
N. F. Simpson
, was played for laughs. In this bizarre case, an old people's home was built atop a cliff some 3000 feet (914.4 m) high but had its only lavatories located at the foot of the cliff.
Regulars included William Mervyn
, John Barron
, John Horsley
, Edward Jewesbury, Richard Warner, Basil Dignam
, Laurence Hardy, Frank Middlemass
, and Basil Henson
as judges, John Alkin
, David Ashford, Keith Barron
, Jonathan Elsom, Bernard Gallagher
, Peter Jeffrey
, Charles Keating
, Maureen Lipman
, T. P. McKenna
, Dorothy Vernon, Richard Wilson and William Simons
were among the most common faces as barristers.
Future famous names to appear on the show included Eleanor Bron
, Warren Clarke
, Tom Conti
, Brian Cox, Philip Bond
, Michael Elphick
, Sheila Fearn
, Colin Firth
, Brenda Fricker
, Derek Griffiths
, Nigel Havers
, Bernard Hill
, Gregor Fisher
, Ben Kingsley
, Ian Marter
, Mark McManus
, Vivien Merchant
, Mary Miller
, Geraldine Newman
, Judy Parfitt
, Robert Powell
, Peter Sallis
, Michael Sheard
, Juliet Stevenson
, Mary Wimbush
and Mark Wing-Davey
.
Its writers included Ian Curteis
, David Fisher
, Peter Wildeblood
, John Godber
, Ngaio Marsh
, N. F. Simpson
and Jeremy Sandford
.
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions
Quarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
in the legal system of England and Wales
Courts of England and Wales
Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; they apply the law of England and Wales and are established under Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The United Kingdom does not have...
, to 1984.
A court case in the crown court of the fictional town of Fulchester
Fulchester
Fulchester is a fictitious town in North East England where most of the comic strips in the humour-based Viz comic are set. From the accents used and the cultural references, it is presumed that Fulchester is either close to, or based upon, Newcastle upon Tyne. The name was taken from the British...
would typically be played out over three afternoons in half-hour episodes and the most frequent format was for the prosecution case to be presented in the first two episodes and the defence in the third, although there were some later, brief variations. Although those involved in the case were actors, the jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
was made up of members of the general public from the local Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
area taken from the electoral register
Electoral register
The electoral roll is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The register facilitates the process of voting, helps to prevent fraud and may also be used to select people for jury duty...
and eligible for real jury service: it was this jury alone which decided the verdict. Indeed, production publicity of the time stated that, for many of the scripts, two endings were written and rehearsed to cope with the jury's independent decision which was delivered for the first time, as in a real court case, when the foreman was asked by the actor playing the judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, while the programme's recording progressed. However, the course of some cases would lead the jury being directed to return "not guilty" verdict
Verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. The term, from the Latin veredictum, literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman: a compound of ver and dit In law, a verdict...
s.
Unlike some other legal dramas the cases in Crown Court were presented from a relatively neutral point of view rather from the perspective of any particular party and the action was confined to the courtroom itself with occasional brief glimpses of waiting areas outside the courtroom. The stories featured a wide variety of criminal charges and also some civil cases such as libel, insurance
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions...
or copyright
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
claims.
The first story to be transmitted was "Lieberman vs. Savage" from 18 to 20 October 1972. Unusually this was a civil case, whereas the vast majority of subsequent instalments featured criminal trials with an occasional libel dispute providing a civil exception. There was an untransmitted pilot or experimental episode called "Doctor's Neglect?" which was eventually broadcast as part of a repeat run on satellite channel Legal TV over thirty years later. Like the first transmission this was a civil case - in this instance of negligence. The pilot story differs in style in some important respects. Most notably it featured informal conversations between the barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s in their quarters as well as them giving advice to clients. Neither aspect figured in broadcast episodes which strictly confined legal discussions to the courtroom. David Ashford, a regular in the programme's early stages as barrister Charles Lotterby, played a barrister called Derek Jones. Actors Ernest Hare
Ernest Hare
Ernest Dudley Hare was an English stage and film actor.- References :*...
and David Neal
David Neal
David Neal was a popular British television actor, active in the 1960s, 1970, 1980s, and 1990s. He is chiefly remembered for a prolific range of supporting roles in major productions....
made their only appearances as a judge and barrister respectively.
This was not the only example of untransmitted stories. In February 1974 the scheduled "Traffic Warden's Daughter" was replaced by "The Getaway". In 1979 "Heart To Heart", intended for transmission from 15—17 April, was replaced by a repeat of "A Ladies' Man" (originally broadcast 15—17 February 1977). Although neither was ever broadcast on terrestrial TV they both received airings on Legal TV. "Doctor's Neglect?" and "Traffic Warden's Daughter" have since been released on DVD.
There were some subtle changes in presentation in the early years. In the first year or so stories often opened with photographs of key figures or incidents around the alleged offence over which the "court reporter" would narrate the background to the case. In other instances there were filmed sequences but these were without dialogue and rarely showed the alleged offence. They were phased out a little earlier than the photos. Thereafter the action would immediately start in the courtroom.
Although the standard format was stories with three episodes each lasting twenty-five minutes there were occasional variations. In 1973 there were two stories lasting just one and two episodes respectively. The Christmas "special" mentioned above lasted fifty-two minutes. In July and August 1975 a number of stories were presented in single extended episodes at 8.15pm on Saturdays - a prime time scheduling. They occupied a slot of seventy-five minutes with just over one hour for the story on-screen after adverts were taken into account. This was a brief interlude and the programme reverted to its standard format and daytime location thereafter.
The series was occasionally humorous and was even capable of self-parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. On 27 December 1973 an hour-long self-contained episode "Murder Most Foul" had a distinctly light-hearted theme and even featured special Christmas-styled titles and music. The 1977 story An Upward Fall, written by absurdist
Absurdist fiction
Absurdist fiction is a genre of literature, most often employed in novels, plays or poems, that focuses on the experiences of characters in a situation where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life, most often represented by ultimately meaningless actions and events...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
N. F. Simpson
N. F. Simpson
Norman Frederick Simpson was an English playwright closely associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. To his friends he was known as Wally Simpson, in comic reference to the abdication crisis of 1936.-Early years:...
, was played for laughs. In this bizarre case, an old people's home was built atop a cliff some 3000 feet (914.4 m) high but had its only lavatories located at the foot of the cliff.
Regulars included William Mervyn
William Mervyn
William Mervyn was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the Bishop in the clerical comedy All Gas and Gaiters.-Life and career:...
, John Barron
John Barron (actor)
John Barron was an English actor.-Biography:Born in Marylebone, London, Barron was interested in acting from an early age. For his 18th birthday his godfather paid his entry fee to RADA. After serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, he returned to stage acting...
, John Horsley
John Horsley (actor)
John L. Horsley is an English actor. He was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England.He made his acting debut at the Theatre Royal in Bournemouth. His early career saw him playing a succession of doctors and policemen, the former on film in Hell Drivers , the latter on television in Big...
, Edward Jewesbury, Richard Warner, Basil Dignam
Basil Dignam
Basil Dignam was an English character actor.Basil Dignam, a native of Sheffield, acted on film and television between 1951 and 1975. He often appeared as an authority figure, such as a police officer, army general or peer....
, Laurence Hardy, Frank Middlemass
Frank Middlemass
Francis George Middlemass was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Algy Herries in To Serve Them All My Days and Dr. Alex Ferrenby in Heartbeat...
, and Basil Henson
Basil Henson
Basil Henson was a British actor. Henson had a lengthy career on stage and television. His stage performances included a number of parts in Shakespeare productions, including once opposite Dustin Hoffman...
as judges, John Alkin
John Alkin
John Alkin was a British actor turned spiritual healer.Alkin is best remembered for 2 roles, namely that of DS Tom Daniels in The Sweeney, and as barrister Barry Deeley in the long running daytime TV Drama Crown Court...
, David Ashford, Keith Barron
Keith Barron
Keith Barron is an English actor and television presenter, well-known from numerous roles on British television from the 1960s to the present day.-Career:...
, Jonathan Elsom, Bernard Gallagher
Bernard Gallagher
Bernard Gallagher is a British actor known for appearances in television soap operas and dramas. He was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire.Gallagher has appeared in many television series including Crown Court, Heartbeat, The thin blue line and Casualty.- External links :...
, Peter Jeffrey
Peter Jeffrey
Peter Jeffrey was a British actor with many roles in television and film.Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence Alice and Arthur Winfred Gilbert Jeffrey. He was educated at Harrow School and Pembroke College, Cambridge but had no formal training as an actor...
, Charles Keating
Charles Keating (actor)
Charles Keating is a British actor of stage, screen, and television, and narrator of audiobooks.Of Irish Catholic extraction, Keating was born on October 22, 1941 in London, England, the son of Charles James Keating and Margaret Shevlin...
, Maureen Lipman
Maureen Lipman
Maureen Diane Lipman CBE is a British film, theatre and television actress, columnist and comedienne.-Early life:Lipman was born in Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the...
, T. P. McKenna
T. P. McKenna
Thomas Patrick McKenna , known professionally as T. P. McKenna, was an Irish actor who worked on stage, in film and television in Ireland and the UK from the 1950s.- Film and television :...
, Dorothy Vernon, Richard Wilson and William Simons
William Simons
William Simons is a Welsh actor, born in Swansea on 17 November 1940.He started acting as a child. But, he is best known for his role as Yorkshireman PC Alf Ventress in Heartbeat, a part he played for its entire 18-year run....
were among the most common faces as barristers.
Future famous names to appear on the show included Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron is an English stage, film and television actress and author.-Early life and family:Bron was born in 1938 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin...
, Warren Clarke
Warren Clarke
-Biography:Clarke was born in Oldham, Lancashire. His first television appearance was in the long running Granada soap opera Coronation Street, initially as Kenny Pickup in 1966 and then as Gary Bailey in 1968. His first major film appearance was in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork...
, Tom Conti
Tom Conti
Thomas "Tom" Conti is a Scottish actor, theatre director and novelist.-Early life:Born Thomas Conti in Paisley, Renfrewshire, he was brought up Roman Catholic, but he considers himself anti-religious...
, Brian Cox, Philip Bond
Philip Bond (actor)
Philip Bond is a British actor best known for playing Albert Frazer in 24 episodes of the 1970s BBC nautical drama The Onedin Line....
, Michael Elphick
Michael Elphick
Michael John Elphick was an English actor. Elphick was known in the UK for his trademark croaky voice and his work on British television, in particular his roles as the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and later Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders.Robust and ruggedly good-looking...
, Sheila Fearn
Sheila Fearn
Sheila Fearn is a British actress best known for playing Audrey, the sister of Terry Collier in BBC situation comedies The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, and also later on as Ann Fourmile, the next door neighbour in the Thames Television sitcom George and Mildred.On film...
, Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
, Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...
, Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
, Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
, Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff...
, Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Early life:Fisher was born in Glasgow and following the death of his parents was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School...
, Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, Ian Marter
Ian Marter
Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
, Mark McManus
Mark McManus
Mark McManus was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running ITV television series Taggart for eleven years until his death.-Career:...
, Vivien Merchant
Vivien Merchant
Vivien Merchant was a British actress.-Career:Merchant performed in many stage productions and several films, including Alfie and Frenzy...
, Mary Miller
Mary Miller (actress)
Mary Elizabeth Miller is an English television and theatrical actress, known for being a founding member of the National Theatre in 1963, and for her portrayal of Angela Dunwoody QC in ten episodes of the 1970s UK TV series Crown Court.-Early years:Mary Miller first appeared on television in 1959...
, Geraldine Newman
Geraldine Newman
Geraldine Newman is an English film and television actress who has acted in more than 30 television programmes and films.Her most notable television performance was on the sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles.-Biography:...
, Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt is a BAFTA-nominated English theatre, film and television actress who began her career on stage in 1954.-Life and work:...
, Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
, Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis, OBE is an English actor and entertainer, well-known for his work on British television. Although he was born and brought up in London, his two most notable roles require him to adopt the accents and mannerisms of a Northerner.Sallis is best known for his role as the main character...
, Michael Sheard
Michael Sheard
Michael Sheard was a Scottish actor who featured in a large number of films and television programmes.-Early life:...
, Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
, Mary Wimbush
Mary Wimbush
Mary Wimbush was an English actress, whose career spanned sixty years from the 1940s to the 2000s...
and Mark Wing-Davey
Mark Wing-Davey
Mark Wing-Davey is a British actor and director.-Early life and career:The son of actor and actress Peter Davey and Anna Wing, Wing-Davey went to school at Woolverstone Hall School, before studying at Cambridge University where he was a member of the Footlights from 1967 to 1970.He had a featured...
.
Its writers included Ian Curteis
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis is a British television dramatist and former television director.In a career as a television dramatist from the late 1960s onwards, Curteis wrote for many of the series of the day, including The Onedin Line and Crown Court. In 1979, two television plays by Curteis were...
, David Fisher
David Fisher (writer)
David Fisher is a British professional writer for television. He was born in 1929.He wrote the scripts for four serials of Doctor Who. He first contributed The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara during that show's sixteenth season, and The Creature from the Pit for the seventeenth season...
, Peter Wildeblood
Peter Wildeblood
Peter Wildeblood was a British-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright, and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK to publicly declare his homosexuality.-Career:...
, John Godber
John Godber
John Harry Godber is an English dramatist, known mainly for his observational comedies. In the 'Plays and Players Yearbook' for 1993 he was calculated as the third most performed playwright in the UK behind William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. He has a wife and 2 children.-Biography:Godber was...
, Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
, N. F. Simpson
N. F. Simpson
Norman Frederick Simpson was an English playwright closely associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. To his friends he was known as Wally Simpson, in comic reference to the abdication crisis of 1936.-Early years:...
and Jeremy Sandford
Jeremy Sandford
Jeremy Sandford was an English television screenwriter who came to prominence in 1966 with Cathy Come Home, his controversial entry in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand which was directed by Ken Loach...
.
Production and archive details
- Although the (non-speaking) jury members were members of the general public, the foreman of the jury would have a small speaking role to deliver their verdict. For this reason the part of the foreman had to be played by a professional actor to stay within the rules imposed on Granada by the actors' union EquityBritish Actors' Equity AssociationEquity is the trade union for actors, stage managers and models in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1930 by a group of West End performers....
. - All episodes of a story would be recorded on the same day.
- The show was recorded in studio two, the largest studio at Granada Television; Crown Court shared the studio with University ChallengeUniversity ChallengeUniversity Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
. Courtroom scenes in an episode of the situation comedySituation comedyA situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Nearest and DearestNearest and DearestNearest and Dearest is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 46 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome and 28 in colour...
, "A Pair Of Bloomers" (transmitted on 20 July 1972) were filmed using the Crown Court set; indeed, actor Malcolm HebdenMalcolm HebdenMalcolm Hebden is an English television and stage actor best known for his role as Norris Cole in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...
played a court clerk in this episode as well as in several early episodes of Crown Court. - In an effort to make the replica court room appear as realistic as possible to the 'jury', each episode was recorded as being 'live', with retakes kept to an absolute minimum. The camerasEMI 2001The EMI 2001 Broadcast studio camera was an early, very successful British made Plumbicon studio camera that included the lens within the body of the camera. Four 30mm tubes allowed one tube to be dedicated solely to producing a relatively high resolution monochrome signal, with the other three...
(which at the time of production were large and cumbersome and required an operator to be present) were placed at strategic points and largely kept static, thus reducing any possible distraction caused by production requirements. - The jury were given only 30 minutes to reach their verdict.
- Episodes included a brief voice-over narration at the beginning either to introduce the context of the case (for the first episode of a story) or to summarise the events of the case so far (for the later episodes of a story).
- Early episodes of the series took the case name as the episode title, e.g. "Lieberman v Savage" (transmitted 18—20 October 1972) and "ReginaQueen regnantA queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
v Lord" (25—27 October 1972). After the first eight cases, a short description of the issues in the case was added to the episode titles, such as "Criminal Libel: Regina v Maitland" (27—29 December 1972) and "A Public Mischief: Regina v Baker And Crawley" (31 January—2 February 1973). This style persisted until "Regina v Marlow: Freakout" (7—9 March 1973); following these episodes the case title was dropped and episode titles became purely descriptive and remained so until the show ended in 1984. - All episodes of Crown Court exist in PAL colourPALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
as originally transmitted, including the postponed "Heart To Heart". - The closing theme tune is entitled "Distant Hills" - the presumed view of a prisoner. "Distant Hills" was the B-side of the 1973 UK number 1 hit by the Simon Park OrchestraSimon Park OrchestraThe Simon Park Orchestra is a group which is most notable for producing the instrumental, "Eye Level", which spent four weeks at the number one position in the UK Singles Chart in September 1973. Simon Park was born in March 1946 in Market Harborough, England...
, "Eye Level" which was the theme tune to the Amsterdam-based detective series "Van der Valk". - The programme's distinctive opening theme was the opening bars of the Fourth Movement (Allegretto) of Sinfonietta Sinfonietta (Janácek)The Sinfonietta is a very expressive and festive, late work for large orchestra by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček...
by Leoš JanáčekLeoš JanácekLeoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
. - Joan HicksonJoan HicksonJoan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
, later to be well known for her portrayal of Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Miss MarpleMiss Marple (TV series)Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It starred Joan Hickson in the title role, and aired from 1984 to 1992. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels have been dramatised. The screenplays were written by T. R...
, appeared as the defendant in a story written by another of the 'Queens of Crime', Ngaio MarshNgaio MarshDame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
. - Robin BaileyRobin BaileyRobin Bailey was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.Although often chosen for upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Judge Graves in Thames Television's Rumpole Of The Bailey, Bailey is perhaps most fondly remembered for his portrayal of Uncle Mort in I Didn't Know...
and Peter BlythePeter BlythePeter Blythe was a British character actor, best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard on Rumpole of the Bailey.-Early life:...
played judges and barristers respectively in both Crown Court and Rumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
Repeats and commercial availability
- Legal TV and UK Satellite channel Red TVRED TVRED TV may refer to:*Red TV, a UK-based television channel*Red Televisión, a Chilean television channel...
showed episodes from the series until December 2008 when Red TVRED TVRED TV may refer to:*Red TV, a UK-based television channel*Red Televisión, a Chilean television channel...
rebranded itself from an entertainment channel to a music channel. - Satellite channel Granada PlusGranada PlusPlus was a digital channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. It was launched on 1 October 1996 under the original name of Granada Plus, and during its availability it underwent successive rebrands as G Plus, G+ and then simply Plus. However, it remained widely referred to by the public at large by...
repeated a number of episodes in the mid-1990s. - Despite the almost full archive of broadcast quality episodes the series has never been repeated on ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
since the late 1980s. - The story "The Eleventh Commandment" was included as an extra on Network DVD's 2007 release of The SandbaggersThe SandbaggersThe Sandbaggers is a British television drama series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. Set contemporaneously with its original broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980, The Sandbaggers examines the effect of the espionage game on the personal and professional lives of British and...
Series 3 as it featured lead actor Roy MarsdenRoy MarsdenRoy Marsden is an English actor, who is probably best known for his portrayal of Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations of P. D. James's detective novels.- Education :...
in a role. - Similarly the Network DVD release of The XYY ManThe XYY ManThe XYY Man began life as a series of novels by Kenneth Royce, featuring the character of William 'Spider' Scott, a one-time cat-burglar who leaves prison aiming to go straight but finds his talents still to be very much in demand by both the criminal underworld and the British secret service...
included the Crown Court story "An Evil Influence" (15—17 October 1975) as an extra feature; Stephen YardleyStephen YardleyStephen Yardley is an English actor, known for his work on British television between 1965 and 2004.Best known for his role as Ken Masters in the British TV drama Howards' Way , Yardley most recently appeared in the British TV comedy Hex .He made early appearances on TV in the 1960s, in series...
, star of The XYY Man, plays the role of Dr Thanet, a libel plaintiffPlaintiffA plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
in the Crown Court. - Six volumes of stories have been released by Network DVD. These are in production order and currently include all those broadcast from the programme's inception to February 1974. The two instalments not broadcast by ITV are also included.