"Crown Court" (1972) TV series 1972-1984

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Writer:

John Foster (9 episodes)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | unknown

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Courtroom drama - each case takes three episodes. At the end of the third episode a jury of "ordinary people" comes to a verdict on the evidence presented.

Cast

Peter Wheeler	...	Court Reporter / ... (239 episodes, 1972-1984)
Joseph Berry	...	Court Usher / ... (129 episodes, 1972-1979)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

The theme tune to the show was "Distant Hills". It was released as the B side to Simon Park Orchestra's UK Number 1 single "Eye Level".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Screenwipe: (#3.3)" (2007)

And The Verdict Is...

Daytime television in the U.K. didn't used to be about make over shows, 'Loose Women', and confrontational programmes of the 'Jeremy Kyle' variety. Back in the '70's, we had 'Crown Court', a series of intelligently written courtroom dramas, starring the cream of Britain's acting talent. The secret of the show's success lay in its simplicity; we rarely saw what was going on in the outside world, all we knew of the respective cases was what we heard from the witnesses, and that was enough. The jury was chosen from members of the public, who'd then deliver a verdict based on the evidence. Perhaps the most disturbing case was 'Destruct, Destruct' in which a sci-fi obsessed juvenile suffocates a boy with a plastic bag. Every time the camera focused on the accused, we'd be privy to his thought processes, which consisted of weird electronic noises. In 1976, Granada revamped 'Crown Court', putting it out on Saturday nights in hour-long shows. It didn't work, however, and soon returned to its natural habitat.