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Martin Shaw’s Judge John Deed is proving to be a reliable ratings winner for the BBC. And it’s not too tricky to see why.

The set-up is simple. Shaw’s title character is a senior, experienced Judge who presides over an assortment of cases in his court room. Behind the scenes though, he’s a crusader of sorts, battling it out with the establishment, right through to members of the Cabinet. Deed is a man, of course, who’s not averse to a few problems of his own in his private life, not least with the opposite sex, and when you mix all of these factors together, it seems like a good, solid, reliable cocktail for an hour of drama.

What lifts it above that though is Shaw’s superb performance as Judge John Deed. To be fair, he’s given some questionably far-fetched material to work with across the duration of this second series (all the episodes of which are collected on this double DVD set), but he nonetheless remains magnetic when he hits his stride, and Judge John Deed as a result is rightly enjoying its fair share of success.

You won’t always agree with Judge John Deed, and at times, you’re likely to find yourself outright perplexed. But never, ever, less than entertained. Recommended. --Jon Foster