1978 comedy anthology, consisting of Mortimer's adaptations of his own
scripts from the first season of the television series. Rumpole is an
ageing barrister who somehow prevails over everything life can throw
at him.
Oh dear. I think maybe I should just stop reading classic comedy,
because I just can't make the necessary disconnection between
characters intended to be comic figures and characters intended to be
people. Rumpole and his wife ("She Who Must Be Obeyed", har har har)
clearly despise each other and have entirely different goals in life,
and neither of them ever makes any serious effort either to improve
their relationship or to sever it. Rumpole is always on the edge of
retirement, but can't quite bring himself to take the step that would
break the routine of catty arguments in Chambers, occasional court
appearances, and daily after-work boozing that's the only thing he
knows. He complains about his poverty, but won't exert himself to earn
more, and despises those of his colleagues who do. Everybody else
expresses themselves in terms of opposition to Rumpole, not from any
sort of principle, but simply because everyone has to be opposed to
him. I just don't like anyone here, and my feelings rarely even rise
to the level of dislike. So it goes.
"Rumpole and the Younger Generation": Rumpole's son Nick watches while
his father defends the criminal offspring of a criminal family.
(Though maybe be didn't do the specific thing he's been accused of
this time; a recurring theme in these stories is that everyone except
Rumpole is ready to assume that someone with a criminal reputation
must be guilty and there's no point even fighting in court, while
Rumpole insists on giving everyone the best possible defence.)
"Rumpole and the Alternative Society": Rumpole goes to a seaside town
to defend a commune dweller who's perhaps been entrapped into a drugs
offence (back when that was a thing anyone cared about). He stays with
some old friends who now run a pub, but even his own polite lechery
over his client is outdone by his host, and his client sabotages her
own case. Very dispiriting.
"Rumpole and the Honourable Member" sees Rumpole defending an MP
accused of raping one of his party workers. Nobody denies that the act
took place, but "he thought she was consenting" is regarded as a valid
defence, and the rest of it is Rumpole bringing up the victim's past
relationships in an attempt to paint her as unreliable and prone to
fantasy. Horrid. (Even Rumpole's son chooses to go to America rather
than share a country with the man, which suggests Mortimer had some
slight awareness of what he was writing.)
"Rumpole and the Married Lady" is a divorce case, which leaves me
feeling thoroughly glad that this sort of thing no longer has to be
argued out in public. (Also Hilda briefly leaves Rumpole, but of
course she's back by the end.)
"Rumpole and the Learned Friends" has Rumpole defending a safeblower,
mostly because he doesn't believe such an experienced man would have
made the mistake that's at the core of the police evidence. As usual
nobody except Rumpole regards the defence as being worth any effort,
and he ends up in minor trouble himself after the lengths he's gone
to. Of course it all works out all right in the end.
But that and the reputational boost he gets from it make a poor fit
with "Rumpole and the Heavy Brigade", in which Rumpole is chosen to
defend a fictional version of a Kray Twin, and does so successfully…
only to learn that he was picked specifically because he's an old hack
who was bound to lose. (But Hilda does some emotional support and
everything's all right again.)
I like the court sequences, but my goodness these are sad dreary
people. Approximately everyone who isn't me regards this as a
masterpiece of comedy, so you probably shouldn't take my word for it.