Law and Order (1976)

Starring: Darren McGavin, Keir Dullea, Robert Reed

Not to be confused with the long-running American TV series of the same name, Law and Order was a four-part British miniseries, created by popular crime novelist G.F. Newman. Focusing on a small handful of criminal cases, Newman and director Les Potter illustrated the workings of a metropolitan police and judicial system as seen through the eyes of a detective, a crook, a lawyer, and a police officer. In demonstrating how crime and punishment tended to feed off each other, and how the cops weren't all that different from the bad guys in terms of technique and methodology, Newman stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy, resulting in a large public outcry and shouts of condemnation and accusation from the House of Commons. Perhaps in consequence, Law and Order had remained steadfastly in the vaults of BBC2 since its one-and-only TV run in 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide