4/5 Always left hanging
  by God loves a terrier
The acting is outstanding. The stories are gritty and true to life. Most aspects of this series are excellent. The constant use of split screen technique...not so much. It becomes distracting and does little to enhance story telling. What hurts this series most are the endings. We are left waiting for some sort of an answer at the end of each and every episode, instead we're left watching that black screen with the credits rolling. Note to Lynda LaPlante "A little payoff for the audience please, after all the emotional investment in the well drawn characters we want some retribution".

5/5 A treat to see
  by Audrey Cunning (Citrus Heights, CA)
This series of shows is another example of good and gritty British TV. The acting is excellent and the series follows the career of DCI Walker. One thing I really like = is this a good cop, or a bad one - the series shows both sides of his character. At the beginning of the series the first half of the show is given over to catching the killer and the second half of the show is the trial. Will, he or she, be found guilty. This is not so obvious in the 3rd series, where there may be a trial or not. I hope that we will see a series 4 and 5 (I believe they are available on European format, but not yet ready for US release). A good series which I suggest you begin at the beginning and go through since this will give you a sense of the characters and their place in the story line. I recommend you buy it. If you are a fan of WIRE IN THE BLOOD, ETC. you will enjoy this show.

4/5 Forensic Buff
  by Sharon K. Bush (St. Louis Mo)
This is really a who-dun-it mysteries. You don't know until the end. It is a subtle, disturbing sometimes but good acting.

4/5 Good series
  by Sandra Pollock
Good series, not up to MI 5 or some British others but worth watching. Superior to most US tv series.

3/5 Just a bit too dark for me
  by Song & story lover (Midwest, USA)
I really appreciate the review here given by Donegal Dan, as he mentions the grim and grisly nature of crimes investigated in this series. With La Plante's writing, this series has been compared to Prime Suspect. And there definitely are many commonalities between the two series. Yet, where they differ is the reason for my dropping a couple of stars from my rating (certainly not due to the direction or casting, both of which are excellent). No, what Prime Suspect has that Trial and Retribution does not is Helen Mirren, who manages to bring such humanity to her character. And, by this I mean, not only the human impact of dealing with the sordid and disturbing elements of crime, but Helen Mirren's capacity to bring to whatever she does a fully 3-dimensional character. That is missing in T&R -- La Plante offers us no real depth in the lead characters we're spending all this time with in T&R -- and the series is poorer for it.

It would help this series enormously were there some brighter lighting on the sets. Spending an entire episode in the dimly or starkly lit rooms where most of the interpersonal 'action' takes place simply underscores that we're visiting a very dark layer of human society. I realize that this is the point, but for a viewer, it can leave you feeling, "Why did I subject myself to that for the past two hours when I could be uplifted by watching something with Helen Mirren Judi Dench instead?" My point about the lighting is that there is no relief anywhere -- and, since most of us are not studying to become criminalists but are looking for a captivating viewing experience, the dark feel and look of these episodes can feel overbearing.

Yes, this series is a solid production with many strong elements. But it does leave a foul taste when the story is done (or as Donegal Dan put it), it can 'turn your stomach.' Indeed, yes. I won't be continuing with Season 2 -- I've had quite enough, thank you.