The folks out at A&E have sent me a little dose of history in the form of the complete megaset of Rumpole of the Bailey, a little dose of British legal drama with some comedy tossed in for variety. And the experience is something of a surprise–subdued, but still pretty entertaining owing almost completely to Leo McKern’s thoroughly masterful work.

Rumpole of the Bailey follows Horace Rumpole, a master barrister, who humbly calls himself an “Old Bailey Hack”, who finds himself defending a host of England’s criminal elements against the various accusations of the law. There will be a host of cases here, fully forty episodes, about fifty minutes each, give or take. And even more, it won’t be just courtroom issues here as we also get to see some of Horace Rumpole’s family life, which is also somewhat compelling in his own way.

Horace Rumpole is himself a master character in a decent character drama: he refers to his wife as “She Who Must Be Obeyed”. He dotes on his son, sharing a drink with him after hours and discussing a case. He is, completely, a believable and likable character. And with a great character like Horace Rumpole serving as the engine of Rumpole of the Bailey, it’s not so hard to believe that this would be a potent and refreshing drama. Even better, Rumpole himself is sufficiently competent that you expect him to win without being so plot-skewingly competent that you believe he ever has a chance to fail. He could, at any time lose a case, but you can safely figure he won’t. That careful mix of competence and real-world skill lends an extra note of authenticity here, even in the midst of something so authentic as a courtroom drama.

Before there was Law and Order, before there was L.A. Law, there was a great crime drama going on in England. And though sometimes, Rumpole of the Bailey can prove a bit dry and a little too British to be easily followed by Americans of the latter era, it’s still an exciting bit of television history that will be fun to watch, and that’s a bit of a rarity.

The Screenhead Ten Scale hands this reasonably worthwhile legal drama a seven out of ten for being solid, though not without some flaws. If you want to see what the Brits were watching on television way back when, then check out a copy of Rumpole of the Bailey.