Skip to content
The Trial is a new one-off drama for Channel 5, which opens with the explanatory text:
if unable to show a stable and healthy environment, when raising their child”.
Well, GOOD! It all starts with the parents, so if the little shits play up, lock ’em ALL up!
In the dock are pater and mate, David (Ben Miles – Douglas Is Cancelled) and Dione Sinclair (Claire Skinner – Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy), who understandably want to see their daughter, Teah (India Fowler – Man Vs Bee), but are refused, and have to sit through the indignity of some extensity questioning.
In fact, this process is so intrusive, that the couple even have to go through their first meeting at University! Then again, David has his date of birth listed in 1979, but IMDB states Ben Miles was born in 1966. 1979 makes him younger than me! PAH!
However, the more this segment went on – as they’re quizzed by Inquisitor Willis (Saoirse-Monica Jackson – The Flash), the more I did find I was starting to drift, as a ton of further personal points are put forward about the parents’ lives, seemingly going nowhere, and it started to feel like it was taking forever to get to the point.
With 12 minutes left – and just before the last ad break – it did finally get there, actually telling us what Teah was accused of, but I felt this really should’ve revealed its hand much earlier, and then let THAT play out. I’ll avoid spoilers, here, but when you watch it, you may get the same feeling.
However, if we’re to go ahead with the pacing as it is – and I can understand them wanting to go down that route, then two episodes would’ve been better, since now, it feels like one of those situations on Motorway Cops, where someone’s caught, they’re “Summoned to Court”… but you’ll NEVER know how that turns out.
Interestingly, though, the opening music to The Trial does have a vibe of Indiana Jones, when he’s having one of his curious moments.
Thanks to our friends at Channel 5 for the screener.
The Trial is not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
If you missed it, you can watch it again on My5.
Director: Michael Samuels
Producers: Richelle Wilder, Isibéal Ballance
Writer/Creator: Mark Burt
Cast:
David Sinclair: Ben Miles
Dione Sinclair: Claire Skinner
Inquisitor Willis: Saoirse-Monica Jackson
Teah Sinclair: India Fowler
Lt Simons: Jaz Hutchins
Voice of Young Teah: Edie Clark, Coralie Clark
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.