The Trials of Jimmy Rose is the kind of frustrating television that leaves me shouting at the people in it for making such terrible decisions.
Jimmy (Ray Winstone) is frustratingly stubborn and, in spite of having had the living crap kicked out of him, seems to struggle mightily to learn anything from his experience.
Somehow still employed – but probably not for long – in a DIY shop, Jimmy continues to work in his own special way to help free his granddaughter Ellie of the drugs and criminal danger she finds herself in.
Meanwhile, we learn that Jackie (Amanda Redman) had an affair while Jimmy was in prison, with a sympathetic police detective named Steve. Jimmy takes it about as well as one might expect. It’s hard to blame her for the affair, and I don’t think we’re meant to; indeed, she still comes out of the revelation seeming almost too virtuous, in spite of everything.
By the episode’s end, Jimmy finds himself descending into doing crime again, in order to absolve his granddaughter of her debts, and hopefully not let her boyfriend get the snot kicked out of him again, thanks to Mister Meddling Granddad Who Should Probably Think Harder About The Consequences Of His Decisions Before Bumbling In Like An Angry Idiot. I don’t know whether this will end well for anyone or not, but I suspect the latter.
I’m struggling to put my finger on exactly what’s not brilliant about this show, as it boasts a great cast. The trouble for me is that it’s that sort of Very Serious Drama that feels like watching a bunch of actors acting being emotional very well, rather than feeling like watching people having emotions. It feels like the kind of slightly awkwardly-written theatre where you can see one actor speaking and the other waiting for the right beat to deliver their line, rather than feeling like a natural conversation.
The best thing about it was the puppies.
Aired at 9pm on Sunday 6 September 2015 on ITV.
> Buy The Trials of Jimmy Rose on DVD on Amazon.
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