There's six 93 minute long episodes in the 3nd Series and they aired in October and November of 1983. That was almost three years after the December 1980 movie Rumpole's Return and just over 4 years since Series 2 came and went. Rumpole has his days in court and there's a nice variety of criminals to defend. In the first story Rumpole's Head Of Chambers has been appointed a judge. Rumpole's art forgery case comes up before him. That had a lot of interesting characters in it. Next Rumpole's off to Central Africa to defend a government official of killing a clergyman. The official wanted Rumpole, he knew him from College, but he's underestimated the barrister and he pays the ultimate price for his stupidity.
In the third story a nice old couple is busted for running a brothel that catered to the gentry. Then they get charged for blackmail. Rumpole discovers a secret plot going on and exposes the real villain. Someone's framed and grassed up one of the Timson men in the fourth episode. They're a family of criminals that were introduced in the first episode. Rumpole finds the real criminal and in a separate story element he works to get Fiona, a woman lawyer, admitted to Chambers. In the story after that he reluctantly agrees to defend Fiona's sister in the shooting death of her husband. Rumpole's wife Hilda, whom Rumpole calls She Who Must Be Obeyed, wants to move to the countryside but Rumpole manages to talk her out of it. In the last episode Rumpole fakes his own death to collect a debt from a shifty solicitor and then he comes back from the dead to defend a man who runs a vacation service.
The stories are a nice mix of drama and humor and the former doesn't dominate. Rumpole makes snarky comments, both aloud and in his head, about things going on around him and that makes me laugh. There's a bit of social commentary about life, politics and the work place but it's not preachy. The plot moves along nicely and there's usually something happening to keep my interest. I can see why the show was so popular. I'm going to have the library send more Rumpole my way.
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