Rumpole of the Bailey (TV Series 1978–1992) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The cases of a portly and eccentric criminal law barrister. Stars: When Rumpole is charged by Judge Oliphant with contempt of court and faces disbarment, Hilda persuades Sam Ballard to defend him. 8.9 After becoming enamored of a beautiful violinist, Rumpole finds himself defending her husband on a charge of murdering her lover. 8.7 Rumpole agrees to defend an elitist restaurateur whom he dislikes when a live mouse jumps out from one of his gourmet meals.

8.6 a list of 40 titles created 25 Jan 2012 a list of 25 titles created 26 Jan 2012 a list of 39 titles created 16 Apr 2012 a list of 31 titles created 20 Jun 2014 a list of 3739 titles created 15 Oct 2014 Title: Rumpole of the Bailey (1978–1992) 8.5/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 8 nominations. See more awards » Photos Lovejoy is an irresistible rogue with a keen eye for antiques. The part-time detective scours the murky salerooms, auction halls and stately homes of Britain, always on the lookout for a find. Stars: Ian McShane, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury Audrey fforbes-Hamilton is sad when her husband dies but is shocked when she realises that she has to leave Grantleigh Manor where her family has lived forever.

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See full summary » Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Pauline Yates, John Barron A rather naive, middle-class man is admitted to a hospital ward and finds that he is sharing it with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. All three of them cause headaches for the hospital staff. Stars: James Bolam, Peter Bowles, Christopher Strauli Jacko is a house painter who "appreciates" women, he sees the best in each one of them and they in turn, like him. Will he find true love ? Will he settle down as he gets older ? Stars: Karl Howman, Mike Walling, Jackie Lye Edit Storyline Horace Rumpole is an "Old Bailey Hack," one of the underpaid barristers who ply the courtrooms of the Old Bailey, London's criminal court. Rumpole refused to handle most suits and will never prosecute. He always defends. Each of his trials has both a victory and a defeat in them, his clients who are acquitted often angrier than those who are found guilty. There is always at least one and often two subplots.

Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net> 12 February 1980 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Rumpole von Old Bailey See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Although it may seem like dubious practice to replace Samantha Bond with Leo's daughter, Abigail McKern in the part of Miss Liz Probert, she only appears in three episodes in her first series; Series 5. She then becomes a regular. (Note also that Rumpole may have had a thing for Probert...) See more » Quotes "Soapy" Sam Ballard : Rumpole as a client! God give me strength! Hilda Rumpole : Oh, don't worry, Sam. If God doesn't, I certainly will. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury 7 April 2006 | by hgallon (Derbyshire, UK) – See all my reviews It is hard to know who deserves the most credit for this courtroom series; author John Mortimer QC (a noted barrister himself), or actor Leo McKern.

Obviously, the series was written with the benefit of intimate knowledge of the English legal system, but almost every branch of it is portrayed very unflatteringly. Most Barristers are shown as smug and pompous, fencing with each other in Latin phrases while the defendant and jury look baffled; policemen are bent, solicitors are shady and judges are either more concerned with barristers' correct dress rather than the evidence, or sadistic and bigoted. The seamier side of the profession is also shown; with prestigious barristers having to work from poky "chambers", at the mercy of clerks for their work ("briefs") and undervalued secretaries for their paperwork. In such a world, a weary and introspective character such as Rumpole dominates the scene. McKern's booming delivery and range of facial expressions make this all too easy. The language is a delight, as Rumpole quotes Browning, Tennyson, Shakespeare at will. Some of the most hilarious scenes occur as lawyers take on their clients' personas and start arguing their cases with each other in the first person, in bars or restaurants.

Rumpole's home life with wife Hilda, "She who must be obeyed", is also shown as quite a caricature, as Hilda Rumpole is portrayed as having few interests beyond her husband's lowly position in the pecking order, and household cleaning agents. Any one of the episodes makes good viewing. 20 of 22 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes About Rumpole of the Bailey | Rumpole of the Bailey | Drama Channel Rumpole of the Bailey About Rumpole of the Bailey Middle-aged barrister Horace Rumpole works at the Old Bailey and isn’t your average legal eagle. No matter what the case, he always takes the side of the defence, fighting for the underdog and getting them (and sometimes the guilty) off scot-free. Find out more about this classic courtroom drama, created by John Mortimer... Tweet Courtroom drama Rumpole of the Bailey began life as a one-off Play for Today on BBC One. Created and written by real-life barrister John Mortimer it hit its mark instantly, with great writing and Leo Mckern’s terrific performance combining to create a TV classic.

But its origins can be traced further back to Mortimer’s 1968 Wednesday Play ‘Infidelity Took Place’ featuring John Nettleton as a divorce Lawyer. Bold move The character of Rumpole was originally called Horace Rumbold, but it was changed when it was realised there was a real barrister with that name. Paddington Rumpole Michael Horden was originally Mortimer’s choice for the role, but he wasn’t free when the filming was scheduled. At first resistant to the casting of Australian-born Leo McKern, Mortimer changed his mind when he saw the actor in rehearsals. Changing sides Broadcast in December 1975, it was a critical hit, but for some reason the BBC decided not to commission a whole series. Mortimer took Rumpole to Thames TV and they snapped it up. A total of seven series were screened from 1978 and 1992. All rise During production of the first series, Mortimer continued his work as a barrister, often rising at 5.30am to work on scripts, before heading to his day job at the Old Bailey.

She who must be obeyed Such was the show’s success that a new phrase was born, with Rumpole’s reference to his wife Hilda as ‘She who must be obeyed’ trotted out by many a husband who felt they were hen-pecked. Radio Rumpole Rumpole has also been adapted for the radio, with first Maurice Denham then Timothy West taking on the role for a series of adaptations and original stories, broadcast on Radio 4. West’s real-life wife Prunella Scales joined him to play Hilda. Star turns Look out for appearances by Peter Bowles, Patricia Hodge, Samantha Bond, Camille Coduri amongst the cast. Want to hear more from us? Enter your email below to hear more from Drama. Email Sign up By signing up to our newsletter you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions and confirm you are over 18. Previous newsletters can be viewed within the newsletter archive . Rumpole of the Bailey (Series) - TV Tropes Rumpole of the Bailey You need to login to do this.

Get Known if you don't have an account Share Series / Rumpole of the Bailey × WMG Horace Rumpole A Thames Television for ITV series, intermittently from 1978 to 1992, following a one-off BBC drama, focused on the professional and personal life of one Horace Rumpole, barrister at law (played by Leo McKern). Rumpole's unhealthy personal habits, disdain for societal expectation, and general sharp-tongued iconoclasm earn him few marks among his peers or family. Despite his successes, he is something of an embarrassment to his class-conscious chambers. At home, he has to endure the well-meaning haranguing of his wife, semi-affectionately referred to by Horace as "She Who Must Be Obeyed", a reference to the H. Rider Haggard novel She ; one of Rumpole's simple vices is a love of English literature.

Although ostensibly mysteries in many cases, the cases he undertakes are very unlike the standard Whodunnit, Agatha Christie murder mystery — in some cases, Rumpole's task is merely to prove how his client didn't commit the crime (more often assault, fraud or theft than out-and-out murder) rather than ferret out the true culprit (although he frequently does so anyway). And, like the Sherlock Holmes cycle, sometimes no crime has really been committed at all. Yet Rumpole is his own man, and holds dearly to those rules he considers inviolate. Despite the detriment to his career, he never prosecutes. His job is to secure a "not guilty", and this he does with extreme regularity, even if it means antagonizing judges, refusing to make deals, or uncovering more than his client would prefer revealed in court. The show often strikes a well-balanced, perceptive note between the often ridiculous emphasis to which society demands the appearance of moral behaviour, and how it differs from the common sense, deeply personal, and more authentic morality represented by Rumpole. His mildly amused contempt for the trappings of "polite society" only serve to highlight his profoundly ethical nature.

The character is loosely based on the actual courtroom career of barrister Sir John Mortimer CBE QC, Rumpole's creator and author, who often took on controversial and "lost hope" causes (such as defending the Sex Pistols ' use of the word "Bollocks" on the cover of their one and only album — he won by proving the word had been used in common and cherished literature as far back as Chaucer ). John Mortimer adapted many of the show's episodes into book form, and after the show was cancelled continued to write and publish new Rumpole stories, which frequently featured plots Ripped from the Headlines , or as close to it as you can get for a book. Many Rumpole stories have also been adapted for BBC Radio . Compare and contrast Garrow's Law , which is much like Rumpole, but in Georgian London . Rumpole of the Bailey contains examples of: Accidental Misnaming : Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown keeps having to correct people who think her name is "Phyllis".

Accuse the Witness : This seems to be Rumpole's favorite tactic, from very early in his career as revealed in Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. However he always makes sure he has evidence to back up these attacks first. A Day in the Limelight : "Hilda's Story," collected in Rumpole and the Angel of Death. Against My Religion : Frequently invoked/joked about: whatever religion Rumpole follows, it forbids prosecuting and pleading guilty (unless he knows for a fact that the client did it or if the judge is sympathetic and the client won't get jail time). Alternate Continuity : The books, though they began as adaptations of the TV series, had some very minor differences from the series, and kept being published long after the series had ended. The recent BBC Radio 4 plays featuring Benedict Cumberbatch. They feature a much younger Rumpole, but they are all reworked stories from the television series that featured Leo McKern's much older Rumpole. Always Murder : A rare exception to the rule for mystery stories.

Very rarely does someone actually end up dead in Rumpole's cases — in fact the very first story revolved around a random wounding, and the first episode of the regular series (the one that introduced the Timsons and the Malloys) was about a "robbery with violence" (i.e. a mugging in this case). Amazingly Embarrassing Parents : In the Play for Today episode, Rumpole slowly realizes that that's how his son regards them. Amoral Attorney : Vanishingly few; most of the lawyers we meet are at worst sanctimonious hypocrites. Featherstone and Ballard prefer prosecution or civil work to defense, and as such when they are assigned to be defense counsel they rarely apply themselves; they don't do their own investigations or even bother to cross-examine witnesses for fear of upsetting the judge, unlike Rumpole who does everything he can to make sure his clients have a fighting chance.

The solicitor Perrivale Blythe in "Rumpole and the Last Resort" fits this rather well; he never pays his bills to barristers — hoping to wait until the barrister dies and then settle for a small percentage with the grieving widow — and engages in some other questionable business with his clients besides. Even Rumpole falls in to this from time to time. He uses Phyllida's naivety against her causing her to lose an open and shut case (her first prosecution), and then when she became a Recorder (part time judge) he arranged to sit on one of his cases, clearly hoping for an unfair advantage. Arch-Enemy : Many judges don't like Rumpole, but none are so vehement in their dislike as Judge Roger Bullingham, known to Rumpole as "the Mad Bull". He doesn't like defense barristers in general, but he has a special contempt for Rumpole. Artistic License ï¿½ Law : Averted. This is noted as one of the most realistic legal dramas ever producd. The writer and creator John Mortimer, QC was an actual practing barrister in addition to being a writer, and thus knew legal life, extremely well.

He would get up at 4:00 in the morning to write the scripts and then go to work at court. He eventually retired from the Bar to focus on writing full time. Awful Wedded Life : Rumpole and Hilda really don't get along. How this is subverted to an extent as Hilda mentions that they tried to be a family for Nick's sake when he was a boy. Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other : They may fight and argue but in Rumpole's words "they'd rather have war together than a lonely peace". There are several indications that Hilda is secretly proud of her husband, despite her loud dissapointment that's he not a judge or a QC, although she'd never say so to her face. Lampshaded in "Rumpole and the Married Woman", where Rumpole notes that the couple in his divorce case stayed together because "they didn't want to be alone." Bad Boss : Sam Ballard as Head of Chambers. He's extremely judgmental about what choices his colleagues make in their personal and professional lives, especially Rumpole. He obsesses over very petty matters in Chambers, and his greatest concern is the public reputation and image of Chambers.

On many occasions he's tried to force Rumpole out, so his office can be taken by a more financially lucrative or "respectable" barrister. Batman Gambit : Rumpole executes a magnificent one in "Rumpole and the Last Resort." The gambit was focused on the solicitor Blythe, who at once owed Rumpole nearly £2,500 in fees going back as ten years earlier (at a time when Rumpole was late on his utility bills and overdrawn at his bank) and was a material witness in the fraud case he was defending. Blythe was known to hold out payment to barristers until they died, then wheedle the widow into settling the payment for a small fraction of the original fee. On top of that, Blythe had a tendency to have "just slipped out of the office" every time somebody called the office; he was more or less nowhere to be found.

After Rumpole fails to convince Judge Bullingham to grant an adjournment in the fraud case to find Blythe, he decides to fake his own death : he collapses in the middle of his application to Bullingham, sends a message to Chambers (supposedly from his wife) informing them that he is dead, and hides in his house for some time (possibly a week or more) until Blythe shows up at the door, offering Mrs. Rumpole the same pittance of a settlement he usually offered. She declines, forces him to sign a check for the exact amount Rumpole was owed, and then lets in Private Detective "Fig" Newton, who hands Blythe a subpoena. Finally, when Blythe is forced to take the stand and the fraud case recommences, Bullingham starts something of a eulogy for Rumpole. At this point, Rumpole appears in the courtroom and begins his questioning of a terrified Blythe.

In the meantime, Chambers had gotten rather excited by the prospect of the death of Rumpole, with "Soapy Sam" trying to use it as an excuse to take on Guthrie Featherstone's well-connected nephew, and Claude Erskine-Brown hoping to take possession of Rumpole's umbrella stand: all of which Rumpole heard about and used to make a point about his Chambers. Rumpole executes a few on Ballard, most notably in "Rumpole and the Age of Miracles", where he tricks "Soapy Sam", sitting in judgment in an ecclesiastical court, that the ghost of a saint that supposedly haunts the hotel where they are staying is warning the judge in the case (i.e. Ballard) of a great injustice to come. The trick Liz Probert pulls on Claude Erskine-Brown falls under this, as well (see Mistaken for Gay below). Hilda and Liz Probert join forces in the final episode, "Rumpole on Trial," to trick Rumpole out of giving up his career. All it takes is Hilda detailing all the things they're going to do together now that he's retired.

Benevolent Boss : Guthrie Featherstone, when he was Head of Chambers in the first two series. He had a much more friendly relationship with Rumpole and the other barristers than Sam Ballard ever did. Boarding School : Because Rumpole went to a third-rate public school, he doesn't have an "Old Boy Net" — which turns out to be why Sam Ballard (who went to Marlborough, as did Featherstone) becomes Head of Chambers instead of Rumpole. Brilliant, but Lazy : Rumpole is a fantastic barrister and advocate, but his practice is noted to have frequent lulls, and by his own admission he knows little about actual law. If he applied himself or expanded into other areas, he'd be much more financially secure (his bank account is often overdrawn). British Brevity : The series aired from 1978 to 1992 for a grand total of 42 episodes broadcast over seven series, and one feature-length special aired between series two and three, plus the pilot aired on BBC in 1975. British Newspapers : Make an occasional appearance. Rumpole is partial to The Times, especially its crossword.

Hilda prefers the Evening Telegraph (and its crossword). Papers appear as important points in certain episodes: "Rumpole and the Tap End" features embarrassing reports on a decision of (Mr. Justice) Guthrie Featherstone's in The Evening Standard; "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation" features Rumpole and Claude Erskine-Brown's dealings with an obvious replacement for The Sun (complete with Page Three Stunna !) called the Beacon. Specifically, Rumpole has to defend the sleazy editor of Beacon on a libel charge (it's a "money brief", with an unspeakably large fee and a £500/day refresher), while Erskine-Brown is caught at a strip club (doing research on his case about a fight at the club some time earlier) by the Beacon photographers and has to deal with the consequences.

Brotherhood of Funny Hats : In "Rumpole and the Right to Silence", he finds that the city of Gunster is dominated by the Ancient Order of Ostlers (described as "like the Freemasons, only more so"), who have a secret grip and swear by "the Great Blacksmith and Forger of the Universe." Bulungi : Narenga, a Central African Commonwealth Realm with complex and often deadly tribal politics, in "Rumpole and the Golden Thread". One of Rumpole's old pupils, who has become Minister of the Interior, invites Rumpole to defend him in a case of capital murder; the absence of a jury — an institution abolished by the British during the colonial period — drives Rumpole mad. Cake Toppers : Claude and Phyllida Erskine-Brown's wedding cake at the end of "Rumpole and the Course of True Love" features the groom in a barrister's gown and clerical bands and the bride in a wedding dressï¿½and both in barristers' wigs.

In "Rumpole and the Quality of Life", the cake at Sam Ballard's wedding to Marguerite "Matey" Plumstead, Matron of the Old Bailey, is topped with a man in barrister's garb and a woman dressed as an old-fashioned nurse in a blue gown, white apron with red cross, and white hat. Can't Hold His Liquor : Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard, QC, gets absolutely blotto — as in fall-on-the-floor, can't-remember-how-many-drinks-he's had, crazy drunk — after a mere five small glasses of sherry. Can't Stand Them, Can't Live Without Them : The ever-antagonistic Rumpoles may not love each other, exactly, but they occasionally show signs of a deep-seated loyalty. Horace learns to dance to make Hilda happy; Hilda fiercely defends Horace in "Rumpole on Trial"; and they prove themselves unbeatable when they join forces in the Batman Gambit discussed above. Catch Phrase : Rumpole has the "Golden Thread of British justice" and "never plead guilty" as personal mantras. Percy Hoskins had variants of "speaking as a man with daughters".

This was lampshaded in "Rumpole and The Quality of Life" when he started out "I speak as a man with daughters" and Rumpole, Ballard and Uncle Tom all finished his sentence for him and echoed the word "daughters" around the room. Celibate Hero : According to the novels, the Rumpoles had sex exactly once, on their honeymoon, which explains how they managed to have a child. Other than that, no, and Horace has only been Mistaken for Cheating . Although he was tempted by the feminine wiles, of Kathy Trelawney and Elizabeth Casterini.. But not enough to get him to betray his professional ethics. Chekhov's Gun : A literal one occurs in "Rumpole and the Fascist Beast". The gun is in the titular "fascist beast"'s shed, where he keeps birds, hidden under the bird seed. He commits suicide after his acquittal leads to the local chapter of the party — an obvious stand-in for the BNP — unseating him.

Another literal Chekhov's Gun appears in Rumpole and the Show Folk; whilst demonstrating with a gun in court, Rumpole notices that the hammer is extremely prone to going off accidentally when cocked, which becomes relevant when the defendant testifies to the gun going off accidentally in self defence. Subverted when it's revealed the defendant did actually murder the victim in cold blood and was just very good at covering her tracks. Chuck Cunningham Syndrome : After actor Richard Murdoch's death in 1990, Uncle Tom vanished without an explanation. Cloud Cuckoo Lander : Uncle Tom, who hasn't had a brief in anyone's living memory, but still happily potters around Chambers playing golf. His chief role in the show is to go off on long semi-relevant recollections of past events whenever anyone discuses anything near him. (It is never explained how he supports himself.) Cold Cash : Or rather, cold silver; "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting" begins with the police going through one of the Timsons' freezers and finding Georgian silver tableware in bags of frozen peas. Comically Missing the Point : Both Claude Erskine-Brown and Ballard could be prone to this.

When a psychiatrist suggested he wanted to sleep with his mother and he was asked if he did, Erskine-Brown replied, ï¿½Certainly not, Mummy would never have stood for itï¿½. When Ballard was told that Erskine-Brown thought itï¿½d be easier for him to become a QC if he were a woman, Ballard replied, ï¿½I think thatï¿½s very silly. I mean Claude Erskine-Brown couldnï¿½t possibly be a woman, could he? So he might just as well forget the idea and settle down to being himself.ï¿½ Comic-Book Time : Rumpole is somewhere in his mid-sixties when first introduced, and never really gets any older. (See the Other Wiki for a detailed rundown of the series' flexible chronology.) Strangely, this only applies to Rumpole and his wife. The young female lawyer introduced just passing the bar in the first stories is an experienced judge in late middle age by the end, and many other characters also age, retire, and so forth.

Common Nonsense Jury : "Rumpole a la Carte." Rumpole all but openly advocates a nullificatory verdict (the prosecution had objectively proved its case by any reasonable standard — health-code violations at restaurants are strict-liability offenses requiring only a showing that the offending item was present in the restaurant, and nobody doubted that a live mouse had been present on a plate of food at that restaurant). He wins. Commuting on a Bus : Guthrie and Phyllida, after the first two series. Their actors had other commitments but they still mananged to appear in every season in some compacity. Continuity Nod : Several, especially later in the series. They often occur when a character who was formerly a regular but now isn't (e.g. Guthrie Featherstone or Phyllida Trant) shows up. Court-Martialed : In the episode "Rumpole and the Bright Seraphim", Rumpole is asked to defend a soldier in a court-martial and has some difficulty with the differences from the civilian courts he's used to operating in.

Courtroom Antic : A major part of Rumpole's arsenal; when he's invited to lecture on law in one episode, one of his colleagues remarks that he knows very little about law but everything there is to know about how to distract the jury while one's opponent is summing up. And unlike most seen on television, they generally aren't the sort of thing that could get one charged with contempt of court; Mortimer was a practicing lawyer and knew just what you could reasonably expect to get away with in a court of law. A Day in Her Apron : Rumpole faces a more realistic form of this when Hilda takes "industrial action" in "The Summer of Discontent." The house doesn't get enough time to go to pot, but Rumpole sets fire to his beef . Rumpole, in both his life but especially in his style of advocacy. Phyllida Erskine-Brown is also very good at this — possibly a function of having been trained by Rumpole. And under Mortimer's pen, everyone gets this. See, for instance, this bit from "Rumpole and Portia": Rumpole: If Uncle Tom goes, I go. Ballard:note Of all people!

That would seem to make the departure of Uncle Tom even more desirable. Defeat Means Friendship : Rumpole's underhand defeat of Phyllida Trant in their first courtroom encounter in Rumpole and the Married Lady. Referred to quite a bit in later episodes. Description Cut : A rather subtle one in "Rumpole on Trial". A man in court is quoting from the book of proverbs, "It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house. It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman." Then the scene immediately shifts to Hilda walking down the street... Dirty Cop : Detective Inspector "Dirty" Dickerson of "Rumpole and the Learned Friends," who runs a sort of protection racket with the "minor villains" in his area of South London (usually by planting evidence of some crime — whether or not they committed it — and then blackmailing them with it) and is all too happy to perjure himself.

"A glass of the old cooking wine": Pommeroy's Plonk, Pommeroy's Very Ordinary, Chateau Thames Embankment, Chateau Fleet Street, all names for Rumpole's trademark £2-a-bottle claret. As for Mrs. Rumpole, she'll have a gin and tonic. Henry the clerk is portrayed as ordering a pale, peculiar drink with a lemon slice floating in it at Pommeroy's Wine Bar ("Rumpole and the Last Resort"); it's Dubonnet and lemonade. Claude Erskine-Brown fancies himself a wine connoisseur ("Rumpole and the Blind Tasting"). "Soapy Sam" Can't Hold His Liquor , and is thus often found drinking sparkling water. Driven to Suicide : One of the characters in "Rumpole and the Official Secret" winds up throwing himself under a train. Dysfunctional Family : the Rumpoles (particularly obvious in the original teleplay, which was darker in tone than the later episodes). Eek, a Mouse!! : In "Rumpole a la Carte".

Admittedly, a plate in a three-Michelin-star restaurant is the last place you would expect to find a live mouse, but do you really have to stand on your chair and shriek? Embarrassing Middle Name : Claude Leondard Erskine-Brown. Rumpole exhibits unbridled joy reciting it when he learns it just before his cross-examination of Erskine-Brown in "Rumpole a la Carte". Exact Words : Phyllida Erskine-Brown to Sam Ballard: "I'm leaving the Bar." Exiled to the Couch : Hilda does this to Rumpole when she suspects him of having a fling with the young girlfriend of an elderly artist. Unfairly; he was just at a pub to collect evidence. Rumpole exiles himself after a particular disastrous night at the Scales of Justice Ball, where he tells a "blue" story that offends both Hilda and the prudish Welsh judge he was sitting next to. He ends up living in chambers for a while, to Ballard's displeasure, forcing him to move in with the Erskine-Browns.

Eventually the Erskine-Browns get fed up with him (and he gets fed up with young Tristan and Isolde Erskine-Brown's incessant complaints about his smoking), and he ends his self-imposed exile... but not before he forces Ballard to spend a night at chambers himself. Claude Erskine-Brown eventually is himself forced to live with Rumpole after the "Kitten a-Go-Go" flap ("Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation"); at first Hilda takes great delight in annoying Rumpole with Erskine-Brown's holier-than-thou habits, but she eventually tires of his incessant playing of opera tapes. Faking the Dead : See Batman Gambit above. And the entire scheme serves as the setup to one TV's greatest Overly Preprepared Gag moments: Rumpole, after it's revealed he's alive: "It must have come as a huge relief for those who heard Rumpole had kicked the bucket, to hear he had just turned a little pail." "Fawlty Towers" Plot : A good number of the B-Plots fall into this category. The one about sexual harassment in "Rumpole and the Eternal Triangle" fits particularly well.

Female Misogynist : During one of his complaints about the various unreasonable judges he has to work with, Rumpole singles out a female judge as a worse male chauvinist than any of the men. Feuding Families : The Timsons and the Molloys, two families of South London villians who have not been on speaking terms ever since a Molloy betrayed a Timson in the Streatham Co-op Robbery. More than once in the series, the police attempt to use a Molloy as a "grass" to get the goods on a Timson, rarely with good results. Fiery Redhead : Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown and the first Liz Probert (played by Samantha Bond). Flanderization : At the beginning of the series, Claude Erskine-Brown is a somewhat pompous but nevertheless effective barrister with a thriving civil practice. By the end, he's an incompetent and completely un-self-aware milquetoast. Lampshaded when Erskine-Brown complains to Rumpole about how he's been reduced to "scraping the bottom of your [i.e.

Rumpole's] barrel." Also, at the beginning of the series, Erskine-Brown is an all-around devotee of classical music in general and opera in particular, whereas at the end he focuses exclusively on Wagner. Mr. Justice Oliphant went from mentioning "common sense" and his blunt Northern heritage once or twice a trial to practically every line. Flaw Exploitation : Phyllida Erskine-Brown exploits Sam Ballard's sexual hypocrisy in order to get Claude his promotion to QC. Florence Nightingale Effect : How Marguerite ("Matey") gets Sam Ballard to marry her. Forging The Will : One story revolves around a forged will; Rumpole is retained by the true beneficiary to represent her in challenging the false will. (He's initially reluctant to venture into a civil court case, but he can't resist a good forgery.) Former Teen Rebel : Sam Ballard. In the later novels and short stories, he and his teenage rock group get back together for jam sessions. Ironically, Rumpole thought spilling the beans on his dread past would embarrass him, but instead people in chambers conclude he is less stuffy than they thought.

For Your Own Good : In "Rumpole and the Reform of Joby Jonson," Sam Ballard, in an uncharacteristic Hurricane of Puns , kindly explains to Claude Erskine-Brown that no, he couldn't possibly recommend Claude for promotion to QC. The result is an equally uncharacteristic What the Hell, Hero? . French Cuisine Is Haughty : La Maison Jean-Pierre, run by Jean-Pierre O'Higgins, in "Rumpole a la Carte" is an epitome — but it's not quite so stuffy after Rumpole defends him. Friendly Enemy : The members of Number 3, Equity Court often find themselves on opposite sides of a case, but are friendly enough to each other, usually. Gilligan Cut : In "Rumpole at Sea," Hilda wants to take a sea cruise. Rumpole doesn't. He tells her to get one thing clear, that he is not going on any cruise, no, no, NO... [ship's foghorn blows]. Good Lawyers, Good Clients : Subverted.

While it is true that almost all of Rumpole's clients that we see are in fact innocent of the crime they're on trial for, they are very frequently guilty of some other crime. This is particularly true of the Timsons, a clan of South London " minor villains " who make their living off of petty larceny and fencing , and whose fees seem to pay a fair chunk of Rumpole's own bills. There's also more than one Downer Ending where Rumpole's client tells him after he's got them off that they wre in fact guilty and thanks to the double jeopardy rule there's nothing he can do about it. Got Me Doing It : Rumpole repeatedly calls the young Charles Hearthstoke "Hearthrug". At one point, he does it in front of Mr Justice Featherstone, who once follows suit. Grand Finale : Most season finales where written in a way to wrap up the show, because Leo McKern, although he enjoyed the role, wanted to avoid typecasting and was frustrated how it seemed to overshadow his other works (much like Alec Guiness with Star Wars), but John Mortimer convinced him to keep coming back.

The ultimate finale was "Rumpole on Trial", where all of the cast main and supporting reunite for a party, at the end. In the final novel published, Rumpole Misbehaves, Rumpole makes a serious attempt to become a QC, because his client wants a QC, and only a QC to defend him. He doesn't get it because during a cross examination he implied that a Home Office official was connected to a prostitution ring much to anger of the presiding judge, who happens to be on the Committe that grants applications for QCs. Hanging Judge : Most of the judges Rumpole encounters are not impartial. They tend to act as a second prosecutor. Mr Justice Roger "the Mad Bull" Bullingham "Rumpole and the Sporting Life" features an unusual and literal example in the elderly Mr Justice Twyburne, who once sentenced a man to hang for killing a policeman. The man was later proven innocent, a fact which has preyed on Twyburne's conscience ever since. Hangover Sensitivity : here's at least one episode of wherein Rumpole, after a night of "carousing" with Henry the clerk, has to come in to court shading his eyes.

Happy Ending Massage : "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow". Featherstone, presiding in this case, thinks he went to a parlor where these were provided, although he didn't partake and wasn't even aware of the possibility. Hilarity Ensues . Harmless Villain : The Timson clan, very, very low-level crooks ("minor villains" is what Rumpole likes to call them) whom Rumpole defends on a regular basis (they appear to be his primary source of income, and at one point he refers to himself as being "CT — Counsel to the Timsons."). They are quite proud that they never resort to violence, only what Rumpole and Mortimer call "ordinary decent crime." Rumpole. His nickname for Hilda is "She Who Must Be Obeyed". Sam Ballard Claude Erskine-Brown is in the same boat, but Phyllida tries to be subtler about it. And Guthrie Featherstone, whose wife is constantly pushing him to the next-higher position. High-Class Call Girl : Played with in "Rumpole and the Old Boy Net": Rumpole's clients were a middle-aged couple who ran a brothel for a high-class clientele.

None of the actual prostitutes were in any way significant, and they weren't call girls (working as they were at a brothel), but the general idea (of a high-class prostitute) applies. Holier Than Thou : Sam Ballard. One wonders why he didn't become a cleric instead of a barrister. The Humphrey : Rumpole is a heroic variation- he knows and exploits the politics and follies of the legal system, but tries to pursue justice when possible. Hunting "Accident" : "Rumpole and the Sporting Life" revolves around a death that may have been murder or a genuine hunting accident. I Coulda Been a Contender! : Rumpole is a variation in that his wife is disappointed that he hasn't achieved greater financial and career success, nor become head of chambers like her father was. Rumpole, on the other hand, is perfectly happy where he is, and has no interest in becoming a "Queer Customer" or "Circus Judge." In Da Club : Bizarrely and briefly.

Phyllida Trant talks Claude Erskine-Brown (then just her boyfriend) into going to a fairly typical disco club after what was for her a thoroughly bored night at the opera, where they find none other than Guthrie Featherstone dancing in a tiger-print shirt with Angela, one of the junior clerks at chambers. Well, it was 1979 . Jaded Washout : Rumpole. He's still a competent barrister but his most famous days were the Penge Bungalow Murders after WWII. His practice is not as sucessful as it once was, he's considered an embarrassment by his peers, and a disappointment to his wife. Justified Criminal : Most pitiably, a music hall singer who murdered her violently abusive husband, only to find herself years later on the same cruise ship with the judge who presided over her trial. Large Ham : Rumpole's modus operandi for much of his dealings with other people, and particularly his advocacy. He's called out on it by some theatrical actors in Rumpole and the Show Folk. Last Name Basis : Most everybody with respect to everybody else. Vanishingly few people call Rumpole "Horace;" not even Hilda.

This is actually accepted practice amongst many members of the Bar, first names generally only being used between barristers who are on a very informal footing. We can see this with Rumpole and George Frobisher, who are (in early seasons) close friends (They have something of a falling-out after Rumpole's first case before Frobisher as a circuit judge) and call each other "Horace" and "George". Lame Rhyme Dodge : Rumpole's habit of talking to himself frequently asserts itself at the wrong time, leading to some rapid backtracking. Horace Rumpole: [under his breath] She who must be... Hilda Rumpole: What? Horace Rumpole: I said "trust me," Hilda. I shall always be a staunch supporter of women's rights. Lethal Chef : Rumpole, as evidenced by the flaming bits of meat in "Rumpole and the Summer of Discontent." Malicious Misnaming : When Rumpole is feeling ill-disposed towards Ballard (which is most of the time), he calls him "Bollard". Sam Ballard, Guthrie Featherstone, and even Rumpole himself, on separate occasions.

Subverted with Claude Erskine-Brown, who attempts to cheat and fails miserably. And averted once with Featherstone, who actually was cheating with Angela (the left-wing junior clerk). Mistaken for Gay : One of Liz Probert's boyfriends (Dave Inchcape) makes it into Chambers because Claude Erskine-Brown believes that he's gay. This led to a rather hilarious exchange when Claude was attempting to interview the man and was alluding to him being gay, but Dave thought he was talking about him being a barrister. Dave Inchcape: Well, I expect you want to know a bit about my experience. Claude Erskine-Brown [alarmed] Good heavens, no. Dave Inchcape: You don't? Claude Erskine-Brown: No, no, no, no. I take the attitude, Dave, that your experiences are entirely a matter between you andï¿½well, whoever you've had the experiences with. Dave Inchcape: Tomkins in Testament Buildings. Claude Erskine-Brown: Please, don't tell me! It's absolutely none of my businessï¿½You mean Tommy Tomkins?

Dave Inchcape: Yes, I was with him for about a year. Claude Erskine-Brown: But I thought Tommy was married to a lady magistrate? Dave Inchcape: So he is. Does that make a difference? Claude Erskine-Brown: Well, not nowadays, I suppose. He calls pretty much everyone "old darling" or "old sweetheart". He calls Hilda "She Who Must Be Obeyed." He gives Phyllida Trant the nickname "Portia" (or more completely, "the Portia of our chambers"), after Portia in The Merchant of Venice . He gives Samuel Ballard the honor of not one but two nicknames: "Soapy Sam" (referring to Samuel Wilberforce, a famous public speaker and defender of Christianity in the late 19th century) and the rather less complimentary " Bollard ." In the stories, "the Savanarola of our chambers." He calls Liz Probert "Miz Liz". Guess why . He repeatedly calls the young Charles Hearthstoke "Hearthrug." To his face. The solicitor Mr Bernard (who usually handles the Timsons' cases, among others) is known to Rumpole as "Bonny Bernard".

He creates a couple of private nicknames for several of the recurring judges. The notable ones are: Judge Roger "The Mad Bull" Bullingham. Mr. Justice Gerald Graves, called by Rumpole "Mr Injustice Graves," "Mr Justice Gravestone," and at on least one occasion "Mr Injustice Death's Head". Nipple and Dimed : Averted, as the series aired after the Watershed . A stripper in "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation" and an artist's model in "Rumpole and the Quality of Life" are both depicted with their assets clearly displayed. No Celebrities Were Harmed : The "Ostlers" of the (fictional) town of Gunster in "Rumpole and the Right to Silence" bear a ( lampshaded ) resemblance to the Freemasons. "Justitia" in "Rumpole and the Golden Thread" is a clear Expy for Amnesty International... And a semi-autobiographical reference to one Mortimer's own cases.

Noodle Incident : Rumpole's greatest professional success, the case of the Penge Bungalow Murders, was a Noodle Incident for almost three decades before recently being told in a novel suprisingly named Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders. No Party Given : Averted where applicable. The third episode, "Rumpole and the Honourable Member", features an MP clearly identified as Labour accused of rape by his left-wing "Trot" campaign worker. Another episode, "Rumpole and the Fascist Beast", subverts this by having Rumpole defending a far-right politician from the "British Patriots," which doesn't exist but is clearly based on the National Front. Guthrie Featherstone QC MP is clearly identified as having joined the Social Democratic Party shortly before becoming a judge. When Featherstone is still in practice as a barrister, Rumpole often identifies him as a "Conservative-Labour" politician — i.e., too indecisive to be possessed of any great political conviction. It's implied that he joined the Social Democrats mainly because it kept him from having to choose a side. Charles Hearthstoke self-identifies as a Tory when discussing radical change at chambers with...

Liz Probert, daughter of "Red Ron" Probert, a left-wing Labour leader of a North London borough council; she takes after her father. As for why Hearthstoke was talking to Probert about change in the chambers, he argued that the fact they were both young would make them both favor modernisation. However, it's pretty clear that he just wants to get into her pants (or is it her robes when discussing barristers?). Phyllida Trant, while chewing out her then-boyfriend Claude Erskine-Brown, mentions his "inexplicable approval of Mrs Thatcher " (or something to that effect) as one thing she's willing to accept, implying that Erskine-Brown is a Tory and that Phyllida isn't. No Sense of Humor : Sam Ballard and, often, Claude Erskine-Brown. Ballard's humorlessness is usually of the Literal-Minded variety. Obfuscating Stupidity : Rumpole occasionally uses this when he's trying to get something, especially if he's trying to get it from Hilda. Office Golf : Uncle Tom's primary occupation, besides making bizarre comments at Chambers meetings and completely misunderstanding anything anyone says within earshot of him.

Old-Fashioned Copper : Detective Inspector Brush, depicted most negatively. Only Known by Their Nickname : T. C. Rowley, called Uncle Tom by even an ultra-stuffy character like Ballard. Oop North : Mr Justice Oliphant is very proud of being from there, and it drives Rumpole to distraction. Open Mouth, Insert Foot : Mr Justice Featherstone has this problem; Rumpole even mentions it by name in his worst instance ("Rumpole and the Tap End"). Plea Bargain : Despite his maxim "never plead guilty" he does at times engage in plea-bargaining, particularly when he knows the judge to be sympathetic. He tries at this — and Phyllida Trant, who was prosecuting, quite agreed — in "Rumpole and the Course of True Love," but George Frobisher couldn't guarantee that the client wouldn't do prison time. "Rumpole and the Tap End" starts with just one of these, where he got an attempted murder reduced to actual bodily harm before Featherstone, and the client was bound over. That is where the trouble began, however...

Properly Paranoid : Hilda in "Rumpole and the Reform of Joby Jonson," as Rumpole concedes at the end. Put on a Bus : Nick Rumpole moves to America to become a Professor of Sociology first at Baltimore then Miami. He isn't seen after the first two series. Judge Bullingham was written out after his actor passed away after series four. However, this does not apply to books where Judge Bullingham was still a regular supporting character up to the very end. Rank Up : Phyllida Trant begins the series as a junior barrister and ends it as a High Court judge. Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil : Played with and discussed in ï¿½Rumpole and the Honourable Memberï¿½. Rumpole treated everything about the case with the same level of sobriety and respect that he would any other crime (read: very little).

However, this wasnï¿½t shown to be because he didnï¿½t regard rape as a serious crime but rather because he believed a man whoï¿½s innocent of rape (as he always assumes his clients to be innocent) deserves just as thorough a defence as one whoï¿½s innocent of petty theft. At the same time, Rumpole acknowledged that everyone in the courtroom would regard the crime differently particularly because it was a rape. In particular, Erica was shocked by the way he would attack the alleged victim which led Rumpole to challenge her on whether itï¿½s fair that a lower standard of proof (the victimï¿½s word) should exist for rape as opposed to other crimes. Real Life Writes the Plot : A number of storylines are a Whole Plot Reference lifted from the headlines; for instance Rumpole and the Children of the Devil tackled the spurious accusations of ritual Satanic abuse that created a moral panic. Reality Ensues : Rumpole's habit of turning down more lucrative law practices, and promotions seems all find and admirable until you remember he how often his bank account get overdrawn.

In Rumpole and the Last Resort he has no money to pay utilties because a particular seedy solicitor is refusing to pay him his due from a back case. It also means he really doesn't have much money for a pension so he can't retire from the Bar, even if he wanted to. Since Rumpole refuses to take QC, he's therefore a "junior" barrister and often finds himself sitting second chair on cases to QC's and he often works to have them removed from the case (usually by impressing the client well enough that they just want Rumpole as their brief) so he can defend them properly. His habit of insinuating respectable people are guilty of crimes in his cross examinations upset many judges and they are openly hostile to him and vice versa.

It also means he gets threatned with disbarment on occasion when he really can't back up his claims like in ''Rumpole and the Learned Friends" Recycled Plot : After BBC Radio 4 did an adaption of Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders with Benedict Cumberbatch as the young Rumpole, they began producing more plays featuring Benedict's Rumpole that were just reworked version of John Mortimer's old scripts. Retcon: Somewhere along the line in the books Judge Roger Bullingham became Judge Leonard Bullingham. Whether or not they are the same charcter is open to fan debate. "Speaking as a man with daughters..." Hilda's obsession with her "Daddy", C. H. Wystan. Claude Erskine-Brown's obsession with Opera ; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg gets mentioned a lot. Satchel Switcheroo : Rumpole accidentally walks off with Uncle Tom's briefcase, discovering the switch only when he opens it. In court. Hilarity Ensues . Screw the Money, I Have Rules! : Rumpole's attitude towards prosecuting, taking silk, and becoming a judge.

He is tempted, every now and then, but he always falls back to his old habits. In "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation," he has taken on a civil libel suit defending the editor of a London tabloid, the highest-paying case of his career, which promises to fund his retirement. Then he discovers the entire lawsuit is a fraud cooked up between his client and the plaintiff (to extract money from the co-defendant, the corporation that publishes the tabloid; the plaintiff—a writer of sappy romance novels—and Rumpole's client are actually lovers). Rather than continue with the case, he blackmails the client into making sure the case is dropped, and instructs his solicitors to return the client's money. Screw the Rules, I Have Connections! : How Sam Ballard is able to become Head of Chambers, despite being a new member. He's part of Guthrie's "Old Boy Net". Second Face Smoke : Rumpole does this to some of the more priggish characters, especially Ballard. Sexless Marriage : The Rumpoles (see Celibate Hero above). "Rumpole at Sea" suggests that this may not entirely be Hilda's doing.

Shout-Out to Shakespeare : Several, and hardly surprising given Rumpole's love of English literature. Some are built into the stories. In "The Dear Departed," Rumpole opens and closes with a quote from Richard II ("Let's talk of graves, and worms, and epitaphs...") The solicitors in his will case are Mowbray and Pontefract — Mowbray being the accused knight whose duel opens Richard II, and Pontefract (Pomfret) being the castle where Richard is imprisoned at the end of the play. Silent Snarker : A lot of Rumpole's snark is actually delivered in voiceovers, audible only to viewers. One of the running gags is the frequent discrepancy between Rumpole's internal snarking and his external restraint. For instance, from "Rumpole and the Old, Old Story": Solicitor: What do you think of the prosecution, Mr. Rumpole? Rumpole: [voiceover] I think if it were conducted by a nervous first-year law student with a serious speech impediment they'd still get a conviction. Rumpole: [aloud] Well, we do face certain difficulties.

Rumpole of the Bailey - Fanlore Rumpole of the Bailey 2 References Rumpole of the Bailey is a British series that has appeared in a variety of formats, including television, books, and radio. Its protagonist, Horace Rumpole [1] , is an aging and not wholly successful criminal law barrister who takes on various cases defending an assortment of people accused of criminal offences. The series pokes fun at life at the English Bar and the eccentrics it attracts, while Rumpole— The Oxford Book of English Verse in one hand and Archbold's Criminal Pleading and Practice in the other—gets to the bottom of a number of mysteries, some of which he wishes he hadn't, while triumphing over hostile judges, his wife Hilda ("She Who Must Be Obeyed") and the other members of chambers, who find him something of an embarrassment. The character first appeared in a Thames Television series which began in 1975, starring Leo McKern in the title role. The series ran for seven seasons and was complemented by tie-in collections of short stories and at least one novel written by John Mortimer, who also wrote the scripts.

Mortimer, a barrister himself, was a well-known campaigner for causes such as restrictions on censorship; and issues of social justice frequently arise in the Rumpole stories, though coloured by Mortimer's perspective as a white, public-school educated man brought up within the Establishment. The series continues in the form of BBC Radio 4 plays, with Timothy West playing the (current day) Old Rumpole and Benedict Cumberbatch playing the young Rumpole in various extended flashback sequences. Fandom As of 2015, there isn't one. This is all the more surprising in that the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the Rumpole stories, set in the 1950s and early 1960s, has Benedict Cumberbatch playing the young Horace Rumpole [2] . However, given the enthusiasm of Sherlock fans for combining Holmes with all other parts played by Cumberbatch, Rumpole of the Bailey may be thought to be a fandom in waiting. There are four stories listed on AO3 , all of them crossovers. References

Question: What was the first name of "Rumpole of the Bailey"?
Answer: Horace