Care (Law & Order: UK)
Encyclopedia
"Care" is the first episode of the British
police procedural
and legal television program
, Law & Order: UK. "Care" follows the case of a dead infant
dropped off at a hospital to the corrupt estate agent
whose negligence caused his death. Written by Chris Chibnall
, directed by Omar Madha, and produced by Richard Stokes, "Care" originally aired on .
, "Care" is based on the original Law & Order
second season episode, "Cradle to Grave"; written by Robert Nathan and Sally Nemeth, "Cradle to Grave" originally aired on .
After midnight on 6 January, the corpse of a poison
ed nine-month old boy is found in a holdall
at Royal Hope Hospital. Brooks and Devlin's investigation leads them to Kings Cross
; there, they find the child's flat
and a sabotaged gas heater
: the source of his poisoning. Following leads to the child's mother, Dionne Farrah (Venetia Campbell), they then investigate the babysitter
, Serena Jackson (Angela Terence), whose statement leads the detectives back to Farrah's fellow tenant Mike Turner (Tony Maudsley
). Turner has been hired by the flat's management company to harass
the tenants into leaving, so that the owner—Maureen Walters (Ashbourne)—can renovate the units for better capital gain
.
Represented by the devious and unprincipled Robert Ridley QC (Malahide), Turner is charged with damaging the Farrah's heating unit, causing the fatal gassing of the child. However, on 7 April, the judge
is forced to declare a mistrial after the building's French
-speaking caretaker
, Daniel Matoukou (Babou Ceesay), is improperly translated
. Uncovering that Walters has been paying bribes
to environmental inspection officials, DS Brooks (Walsh) secures such evidence as to bring her to trial for failing to maintain the flats and leading to the boy's death. After Turner flips on Walters for a reduced sentence
, the jury finds her guilty on 5 May.
s discuss which should open the holdall they suspect contains a bomb
, Producer Richard Stokes conceded that in reality, they would have called the bomb squad
. On the series as a whole, he admitted, "if there's a choice between technical accuracy and powerful drama, the drama will always win."
expects the series to be successful based on the showing of "Care", the Daily Mail
described Walsh's Brooks as "excellent" in the episode, and TV Times
said that "those concerned can give themselves a pat on the back because [the episode] really, really works."
Radio Times
reviewer Alison Graham felt the episode didn't live up to the original Law & Orders pacing, saying that it could have been accomplished in half the time taken. She also didn't care for the story, saying "it falls headfirst into a typically British legal-drama trap of the noble prosecutor [...] crusading to bring the guilty to justice while pitted against the louche, self-serving defence barrister [...]. No, sorry, that's just too cliched. And wrong."
Scott Matthewman of The Stage
thought the episode's exposition
was too obvious in explaining the characters' roles and responsibilities; "they go round talking to each other like none of them have ever done this before." This complaint seems solely registered at "Care", however, as he found the following episode ("Unloved") didn't suffer the same.
Janet Daley, blogger for The Daily Telegraph
, decried the episode's apparent unwillingness to take on controversial topics in the same vein as the original Law & Order. Instead, "the black
single mother [...] proves to be a blameless saint, [and] "her vindictive capitalist
employers" and "heartless, property developing landlady" are the ones at fault.
and TV.com
rated "Care" a 7.1 and 7.7 (rated "Good") out of 10 respectively.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
and legal television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, Law & Order: UK. "Care" follows the case of a dead infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
dropped off at a hospital to the corrupt estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
whose negligence caused his death. Written by Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a British playwright, television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series Torchwood....
, directed by Omar Madha, and produced by Richard Stokes, "Care" originally aired on .
Plot
Written by Chris ChibnallChris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a British playwright, television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series Torchwood....
, "Care" is based on the original Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
second season episode, "Cradle to Grave"; written by Robert Nathan and Sally Nemeth, "Cradle to Grave" originally aired on .
After midnight on 6 January, the corpse of a poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ed nine-month old boy is found in a holdall
Holdall
In American English, a holdall, or gym bag is a large bag made of cloth or leather typically with a rectangular base and a zippered opening at the top...
at Royal Hope Hospital. Brooks and Devlin's investigation leads them to Kings Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
; there, they find the child's flat
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
and a sabotaged gas heater
Gas heater
A gas heater is a device used to heat a room or outdoor area by burning natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas. Indoor household gas heaters can be broadly categorized in one of two ways: flued or non-flued, or vented and unvented...
: the source of his poisoning. Following leads to the child's mother, Dionne Farrah (Venetia Campbell), they then investigate the babysitter
Babysitting
Babysitting is the practice of temporarily caring for a child on behalf of the child's parents. Babysitting is commonly performed as an odd job by teenagers for extra money.-General:...
, Serena Jackson (Angela Terence), whose statement leads the detectives back to Farrah's fellow tenant Mike Turner (Tony Maudsley
Tony Maudsley
Tony Maudsley is a British film actor who was cast as Grawp in the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. His career started when he landed a role in the film A Life for a Life in 1998 where he played the part of Stefan Kiszko to much acclaim...
). Turner has been hired by the flat's management company to harass
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
the tenants into leaving, so that the owner—Maureen Walters (Ashbourne)—can renovate the units for better capital gain
Capital gain
A capital gain is a profit that results from investments into a capital asset, such as stocks, bonds or real estate, which exceeds the purchase price. It is the difference between a higher selling price and a lower purchase price, resulting in a financial gain for the investor...
.
Represented by the devious and unprincipled Robert Ridley QC (Malahide), Turner is charged with damaging the Farrah's heating unit, causing the fatal gassing of the child. However, on 7 April, the judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
is forced to declare a mistrial after the building's French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking caretaker
Property caretaker
A Property caretaker is a person, group or organization that cares for real estate for trade or financial compensation, and sometimes as a barter for rent-free living accommodations...
, Daniel Matoukou (Babou Ceesay), is improperly translated
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
. Uncovering that Walters has been paying bribes
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
to environmental inspection officials, DS Brooks (Walsh) secures such evidence as to bring her to trial for failing to maintain the flats and leading to the boy's death. After Turner flips on Walters for a reduced sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
, the jury finds her guilty on 5 May.
Production
Regarding the opening scene, where two PCSOPolice community support officer
A police community support officer , or community support officer is a uniformed non-warranted officer employed by a territorial police force or the British Transport Police in England and Wales. Police community support officers were introduced in September 2002 by the Police Reform Act 2002...
s discuss which should open the holdall they suspect contains a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
, Producer Richard Stokes conceded that in reality, they would have called the bomb squad
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
. On the series as a whole, he admitted, "if there's a choice between technical accuracy and powerful drama, the drama will always win."
Critical reception
Andrew Billen from The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
expects the series to be successful based on the showing of "Care", the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
described Walsh's Brooks as "excellent" in the episode, and TV Times
TV Times
TVTimes is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by IPC Media, a subsidiary of Time Warner. It is known for its access to television actors and their programmes. In 2006 it was refreshed for a more modern look, increasing its emphasis on big star interviews and soaps...
said that "those concerned can give themselves a pat on the back because [the episode] really, really works."
Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
reviewer Alison Graham felt the episode didn't live up to the original Law & Orders pacing, saying that it could have been accomplished in half the time taken. She also didn't care for the story, saying "it falls headfirst into a typically British legal-drama trap of the noble prosecutor [...] crusading to bring the guilty to justice while pitted against the louche, self-serving defence barrister [...]. No, sorry, that's just too cliched. And wrong."
Scott Matthewman of The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
thought the episode's exposition
Exposition (literary technique)
At the beginning of a narrative, the exposition is the author's providing of some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme. Exposition is considered one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, along with argumentation, description, and narration...
was too obvious in explaining the characters' roles and responsibilities; "they go round talking to each other like none of them have ever done this before." This complaint seems solely registered at "Care", however, as he found the following episode ("Unloved") didn't suffer the same.
Janet Daley, blogger for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, decried the episode's apparent unwillingness to take on controversial topics in the same vein as the original Law & Order. Instead, "the black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
single mother [...] proves to be a blameless saint, [and] "her vindictive capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
employers" and "heartless, property developing landlady" are the ones at fault.
Viewer reception
Upon its premiere, "Care" won its overnight time slot with 6.4 million viewers, ultimately reigning in 6.96 million. , members of the user-contributed television review sites the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
and TV.com
TV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
rated "Care" a 7.1 and 7.7 (rated "Good") out of 10 respectively.