The cases of a portly and eccentric criminal law barrister.The cases of a portly and eccentric criminal law barrister.The cases of a portly and eccentric criminal law barrister.
- Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
- 10 nominations total
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Did you know
- TriviaRumpole has a penchant for giving literary or historical nicknames to friends and foes. His wife Hilda's moniker, "She Who Must Be Obeyed," was originally applied to the title character of H. Rider Haggard's novel "She." Phyllida Trant Erskine-Brown's nickname, "Portia," is from William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." Samuel Ballard is dubbed "Soapy Sam" after Bishop Samuel Wilberforce', who is now best remembered for debating Thomas Huxley over Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, but regarded in his own time as rather a slick operator. He calls Judge Graves the "whited sepulchre", a Biblical allusion (Matthew 27).
- Quotes
Horace Rumpole: She who must be obeyed!
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1981)
Featured review
Delightful
I saw 16 or so episodes of this show a long time ago, but the memories of it are enduring. While the show's tone was humorous, the legal drama was as intense and as interesting as anything on American TV. Leo McKern's Rumpole is funny and charming, but with a serious sense of vocation underneath that Falstaffian bulk. He's been sort of a hero of mine ever since. I hope PBS will re-air this series, or BBC America will air the unedited, unabridged Rumpole in the not-too-distant future.
helpful•153
- ckomanduri
- Jan 22, 2001
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