Good god, could they find any worse stereotypes for the southern U S ?
I was waiting to see the crazy Confederate Colonel living in his Tara lookalike.! Where were the night riders with their burning crosses and white sheets?
My wife is from Fla. and was a practicing lawyer for many years. She assures me that this episode was pure nonsense and very English.
As a matter of fact she worked in Reading UK for a year and encountered some really odd ideas about Americans from her fellow workers. I guess the writers think the same ?
I was offended by this episode and I am a Yankee.
28 Reviews
My least favourite Kavanagh episode, but not bad by all means
TheLittleSongbird16 April 2010
Starting with the good things, and the most obvious pro, John Thaw gives yet another solid performance in the title role of James Kavanagh. The scenery was lovely, helped by the beautiful production values. The direction was decent and it was lovely to see Julia Piper(pregnant here) played with real allure by Anna Chancellor again. Also the music is deftly beautiful.
However, there are elements that make In God we Trust one of my least favourite episodes. One is that the script is quite weak, not abysmal but compared to the intelligence and sophistication of an episode like Memento Mori for example it is weak. Consequently with the exception of Chancellor and Lisa Harrow as Lizzie, nobody here stands out in the supporting cast and that is a shame really it is. Secondly, the courtroom scenes and appeals scenes are some of the weakest scenes in any of the Kavanagh episodes. Not because anybody acted badly, but the writing is altogether unexceptional, so the scenes were rather lifeless. Thirdly, while Thaw and Harrow acted beautifully here, the ending is rather abrupt and downbeat.
Overall, not bad but unexceptional. 7/10 Bethany Cox
However, there are elements that make In God we Trust one of my least favourite episodes. One is that the script is quite weak, not abysmal but compared to the intelligence and sophistication of an episode like Memento Mori for example it is weak. Consequently with the exception of Chancellor and Lisa Harrow as Lizzie, nobody here stands out in the supporting cast and that is a shame really it is. Secondly, the courtroom scenes and appeals scenes are some of the weakest scenes in any of the Kavanagh episodes. Not because anybody acted badly, but the writing is altogether unexceptional, so the scenes were rather lifeless. Thirdly, while Thaw and Harrow acted beautifully here, the ending is rather abrupt and downbeat.
Overall, not bad but unexceptional. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Excellent in some ways and poor in another.
robsmithjr8 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
There's a really good story here. Overall poorly presented, but the plot is solid. This is the most Morse-ish the series gets involving mystery. It's great to see Morse...er Kavanagh ...out to solve a mystery and gathering clues, something he isn't in the position to do as a member of the Queen's Court. This is my favorite episode involving story.
A note about a telling clue: The cover-up effort really couldn't work without paying off the entire news media, police force, etc. As the address was presented at the time of the murders, it would have been quickly discovered the address problem as even numbered structures are on one side of the road and odd are on the other. As one who was handling addresses in government at the time of this episode, there is no way everyone, from police, medics, clerks, media, victims families, etc. Would have not been screaming about the error. A crater in the story.
As a native Floridian and historian, specifically about Florida film, this film fails in one way and is outstanding in another.
As many others have noted the backwoods approach to the state is mostly outdated. I do know folks in the areas this was filmed, Duval, Nassau, Bradford Counties, with such accents. Almost none with such attitudes. There are bars as presented, but not in a city area. In this case the filming was done in Downtown Jacksonville.
The staging of all this with a Confederate attitude involving the casting is silly. All a ruse to have the viewer believe the episode was going in one direction, when it really was going in another. I get that, but the melodramatic poor accents of the non-Floridians is the worse this episode presents. Considering all of the theater going on around the area at the time, while they were getting locations, couldn't the producers find LOCAL actors, too???
I believe this is the only episode of Kavanagh using so many "practical" locations, as it's called. This is an outstanding effort. I'd write one of the best presentation of Florida locations ever involving television. There are a number of highlights from heading east on 200 toward Fernandina Beach (Many buildings still there 25 years later), the corner of Laura and Monroe in Downtown Jacksonville (Now rebuilt and looking a bit different), etc.
The highlight is a full view of the 10 story, 1914 Rhodes Furniture building! It was quite something and a marker for folks in the area to look up and know where one was. The structure is also shot at an angle that was rarely shot, from behind, and few photos exist. The building was demolished in August, 2002, months after John Thaw's death.
I love the very expensive action of exploring and using so many Florida locations for a single television episode. This all also adds greater depth to the entire story and overall episode. An outstanding job!
Overall, still worth watching, especially seeing some great Florida shots of northeast Florida.
I should note I live in an entirely different part of Florida.
Bottom line: I recommend the film. 6 out of ten points.
A note about a telling clue: The cover-up effort really couldn't work without paying off the entire news media, police force, etc. As the address was presented at the time of the murders, it would have been quickly discovered the address problem as even numbered structures are on one side of the road and odd are on the other. As one who was handling addresses in government at the time of this episode, there is no way everyone, from police, medics, clerks, media, victims families, etc. Would have not been screaming about the error. A crater in the story.
As a native Floridian and historian, specifically about Florida film, this film fails in one way and is outstanding in another.
As many others have noted the backwoods approach to the state is mostly outdated. I do know folks in the areas this was filmed, Duval, Nassau, Bradford Counties, with such accents. Almost none with such attitudes. There are bars as presented, but not in a city area. In this case the filming was done in Downtown Jacksonville.
The staging of all this with a Confederate attitude involving the casting is silly. All a ruse to have the viewer believe the episode was going in one direction, when it really was going in another. I get that, but the melodramatic poor accents of the non-Floridians is the worse this episode presents. Considering all of the theater going on around the area at the time, while they were getting locations, couldn't the producers find LOCAL actors, too???
I believe this is the only episode of Kavanagh using so many "practical" locations, as it's called. This is an outstanding effort. I'd write one of the best presentation of Florida locations ever involving television. There are a number of highlights from heading east on 200 toward Fernandina Beach (Many buildings still there 25 years later), the corner of Laura and Monroe in Downtown Jacksonville (Now rebuilt and looking a bit different), etc.
The highlight is a full view of the 10 story, 1914 Rhodes Furniture building! It was quite something and a marker for folks in the area to look up and know where one was. The structure is also shot at an angle that was rarely shot, from behind, and few photos exist. The building was demolished in August, 2002, months after John Thaw's death.
I love the very expensive action of exploring and using so many Florida locations for a single television episode. This all also adds greater depth to the entire story and overall episode. An outstanding job!
Overall, still worth watching, especially seeing some great Florida shots of northeast Florida.
I should note I live in an entirely different part of Florida.
Bottom line: I recommend the film. 6 out of ten points.
a uniquely bad episode
leefaust7 April 2006
sadly this is a uniquely bad episode. John Thaw is a great mystery leading man, but unfortunately the writers have heaped on this episode all the stereotypical US southern justice problems, i.e. death penalty, wrongful conviction, biases, racists, etc. The trial and appeals are badly flawed and give the appearance that US death sentences are rush to judgment affairs with limited appeals and shoddy workmanship by all. This may have been true many decades ago but in the last 10-20 years ago it just doesn't work like that.
sad for such a good actor and generally good scripts. i highly recommend all the rest of this series as portraying the real problems of the criminal bar and criminal trials. never fun. it is always difficult to make sure justice is done.
sad for such a good actor and generally good scripts. i highly recommend all the rest of this series as portraying the real problems of the criminal bar and criminal trials. never fun. it is always difficult to make sure justice is done.
This is y'all
dabigplanet-9610211 November 2021
I find many of these reviews laughable. "This is not my Florida". I've spent too much time in Florida. My parents were born and raised there and have moved back to retire. I spent most of my summers growing up in Florida. Most of my family lives in the state right now. The depiction here scarily accurate. Yes, this is indeed your Florida! "Is this 1950s Mississippi?" No, it's modern day Florida. Look in the proverbial mirror. The cartoonish accents and the dumb southern sayings are the least of your worries.
Location
phyman-3501016 June 2018
As I watched this episode, I kept wondering where the Florida scenes were filmed. I was born and raised in FL and it looked right, just not sure where. Aside from location, the stereotypes were offensive and incorrect.
Not a simple indictment...
keirst27 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is far from a simple indictment of Southern racism. Unfortunately, wrongful police conduct and prosecutions have occurred recently, and even now all over the U.S. (i.e. the Charles Stuart case in Boston, and many cases where DNA proves men convicted of rape could not have committed the crimes). I enjoyed the episode and found it kept me guessing what would be revealed until the end.
Spoilers...
Though the Governor and D.A. are a bit stereotypical corrupt politicians, the case being appealed is rather more complex. The convict and the victims are all black. One policeman is honest and not bigoted. The racist policewoman is revealed to be a lesbian, and in the end it is revealed that the man on death row was the shooter in one of the four killings, though perhaps he should only have been guilty of manslaughter not murder, were he not framed.
Spoilers...
Though the Governor and D.A. are a bit stereotypical corrupt politicians, the case being appealed is rather more complex. The convict and the victims are all black. One policeman is honest and not bigoted. The racist policewoman is revealed to be a lesbian, and in the end it is revealed that the man on death row was the shooter in one of the four killings, though perhaps he should only have been guilty of manslaughter not murder, were he not framed.
Was this supposed to be in 1950?
jriggins-148-71995931 December 2018
I've never written a review before but how badly and incorrectly they portray Florida had me come here. This is a great show, but this episode plays out like it's 1950 Mississippi. The accents are horrible, they too sound like they're out of the 50's. Sure, some Floridians have southern accents but not the ones used in this show. Having the Governor named Cotton was just another awful attempt at something that just leaves me shaking my head.
If they want an authentic Florida episode they need to Google "Florida guy" or "Florida man". There's tons of actual reference material.
If they want an episode aboot racism in the US, please get someone whos familiar with what's going on in the respective decade.
Excellent
jnorton72014 April 2017
I love John Thaw as Kavanagh. He displays an altogether different character than Morse. He also has a bit of a different accent which I cannot identify. The only thing I felt wrong with this screenplay is that the Southern US characters seemed rather too stereotyped. The positive relationships between people seem genuine and a welcome contrast to many of the dramas lately with very dysfunctional characters.
A waste of time
keithloll21 April 2019
Whoever wrote this episode has obviously never been to Florida. The accents were horrible, obviously not filmed in Florida, and the attitudes of the people who are supposedly citizens of Florida actually are from the 1950's in the deep south. The story might have been interesting but the writing and stereotypes made it unwatchable. I expect better than that.
Arrogance need not lead to lazy script writers
franchlife22 April 2019
I realize that stage and screen are populated primarily by narcissists both sides of the Atlantic. However, if you plan to write an American court room and teach us the immorality of the death penalty and the violence, racism, and corruption of the American south, please learn the nomenclature, titles and roles in an American court room and the fact that "sportsters" are Harley motor cycles and not a diminutive British sports car. AND PLEASE cast people who can actually parrot a Southern Accent... you sound as bad as Donald Southerland's attempts to sound British!
otherwise great show, they should have stayed in Britain
gnbonney-841-91105113 September 2019
The idea of doing an episode in America was terrible. The whole show is about the British legal system. When they tried to do an episode about the legal system in America it was unfair and inaccurate. It's like they thought this poor guy wrongly accused of a crime could not find a good lawyer anywhere in America and had to borrow one all the way from England. It's like they think America is a third-world country where nobody can get a fair trial. Plus the depiction of Americans was offensive. The acting was very bad too. Many of the Americans had ridiculous fake accents and it seemed they all wore red white and blue hats. It reminded me of once when I went into a "American" style restaurant in London; there were American flags everywhere and terribly bad copies of American dishes. Really, the show producers should be ashamed.
A sophomoric travesty
nwdean-862-18690324 April 2019
This caricature of the 1950s South is so unrealistic that John Thaw should have never agreed to appear in it. He gives his usual great performance but he is immersed on nonsense. There are bits of extreme north Florida that are parts of the old South, but nowhere are ther characters as artificial as these. Was this script done as homework in a high school class? It certainly seems that way!
Julia, from Africa to Florida?!
eday00716 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Several episodes ago, Julia went to Africa,. Suddenly here she is married, pregnant and living in Florida. An explanation of how she ended up in Florida would have been helpful. When did she pass the Florida bar exams, how did she meet hubby.
Unlikely
scottjtepper24 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
So Kavanagh, QC is also a "fully paid up member of the Florida Bar"? How convenient. When did he have time? He'd have to go to an American law school and at least get an LLM and take the Florida Bar. And for a death penalty case he'd have to have some experience trying criminal cases in Florida. And Barristers are trial lawyers. Death penalty appeals and collateral attacks would be written up more by solicitor types.
Why Florida? (The series "Undercover" about a British barrister also has her indulging in an American death penalty appeal.) There are several Commonwealth states in America which still have the death penalty, and where a barrister could be useful. Why not do this there?
Really a pathetic episode. Perhaps the worst of the series. And poor Kavanagh's wife gets killed off, too.
Why Florida? (The series "Undercover" about a British barrister also has her indulging in an American death penalty appeal.) There are several Commonwealth states in America which still have the death penalty, and where a barrister could be useful. Why not do this there?
Really a pathetic episode. Perhaps the worst of the series. And poor Kavanagh's wife gets killed off, too.
Give it a skip
sullyfamly18 July 2019
My husband and I have watched every season and every episode up to this one. If we didn't love the series so much, we would never watch another after this ghastly experience. It is shockingly poor in every way that matters, aside from the performances of our regular cast members, well...plus one or two. I am left feeling sad. My best advice is not to clutter your mind with all that you will see and hear in this one.
Unbelievable take on America life in Florida
lcpiet26 July 2019
The premise of the episode might have been good if they hadn't been so off course with their idea of life in Florida. It's noted by other viewers that it was as though we were transported to 1950, and indeed that is exactly what this episode is like.
Way off the mark. Terrible acting, terrible accents, terrible idea!
Horrible. Shame on all responsible!
jacklbrad13 October 2020
In God We Trust
Prismark1013 January 2021
It is not unknown for British barristers to practice abroad as well as home. Hong Kong used to be a favourite destination and a lucrative one too.
Some trial lawyers also qualify to practice in the USA. Kavanagh has been asked over by his former junior Julie Piper to help with an appeal of an inmate in death row in Florida.
Julie is heavily pregnant but pretty soon Kavanagh ends up leading the case as Julie goes into labour.
The inmate is William Dupret. A black man, not so clever, his lawyer at the trial was no great shakes and Dupret was charged for murdering a well to do black family.
Kavanagh finds some promising leads but they all come to nothing. However something suggests that Dupret's fate is linked with some powerful people. The original defence lawyer suddenly got a job with the DA's office.
This is one of these episodes where all the exterior location shooting was done in America. All the internal shooting was done in Britain. You can tell from all those North American actors who have been based in Britain for years.
This is not a great episode. It wants to do something different but strains credibility. Kavanagh gets a lot of basics wrong in court, it must be the Florida heat which must have given him sunstroke.
The casual racism in a bar was odd and so was that poorly done hold up. It made Florida look like a cesspit.
It is the finale for season 3 and I reckon the producers took John Thaw abroad to entice him for future shows.
Some trial lawyers also qualify to practice in the USA. Kavanagh has been asked over by his former junior Julie Piper to help with an appeal of an inmate in death row in Florida.
Julie is heavily pregnant but pretty soon Kavanagh ends up leading the case as Julie goes into labour.
The inmate is William Dupret. A black man, not so clever, his lawyer at the trial was no great shakes and Dupret was charged for murdering a well to do black family.
Kavanagh finds some promising leads but they all come to nothing. However something suggests that Dupret's fate is linked with some powerful people. The original defence lawyer suddenly got a job with the DA's office.
This is one of these episodes where all the exterior location shooting was done in America. All the internal shooting was done in Britain. You can tell from all those North American actors who have been based in Britain for years.
This is not a great episode. It wants to do something different but strains credibility. Kavanagh gets a lot of basics wrong in court, it must be the Florida heat which must have given him sunstroke.
The casual racism in a bar was odd and so was that poorly done hold up. It made Florida look like a cesspit.
It is the finale for season 3 and I reckon the producers took John Thaw abroad to entice him for future shows.
Thoughtless stereotyping and ridiculous southern accents
splotch-7760219 August 2019
This episode is an embarrassment for such a thoughtful and charming show. Virtually all southern American characters except for Julia's husband are depicted as ignorant, backwards, corrupt, unintelligent and/or racist.
In addition, the faux southern accents are so alarmingly inaccurate and inconsistent, I found it difficult to follow what was supposed to be happening dramatically in the story.
Note to the producers: Stereotypes and inaccuracies do not make for compelling drama.
That some Brits see southern Americans this way in 1997 is cringe-worthy.
All the other episodes up to this one have been very good. The acting is top notch, and the characters, (particularly Kavanaugh, Julia, Peter and Jeremy) are perfectly and charmingly played.
In addition, the faux southern accents are so alarmingly inaccurate and inconsistent, I found it difficult to follow what was supposed to be happening dramatically in the story.
Note to the producers: Stereotypes and inaccuracies do not make for compelling drama.
That some Brits see southern Americans this way in 1997 is cringe-worthy.
All the other episodes up to this one have been very good. The acting is top notch, and the characters, (particularly Kavanaugh, Julia, Peter and Jeremy) are perfectly and charmingly played.
In God We Trust - more true than you may think
martins-591734 January 2021
I live in Florida, and for the folks who suggested the plot of this episode of Kavanagh was something from the 1950's, I would say they haven't visited Florida in the age of Trump. Racism is very much alive and well here. It is worse now than at anytime in at least the last 40 years. I think this program is more relevant in 2021, than it was in 1997.
Huge fan of John Thaw, but....
thetamlyone14 August 2021
I certainly wonder right now if he held his American fans in contempt or just went along with writers who did. I keep having to pause the episode because I can't stomach what I'm seeing. I don't judge entire countries as if everyone were the same, so I'll refrain from asking whether this is how the British see us. It's..... horrific.
Terrible Episode
bosporan10 March 2022
Lazy trope often employed by US crime series sending the protagonist to London or Paris - usually episode 1 of series 3 when they run out of ideas. Uses mindless caricature stereotypes of the locals. I love Kavanagh - this is hands down the worst episode - an abomination.
Terrible portrayal of Florida
joannac-4313912 June 2023
I love John Thaw... I love this show,, I read all the reviews for this episode, And I have to agree, with all the reasons, they should never have done this particular type of episode.... I don't live in Florida, but I live on the East Coast,, and Florida is a big topic of conversation, I don't live in Florida, but I live on the East Coast , and Florida is a big topic of conversation, for many many reasons. If the producers were going to do a show on Florida and it's legal system they should have investigated more . I Could not believe what I was looking at, the depiction of Florida, at that time was so bad, and the portrayals of Floridians was awful, the accents ...
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