Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction ends the second series with, in Wikipedia's words, the most complex case of Kavanagh's career. A man and his sister appear to have murdered their father, a farmer, and the farmer's second wife. Kavanagh represents the sister, while her brother chooses to represent himself.

TVDB gives more of the evidence. A shotgun, apparently planted, seems to provide the only evidence linking the two defendants to the gruesome killings. So the prosecution has little else, and the trial rests on whether the gun can be tied to the siblings.

Kavanagh loses the trial. His client is convicted. In the appeal, though, he persuades the court that judicial errors were made in the original trial, and his client is released. The conviction is overturned not because anyone has established what happened but because the trial was flawed.

The real truth is another matter. TVDB says his client, a weak and manipulated woman, knows it, but she is too afraid to confess. So the barrister has won a release for a woman who does not trust him with the facts, and the story ends with the knowledge held by someone who will not speak.

Russell Lewis wrote the film and Charles Beeson directed. Michael Byrne plays Judge Ransome, Robert Cavanah appears as Duncan Pembridge, Marty Cruickshank as Barbara Tully, Nigel Carrington as the clerk of the court, and Mem Ferda as Sergeant Wright. John Thaw leads, with Rosalind Bailey as Cynthia Kavanagh, Anna Chancellor as Julia Piper and Daisy Bates as Kate.

It was shown on Monday 1 April 1996 according to Wikipedia, the sixth and last of the second series' films, and was made by Central Television for ITV. TVDB and TVmaze date it 2 April. The next series did not arrive until March 1997.

The films were made for a 90-minute slot including advertisements, so the drama itself runs for about 76 minutes. IMDb voters give this one 8.0 out of 10.

Wikipedia describes the typical shape of the series as a client who seems likely to be convicted until a twist occurs. Here the twist is a legal one, a successful appeal. The Classic Film and TV Café reviewer praised the show's first-rate episodes and strong lead performance.

The sources do not say who did kill the farmer and his wife, so the account ends where TVDB does, with the release and the secret she will not tell.