I haven't been a big fan of lawyer movies since the early seasons of The Practice. These don't usually appeal to me, well, because I'm not a lawyer. I've always been of the opinion that they don't usually reflect the reality of legal practice any more than most crime dramas reflect the day-to-day lives of the police. Now that never stopped me from watching NYPD Blue but then again, I fall back to one of my biggest arguments for series success - the characters.
I'll admit, I've never been a big fan of James Woods.
It always appears as if he tries too hard. What's more, he almost always plays the bad guy. So, early on I'll say that ( in my opinion ) he carries a lot of baggage with him coming to this series.
James Woods plays a very successful defense lawyer ( Sebastian Stark ) who defends the big names and gets payed very well for it. To him, losing is never an option. He always wins. Well, his most recent case, a star hockey player is accused of beating his wife. Stark, as expected, gets him off. Later that night his client kills his wife. This is a rude awakening for Stark.
The mayor of LA decides that he needs a new prosecution team built to take on the big names of the city and who better to lead the team than Stark himself. So, he takes on the challenge ( one can only wonder if it is solely to redeem himself ) and also takes a few young lawyers under his wing. Early on the young and aspiring litigators fail to win Stark's respect. But in the end, they not only win him over, but Stark closes the case and clears the name of a young man. Simple enough. No? From the outset, as I said, I was doubtful. But, there is more than it appears to this story.
Stark is also divorced. His ex-wife has remarried and has decided to re-locate, taking their sixteen year-old daughter, Julie ( Danielle Panabaker ) with her. Stark, has an on-and-off relationship ( mostly off ) with his daughter. In a last-minute, feeble attempt to reconcile any differences or lack of attention to her, Stark invites her to dinner. However, as it would appear, Julie plays second fiddle to her father's legal career. After winning his court case, and outing a wannabe pop star for murder, he goes to family court to finalize the proceedings and hand over sole custody of his daughter to his ex-wife. Since she is sixteen it is her decision to make. In a surprise ending she states that she will live with her father. In a pretty emotional scene, she says that she doesn't want to exchange birthday and Christmas cards only for them to drift further apart to point where they no longer know each other. Additionally, she says that he needs her.
We find that Stark is really much more complex than it would appear and perhaps events in his life are changing him - for the better. Without his daughter, these changes may not take place. Perhaps the great Sebastian Stark is not what the legends say he is. I don't think that I will tune in each week to watch this, but it may build a following. The way I see it, this show could get better and better with the right storylines. Then again, it could go the way of cliche relying on "the single, successful father raising his daughter alone."
It always appears as if he tries too hard. What's more, he almost always plays the bad guy. So, early on I'll say that ( in my opinion ) he carries a lot of baggage with him coming to this series.
James Woods plays a very successful defense lawyer ( Sebastian Stark ) who defends the big names and gets payed very well for it. To him, losing is never an option. He always wins. Well, his most recent case, a star hockey player is accused of beating his wife. Stark, as expected, gets him off. Later that night his client kills his wife. This is a rude awakening for Stark.
The mayor of LA decides that he needs a new prosecution team built to take on the big names of the city and who better to lead the team than Stark himself. So, he takes on the challenge ( one can only wonder if it is solely to redeem himself ) and also takes a few young lawyers under his wing. Early on the young and aspiring litigators fail to win Stark's respect. But in the end, they not only win him over, but Stark closes the case and clears the name of a young man. Simple enough. No? From the outset, as I said, I was doubtful. But, there is more than it appears to this story.
Stark is also divorced. His ex-wife has remarried and has decided to re-locate, taking their sixteen year-old daughter, Julie ( Danielle Panabaker ) with her. Stark, has an on-and-off relationship ( mostly off ) with his daughter. In a last-minute, feeble attempt to reconcile any differences or lack of attention to her, Stark invites her to dinner. However, as it would appear, Julie plays second fiddle to her father's legal career. After winning his court case, and outing a wannabe pop star for murder, he goes to family court to finalize the proceedings and hand over sole custody of his daughter to his ex-wife. Since she is sixteen it is her decision to make. In a surprise ending she states that she will live with her father. In a pretty emotional scene, she says that she doesn't want to exchange birthday and Christmas cards only for them to drift further apart to point where they no longer know each other. Additionally, she says that he needs her.
We find that Stark is really much more complex than it would appear and perhaps events in his life are changing him - for the better. Without his daughter, these changes may not take place. Perhaps the great Sebastian Stark is not what the legends say he is. I don't think that I will tune in each week to watch this, but it may build a following. The way I see it, this show could get better and better with the right storylines. Then again, it could go the way of cliche relying on "the single, successful father raising his daughter alone."
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