Winning THE GOOD FIGHT

Article first published as THE GOOD FIGHT Review on Seat42F.

If you’re a fan of The Good Wife, as I am, you’ve likely eagerly been awaiting the spin-off, THE GOOD FIGHT, which finally premieres this Sunday on CBS. The series, which will only be available via CBS’s All Access streaming service after the pilot airs, is set one year after last spring’s series finale. While much of the show is the same, including plenty of returning faces, it also feels wholly different in both positive and negative ways.

I’m not going to lie, I was unpleasantly jarred when THE GOOD FIGHT fights first catches up with Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski), whose firm is now called Lockhart, Decker, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert-Lurie, Tannebaum, & Associates. Try saying that a few times fast. Not only has the name changed, but so have the sets. Gone are the familiar law offices we saw over seven seasons, and even Diane’s recognizable corner space. Instead, after merging with two other organizations, the digs are brand-new.

I can’t help but feel that change was unnecessary. While it makes for an easier separation between Diane and her practice, plot-wise, the same story could be accomplished without blowing up what came before. Given how much THE GOOD FIGHT keeps reminding us that this is set in the same universe, it feels very wrong to begin with the off-putting setting.

To play devil’s advocate, maybe this is done on purpose so that viewers aren’t sad when Diane does find the exit. Rather than hoping for some last-minute save that gets her back where we’ve come to think she belongs, by not having that home to return to any more, there’s no compelling reason to want her to go back. In that sense, it makes for a clean break.

In the first two episodes, Diane shares the central limelight with Maia Rindell (Rose Leslie, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey), her goddaughter. Having just passed the bar, Maia is excited to go to work for Diane and the rest. But she barely gets settled in before her father, Henry (Paul Guilfoyle, CSI), is arrested for stealing millions of dollars from wealthy clients, including Diane. With her girlfriend and lawyer telling her to stay away from her mother, Lenore (Bernadette Peters, Mozart in the Jungle), until things get settled, which could take years, Maia is suddenly left with no job or family to speak of.

In a way, Maia is kind of like the new Alicia. Diane is somewhat of a mentor to her, but they aren’t super close friends. Maia is going through rough scandal because of what a loved one did, which makes her presence in a court room a distraction, welcome or not. She is young and strong and building her life, like Alicia was doing for the second time when The Good Wife started.

However, there are some very stark differences in THE GOOD FIGHT, too. The firm for which Diane and Maia go to work, where Lucca (Cush Jumbo) has already relocated prior to the series begins, is quite different from any seen on The Good Wife. THE GOOD FIGHT has different music, different lighting, and different direction, too, making it feel like its own thing right away. Plus, it’s hard not to mention the cursing, which feels natural to the characters, more so than avoiding it did in certain parts of The Good Wife.

Once THE GOOD FIGHT settles in to what it is, getting past the initial event, it quickly gets very good. It has solid cases and interesting ongoing narrative arcs. It isn’t a copy of its predecessor, but there are a LOT of returning characters, including Sarah Steel in a welcome lead role as Marissa. It also has a lot of new roles, such as Adrian Boseman (Delroy Lindo, Blood & Oil) and Barbara Kolstad (Erica Tazel, Justified), partners at Diane’s new job. It has something to say, as The Good Wife did, but is fresh in its approach to it. This balance of continuation and completely new is effective, and I wish I’d had more than two episodes to watch ahead of time.

Of course, the big question is whether to shell out for CBS All Access. As someone who canceled cable, I went ahead and got my subscription. It’s how I’ve continued to watch CBS shows. However, were I still getting a strong cable signal into the house (my antenna is unreliable), I’m not sure I’d want to pay $10 for a single show. (As someone who’s had a DVR since 2005, the cheaper subscription that includes commercials is not even something I’d consider.) The network doesn’t have enough offerings to fully justify the expense, even for someone who has cut the cord, but I do it begrudgingly for now, especially with Star Trek: Discovery joining THE GOOD FIGHT later this year. While I want people to subscribe and watch this show so it can continue, I can’t blame anyone who doesn’t, as the network has not made a compelling case for its ridiculously high fee. So I won’t recommend signing up, though I selfishly hope lots of people do.

THE GOOD FIGHT begins this Sunday on CBS and CBS All Access, continuing only on the latter from week two onward.

I Don't BELIEVE

Article first published as BELIEVE Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s new drama BELIEVE, previewing this week, is the story of a man named Tate (Jack McLaughlin, Crash), who looks a bit like the white, European version of Jesus, assigned to protect a young girl named Bo (Johnny Sequoyah, Unicorns), who acts like Jesus. It’s like the short-lived FOX show Touch, but with more action and less scientific grounding.

The whole thing starts with a horrific car crash in which Bo loses her parents, murdered post-wreck by an evil assassin named Moore (Sienna Guillory, Luther). Before you worry too much that this will scar Bo for life, we soon learn these are foster parents who have only had Bo for two weeks, and are the latest in a string of guardians that haven’t lasted for the girl. Now, she needs a new protector.

Enter Tate, an inmate sitting on death row. But Winter (Delroy Lindo, The Chicago Code) is coming, and soon Tate is busted out of the pokey. The audience is told he’s innocent, and Winter has complete faith that Tate is the one to look after Bo, despite Tate’s grumblings to the contrary. Soon, BELIEVE has put together a buddy cop duo who are separated by gender and age.

Lest you wonder why Winter chose Tate, it’s a question answered by the end of the pilot, and it does make sense. This is good, because much of the other things that happen do not. Why, for instance, is Tate able to sneak into a hospital undetected, leaping off a gurney in front of many people, and still able to make his way, unmolested, through the halls? And why is Moore able to enter that same building at the same time, also able to move more freely than is believable? Does everyone in this hospital have blinders on?

Of course, this being an hour-long drama on NBC, a character study is not enough, so the writers, led by series co-creator Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) and producer J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Person of Interest), among others, build a whole mythology around the players. Bo has supernatural powers, which are barely glimpsed in the pilot. Winter leads a group to protect her, including the jealous Channing (Jamie Chung, Once Upon a Time), who wants to know why she can’t be Bo’s guardian. The villains are headed up by Winter’s former partner, Skouras (Kyle MacLachlan, Portlandia, Desperate Housewives), although why Winter and Skouras had a falling out and ended up on opposite sides of the battle is unknown.

It is fine to have a plot structure such as the one above if it is layered and complex. BELIEVE is not. We know immediately who to trust and who Bo should run from, and there’s little original about the relationships or the set up. It’s an interesting concept taken in too-familiar directions, leeching out any originality to make a bland product.

To make matters even worse, it’s clear BELIEVE will have a procedural component, with Bo taking a quick break from the adventures in the “Pilot” to help a doctor (Rami Malek, The Pacific) find his confidence and purpose. Isn’t it enough to have a great story without forcing in a formula that will repeat from week to week?

It’s these hallmarks of a broadcast network series that drag BELIEVE down. I fully believe the concept could succeed on a cable network that rewards freshness. Instead, it is on one of the Big Four, so the ideas have to be smashed into existing molds. It’s frustrating to watch many shows per year ruined because of such constraints, and BELIEVE seems destined to be yet another victim of the system. Given the minds behind the project, it didn’t have to be this way.

BELIEVE premieres Monday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

The Chicago Code faces "Black Hand and the Shotgun Man"

     FOX's The Chicago Code had a great pilot, but to my surprise, it continues to deliver extremely well-made episodes every week. Those expecting just another cop show are mistaken, as this series is certainly much, much better than most of its peers on television. The series gets into some real human drama, the heart of the people that make up the city of Chicago. The main characters struggle with moral compromises and how far to go for justice. There are cases of the week, but there are also much larger plots that consistently get plenty of screen time, too. It is expertly written and acted. I cannot recommend this series enough.

     This week, Jarek (Jason Clarke) and Caleb (Matt Lauria) bust a drug dealer named Romero, only to find the situation is much more complicated than they have assumed. Romero's son has been kidnapped by a rival gang, and while Jarek is fine with using Romero to save his son, federal agents show up and demand Romero be handed over to testify in another case, after which they intend to stick him into witness protection. Jarek is not one to give up easily, and is not about to let Romero's seven year old pay for his father's mistakes, so he has his niece, Vonda (Devin Kelley), and her partner, Isaac (Todd Williams), distract the F.B.I. men long enough to allow him to save the kid.

     Jarek often crosses the line, but doesn't get into trouble because of his results. While this may not be entirely realistic, it is easy enough to explain away, as Police Superintendent Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals) has given him a long leash in an attempt to go after a very big fish. As such, even when the case is not connected to Jarek's main target, he is allowed to defy orders more than other cops. Which, of course, makes for extremely good action sequences. If you are missing Jack Bauer, Jarek Wysocki should help ease the pain.

     Teresa herself pushes boundaries, but as she has to play politics, she isn't able to go as far as Jarek. Which may explain why she goes so easy on Jarek. He gets to do the things she cannot. He is her tool to get done what needs to be done. Last week, it went so far as to Teresa staging a suspension for Jarek, a real suspension, but pre-planned between the two of them, so that she can maintain a public image, but the job can still get tackled. This week, Teresa uses her more diplomatic talents, convincing the F.B.I. chief (Adam Arkin, Sons of Anarchy, Chicago Hope) that both they and she can get what they want. She is tough, but fair, and doing a heck of a job cleaning up quite a mess.

     I absolutely love the dynamic between Jarek and his partner, Caleb. Caleb is a goody two-shoes, who is well educated and wants to go far in law enforcement. It's Caleb's unique combination of reminding Jarek not to stray too far from the right path, but also not to get in his way, that has allowed Caleb to stay Jarek's partner, despite the high turnover rate that position holds. Caleb recognizes the value in Jarek's methods in a way others have not, and seems to have a good moral compass and wisdom. He doesn't always agree with Jarek, but he knows how to pick his battles. For instance, he is now harping on Jarek's large consumption of energy drinks, but doesn't try to talk Jarek out of fooling the feds to save a little boy.

     Caleb also gives Jarek crap for cheating on his fiance with his ex-wife, a plot that sees some serious development this week. Jarek's son catches Jarek and Dina (Amy Price-Francis, Life Unexpected, The Cleaner) together in the middle of the night. Dina wants Jarek to leave his very young fiance and come back to her, but knows him well enough to not force a choice. However, once Jarek affirms to his son that he has no intention of getting back with Dina on a more permanent basis, Dina accepts a date with another man, annoying Jarek.

     Perhaps it is cliche in TV that the man who is super good at law enforcement has a screwed up personal life. But that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. Jarek is a deeply flawed man, but that may be why he is able to understand the bad guys well enough to take them down. He knows flaws better than most. Jarek doesn't seem particularly enamored with his fiance, so I do find it strange he doesn't just dump her for Dina, whom he seems to value more. However, not knowing their back story all that well, it's hard to know exactly what is informing Jarek's decision making process in this case.

     Speaking of back story, this series has a cool element where one of the major, not necessarily main, characters narrates some history, often times with brief flashback scenes, informing on what has brought them to the point they are currently at. It's not like Lost where the flashbacks take over the narrative, or are extremely important to the ongoing plot. But I do like to know how past decisions influence present ones, and it is accomplished in an unobtrusive way. Very neat.

     Finally, in an ongoing arc, Liam (Billy Lush) continues his undercover investigation into Gibbons (Delroy Lindo). Last week, to keep his cover, Liam committed arson, later finding out his deed led to a man's death. Thankfully, rather than just forgetting this twist, Liam is really struggling with guilt over what happened. Gibbons, who orchestrated the arson and murder so that Liam is under his thumb, asks Liam to be his driver for a day. But it's a ruse. He takes Liam to visit grieving families, including that of Liam's victim, basically letting Liam know he is now owned.

     I am not convinced that the man died in the fire. His body may have been dumped there to blackmail Liam. Even if he did die in the fire, he was certainly placed there on purpose. I don't see Liam facing long-term consequences for the man's death, other than the personal demons he must wrestle with.

     Of course, Liam isn't owned, because he's a cop, and was ordered to participate in the fire. Gibbons doesn't know this. It is done cleverly, with Gibbons never actually saying anything threatening to Liam, actually smiling and acting like a mentor. Yet, there is a cruel ruthlessness underlying Gibbon's friendly disposition. What Gibbons doesn't know is that Liam is about ready to quit the operation, until Gibbons's strategy backfires, renewing Liam's commitment to the take down. Had Liam quit, it likely would have taken a long time to get a new undercover office in as deep as Liam is. Gibbons is causing his own downfall.

     Which makes me wonder what the long-term story will be for this series. Gibbons, obviously, is the first big target, and a main character. But I don't see Gibbons staying in power more than another year, at most. Any longer, and the show risks growing stale. Chicago is know for corruption, so surely there are many paths that can be taken after Gibbons goes down, though hopefully the next will be in a different direction. Rather than getting ahead of myself, though, I'm going to force myself to slow down and enjoy the ride. Because it is extremely entertaining.


     The Chicago Code airs Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET on FOX.

Article first published as TV Review: The Chicago Code - "Black Hand and the Shotgun Man" on Blogcritics.

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The Chicago Code Does It Right

     There are far too many cop / legal shows on the air right now. That should be apparent to anyone casually glancing at the network prime time listings. That's why I was extremely pessimistic about FOX's The Chicago Code, and wasn't looking forward to reviewing it at all. This, despite the fact that the show sponsored me on Examiner last week, so I owe them one, which has no baring on my opinion of the show, but still... I figured I would reluctantly sit through it, and then I could dash out a couple quick paragraphs about what drivel it is, copying everything else already on the air.

     That opinion was dead wrong. The Chicago Code is not at all the basic procedural drama. It's a mystery about corruption in a city known for it. It's an heroic tale about those that are finally willing to stand up to that corruption. Classic David versus Goliath, in modern day law enforcement and politics. It seems equally parts reality based, and dark, crime fighting, comic book inspired. Most of the first episode dealt with those major themes, and I am very much hooked.

     Alderman Gibbons (Delroy Lindo, a familiar face) has run the city for decades, relying heavily on the Irish mob, whom he seems to control, despite not being of that nationality himself. Six months after being named police superintendent, Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals, The L Word) is transferring ineffective cops to dead end beats, and is ready to tackle the source of the city's problems. Gibbons denies her request for a task force, but she doesn't let that stop her. Instead, Colvin approaches her former partner, Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke, Brotherhood), and asks him to do some investigating. Joined by his newest partner, Caleb (Matt Lauria, Friday Night Lights) and undercover detective, Liam, (Billy Lush, formerly of the canceled-too-soon The Black Donnellys), Jarek promises to do what he can.

     The road ahead will surely not be easy. But then, the show wouldn't be worth watching if it was. Gibbons has his hands in everything, and the people around him do not hesitate to take out whoever threatens their boss, without waiting for him to ask them to. Despite the resources at her disposal, if Colvin comes at Gibbons too strongly before she gets enough evidence to fully send him away, he could likely just have her removed from her job. How do you go after a man so powerful? It's a great question, and I look forward to a weekly series that answers it.

     Of course, the fight with Gibbons cannot go on indefinitely. I am thinking one, maybe two, seasons, tops. For those who may argue with me, thinking it would kill the show, Alias did it, toppling their big, bad organization a year and a half into the series, and they continued just fine for another three and a half years. A plot with such a defined villain cannot go on forever, and the series will get boring if it attempts to stretch it too long. At some point, things have to come to a head. Based on the progress made in just the first episode alone, this series is looking at a showdown sooner rather than later. Which is fine. I'm sure there are plenty of other problems the police of Chicago need to solve.

     Also in the main cast, besides all of the people mentioned above, is Jarek's niece, Vonda (Devin Kelley), and her partner slash lover, Isaac (Todd Williams, In Plain Sight). They are regular beat cops, sort of filling the role of the youngest brother on Blue Bloods, without the contrived conspiracy. That's because the conspiracy is the show. They are connected with the show's main plot only on the fringe. Instead, they simply add another layer, and a family element for Jareck. I predict they may get drawn into the larger story eventually, and hope they do. Otherwise, I don't see them needing to stick around for season two.

     One of the strongest elements of the show is how it can jump perspective. It did this several times, with narration alternating characters, including Jareck and Colvin. This format allows the show to add new central characters with little effort, or allow stand alone stories for single episode guests, such as they did in the pilot.

     If you have not watched the pilot, do not read this paragraph. If you do, the best surprise of the episode will be ruined. Antonio (Manny Montana), who was Colvin's driver and assistant, was right in the middle of his narration when he was gunned down, soon pronounced dead. I was shocked, and impressed. The episode really had me liking Antonio, and his death hurt. I wish he had stayed around, because he seemed like such an interesting character. On the other hand, what a neat, bold twist for a pilot to take! It's been done before, but seldom as well as done here. Major kudos.

     If you'd like to check out The Chicago Code, and I certainly recommend you do, it airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. on FOX.

Article first published as TV Review: The Chicago Code Does It Right on Blogcritics.

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