For someone who’s contributed so much to television, it’s rather surprising just how quiet Steven Bochco has been for the past few years.
Bochco is the man responsible for executive-producing such classic dramas as “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” and “NYPD Blue,” as well as short-lived but highly regarded series such as “Murder One,” “Brooklyn South,” and “Over There.” After 2005’s well-intentioned but sketchily-executed “Commander in Chief,” however, Bochco’s name stopped appearing in the credits for any new shows, and in a 2007 interview with Newsday, he admitted that he had decided to take a step back from the broadcast networks, saying, “I don’t think there’s a big appetite for the stuff I like to do. You’re looking at 400-year-old cops and detectives who are vampires. . . . It’s fine. I don’t have any disdain for it. It’s just not what I do.”
Thankfully, Bochco has found a new home on cable with TNT, who seem to be welcoming him with open arms…and when he’s offering up a series like “Raising the Bar,” why wouldn’t they?
It was well documented that, when TNT brought “The Closer” to its line-up, their ultimate goal was just to find a show that would get the fans of the network’s “Law & Order” reruns to stick around for some original programming. Well, if that show added some “Order,” then “Raising the Bar” is here to provide an equal amount of “Law.” The series follows the lives of young lawyers who spend their days opposing each other – some are with the public defender’s office, some are with the district attorney’s office – then try to set their differences aside at the end of the day and just enjoy the shared camaraderie of the legal profession.
Yeah, it works about as well as you’d expect.
In the public defender’s office, we have Jerry Kellerman (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), a guy who has a firm mindset on what’s right and what’s wrong, and heaven help you if you dare to have an opinion as strong as his that isn’t the same as his, because he won’t be afraid to tell you just how wrong you are. Unfortunately, this includes Judge Trudy Kessler (Jane Kaczmarek), who’s just as much of a bulldog as Jerry is, but with way more power in the courtroom. Fortunately, Jerry occasionally has an “in” within Judge Kessler’s courtroom: Charlie Sagansky (Jonathan Scarfe), the judge’s law clerk, who’s so far up her honor’s robes that she tends to follow just about any advice he cares to offer her on a case. Charlie’s not really on anyone’s side, per se, but he’s often able to see reason where his boss is prone to follow her gut on a judgment, even at the expense of the defendant’s future. Also working for the public defender’s office is Richard Patrick Woolsey (Teddy Sears), who’s opted out of taking a job with his father’s law firm in favor of trying to help the downtrodden. Richard gets so personally invested in his cases, however, that you can already imagine him entering an emotional downward spiral sooner than later if he should fail one of his clients. Bobbi Gilardi is the latest addition to the team, having just transferred in from the Brooklyn office; she’s married, and Jerry knows it, but it’s clear that there are sparks between them nonetheless. Leading the whole bunch is Roz Whitman (Gloria Reuben), who stays on the sidelines as much as possible but isn’t above stepping in to assist her team when she feels it’s necessary.
Now for the D.A.’s office. You’ve got Michelle Ernhardt (Melissa Sagemiller), an assistant district attorney who’s beautiful and knows it, but she’s also been known to get so caught up in trying to win cases that she forgets how to be a good lawyer. (She’s usually the one who pulls a shady move in the courtroom and then can’t figure out why everyone doesn’t want to be all chummy in the bar afterwards.) Meanwhile, Marcus McGrath (J. August Richards) has a quick wit and generally comes across as charming to everyone who crosses his path, but that doesn’t stop him from being a hard-ass when he’s seeking justice. These two work for D.A. Nick Balco, a gruff guy who isn’t much for small talk and will gladly call someone out when they’re not living up to his expectations.
Hey, wait a minute! Didn’t it feel like the D.A.’s office kind of got the short end of the stick with character development? Well, yes and no. Certainly, Judge Kessler is involved in their story just as much as she is with the public defender’s office; while Jerry’s the one who regularly clashes with the judge, Kessler is equal opportunity when it comes to getting testy with the attorneys in her courtroom.
Three episodes into “Raising the Bar,” I’m really digging the show. There’s a definite resemblance to Dick Wolf’s failed “Law & Order” spin-off, “Conviction,” and not just because J. August Richards was on both series. Wolf’s show explored an office full of new A.D.A.s and their lives both in and out of the courtroom, and since it never got the push from NBC that I thought it deserved, I have no problem seeing Bochco borrow from it. The attempt by “Raising the Bar” to have the lawyers be all buddy-buddy at the end of the day is skewered before the first episode is even over, so it’s clear that Bocho’s planning to regularly remind the viewer that, no, it isn’t just business, and sometimes you can’t just leave your issues in the courtroom. Yes, some of the plot lines do seem to be a little pat, like one attorney sleeping with another, but the cases within the first three episodes have been particularly gripping, and more importantly, the acting within the ensemble is top-notch. In particular, the flirtation between Jerry and Bobbi as realistic as any I’ve seen on TV recently…and as long as I’ve brought up Jerry, it must be said that Gosselaar is a really underrated actor who’s come a long way under the tutelage of Steven Bochco.
If there’s a weak link in the character chain, it’s probably Judge Keller. Kaczmarek uses all the bitchiness she learned from playing Lois on “Malcolm in the Middle” (plus a little of the legal savvy she’s accumulated from voicing Judge Harm on “The Simpsons”) to good effect here, but it seems a little implausible that someone who’s so unwavering in her declarations in the courtroom would change her tune so quickly at the behest of her law clerk…even if he is sleeping with her. Whoops, sorry, didn’t mean to let the cat out of the bag. Rest assured, however, that there are other secrets to be had within this plot line.
I’m sold enough on the first three episodes of “Raising the Bar” to be investigating the show further. Bocho’s resume is way too impressive to doubt his ability to maintain ongoing plot arcs with these characters; let’s just hope TNT viewers can latch onto the show as solidly as they have “The Closer,” so we can see where he intends to go with them.
