MONDAY, JUNE 15
RAISING THE BAR
TNT, 10pm et/pt
By Kevin Downey
It’s probably tough being a television legend, what with critics and viewers constantly comparing your current work to your past accomplishments. You’re always falling short.
In the case of Steven Bochco, there’s no shaking the past. His track record is among Hollywood’s most legendary, stretching back to the 1980s and into the new millennium with gigantic, groundbreaking hits like Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue.
And, yet, proving he’s human, Bochco has had his share of clunkers, too, perhaps most memorably the singing-cop show Cop Rock.
His new show, Raising the Bar, which kicked off its second season last Monday, is neither groundbreaking nor clunky.
Although the show and Bochco have had criticism lobbed in their direction, I suppose for, well, falling short of Bochco’s past accomplishments, Bar is actually a good show that deserves more respect than it sometimes gets.
That’s not to say it’s a great show. What it is, is a good, well-made, entertaining drama.
Bar is an ensemble drama following the lives of New York City lawyers battling on two fronts: the public defender’s office and the district attorney’s office.
If there’s a star, a central figure its public defender Jerry Kellerman (Mark-Paul Gosselaar from NYPD Blue). Kellerman is meant to be a piece of work, an unorthodox lawyer – is there any other kind on TV? – who thrives on annoying the heck out of judges.
In next week’s episode, Kellerman starts stripping in a courtroom, undoing his shirt buttons, apparently to make a point. What that point is isn’t clear. It’s in these quirky scenes that Bar stumbles.
When Bar sticks to the courtroom, and to the characters, it shines. And, in fact, Bar has moments of brilliance – not Hill Street Blues-level brilliance — but its own. And, packaged in an entertaining drama, that’s just fine.
Video Clips: tnt.tv/series/raisingthebar/
Content: Appropriate for teenagers and adults
