Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season

Season Grade: B+

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: A-

What possible need would the world have for yet another series about lawyers and their lives? Between growing up on L.A. Law (recently revived by a new cable network thank you very much for that btw) and now living with the seemingly endless (again thank you) episodes of the Law & Order franchise I couldn't possibly fathom having enough strength to take on another series where the terms, 'I object!' and 'Move to Strike!' are passionately utter several times per show.

But alas, my silly preconceived notions have been proven wrong yet again. I foolishly doubted Friday Night Lights, I doubted Enterprise, I even initially doubted Smallville believe it or not – so in my new proud tradition of happily turning complete 180's… I give you Raising the Bar… my new must see show!

The most important question to be answered here is, 'in what way is this show different from all of those other legal dramas?' This one, while far more 'g-rated' than other shows on television, is more realistic. I know it's hard to imagine a show more realistic about the crime and punishment process in our country than Law & Order or C.S.I.; but the truth is those shows have specific stories they want to tell and they navigate their way through the judicial system to tell them. The realism of timing and the flaws inherent in the system itself are often by-passed for the sake of the story. Normally it will take years for cases to find their way into a court room and even longer to be fully prosecuted. But in a single episode of Law & Order a crime is committed, investigated, adjudicated and then reflected upon. I didn't think the necessary suspension of disbelief when it came to timing would make that much of a difference to me, but as it turns out, it's a huge deal.

In Raising the Bar a show will begin with a case that is about to be tried but where the person awaiting trial has already been sitting in jail for a year preparing for it. For some reason the added emotional weight of knowing that adds to the stakes of that case. That person's freedom is really in jeopardy at that point in our minds; especially in the cases where they are eventually found to be innocent.

The show focuses on a small group of young attorneys some from the D.A.'s office who serve as prosecutors for all cases and some from the Public Defenders Office who serve when a defendant cannot afford a lawyer on their own. It goes without saying that they are all incredibly good-looking… I mean, c'mon, it's still television and of course their personal lives are brought to the fore quiet often and the sexual tension is

found just about every where. What isn't shown however is any of the sex. No sex, no kissing, no making out, nothing overly suggestive sexually ever happens! There's also no physical violence ever shown with the exception of a right hook courtesy of M.P.G. (more on him later). This lack of visual edge and real life grittiness is probably my main complaint about the show; it's super clean. The type of thing you'd expect from an all Mormon cast and crew. Or a production that Kirk Cameron was in charge of. In spite of that though every single episode hooked me in and made me care about every single character that graced the screen.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, affectionately referred to as M.P.G. is the lead in this TNT drama and he does an amazing job as the Public Defender who is out to save the world and refuses to accept injustice anywhere he encounters it! Spending time with Jerry Kellerman will remind us all of the idealistic young students of life we all used to be. Unlike most of us, he's never sold out and has never settled for anything less than what is just and fair. (And yes the hair is pretty awful but it eventually grows on you and you realize that he could have a mop up there and it wouldn't detract from how sexy this man is.)

His polar opposite is found in Jane Kaczmarek's character the immovable and cold Judge Trudy Kessler. This is the last person you ever want to stand in front of if you've either committed a crime or even worse NOT committed a crime. She plays more from the book of, prove to me that you didn't do it than the, I'll assume u didn't until it's been proven that you did. If she's a really sweet, fun lady in real life then she is an amazing actress because she made my blood boil!

Rounding out the cast are Natalia Cigliuti as Roberta Gilardi the newly transferred Brooklyn attorney with more than a few tricks up her sleeve who enters with a husband but still manages to become M.P.G.'s major love interest throughout the season; Also the timeless Gloria Reuben as Rosalind Whitman the head of the P.D.'s office (I'm still crushing on her from her ER days and I swear she looks exactly the same as she did all those years ago or maybe even better!). Teddy Sears is the classically handsome silver spoon rich kid choosing to disappoint the family by becoming a P.D. who'd rather defend the common man than work for a fortune 500 company; ohh and he'd also like to eventually win the heart of Roz too while he's at it. Jonathan Scarfe plays Judge Kessler's law clerk and boy toy, Charlie, who has a funny habit of ending up in gay bars after hours.

Then we have the kids from the D.A.'s Office "” J. August Richards who plays Marcus McGrath, the only black kid in his neighborhood to make it out of the projects and on to a successful career and seems to have a chip on his shoulder with regard to any defendant who wasn't able to do the same thing; and Melissa Sagemiller, the pretty blonde girl who has an ax to grind with society it seems. Even though she starts out with M.P.G. her underhanded legal tactics to screw over clients quickly pushes him away.

That's the nuts and bolts of the cast but you really have to sit down and watch the whole season to see how wonderfully they all play off each other and how great each and every case they present is. The show may be about the people and how they deal with their jobs and their lives, but at the end of the day the show is really about justice. Sometimes it's achieved and you can walk away from an episode feeling good and then other times it's clear that something grave has just taken place and you can feel pretty crappy and angry for a while. For me, that's what makes a good show great!

The special features on this 3 disc set are so good it made me wish there were more of them! First there is a great featurette about the real life of a public defender where the co-creator of the show David Feige talks about how he initially came up with the idea for the book upon which the show is based and then how it grew from there to become what it is today. The cast members and their leader Mr. Steven Bochco also chime in about their involvements and what the show means to them. Next, there's a roundtable discussion with several of the cast assembled on a stage just talking about the show and their characters and you can really get a sense of how much fun these guys all have together. And finally there is the coveted blooper reel which is fantastic! It has some very funny moments that again, just leave you wanting more.

I can't wait for season two of this, my new favorite legal drama by the legendary Steven Bochco so if you're a fan of any of his previous shows or of legal shows in general you need to pick this up on DVD and give it a show. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy you did!

Season Grade: B+

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: A-