Pilot Review: Canterbury’s Law
Canterbury’s Law (FOX)
Premiered March 10 at 9pm
Think of this show as the law drama only FOX could make. There is nothing glaringly bad about the show, but it also offers little suspense and a whole lot of over-dramatic speeches. Julianna Marguiles is expected to carry this show all by herself, with absolutely no support from an unenthusiastic supporting cart. Even James Woods on “Shark” has paralegals to help him sort out his cases. Marguiles’ Elizabeth Canterbury is much like George Clooney’s title character in “Michael Clayton” – everyone goes on and on about how spectacular and impressive they are at what they do, yet their strong moments really come from an accidental or coincidental realization. Canterbury swoops in at the last minute to save the day rather than planning the whole thing out, like Brenda on “The Closer”. A show which only delivers in its last ten minutes cannot survive for long. The dialogue is very pretentious, especially everything that spews out of Marguiles’ mouth, and on top of that, characters use legal terms like “friggin’” as well as hurling insults at each other like “feckless puppet”. Only on FOX could an attempt to create a new replacement for “The Practice” come off so underdeveloped (okay, maybe on the CW also).
How will it work as a series? If the supporting characters do not get more screen time, this show will tank fast. Marguiles can only sustain this show for so long.
How long will it last? This one has been panned since well before it aired, and I think its life will be pretty short. FOX, unlike The CW, does not leave shows with dismal ratings on the air for an entire season.
Pilot grade: D+
Saturday, March 15, 2008
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