Round Two: Fairly Legal

Fairly Legal: Season 1, Episode 2 “Priceless” (C+)

Delighted as I am to see Sarah Shahi back on a television in a fitting role, this show just isn’t cutting it. I get that Kate is supposed to be The World’s Greatest Mediator, but do we need to have it spelled out for us so constantly? I’m referring mainly to the fact that the coffee-obsessed cab driver nearly runs over the coffee-obsessed businessman on a bike, which was a horribly staged scene. All of Kate’s resolutions, for that matter, seem magnificently forced and designed to make Kate seem like the most wonderful person in the world, which, to be honest, she’s not. Admittedly, her idea to have Steve run a community center that would replace the store is pretty smart, but taking the bat and smashing stuff along with him, before handing the bat back to him, is just plain crazy. The trouble is that everyone lets her get away with it, and, even if I understand that that’s the point, I’m not really buying it. Paul Schulze, who I know best as Ryan Chappelle from “24” but has also romanced Edie Falco on both “The Sopranos” (as Father Phil) and “Nurse Jackie” (as pharmacist Eddie), was an interesting choice to play Steve, but he did do a great job! This episode-ending twist with the revelation of a fourth will benefactor seems to be coming at an alarmingly early stage in the show’s history, since there’s barely been enough time to develop these characters on their own without adding a shadowy mystery personality to the mix.