CBS's Shark: Series premiere review

Quick review: This show has promise. Not sure about the time slot (maybe it's a better Sunday night show rather than go up against CSI & Grey's Anatomy (and Smallville)), but I'll continue to watch it online as it gets posted. We'll see if it gets better. [Yes, I know it obviously isn't going up against CSI, but my point is that it's not so good that it will win the slot, so why not put it on Sundays at 9 or 10 instead].

I wasn't going to watch another lawyer show, but one of my friends told me about the premise of CBS's Shark and I figured it might be worth watching. And since I played poker on Thursday night and had the Virginia game going in the background, I was able to take advantage of the online viewing system CBS has implemented (innertube) and watched it today in between football games. Plus it's directed by Spike Lee (at least the first episode), so how can you go wrong?

Actor and poker player James Woods plays a criminal defense lawyer named Stark. After the jury acquits his client who was accused of attempted murder of his ex-wife, the same client is charged with murder of his new wife less than a week later. Fed up with the sexy lifestyle of criminal defense work and also because the lifestyle has finally caught up with him, the State offers him a position he can't refuse, the head position of LA's new High Profile Crime Unit. Stark (who carries the nickname Shark) accepts. So sets the opening minutes of the show.

My perspective regarding lawyer shows has already been addressed in a previous post. Setting aside this general dislike of lawyer shows because television (correctly) takes out all of the boring stuff about legal research, I thought this one had promise, in part, because I think the State prosecutor/DA/AG offices ought to do better recruiting (and pay more) in order to encourage those who may be thinking of public service to follow through. So why not have a show featuring the state-side of criminal work (not like Law & Order) and its perks, as opposed to another show about an "unbeatable" criminal defense team. I'm all for it.

Things I liked: The DA badge reference- this probably went over a lot of people's heads but I found it pretty funny and the joke accurate. I thought the jokes and the subtle references about the office supplies and decor were okay as well. Jeri Ryan (Boston Public) being on the show certainly helps, and I'm sure her role will increase over time and be less of a figure-head/counterpart.

Things I didn't like: 7 DA's, all probably there less than 5 years, working on one "high profile" rape/murder case? I don't see LA having any less criminals than any east coast jurisdiction, so I can't imagine all of those fledgling and admittedly screw-up prosecutors don't have traffic and family court cases to deal with first in order to pay their dues. But maybe California does things differently. If they do have that many lawyers to spare such a large amount of resources to this case, why can't they pay more and attract high profile attorneys like Stark?

Stark's personal side storyline with his daughter, while compelling, didn't really add anything (in my opinion), but I guess they are trying to attract a different audience than law school students, so I can always check my email while the sound of those scenes continues. Overall, I will give a nod to that storyline's implicit suggestion that public work allows for more personal time than the private sector does.

Like many other lawyer shows, the witness defendant confesses on the stand, so it may or may not even have had to go to jury, although given the time and resources, I'm sure any deal at that late stage would have been rejected, and if the verdict was not directed, then obviously the State "won." At least it went for the prosecutor's side this time, so good for them. I like hearing arguments and lines of questioning, so like Boston Legal, it is good for that, although I found it much more realistic than Crane/Shore's questioning in terms of cross examination.

My review of the online viewing experience: Quality and speed was great, but the commercials were more annoying than on broadcast tv, primarily because the commercials' volume probably doubles. It's almost as bad as the loud and annoying AIM commercials that pop up every now and then. Volume and that annoyance aside, the commercials are short and non-disruptive, which I'm going to say will have a positive , non-deterring effect on the online viewing experience. (1 every 10 or 15 minutes or so, which isn't bad at all). The counterpoint is that online product placement will and should become much more transparent, which I think is a fair trade off. Online viewing experience: 4.5 stars out of 5. Is Shark worth watching a couple times? Sure, give it a couple episode run and see what you think.

Tags: cbs, shark, james woods