NBC’s ‘Law Firm’ mimics ‘Apprentice’
There was a time, not that long ago, when David E. Kelley was considered an unstoppable one-man television machine. The writer/creator associated with “Picket Fences,” “Chicago Hope,” “L.A. Law,” “Ally McBeal” and “The Practice” wrote reams of dialogue every day, reportedly in longhand and on legal-size yellow pads.
But that was then. Tastes change, and the appetite for Kelley’s quirky characters, topical dramedy and arch dialogue has not been the same since the advent of reality TV.
A few years back, Kelley’s production company was forced to fire half the cast of “The Practice” just to survive. Last season, Kelley’s very “Practice”-like drama “Boston Legal” found itself bounced off the schedule by the surprise success of “Grey’s Anatomy” (though it will return to ABC’s schedule in September).
In a prime-time case of if-you-can’t-beat-‘em-join-‘em, Kelley has produced “The Law Firm” (9 p.m., NBC), a legal reality show so clearly modeled on “The Apprentice” that it’s lucky none of its cases involve plagiarism. “Firm” challenges 12 hotshot attorneys to measure up to the expectations of host Roy Black, a man, we are told, who is rather famous among trial lawyers.
The fact that we have to be told this, and by lawyers no less, is a clear indication of the differences between Donald Trump’s show and this photocopy. Black lacks Trump’s brand-name recognition, his telegenic swagger and his trademark buzzwords.
The dozen aspiring Clarence Darrows are men and women from different races and nationalities who are broken up, “Apprentice”-style, into competing teams. So why do they seem so interchangeable?
The women are attractive and, for the most part, the men come off as preening egos dipped in hair gel.
It’s a good thing some of the plaintiffs and defendants come out of left field. One of the first cases involves a lawsuit between a woman whose three-legged dog was savagely attacked and her neighbor, a grey-haired eccentric whose giant mastiff did the mauling. Everything proceeds rather primly until the mastiff’s owner takes the stand and uses language and behavior so out-to-lunch that his legal team (and the audience) can only roll their eyes.
Viewers of Court TV can only pray for characters like this to come along once in a blue moon. Writers like David E. Kelley used to create them.
But the legal system offers built-in twists and turns that often rescue “Law Firm” from its less-than-scintillating characters. In a future episode made available for review, one team’s hopeless case is salvaged when an opposing lawyer makes a slip of the tongue and introduces a damaging exhibit into testimony.
The reversal of fortune is so complete, and based on such a tiny technicality, that it actually seems like a plot lurch right out of “Law & Order.”
Given the lowered expectations of summer programming (not to mention the lowered standards of the once-proud Peacock network), “The Law Firm” should make a fine placeholder until nonrepeat episodes of “Law & Order” and “The Apprentice” come along.
Other highlights
Catherine’s fling may be a killer on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).
Sandy sleeps alone after confronting Kristen about her drinking on “The O.C.” (9 p.m., Fox).
Tales from the new frontiers of Internet dating on “Hooking Up” (9 p.m., ABC), produced by ABC News.
Undercover in the drug trade on “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS).
Two tots suffer injuries after a fall from a window on “ER” (10 p.m., NBC).
Scheduled on “Primetime” (10 p.m., ABC): a woman who fled a polygamous cult confronts her past; a transsexual golfer on the LPGA circuit.
Cult choice
Two doomed lovers live outside the law in director Nicholas Ray’s 1949 debut “They Live by Night” (7 p.m., Turner Classic Movies). The film was remade by Robert Altman in 1974 as “Thieves Like Us.”
Series notes
Julie Chen hosts “Big Brother 6” (8 p.m., CBS) … A painful choice on “Joey” (8 p.m., NBC) … On back-to-back episodes of “That ‘70s Show” (Fox,), Eric scrambles for tuition (8 p.m.), and Kelso’s crank call (8:30 p.m.) … Jenny McCarthy guest-stars on “Extreme Makeover” (8 p.m., ABC) … Wrestling on “WWE SmackDown!” (8 p.m., UPN) … Kryptonite brings out the worst in Lex on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB) … Edward Burns guest-stars on “Will & Grace” (8:30 p.m., NBC) … Ephram needs medical assurance on “Everwood” (9 p.m., WB).