Whatever happened to all those criminal defence lawyers. You know
the ones – from shows like L.A. Law – who
used brains and ‘tude to get their completely innocent clients
off bogus charges concocted by “The Man”? Well, thanks
to Seven’s returning show, Shark, we have an answer.
It seems that, due to a paradigm shift in the way America views
both lawyers and the world in general, they’ve seen the
error of their ways and are now working on the side of justice
– except of course for the guys on Boston Legal.
Shark features James Woods as Sebastian
Stark, one time high-flying criminal defence lawyer whose life
is turned upside down when his efforts get a client off on a technicality,
only to have tragic consequences. He spirals downward, but is
rescued by an offer from the mayor of Los Angeles to head up a
special high-profile cases unit within the District Attorney’s
office. So Sebastian becomes a prosecutor, bringing the same street-smart,
ferocious style of litigation to the side of the “good guys”;
even though that means working with his old foe, DA Jessica Devlin
(Jeri Ryan).
Sebastian’s appointment coincides with another
momentous event in his life, as his teenage daughter Julie (Danielle
Panabaker) decides that she wants to live with him rather than
her mother, who is moving to New York. So now Stark not only has
to be a good lawyer, he has to learn how to be a good father as
well.
Shark is at its best as a legal drama. Stark approaches
each case with a passion that actually feels real, ordering his
team around and sailing as close to the wind as he possibly can.
The twist of the defence lawyer-turned-prosecutor is a smart one,
as it brings together the things that made shows like L.A.
Law so watchable (the hubris, the tactics, the flashy suits)
with a moral grounding that allows the audience to feel that our
hero isn’t a vacuous ethical shell.
As a family drama however, it’s a bit hit-and-miss.
The problem here is that the legal cases take centre stage in
most episodes, so the stuff between Sebastian and Julie is relegated
to secondary status. Sometimes, their scenes feel a bit “tacked
on”. The whole “divorced dad reconnecting with distant
daughter” scenario is almost certainly a device to soften
Stark as a character, but sometimes the episodes seem a little
“crowded” as the writers try to find space for the
two elements of the show in the one-hour format.
When
it works though – and that’s most of the time –
Shark is a more than acceptable drama. The pacing of each episode
is just about spot-on, the cases are almost always involving,
the one-liners fly thick and fast, and the array of characters
is nearly always interesting.
Rumour has it that the series nearly ended before
it even started, until the producers managed to snag James Woods
to star in the pilot. His presence, it has to be said, is absolutely
vital to the show, and it simply wouldn’t survive if he
was to leave. His performances hold the whole thing together,
so much so that it’s not going too far to say that Shark
is James Woods. Danielle Panabaker – who seems to be just
about everyone’s teenage daughter at the moment –
makes a good impression as Julie; as does Jeri Ryan as the quick-witted
DA. Some of the actors playing members of Stark’s team are
not particularly memorable; but then, their role is basically
to simply make Woods look good.
Shark is definitely worth catching if you’re
channel-surfing on a Tuesday night. The show has been picked up
for a second season in the US, but hasn't been treated so well
by Seven here. It was unceremoniously pulled during ratings, only
to now re-appear in the summer non-ratings period - which I guess
tells you a lot about what they think of it. Maybe it’s
not the greatest legal drama ever on TV, but it’s a show
that, like its namesake, keeps on swimming.
Phil James
To see a clip from Shark,
click the play button below:
Whatever happened to all those criminal defence lawyers. You know
the ones – from shows like L.A. Law – who
used brains and ‘tude to get their completely innocent clients
off bogus charges concocted by “The Man”? Well, thanks
to Seven’s returning show, Shark, we have an answer.
It seems that, due to a paradigm shift in the way America views
both lawyers and the world in general, they’ve seen the
error of their ways and are now working on the side of justice
– except of course for the guys on Boston Legal. 
When
it works though – and that’s most of the time –
Shark is a more than acceptable drama. The pacing of each episode
is just about spot-on, the cases are almost always involving,
the one-liners fly thick and fast, and the array of characters
is nearly always interesting.