Ever since about 1999 Dick Wolf's been out of touch with what makes up a good show. They keep giving him money to do it though. Yeah yeah, I know some people really like that dumbass Criminal Intent, but as much as I love Vincent D'Onofrio and of course Chris Noth (who will forever be Big to me) I just can't get into it. The original Law and Order and SVU are awesome. Trial by Jury I could have lived without watching (and I did) and now there's an hour of my life I won't get back after watching Conviction, his newest show.
See what I mean? Savage right?
Conviction stars some guy who's the poor man's version of Fred Savage, and that's not really saying a lot. I'm not going to go into great detail because I don't want to waste your time either. The nuts and bolts of it is Fred Savage is a rich kid who decides he wants to serve the people and not live a rich white bread East Hampton life. Geez, how noble. Of course his friends and the stupid socialite girl he's been pining over, and he eventually sleeps with, think he's crazy to give up Latte's and Aspen in the winter.
I'm too bored with this show to be funny
The problem in the show lies in the number of stories and people we follow. The thing I think that makes L&O work is you have one case, the cops investigate and then the lawyers try the case. Here we have about six different attorneys in the District Attorney's office and it's quite confusing who outranks who. Are they all Assistant District Attorneys? How do they divide cases up. Who report to who? They're just all over the place with that. Eric Balfour, who I've loved every since he played Milo on 24 (!!!), is just obnoxious and ridiculous. We know his character is a ladies man, since one of the ladies shows up because he left his DA's badge in her bed. How do you even do that unless you're playing cops and robbers or some dumb variation? But next we see him pining over his old girlfriend and being hurt when he finds out she has a boyfriend. Boo freakin' hoo.
Some other attorney is the cliché "newbie" trial lawyer who has her first case. It seems like she's botching the whole thing and has to get corrected in court by the bailiff who obviously knows more about courtroom law then she does. Is this supposed to reassure me that the plight of the people is being represented by morons? She even leaves the evidence in the courtroom while everyone is at lunch. And by evidence I mean the drugs! She freaks out when she can't find them but luckily the judge took it to show her a lesson. She ends up winning the case. Go figure.
The rookie, Savage, gets thrown into a case by the lead attorney (I guess) and helps out the cliché "tough girl" attorney who's obviously having an affair with someone. Is it the lead guy? Or is it the "hard nose" other lead guy? The case the rookie's working on is a bad ass gang leader who cut open this woman who was a drug runner of his because one of the bags she carried from Costa Rica or wherever burst open. Since she's over dosing on the drug he doesn't want to lose the rest of it. Who should I feel bad for here? Really? Anyway, the lawyers decide to go to dinner and Savage fields a call, from a "detective", asking where the lead guy's gonna be meeting everyone. Savage tells him and guess what happens? The DA is shot and killed. Savage puts it together later that it was his fault.
When they all meet at their local attorney bar later they toast to the guy who died and the "tough girl" tells the "rookie" that they're all betting how long he'll make it. She has him making it for awhile, unlike most people. She gets a phone call and leaves. She goes and hooks it up with the "hard nose" other lead guy who's now the head lead guy. Again I'm just assuming because NOTHING is explained. I'm a savvy television watcher, I get stuff that's not quite straight forward and just assumed, but not this.
I know that's all confusing but it was confusing, and stupid. If you really want to watch it, go for it, but from someone who lives on crime dramas, don't waste your time. There's a much better show on Friday nights called In Justice.
