THE DEEP END: "To Have and To Hold"

Original Air Date

February 4, 2010

Description

Liam asks Rowdy for advice on dating; Cliff hopes to save his marriage.

Notes

(D) This show officially solidified its lame status in this episode. There are so many poor stretches and story lines and just general lameness involved here, but one of the story lines in this soap proved it better than any other one.

The first-year women lawyers, Beth and Addy, have a case defending a high-profile client, a lingerie designer, over a sexual harassment suit. The women win the case for their client but feel dirty about it because although he may not be guilty in this particular case they find out that he systematically discriminates against women in his company.

Tough luck, right? Lawyers defend bad people sometimes, that's the way it goes. Even sexual harassers deserve proper legal representation.

What came next was just amusing. Beth and Addy reveal there moral dilemma to their bosses and the high-powered superwoman partner Susan. Susan sets an appointment with the client and goes off on him for his womanizing ways and the need to not allow sexual harassment in his company. After the client is put in his place Beth, Addy and Susan triumphantly march out of the office giving each other high-fives.

Well, besides being a lame way to trumpet woman-empowerment, it flies completely in the face of everything that has happened on the show in the first three episodes.

First of all, the lingerie story line was used as an excuse to show as many women in lingerie as possible, second the law firm that these characters work at seems like the perfect place to work if you want to be sexually harassed.

Did we not forget that the first episode revealed that one of the partners was having an affair with a young paralegal? And remember the second episode where ever woman in the office was stealing kisses from Liam to see if they were "the one."

That is not to mention that all the first-year lawyers are hooking up with each other. The law firm is an orgy waiting to happen. The nail in the coffin was Rowdy (who I actually love by the way), the mentor of the first-years, giving advice to Liam on how to woo Beth.

Oh, the humanity... this show sucks. It is time to tune it out. Either way, it looks like ABC may do that on its own. The show has performed rather poorly in the ratings game, including a really poor premiere.

THE DEEP END: "Where There's Smoke"

Original Air Date
January 28, 2010

Description
Beth faces her father in court; Addy's new clients put the firm in danger; Cliff inadvertently gets Katie sent to the Montana offices indefinitely.

Notes

(C) This episode should have been more amusing. The writers tried to keep it light, but it just wasn't that fun for me. I am just not into this show. There is nothing wowing about the drama -- an interoffice affair, a young professional woman with daddy issues, young people finding each other's lips and beds, ambition and so on.

I suspect some people might get wrapped up in this show in the same fashion anybody gets wrapped up in any soap, but that doesn't make it amazingly good TV.

THE DEEP END: "Pilot"

Original Air Date

January 21, 2010

Description
Dylan is given an impossible pro-bono custody case.

Notes

(C+) This is obviously Grey's Anatomy, except in a law firm. There is a lot of sleeping around going on and pending drama about to happen. The pilot is satisfactory and has a decent chance capturing the audience that ABC is seeking.

The pilot episode, however, was frenetic and hurried. It tried to introduce so much there was probably a bit of overload.

It did a decent job of introducing the characters and their associated drama but at the same time it didn't allow those characters or problems to breath. It made it hard for me to get wrapped-up or attached to any of the characters.

I like the casting of Clancy Brown as Hart Sterling, one of the major power players in the law firm. The other casting is OK and might grow on me.

I don't think that this is the type of show I am a going to want to follow. There is very little that is original about it. I really have no desire to watch any more shows about cops, the courts or doctors... blah.