Fox's JUSTICE - Series Premiere

I've got to tell you I was a little skeptical coming into last night's premiere of Fox's Justice and there are a couple reasons behind my skepticism.

First, it's Fox and their last premiere was/is a little weak, no? Don't get me wrong, I'm getting more and more into Vanished as it's moving forward but you have to admit that there is a strong cheese factor associated with it which limits its ability to be a great show. Seriously, the lines poor Ming Na gets stuck with... wow! Seriously awful.

Second, do we really need another procedural drama on television?

Third, Kerr Smith has far from proven he can headline a show. Sure he was fine as the gay Jack McPhee but he was never great. He was always better than let's say... noone playing that role.

Fourth, why does that main girl look like Lori Singer? Everybody Cut Loose, Footloose! Who the hell is she? It's bugging me already...

So, it's the morning after and I honestly can't think of much more to say than I really enjoyed it (don't usually hear that phrase in conjunction with "morning after" do ya?). I thought watching Victor Garber play this smarmy media whore of a defense attorney was incredibly wild and refreshing after his very stoic role on Alias. I appreciate his manic and selfish quest for fame (possibly even justice) at any cost. You know he had a field day researching that role. The Dominic Dunne comments were genius, for a second I thought we might actually get to see a guest turn. Maybe in Season 2 if it lasts that long.

Kerr Smith was great I have to admit. Though, seriously with the manorexia? He's a shell of what Jack McPhee once was (not that I'm complaining as he looks incredible!)... He's the great centered and semi-moral one in the gang of four. A perfect yang to Victor Garber's ying. He's young, he's hungry, yet he still has a sense of decency left in him. The scene during Day 5 of Jury Deliberations cinched it for me. This was Kerr's finest moment. He almost cried because he was so emotionally invested in winning. His character cares that much. It was really sweet to see actually. Kerr commanded respect on the screen and he pulled it off. Our Lil Jack McPhee All Grows Up!

Lori Singer she is not, but she is an actress named Rebecca Mader and I at the moment worship her. Something about how she held her own with Victor Garber, that nutty professor, and how she realized that the patio umbrella was missing made me enjoy her talents. Her likening the manipulation of a witness to whipping a boyfriend into shape was an extra added character bonus. I hope to see more of her.

Said, the head Muslim from Oz, is a little iffy in my opinion. I'm not quite sure what to make of his character yet. He's very cock-sure but we didn't get to see much of him in action so I'm eager to see what he pulls out in the weeks to come.

Can we talk the guest stars for a second. One that I love and one that I'd like to slap silly. First the love; Matt Ross who played the Prosecuter. He's a great bit player in both film and television. He was one of Bateman's collegues in American Psycho, he was in Last Days of Disco, Down With Love, and Good Night and Good Luck. For TV, he was on Six Feet Under briefly, and most recently was on Big Love. He's a great actor and I hope he returns. Now the not so much love... for Katharine LaNasa who played the Nancy Grace-ish TV Journalist. I guess she's fine as an actress but that speech impedement has always rubbed me the wrong way. I went the a taping of one of the first episodes of Three Sisters back in 2001 and geesh did it bother me. She's super cute though, does that make up for it? I think her role can grow on me, I really do. I had a blast watching her and Garber go at it numerous times and seriously, if she's trying to be a Nancy Grace, this can only lead to juicy things.

The storyline was very basic procedural; the motives are quickly laid out; the evidence is quickly referenced; and we lapse some major time in that one hour premiere but it never felt rushed or expositional. Getting to see the mentality behind jury selection and the lenghts power attorney's will go to secure a vicotry were also enlightening.

The best part of the show in my opinion is the ending. I love that each week we will get to see what really happened in the crime we've seen just tried. This week it just so happened that the defendant was innocent and they were right in their suspicions that this death was an accident. I cannot wait for the weeks where they defend a guilty man, get him off and then get to witness that in fact the defendent is guilty. Or even better when an innocent man is convicted for a crime he/she did not commit! It's an interesting twist on the boring old procedural and one that I think works well.

Justice is a show I will come back to... and if I'm not mistaken there will be a good chunk of the season I won't need to miss because when Lost premieres, Justice should be hitting it's baseball hiatus. When it comes back Lost will be finished with most of it's first 9 episode mini-season leaving another gap as to not bog me down. Yippers.