Woods Jumps the Shark

September 24, 2006

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Stark immediately butts heads with D.A. Jessica Devlin (Jeri Ryan) and finds himself playing nursemaid to a band of outcast young prosecutors. He promptly (and for the sake of keeping the story moving right along) reduces them to a short grocery list of stereotypes. You don’t need to know their names folks … just their character types are enough.

This is, after all, all James Woods’ show, although he does have a daughter to soften his sharp edges.

But, this show needs something beyond a thoughtful daughter to give it depth. The entire series rides on the shoulders of one actor playing one character. And when that happens, well, that character better be, at the very least, likeable. As one attorney tells Shaw, “You hopped the fence, like being a defense attorney is something you needed to rehab from.”

Woods seems to be in rehab for being a movie star here. Even big-time movie director Spike Lee (who helmed the pilot) can’t redeem this one.