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Review:
The Defenders-Payback
Written By
Rick Ellis
When
the Emmys were announced earlier in the year, the broadcast networks
screamed loud and hard. They claimed that the cable channels had
an advantage because they didn't have to worry about language and
content restrictions. Which doesn't explain The Defenders,
a new Showtime series which could air on any major network without
almost no changes. And a show that is as good as any legal show
now on television.
Based on the 1960's courtroom series of the same name, the debut
episode on Showtime literally begins with a bang. Jack Bishop (Nicholas
Kilbertus) answers a ring at his front door. The visitor identifies
himself as Michael Lane (John Laroquette) and shoots him, then waits
for the police to arrive.
Lawrence Preston (E.G. Marshall) and his granddaughter and partner
M.J. (Martha Plimpton) are persuaded to defend Lane, and they elicit
the help of Columbia Law School professor Don Preston (Beau Bridges),
who had quit the family firm after losing a very public and painful
court case several years earlier.
Lane admits to the killing and in fact expresses no regret because
Bishop was the man who had raped Lane's daughter when she was eight
years old. And now that he's been released from prison, he's moved
back into his old house, on the same block as Lane. And as it turns
out, Lane's daughter is now institionalized and unable to deal with
even the gentlest brushes with reality.
The movie contains a number of jarring surprises, and a final verdict
that came out of nowhere for me. And unlike most of the legal shows
I've seen lately, when the screen faded to black, I wanted to see
more.
There's not a bad performance in the show. Beau Bridges has his
best role in ten years, and I don't think Martha Plimpton has ever
acted with t his confidence. John Laroquette follows his recent
role as a murderer on The Practice with this guest spot,
which confirms that he has the ability to truly nail own a heavy,
dramatic role. His characterization of the totally broken father
is captivating. And it's always nice to see E.G. Marshall return
to television.
But even the minor roles are strongly acted. Roma Maffia (Profiler)
does a nice turn as Bishop's long suffering wife, and Yaphet Kotto
(Homicide) has several strong scenes as Judge Williams, who
presides over the troubled case.
And special recognition should be given to Rachel Liegh Clark (Tracey
Lane) and Clea DuVall (Jessie Lane), who both give strong, poised
performances as Lane's troubled daughters. And it also should be
noted that the episode was smartly directed and co-written by Andy
Wolk (NYPD Blue). In fact, the only thing missing is Robert
Reed, who was in the original CBS series for four years before his
stint on The Brady Bunch. It's a shame that he passed on
before he was able to return in this series.
If I have one complaint, it's that the producers opted not to use
the original theme song from the 1961 series, composed by Leonard
Rosenmann. But otherwise, it's a sparkling episode all the way around,
and a performance that should shame the cast and crew of flawed
shows like Murder One.
THE DEFENDERS: PAYBACK debuts Sunday, October 12th and repeats throughout
the month.
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