Harry's Law

Having received a major facelift from last season (which was a 12-episode mid-season replacement), with better exterior sets, a new, modernized office, less emphasis on the "shoe store," and the addition of lawyer Tommy Jefferson as a regular cast member, Harry's Law has come a long way after it's summer hiatus.

The show is a combination of the gravitas you found with The Practice and the silliness of Boston Legal, and it should move ever so quickly toward being more like The Practice and tackle tough cases as it did in the three-episode story arc that kicked off season two.

Anyone familiar with David E. Kelley's other shows (like the two mentioned above) and his writing style, Harry's Law won't be that much of a departure from his previous efforts. He created and wrote most of the episodes for Picket Fences, Boston Public, and a few others that lasted 4+ years. I'm hoping Harry's Law's ratings give it a chance to continue a good 5-year run (at least) if the writing/plots remain top-notch.

Character casting this second season has been superb, with Jean Smart and Alfred Molina guest starring in the first three episodes. Having just left as a regular cast member of L&O: Los Angeles as it was prematurely canceled and was doing great as far as ratings were concerned, even the repeats, it was good to see Molina again in a character-driven role.

Kelley's writing is top-notch as usual, with only the occasional stumble, though I think that has more to do with editing the show down to 40 minutes as Kelley is a proficient writer who's characters can have five-minute polemics at a stretch. Maybe one day they'll release uncut versions of Harry's Law before the network editors took an ax to them.

I gave it 8 stars because I really can't stand the music as it reminds me too much of Boston Legal and '70's porn. :) I also knocked off another star because Tommy Jefferson is basically a clone of Denny Crane (William Shatner) of Boston Legal. He even introduces himself and says his name repeatedly just like Denny Crane used to do (and which grew tiresome after a few episodes) on the aforementioned show.

I hope the writing continues to be great, and that we get to see Harry spend more time in the courtroom where Kathy Bates is at her best (as is Kelley's writing). And if Jean Smart comes back, that would be icing on the cake as her character was pure evil cloaked in a genteel southern accent.

I also hope they get rid of the B-roll shots of Cincinnati after every commercial break. They are a waste of time and most shows don't use them and just jump back into the episode. This gives the viewer more actual story time and dialog.

I loved this show, until the first episode of the new season. I'm so disappointed! What on earth have they done to such a great show? And what a waste of a great talent like Kathy Bates! The charm of this show was the one-on-one accessibility of a lawyer with an open door to the poor community. A gang member could open the door from the mean streets and find Harry, a grumpy yet fearless advocate, on the other side of that door. Now it looks like any other cookie-cutter law show. There was the fun of a law office combined with a show store. Now that's gone. And what happened to the assistant, who wanted to be a lawyer. There was no explanation of his departure. The storyline of the past seasons included Tommy and Harry becoming friends, but there was still a respectable distance that kept things interesting. The quirky underdog was what gave this show appeal and separated it from all the other "Law" shows on TV. Harry's Law lost at least one fan.

The changes to Harry's Law from season 1 to season 2, changing from an original, clever show to another run-of-the-mill law show, is a shame. Kathy Bates has gone from a quirky store front lawyer in the ghetto handling unique cases to just one of a number of lawyers in what could be any big time law firm.

Gone are two original characters (both black) replaced by Mark Valley (Really??!!) and some yuppie black female. This debacle has network executive hands all over it. A guy named Greenblatt took over NBC this year and no doubt thinks he's going to be the genius who saves NBC. And seems to think he's better at creating a show than David E. Kelly. What a shame to lose such a unique program. I'm done after watching the opening 4 episode story with a totally unbelievable character played by Jean Smart and has Harry defending a very rich white guy. Who cares?

Can anyone please let me know what happened to this great show? A few days ago, I discovered it and watched season 1 within only 2 days; I was simply hooked. A charming, touching and funny show with an incredibly great Kathy Bates. Finally a show again that I really loved, some parts even had what I call "West Wing"moments.

And now - this is essentially a completely new show where they have left the two main characters, but changed every possible aspect of it, including the wonderful soundtrack music. I mean it is still quite good, but just your average lawyer show just the same as they have been produced for the last 30 years. Any explanation for that or a reaction from the network?

So what happened to this show. Suddenly we're a big law firm and the tone of the show has changed entirely. Harry is now just a cranky old bitch and what did you do to Jean Smart. Designing Women seems like it was on another planet. She is totally unbelievable as a character. I feel sorry for her having to deliver those lines with a straight face. Any charm and humanity the show had seems to be gone. If you're trying to be the Good Wife, forget it, you're not in the same league. And where did Mark Valley come from? I appreciate that he is nice eye candy but what has he got to do with anything. The former supporting cast seems to have been pushed aside as stars with higher profiles take the spotlight. Alfred Molina is wonderful but give him something to work with please.