The Whole Truth

I love a good courtroom drama and was looking forward to this show after seeing the ads. The concept, in which only the audience knows the true guilt or innocence of the defendant, is an excellent one. I also have really liked Rob Morrow in other TV shows and films and thought he and Maura Tierney would be terrific. Then I watched the show and I could barely get through the pilot. I found the writing to be extremely contrived and overly slick. I was disappointed in Rob Morrow's acting and the character he plays. The character is smarmy and unlikable and Morrow's acting is way over the top. The banter between Morrow and Tierny's characters is embarrassing. These two sound more like bratty high school rivals than professional lawyers. Real lawyers don't act like this--they strategize and focus on how to win their cases, rather than engage in a childish game of "gotcha," constantly trying to get the better of one another.

To even begin enjoying this show, you need to have an enjoyment and interest in all things to do with the American law and order system. So if you don't enjoy Law and Order than it is highly unlikely you will enjoy this.

I however do and so enjoy this show every week. I like the lead characters of Brogan and Peale and especially enjoy their interactions together. At the moment I will admit a lot of the supporting cast are much more stereotyped than they should be but that is usual of any show that is just starting out.

The one part of the show I most enjoy is that as the viewer we aren't told whether or not the person committed the crime or not. We are allowed to wonder throughout the whole episode. It actually makes you feel kind of like a juror.

I can't comment on how realistic it is in relation to the reality of criminal law but what I can say is that it is an enjoyable hour of escapism with a lot of room to grow and improve.

This show much like many of its predecessors has been made in the speed through the motions fast and get to the trial phase. The major difference is the time line of how this show seems to go. Unlike most other shows where we have the prosecutions move and the defenses response it give and entire side of first the prosecution and then the entire side of the defense, the only thing it leaves is really the closings to be symbiotic at the very end of the episode.

It's actually done in a very nice fashion, we get to see what evidence each side unfolds on their own and how they intend for it to play out in court, there aren't too many sidewinders just a few mostly at trial which is the way real lawyers would duke it out in court. All and all I like the cast and the plots, 8/10 for a nicely put together legal drama.

Kathryn Peale (Maura Tierney) is the prosecutor, and Jimmy Brogan (Rob Morrow) is the defense.

It's a pretty standard legal drama procedural. There is a lot of quick banter between the leads. Rob Morror is playing a fast talking guy. They're both very high stress characters. The gimmick is in the last part of the show after the case is done. They show what really happened. They show 'The Whole Truth'. While I appreciate the attempt at something new, I don't think the gimmick works. It feels very arbitrary as if it could work either way. They may as well film two 'The Whole Truth' and flip a coin.

I usually just like the medical dramas, but I'm really taking to this show. Okay, I love watching Maura Tierney back on TV (first saw her on ER -- yes, I know, a medical drama).

It's pretty cool seeing both sides of the case develop around the same evidence, and then see how it plays out at the end. I also love the banter between the new main lawyers, but hoping that they don't hook up anytime soon. Although I am curious about their law school history.

This last episode (the kid confessing to killing his parents) was the best one so far! Hoping they keep it on the air since it's a nice mid-week treat.