Accused

Having not watched an entire season of a network TV show since Fringe left the airwaves in 2013, I was excited for Accused. I figured that if any show could get me back to the traditional TV dial, it would be one created by Howard Gordon (he of 24 & Homeland fame). After a promising first three episodes (7/8 star quality), however, a slate of four below-5 star episodes by my ranking led me to jump ship and not continue watching.

For a very basic overview, Accused is an anthology show that tells a different court/trial-based story every week. It is not at all serialized (no carry-over from week to week) and features new guest stars every outing.

Like I said, the first three episodes definitely held my interest and had me hoping for continued improvement. Nothing groundbreaking, to be sure, but I could tell they were produced by talent that is largely beyond what is usually glimpsed on the major networks.

Unfortunately, the quality quickly devolved instead of gradually improved. It became readily apparent that each episode was simply picking a "social cause of the week" and sketching out a thinly-constructed court case based on that concept. Pablum for the most generic audience possible, in other words. There is very little intriguing exploration of the topic-at-hand.

I also believe that the 42-minute network window does Accused a great disservice and can potentially explain a lot of the weaknesses. By the time the writers establish a theme and flesh out a whole new set of characters, there is very little time remaining for meaningful thematic or character-driven analysis. In a genre-court-where emotional backstory is everything, this is a glaring weakness week-in and week-out.

So, despite really wanting to like/follow this show, I felt it becoming a chore to watch-the surest sign of needing to find other TV pastures.

So far, so good! I like the time shifting style of storytelling when it's done right and Accused has the right mix of backstory foreshadowing and current trial drama. I've liked Michael Chiklis ever since The Shield so it's good to see him back in the first story.

It begins with Scott's Story. A brain surgeon, Chiklis, suspects his son may be planning a violent school attack. It shows some back story of his son's troubled life and how denial can give way to horrible realizations.

Overall, Accused looks like a good new drama with a formula that works. Every story is different and viewers should enjoy the parade of talented actors chosen to tell the variety of tales that all end up in a courtroom.

This show "Accused" is reminiscent of the television series "Motive" where each episode reveals the killer and the victim at the beginning; and the rest of the episode details the ongoing investigation. In this show we start with an "accused" and then go back in time through the events that lead up to why the person is "accused." The pacing is similar along with limited use of music and the type of camera angles and relatively lengthy film shots.

What it doesn't have is the same detectives investigating and solving the cases so there is no one to relate to as new characters and situations are introduced in each episode.

I love that this show isn't afraid to tackle some controversial topics. The first episode had me interested the entire time. Not once did I check my phone. And I liked that the episode wasn't afraid to talk about the "other side" of a topic that can be very sensitive in nature. I know for myself when something like what's depicted at the end of that show happens, I like a lot of people (I think) automatically express sympathy for the victims and place blame on those responsible. And if the perpetrator is a kid, I automatically want to blame his or her parents. This show depicts the point of view of the parents in that situation and what is like to know that your child could possibly cause that kind of harm. Very interesting. Acting wasn't great and the episode moved way too fast. Could've easily turned this into a movie cause there was a lot of storyline to coed.

The first episode was gripping, interesting and kinda fresh. It did hook me on. Unfortunately the rest of the show, so far, is boring and predictable.

The third episode was a bit interesting as well. The stories are not new or original, the most of them we have seen in other shows and that it's weak spot.

From the point of acting, the show have some really good actors. Which does not make it any interesting to watch as writing do really lack. I would guess it is harder to put so much story into one episode, to truly make the story shine. But we have what we have.

I would say it us not worth watching, kinda mess at this point.