DVD/TV Series Review: Fairly Legal: Complete TV Series Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Collection

 

Fairly Legal was a USA Network original series that ran just two seasons from 2011 to 2012. It starred Sarah Shahi (at that point best known for her roles on the series Alias, the other short-lived series Life, and the L-Word). She plays Kate Reed, a lawyer who worked in her father's law firm, but stopped practicing law to become a mediator because she thought that the legal system treated people unfairly. She still works for the firm, which is managed by her "evil" stepmother, Lauren, played by Virginia Williams. The rest of the main cast is rounded out by Michael Trucco, who plays the assistant district attorney for San Fransisco and Kate's ex-husband, Justin, Baron Vaughn who plays Kate's sarcastic assistant, Leo, and in the second season, Ryan Johnson, who plays a new partner at the firm, Ben Grogan. Gerald McRaney and Esai Morales have substantial recurring roles as well.

The series is mainly a case-of-the-week format in which kate has to mediate some dispute, either involving a client of the firm or via court-ordered mediation. To say she does things in a very informal way is an understatement, and the show definitely makes the process seem more exciting than it actually is. In the second season, the show takes on more of a soap opera-like tone with a love triangle between Kate, Justin, and Ben. Unfortunately, the show never really managed to boost its ratings and was canceled after the second season. The writers were definitely setting up storylines for a third season that would never materialize and does leave fans feeling a bit underwhelmed as there are threads that get dangled in the series finale that will never be paid off.

This set is just the first and second season DVD sets packaged together. So, the extras are just what was included on the individual season sets. For the first season, the extras included commentary tracks on select episodes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. In season two, there are just deleted scenes and a gag reel. Shahi is great on the commentary tracks and ends one of them with a pretty funny story about her first day of filming on the L-Word that ends the commentary in a very colorful way.

Overall, the series is very good and deserved a longer run. I would not say that it was as good as series like Psych and Burn Notice but was definitely on par with series like Covert Affairs and In Plain Sight. That, of course, is very subjective, but for me, that is where it falls compared to the other series that were airing on the network at the time. I cannot guarantee that everyone will love the show, but if you have not seen it and are looking for a good dramadey, it is worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Fairly Legal Season 2

 

+++Warning, this contains a spoiler from the end of season one, but no major season two giveaways.+++

This is the second, and unfortunately the last, season of Fairly Legal, a USA Network original series that ran from 2011 to 2012. It starts off shortly after the events of the season one finale (enough time for Leo to get a haircut). Kate decides that she is not going to be fired and just shows back up to work and ends up weaseling her way back into her job (but charmingly). She continues her hookups with Justin and spends the entire season deciding if she wants to really get back together with him, a decision that is complicated by a new partner for Reed and Reed (who had to be brought in to save the firm), Ben Grogan, played by Ryan Johnson, who is a stereotypical smarmy lawyer. Like season one, the show mainly takes on the case-of-the-week format, with the larger story arcs being the soap operaish relationship and potential love triangle between Kate, Justin, and Ben, and Justin deciding to run for District Attorney against his boss (played by Esai Morales). The supporting and guest cast this year included Gerald McRaney, Meatloaf, and Lindy Booth (from the Librarians) as the most notable and recognizable guest stars.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras are much lighter than they were for season one. There are no commentary tracks. Just deleted scenes on discs 2 and 3 and a gag reel (which is pretty hilarious) on disc 3. What was included was decent, but not anywhere near as much or as good as what was put out for the season one set, which was interesting because it seems like the season one commentaries were recorded either while season two was being filmed or had wrapped.

Overall, the season is good, but will probably leave you feeling a bit unsatisfied. The writers were clearly setting up a larger story arc going into season three involving Lauren and did leave the Kate, Justin, and Ben relationship somewhat unresolved. Unfortunately, the show was canceled after the finale had been shot, although there may have been some heads up given that the final episode of the season was titled finale. If the writers did know the show was going to be canceled going into the final episodes they could have come up with a much better conclusion to everyone's story. That is what knocks it down a star for me.

DVD/TV Series Review: Fairly Legal Season One

 

Fairly Legal was one of the USA Network's original shows that ran from 2011 to 2012. It was a dramedy centered around the character of Kate Reed, played by Sarah Shahi (probably best known at that point for her roles on Alias and The L. Word) who is a former lawyer turned mediator. She works for a law firm that she was a partner in with her recently deceased father and is now run by her young stepmother (played by Virginia Williams). She lives on her father's boat and has an on-again-off-again relationship with her (almost ex) husband who is also an Assitant District Attorney (played by Michael Trucco). The show is mostly a procedural case of the week type of show with plots that do not really connect from episode to episode. Shahi is great in the lead role really doing a great job with the scattered kinetic energy of the character of Kate. The show also has a strong supporting and recurring cast including Baron Vaughn who plays Kate's assistant Leo, whom she constantly runs ragged, and Gerald McRaney as a judge who is easily irritated by Kate, but keeps assigning her cases (with the threat of holding her in contempt if she does not get the cases resolved).

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include commentary tracks on selected episodes that includes the series creator Michael Sardo, Shahi, Trucco, Williams, and Vaughn, then there are deleted scenes a gag reel, and alternate scenes from the pilot with commentary from Sardo and other producers. A good amount for those who like watching the bonus material.

Overall, the show is very good. It is well written and acted. It has a good blend of drama and comedy and the cast members seem to have good chemistry. The commentary tracks are actually pretty insightful and Shahi is funny as hell on all of them. It is definitely one of the lesser-known USA Network shows, but it is definitely worth a look.