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Hercules Says ABC’s New Thursday Lawyer Dramedy THE DEEP END Is Pretty Shallow!!
I am – Hercules!!
A new L.A. lawyer dramedy from longtime sitcom writer-producer David Hemingson (who worked on “Just Shoot Me” and created “Kitchen Confidential”), “The Deep End” is essentially a David E. Kelley lawyer dramemy with the wit and originality dialed way, way down from the level of a “Boston Legal” to that of far more popular ABC dramedies like “Desperate Housewives” or “Grey’s Anatomy.” If you think those shows are funny, there’s an excellent chance you’ll think this one is also.
Like every other shitty dramedy on ABC, “Deep” employs a distracting wall-to-wall string-plucking sound-alike ABC dramedy score to clue us into when the show is supposed to be funny and when it’s not.
If the scripting stinks, what the series has going for it are a trio of actors for whom I have only admiration: Clancy Brown (“Carnivale”), Billy Zane (“Dead Calm,” “Titanic”) and Tina Majorino (“Veronica Mars”), whom I think is also still playing a teen over on “Six Feet Under.” Majorino seems to have shed the last of her “Napoleon Dynamite” baby fat and looks supercute in or out of her fancy new lawyer togs.
Entertainment Weekly says:
… ABC's own description — L.A. Law meets Grey's Anatomy — is all too perfect: There's nothing here you haven't seen elsewhere. …
USA Today says:
… The absurdity of the bed-bouncing might not matter if Deep End had one interesting character or believable plot. Even if you can get over the hurdle of believing first-month associates would be handling major clients or, more ridiculously, wooing new clients, the cases are empty vessels designed to convey pat, tedious moral messages. …
The New York Times says:
… a pale imitation without smart writing, imaginative casting or even a clever conceit. … a network series about sex and drive, and surprisingly, it’s neither sexy nor very ambitious. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… Poorly conceived, badly written and indifferently acted, "The Deep End" is a jumble of terrible ideas from start to finish. …
The Washington Post says:
… All they do around here is work on predictable TV-style legal cases, and then complain, and then copulate … I can't recommend that anyone watch "The Deep End." But you could watch it secretly, without your mind.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… "The Deep End" is stupid. It is obvious and ridiculous and badly acted for the most part. …
The Dallas Morning News says:
… At a time when Damages is setting a new standard in lawyer-based storytelling on TV, The Deep End seems content to rework old familiar ground. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… It's just unfortunate that more care wasn't taken to create a show that feels fresh -- "The Deep End" is rather moldy.
The Buffalo News says:
… Unfortunately, the script is loaded with BIG pronouncements about the law and life, and none of the actors have the charisma of a McDreamy, McSteamy or Meredith. … Puh-lease. Seriously, “The Deep End” kills any great expectations because it contains too many moments that try too hard to be meaningful.
The Boston Herald says:
… treats the practice of law like an R-rated cartoon. Lawyers work against each other’s interests - in front of their clients. Here’s the kind of firm even “Boston Legal’s” Denny Crane would have the sense to close down. And I don’t think I’ve ever sat through so many penis jokes in the 8 p.m. hour. …
The Boston Globe says:
… The dialogue on “Grey’s’’ has a distinct rhythm, and the characters are introspective in a memorable - if now tiresome - way. “The Deep End’’ characters aren’t interestingly self-aware or funny. They aren’t “twisty’’ like Meredith Grey, so much as flat.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… Perfect? Far from it: "Deep" can drift into lazy dialogue (characters really say "you are my only hope" and "screw your conscience"), the humor can be sub-Apatow juvenile (two circumcision jokes in one episode? Really?) and the more soap-operatic tendencies (is the final scene an outtake from "Melrose Place"?) are tiresome. But the only thing more fun than seeing know-it-all lawyers get mud on their shoes is watching as the young 'uns learn the ropes, maneuvering around ethical quandaries and scoring cheap snacks from the food trays after partner meetings. The show benefits from a true insider's feel of the biz, and that helps spackle over the softer spots. Given half a chance, "Deep" should get along swimmingly.
Variety says:
… doesn't do much more than skim across the surface … when diving into a "Deep End" that's this shallow, the risk is that if you don't hit the water just right there's a good chance of breaking your neck.
8 p.m. Sunday. Fox.
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i wish he was on Damages instead
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Jan 21, 2010 3:54:18 AM CST
whom I think is also still playing a teen over on “Six Feet Unde
by ravex
big love...?
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8pm, Thursday, ABC.
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but it clearly didn't have mainstream appeal. You have to give props to Bill Shatner, for portraying a character so iconic, he could finally leave the Kirk thing behind him: Denny Crane.
This new thing might be more popular if it's aimed low-brow mainstream, but I won't be watching. -
It's like Law and Order but with the stupid drama of Grey's Anatomy, oh so in other words it's horrible. How about instead of mashing two bull shit shows together make an original one? Canceled.
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That awesome show went off a few years ago, Herc.
She looks nothing like Claire. -
Why bother? The DEK formula was tired enough already.
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Clancy Brown would be awesome on Damages.
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Doesn't know fuck-all about the actual practice of law. Damages is to law as Michael Bay is to calm, adult Oscar-worthy drama.
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She is nine levels of awesomely hot.
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Now if she were on Damages...
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or The Shield or The Sopranos or House or CSI or almost any other TV show. Damages is entertaining though. I understand that the actual practice of law is 99% boredom.
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wow...i guess my standars just aren't too high because she looked pretty good there, the hair wasnt attractive but yeah.
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Women who are a little heavy in the hip and thighs make the good lovin'. Just a tip for you virgins out there who are obsessed with the 90 pound cheerleader.
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So it's a documentary? Will Billy Zane be chewing up the scenery with his awsome brand of overacting? Wait Clancy Brown, I'll watch but only if he talks like Mr. Krabs every now and then. psi
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I wanted to hate it because ABC had a good lawyer show (Eli Stone) and cancelled it. And I'm still mad at them for dumping Pushing Daisies, too. And for not renewing The Unusuals. I won't miss it when it gets cancelled; if it's still on several years from now I probably won't be watching it anymore. But, for right now, being new (albeit somewhat unoriginal), it's fresh-ish and I'll keep watching for the foreseeable future. After all, I didn't think much of the first episode of The Unusuals, just enough to tune in the next week, and ended up really enjoying it.That said, there is a lot of room for improvement. The "ethical dilemma" faced by the blonde is really stupid. What, she's the only one to notice that, after having spent a total of 10 minutes with the guy? Either it's not so much of a problem that it should have had no impact on those negotiations, or it's so advanced (as it seemed) that there's no way it would not have already been diagnosed.
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They shifted the focus WAY too far away from the core of Denny, Alan, and Shirley to focus on crazy people. The autistic guy with ticks, the crossdresser with multiple personas, Betty White constantly committing crimes, etc. There should never have been anyone crazier than Denny, and in the end he looked relatively tame by comparison to the freaks that the firm hired.
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I thought it was coming back in the Spring again. Damn, I liked that show.
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