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Raising the Bar is a court drama that premiered on
TNT in 2008. The series stars Mark Paul Gosselaar, Natalia
Cigliuti, Gloria Reuben, Teddy Sears, J. August Richards,
Melissa Sagemiller, Jane Kaczmarek, and Currie Graham. Steven
Bochco created the series. ***
Jerry Kellerman, a public defender, goes above and
beyond in his career to cater to the helpless and disenfranchised.
His nature often leads to conflicts in the courts presided
over by Judge Trudy Kessler, a hard-driving judge with desires
to become the city's next district attorney. As if things
weren’t complicated enough, Jerry also finds himself against
Michelle Ernhardt, a beautiful prosecuting attorney with
whom he currently is having an affair. ***
Courtroom dramas are nothing new. And while Raising
the Bar isn’t anything revolutionary or new to this genre,
it has plenty of great moments. The actors on the show are
fantastic, and for the most part the writing is excellent.
The show can be a bit hit-and-miss at times, but when it’s
good, it won’t fail to entertain. ***
By far the best thing about Raising the Bar is the
talent on board. Steven Bochco is no stranger to creating
television series, and the actors are some of the best out
there today. The real stand-out here is Jane Kaczmarek (you
may remember her as Lois from Malcolm in the Middle) as
the judge. Here she proves beautifully she is just as capable
of dramatic roles as she is comedic ones. Long story short,
Raising the Bar can be a bit hit-and-miss at times, and
it’s really nothing new to the genre. But all the same,
it gets the job done. It shouldn’t fail to please. ---
Image and Sound:
Like most fairly-recent TV series, Raising the Bar
looks and sounds pretty good on home video. Image quality
is free of any major negative anomalies. Black levels are
strong, as is fine object detail. Audio quality is very
good, though as a court drama, it’s a pretty front-heavy
series. All said, though, it looks and sounds fantastic.
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| Special
Features: |
There is a handful of special features on the disc.
Some commentaries are included, featuring personnel who
worked on the show. It’s great to see their feedback on
how the episodes got made. Also included is a featurette
on stories of a real public defender, so you can get an
idea of where liberties were taken with the creation of
the series. Lastly are a roundtable gathering with the cast,
and a collection of comical bloopers. All in all, these
are good bonus features, and they complement the episodes
nicely. ---
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