Elsbeth may be a sign that someone is learning the lesson. It's an inverted mystery (i.e. the audience sees who commits the murder and how before it gets solved) about a Chicago lawyer who goes to New York to preside over the NYPD's criminal investigations in the wake of some wrongful prosecution lawsuits. In truth, though, the title character―played by Carrie Preston―is able to sniff out murderers herself and wears them down with passive aggressive niceness.
There's a logical flaw here, which you may have already noticed. A police-associated lawyer pestering persons of interest based on gut feeling is more likely to provoke more lawsuits than prevent them. In the real world, anyway. So a good deal of suspension of disbelief is needed.
Meaning that in emulating one of the best things that the medium has ever had to offer―Peter Falk starring in Columbo―they've fallen well short of the mark. It's still an improvement on most of what broadcast TV has been doing in recent years, and gives some reasons to come back.
2 comments:
When I read your observations about this show my first thought was that it was yet another version of Veronica Mars, but now I've seen the imdb reviews it appears to have been most often compared to Columbo. I was surprised to see the reviews were largely positive - which can only make me feel sorry for anyone still stuck with tv as their only entertainment.
You're correct in pointing out the logical flaw. Columbo was a policeman and Veronica Mars was the brilliant daughter of a private detective who had been the local sheriff. Hmmm.. Did you say she goes to NYC to supervise investigations? No, I'm not able to suspend quite that much belief.
Columbo is the nearest point of comparison. Which is of course a very hard act to follow. Preston is very charming in the lead, though. They get good actors for the murderers too, although there's not as much time to unwind the cases. Overall it's a matter of YMMV.
When I say "supervise investigations" it's the result of a consent decree which is something I hadn't even really heard of before, so I don't know how true-to-life is.
Veronica Mars was a true surprise in how good it was.
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