New show: Tales from 'Canterbury's Law'
Posted: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:19 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
While too many new shows rely on gimmicks (he's a detective...and a vampire! he's a cop...and was serving life in prison! he's a detective...and an immortal!), I hate to question a new show for not having a gimmick, but I will say I can't quite figure out what would attract viewers to become fans of "Canterbury's Law," Fox's new legal drama.
Maybe fans of Julianna Marguiles will want to watch her return to network TV. Her character, Elizabeth Canterbury, isn't above breaking the law herself to try her cases -- maybe that's the gimmick. Maybe it's that the character has been given a horrible life tragedy -- her four-year-old son disappeared four years ago, and was never found. I like Marguiles, and she's has an amazing scene in the pilot where she takes a brutal-looking punch in the face while heatedly questioning a witness, but truth be told, I can't remember much else about "Canterbury's Law." And it's going up against "CSI" and "Grey's Anatomy" on Thursday nights, so I don't think I should get too attached, anyway.
GAEL'S GRADE: C.
Here are some tidbits from the panel with Marguiles and the producers.
--Marguiles has the right background for the role. Her grandmother, she said, was one of the first women lawyers in New York state, graduating NYU Law School in 1924 when women were not allowed to take the bar exam there. Her grandmother went on to help change that by starting the Women's Bar Association in the Bronx, and eventually became a judge.
--Denis Leary of "Rescue Me" is an executive producer of the show. Marguiles said she's "a huge fan of 'Rescue Me,' " and said she sees some similarities between the two shows in that both will mix humor and dark situations. In fact, Marguiles claims a typo in the original letter sent to her about the show said the show was on FX, not Fox, and the thought of doing a cable show sparked her interest. When she found out it was on Fox, meaning a longer season, she at first said "no," but eventually came around.
--Linus Roache appeared in the pilot shown to critics as Marguiles' character's husband, but that role is being recast. As I mentioned in the "Law & Order" post, Roache is joining the original "L&O."
--Those who still miss Marguiles' chemistry with George Clooney on "E.R.," take heart. The actress said she and Clooney have talked about doing a film together. "We needed enough time away so there has to be at least 10 years in between Doug and Carol for anyone to see us other than that," she said.
