TV Show Info:
Creators: Steven Bochco, David Feige
Cast: Gloria Reuben, Melissa Sagemiller, J. August Richards, Teddy Sears, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Currie Graham, Jonathan Scarfe, Jane Kaczmarek, Natalia Cigliuti
Rating: PG-13
Studio: TNT
Release Info:
Original Air Dates: September 1, 2008-November 3, 2008
DVD Box Set Release Date: June 2, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $27.99
I will be the first to say that I never thought Mark-Paul Gosselaar would become a serious actor. It’s not that I doubt Gosselaar’s ability to act. I just remember him as the funny man, Zack Morris from TV’s Saved by the Bell. Like most born in the early 80s, I grew up watching that show. I always thought Gosselaar was more of a comedic actor, but I’m happy to report I’m wrong.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar is a lot more talented then I thought. TNT gave Gosselaar a second chance, and for that I’m glad. I never thought Zack Morris had it in him to carry a serious court drama, but Raising the Bar is proving Gosselaar has the acting chops to continue a long and illustrious career. Gosselaar is the primary protagonist of the series, meaning he’s the main guy you give a damn about on the series. This isn’t a huge change from his role on Saved by the Bell considering Zack was the show’s protagonist. He’s just required to delve much deeper into his emotions to illicit a response that is on an entirely different level acting wise.
TNT is pumping out the dramas, and succeeding in making them compelling shows. Raising the Bar, which has been renewed for a second season, is one of those shows that is bringing viewers to a network that hadn’t delved into the television series arena in the same way as other networks, until recently. I have to admit I like what I’m seeing. All the credit for making Raising the Bar an intriguing show cannot go to Mark-Paul Gosselaar though. The supporting cast, which includes Jane Kaczmarek (who is just brilliant in everything she does), Gloria Reuben, Melissa Sagemiller, Currie Graham, Teddy Sears, Jonathan Scarfe, J. August Richards, and Natalia Cigliuti do a great job of making this show engaging and worth watching.
Just a little tidbit, on the side, Natalia Cigliuti is also a Saved by the Bell alumni. She was a part of Saved by the Bell: The New Class as hottie, Lindsay Warner. It’s very interesting to see the dynamic she shares with the person who contributed almost solely to the success of the original Saved by the Bell. Without Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Cigliuti might never had her first job on The New Class.
The writing for Raising the Bar is decent. As far as legal dramas go, this one follows pretty much the formula for any other court room drama. Still, with compelling characters, intriguing cases and great acting, this show is a winner for TNT.
The Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season
Episode Guide
There are a total of ten episodes that make up the complete first season of Raising the Bar. Here is a list of each episode with a brief synopsis for them:
“Pilot”:
Original Air Date: September 1, 2008
Jerry Kellerman (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is a passionate and caring public defender. He is strongly convinced that the man he is defending is innocent. However, his passion and zeal give Jerry problems in the courtroom. It doesn’t help matters that the judge on the case is not a fan of Jerry. Michelle Ernhardt is working for the DA office. When she finds evidence that something is not right in a potential rape conviction, she faces problems with her boss, who makes it clear the DA won’t handle being embarrassed if the man is wrongly convicted.
“Guatemala Gulfstream”:
Original Air Date: September 8, 2008
Jerry faces a roadblock when the only witness who can prove his client’s innocence is stuck in Guatemala. It doesn’t take much for Jerry to figure out forces are ensuring the man cannot return to the states. His client is a family man who has much to lose from his conviction. When the primary DA dies, Michelle is given the chance to prosecute in her very first murder trial. However, the power she wields in her desire to get a guilty conviction overrides her duty as a good and decent lawyer. In the meantime, Charlie Sagansky (Jonathan Scarfe) is stunned when he bumps into a past lover of his in the courtroom of Judge Trudy Kessler (Jane Kaczmarek) and Richard Patrick Woolsley (Teddy Sears) is in a precarious position when he defends a young male who has been accused of assaulting another in a case that involves racism.
“I Will, I’m Will”:
Original Air Date: September 15, 2008
Jerry finds problems when he is in Judge Kessler’s courtroom. He’s defending a mentally ill client, and the judge tells him he has no choice but to get him in an in-patient program. Richard must defend a woman who is looking at up to five years in prison for something it is clear she’s done. The case involves a problem that occurred when her welfare check didn’t show up, and if she is convicted, nobody will be there to take care of her grandmother.
“Richie Richer”:
Original Air Date: September 22, 2008
Jerry is involved in a case where a woman, a very poor mother, is being pressured by the police into testifying against a murder suspect. Her unlawful arrest is a result of that pressure. Richard’s father, a very rich and powerful founder of a law firm, offers a job to Roz (Gloria Reuben). Meanwhile, Richard works with Bobbi (Natalia Cigliuti) as the defense lawyer for a man who is charged with a murder when he was defending his property. Judge Kessler makes clear her political aspirations and Charlie receives yet another shock.
“Bagels and Locks”:
Original Air Date: September 29, 2008
When Jerry is involved in the defense for a murder trial involving the murder and molestation of a young child, he must face an unforgiving media/public. Nick Balco (Currie Graham) ends up taking over as the head prosecutor as the pressure from the media mounts in the case. Bobbi is involved in another case. She’s defending a man who supposedly was possessing heroin, but this family-oriented man has no physical evidence against him to prove he was, in fact, holding. When Jerry meets Bobbi’s husband, Gavin, things get weird between the three of them.
“Hang Time”:
Original Air Date: October 6, 2008
Jerry must defend a man who tracked down the person guilty of a hit and run and supposedly took money from him. Bobbi ends up defending in a case where a woman who is being abused by her husband, has refused to press charges against him. This case really gets to Bobbi on a personal level.
“A Leg to Stand On”:
Original Air Date: October 13, 2008
Jerry defends a client he knows didn’t commit the crime, but he’s sure the jury won’t see it that way. When the judge in the case implies the best course of action is a bench trial, Jerry agrees. However, this isn’t done in the best interest of the client. There are political motivations behind the forces wanting a bench trial. Bobbi defends an Iraqi war veteran. Having had his leg amputated, he’s using heroin to control the constant pain he’s in. Trying to get a reduced sentence, Bobbi comes up against Michelle in this matter. Judge Kessler is asked to handle another judge and Richard gets involved with his client, who is not only in law school, she’s also a ‘dancer.’
“Out on the Roof”:
Original Air Date: October 20, 2008
Jerry handles a case as a personal favor to Charlie. His friend is arrested for dealing ecstasy. This seems good until it becomes clear the case has been given to Judge Kessler. Marcus (J. August Richards) is suspicious when it comes to a young male who is charged with armed robbery. The Hell’s Kitchen native is very close with his Irish family, and Marcus suspects something is amiss. Michelle asks Jerry to take over one of the cases Bobbi is handling and Richard is visited by his former dancer/law student client.
“Roman Holiday”:
Original Air Date: October 27, 2008
When an HIV-positive man is charged with the attempted murder of a police officer, Jerry takes the ridiculous case. The man spit in the cop’s face, and even though medical research shows there is no way the officer could contract HIV from the spitting, Jerry is unable to get the charges dropped. The man prosecuting is from the Major Crimes Unit, assistant DA Mitch Baker, a pompous ass who isn’t very nice to Michelle. Bobbi and Richard work on another case where a young teenager may have unwittingly helped to commit a murder. Judge Kessler decides to take a vacation and she invites Charlie on the trip.
“Shop Til You Drop”:
Original Air Date: November 3, 2008
Judge Kessler faces a major blow when a man she helped convict, a black firefighter accused of stealing off a body in a fire, has his sentence overturned. The primary reason for this is that Kessler did not allow a late witness the ability to testify in his favor. Roz and Balco work together on the case, which is being re-tried, and racism has become a central theme of the entire trial process. Jerry finds something incriminating about Bobbi’s husband, Gavin. Richard defends a woman who paid for merchandise through a home shopping network with bad checks. Charlie and Judge Kessler have a falling out that affects him significantly.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability: 
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season is presented in anamorphic widescreen. The 1.78:1 aspect ratio complements this series. This is a great transfer. Everything looks very clean with a crisp picture. This transfer is free of compression errors and dirt. TNT went all out with this transfer. Since Raising the Bar is a new show, I expected it to look like a new show. Luckily, it does!
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is fairly standard. This sounds good. The dialogue is crisp. It’s easy to understand. I didn’t need to worry about volume toggling. This show is primarily dialogue driven so this track makes use of the front speakers consistently. This is the only audio track available on this DVD and it includes Closed Captioning for the Hearing Impaired and subtitles in Spanish and French.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
There is a selection of bonus features on each disc in the Raising the Bar box set, though the majority of the features are on the second and third discs. The first disc only offers some previews, which all of the discs offer. The previews for the collection include Army Wives: The Complete Second Season, Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Proposal, and some Raising the Bar promos.
The second disc contains a couple of audio commentaries. The first commentary is for the episode “Bagels and Locks.” Steven Bochco and David Feige, along with Jesse Bochco handle the 43 minute commentary. This is pretty sad as far as commentaries go. There is some back-patting for the cast and the other people in the commentary, which seems to be the case because the three men just don’t have a lot to say otherwise. There are a few minutes of good commentary here and huge spans of time that aren’t worth listening to.
The second commentary is for “Out on the Roof” and it includes Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Currie Graham, Jane Kaczmarek, Gloria Reuben, Teddy Sears, Natalia Cigliuti, and J. August Richards. This is by far the better track. As it is filled with people you can expect it to be interesting. It’s filled with laughs and loads of interesting information about scenes that were deleted, production information, set design factoids, and a whole lot more. When you get to the part where they really just make fun of themselves and it’s obvious they are having fun, it really gets good.
Disc three offers three featurettes that conclude the special features. Two of them are medium in length, at around 15 minutes and the other is under two minutes long.
“Sworn Testimony: True Stories of a Public Defender”: This 14 minute featurette serves as the making-of for the season. Despite that, a good amount of information is offered here and fans of the series should really enjoy it. You have a chance to learn how the series was born and how real stories are used from real cases. The cast all voice their praise and approval at having Feige on hand to discuss the overall theme of the series and the various cases that are used.
“Behind the Bar: An After Hours Roundtable with the Cast”: In this case the cast ends up being about six actors. The actors included are Graham, Kaczmarek, Richards, Cigliuti, Sears, and Gosselaar. The team works well together, in and out of the characters. The group talks about auditioning for the series, the various motivators for their characters, and the drama factor among other things. Like the commentary with all of these actors in it, this featurette is a welcome addition and by far the best of the three available here.
“Mistrials: Bloopers from Season One”: This is the final featurette in the bunch and it comes in at under two minutes in length. This is just what it describes in the title. You get to see some bloopers and goofs. Unfortunately, it’s too short of a piece to set the goofs up most times and make it understandable, so often the joke is lost to the person watching the featurette.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Zack Morris is all grown up and practicing law. While Mark-Paul Gosselaar carries this show well, it is the supporting characters, great storylines, interesting legal cases and compelling relationships amongst characters that make Raising the Bar worth the watch. TNT has found a great way to bring the law to its channel. Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season is recommended.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: TV Box Set, TV on DVD, DVD Review, Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season, TNT, Court Room Drama, Gloria Reuben, Melissa Sagemiller, Mark-Paul Gosselaar
