Franklin & Bash (Season 2)

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dana Davis, Garcelle Beauvais, Kumail Nanjani, Malcolm McDowell, Reed Diamond

Creator: Kevin Falls and Bill Chais

Genre: Comedy, Legal Drama

Rating: B

I wasn’t as much of a fan of this season of Franklin and Bash as I was the first.  While it’s still a great buddy lawyer type show and still maintains the hijinks that I enjoyed in the first season – and continues on with the awesome guest stars, stepping it up in a great way by having Jane Seymour (who I love) play Peter (Gosselaar)’s mother – it’s starting to lose a bit of the charm, at least for me.  There’s a line between childish immaturity and fun, and I’m not exactly sure which side of it F and B are on.

This season shows us… well, Franklin (Meyer) remains short with daddy issues, Bash remains tall with ex-girlfriend issues, Pindar (Nanjiani) is working on not being a shut in with a gazillion phobias, Infeld (McDowell) is an excentric old guy with too much money, Karp (Diamond) is a douche, and Hanna (Beauvais)… actually, I’m really not sure what’s going on with Hanna.  I think my problem with the show could really be surmised by her in general: sometimes she seems to be on the side of Franklin and Bash, other times she’s with Karp in the quest to have them removed.  To be honest, I really don’t get the quest in itself anymore.  The two of them have had plenty of opportunities to prove themselves and despite their questionable antics have done so rather successfully; it really just seems like the show writers have given Karp this bone and let him chew on it incessantly.  It’s boring – if you’re going to make a character semi-villainous, give him a reason for being so.  As for Hanna… well, in general, I really have no clue what her motivation is.  During the first season she seemed to go back and forth on the issue for no apparent reason, during this second season she’s all anti-Franklin and Bash but her motivation is never revealed.

This stagnation is the shows problem in general.  While I understand it’s trying to be more episodic than serial the complete lack of any overarching plot is a disability for the show, as is the complete inconsistency in it.  The feelings of the characters seem to only really serve the plot-of-the-week, which gets annoying very quickly.  Franklin’s daddy issues only really come out when his father’s appearing in an episode, Bash’s feelings for Janie (Claire Coffee) only come out when she’s appearing – the rest of the time he’s really a bit of a pig when it comes to women, as is his counterpart.  The show in general feels almost like it should be a sitcom, but for some reason it isn’t.  From this side of season two, I’m not entirely sure if I care enough about the show anymore to watch season three… I guess we’ll have to wait and see how I feel about it all next summer.

Suits (Season 2, Summer)

Starring: Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Abrams, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres

Creator: Aaron Korsh

Genre: Legal Drama

Rating: A

So, for the second season of Suits things are changed up a bit: the bulk of the season aired in the summer, like the first season did, with a continuation of the season in January.  Rather than just hold off on doing a review of the season after this second part has aired, I've decided to divide my reviews, much like they've divided the season, and treat it as two separate entities.  That having been said, I really liked this part of season two of Suits.  I would even go so far as to say that I preferred it to season one.  While there were some elements that made me nervous it really separated itself from the things that I found to be problematic in the first season - and did so really quickly.

The second season continues to follow the trials and struggles of associate Mike Ross (Adams) and senior partner Harvey Specter (Macht) in the law firm Pearson Hardman.  The season opens with the firm's managing partner, Jessica Pearson (Torres), dealing with the revelation that Mike did not go to Harvard - or law school in general.  Before she can have him fired, however, firm founder, and nemesis to Jessica and Harvey, Daniel Hardman (David Costabile) returns to the firm, with the apparent intention of having Jessica and Harvey removed from the firm.  This becomes the main focus of the season, as Harvey and Mike both struggle to keep their jobs.  Rounding it out is the ongoing emotions between Mike and paralegal Rachel Zane (Markle), with the question of will-they-or-won't-they constantly hanging overhead.

So, my biggest problems last season were the overall plot with Jenny (Vanessa Ray) and Trevor (Tom Lipinski), as well as the fact that Louis Litt (Hoffman) didn't really seem to fit into the overall tone of the series.  Both of these problems were handled here.  Jenny and Trevor both fade into the background - and while they might come back in the future, I no longer think that's the direction that the show wants to go in.  Louis got a lot better too.  The character no longer seemed to be a joke and the way in which he was used actually had to do with the show's plot.  I'm still not a big fan of the character, but you're not supposed to be, and I do think he's at least getting better.

At first I was a bit hesitant about the overall plot of this season.  I wasn't exactly sure how Hardman fit into things and was a bit bored by what I thought was going to be a one or two episode stunt of "let's try to get Harvey disbarred."  Then the season started to pick up and this stunt became a lot more interesting.  I still think it was a stunt, but it was definitely intriguing and enjoyable.  They built on what had already been established in the first season and went with it.  I like that, and I liked it.  Suits season 2.0 really won me over.

Suits (Season 1)

Starring: Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Abrams, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres

Creator: Aaron Korsh

Genre: Legal Drama

Rating: A-

I first came across Suits pretty much by accident; it was one of the summer TV series talked about in an article on TV.com.  Having now watched the first season, I have to say that I'm glad I read that article.  While Suits definitely descends into stereotypes territory it is an interesting and intriguing story.  The show follows Mike Ross (Abrams), a brilliant young man with questionable ethics - when he was in university he was expelled after being caught selling an exam to the Dean's student, and since then he's made a living by taking tests for other people.  Mike has an eidetic memory, enabling him to consume and regurgitate vast quantities of information even though he's never completed a formal education.  This skill of Mike's proves useful for hot-shot lawyer Harvey Specter (Macht), who at the start of the series is told by his boss, Jessica Pearson (Torres), that he has to hire an associate attorney.  After a chance meeting Harvey quickly decides that he likes Mike and hires him, despite knowing that Mike isn't a lawyer and didn't go to Harvard, which his firm exclusively hires from.

Season One of Suits is largely episodic, focusing on the cases that the two of them work on, both together and independently.  Each of these cases is interesting, from the actual clients to the way in which they fight the legal battle in order to win.  The clients were mostly flashy and rich - the show itself really has that feel to it - but some of the most heartwarming elements of it were when Mike or Harvey took on a pro-bono case.  Heartwarming might not be the right word exactly, but I definitely think that my favourite cases were the pro-bono ones.  They seemed to really test the duo, especially Mike, in unexpected ways. What really intrigues me, though, is the more subtle serial elements of the show that suggest it's leading up to something greater in later seasons.  The struggle that Mike goes through in order to constantly hide his not-actually being a lawyer from Harvard is suspenseful.  I also like the even more subtle growth of Harvey.  He doesn't change much, but as the series progresses you get to see more of who he is and what makes him the way he is.  It's interesting.

Beyond Mike and Harvey are the more secondary characters of the show; while being a legal procedural, the show is also really character driven.  I like the way that Torres portrays the very strong Jessica Pearson, and the show addresses the fact that she's in a position not usually held by women without mocking her.  The relationship between her and Harvey is one of the best in the show, as is that between Rachel Zane (Markle) and Mike.  I'm torn about the character of Donna Paulsen (Rafferty), Harvey's secretary.  At times it almost seems like the show writers aren't entirely sure what her personality is; she bounces between being this eccentric, zany woman who doesn't really seem to fit the show and a still eccentric but strong woman, who fits in perfectly at Pearson Hardman.  As for Louis Litt (Hoffman)... I could really do without the character.  While I get that he's supposed to be the antagonist of the firm, to a degree, I just feel like personality-wise he's better fitted for a show that isn't so serious.  It's almost as if the creators decided that the show was too serious and decided to inject a comedic character, then decided that rather than going with something that fit the overall tone of show it was better to go with someone who felt like he was out of some cancelled sitcom.

I'm going to have to admit, I didn't really care for some of the secondary characters, who act as further antagonists.  I don't care about the character of Jenny (Vanessa Ray) at all, and I'm bored by the whole Trevor (Tom Lipinski) plot line.  I realize that it's going to continue to be a part of the show, but I could do without it.

Franklin & Bash (Season 1)

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dana Davis, Garcelle Beauvais, Kumail Nanjani, Malcolm McDowell, Reed Diamond

Creator: Kevin Falls and Bill Chais

Genre: Comedy, Legal Drama

Rating: A-

I was pleasantly surprised by the first season of TNT's Franklin & Dash. The series thus far totally has the feel of being a feel good, buddy cop type show, just with lawyers instead of cops.  It follows Jared Franklin (Meyer) and Peter Bash (Gosselaar) as they transition from being two small-time, streat-wise plaintiff's lawyers into.. well, pretty much the same lawyers, just working for a prestigious firm.

The duo are both self confident, immature playboys with unusual trial methods.  Franklin is the more immature of the pair; the son of a famous trial lawyer, he's basically trying to be everything that his father wasn't, while also being a lawyer.  Prior to the start of the film he swore that he would never work for a big firm - something that gets pointed out to him several times after he joins Infeld Daniels.  Bash is the more mature, and more successful of the pair.  He's somewhat more serious and more likely to know where to draw the line.  Unlike Franklin, Bash has previously worked at a big firm - although he got fired after getting caught having sex with a senior partner's daughter.  Joining this duo at the firm of Infield Daniels is Stanton Infield (McDowell), the eccentric senior partner who hires them; Carmen Phillips (Davis) and Pindar Singh (Nanjiani), an ex-convict and agoraphobic sci-fi nerd who work for Franklin and Bash; and Damien Karp (Diamond) and Hanna Linden (Beauvais), two more serious lawyers and ex-lovers, working for the firm.  Karp, who is also Infield's nephew, is particularly serious and takes on the role of the show's straight-man and at times the villain, as he questions whether hiring Franklin and Bash was a wise decision.

This show really has a feel of being like Ally McBeal, but with more testosterone.  The thing that I really like about it is that while it captures the quirky tone of a show like Ally McBeal it does so without descending to the level of making the characters have questionable sanity - something that McBeal did not succeed in.  Franklin and Bash are both really likeable characters, even if their actions aren't always reasonable.  Their antics do get a bit annoying at times, but it's nice to see that those around them aren't always swayed by them either.  The judges in this show are reoccurring and often call the duo on their more inappropriate actions.  What I disliked about this show (asides from the more episodic feel to it) was the boys' interactions with women.  Half the time Franklin appears to be completely smitten with Hanna, the other half he's trying to get with whatever random hot chick happens to be their client of the week.  The same goes for Bash, although with his ex-girlfriend and Assistant District Attorney Janie Ross (Claire Coffee).  I'm fine with them being man-whores or guys who are trying to get the girl, or being man-whores who are trying to redeem themselves and get the girl...I just get bored when each episode they seem to flip back and forth between the three.  That having been said, though, I think I'm going to stick with this show.