cureton-281-120941 I just discovered this show and cannot believe it was canceled. It was fantastic.Just another reason why I don't bother with television anymore. (I stumbled across this gem on Netflix, after the fact.) The execs that make the decisions about what stays and what goes are so out of touch their audience.I just discovered this show and cannot believe it was canceled. It was fantastic.Just another reason why I don't bother with television anymore. (I stumbled across this gem on Netflix, after the fact.) The execs that make the decisions about what stays and what goes are so out of touch their audience.

bkoganbing The mostly young cast of Raising The Bar and the performances they give will probably interest more young people into going into the law than any other show since Perry Mason. It's also a lot more realistic than Perry Mason.The real test for this show and perhaps it's a bit unfair to compare it with Steven Bochco's last big NYPD Blue in terms of staying power, is to see if the premise carries it beyond the attractive cast. It certainly sustains Law And Order despite cast changes that have completely eliminated the original members now. That's what happened with NYPD Blue, but they did have Dennis Franz to anchor that show.Bochco got his cast from a variety of sources from daytime and nighttime television, in some cases the players have experience in both. There are role models aplenty here.My favorite is Mark-Paul Gosselaar who shed the Zack Morris image in NYPD Blue has now gone on to a different idealistic character in the person of Legal Aid lawyer Jerry Kellerman. There was an episode where his supervisor at the panel criticized him for being unable to watch an injustice being persecuted. Now that's someone I can always admire. Gosselaar as Kellerman is charming, mature, and idealistic and looking a whole lot better since he shed the long hair from the first season.For those who like hard as nails prosecutors, Currie Graham also from NYPD Blue is supervising bureau chief assistant district attorney Nick Baldo. Hard to believe that Jack McCoy and Baldo work for the same office. They think they're doing society a service, but it's also a numbers game with them, to rack up a collection of scalps so to speak. Baldo shows why the Kellermans of the world are really needed.And you have to love Mary Jane Kaczmarek as the tough female judge who's succeeded in what was a male dominated profession. Remember it was only 28 years ago a woman finally made it to the Supreme Court. She's had to be tough to survive. It's also twisted her somewhat, in many ways she's the most complex character on the show.Shows that have as long a run as NYPD Blue are few and far between, but I'm hoping this one has a real long 7 to 8 year run. The scripts are literate and factual and the players make you care about their characters. What's not to like?

Rene After viewing DVD 1 of Season One, I wanted solid stories with solid acting. What I found left me wanting my time and rental fee back. The story lines are shallow. There is no richness to them. The only solid acting comes from the ER co-stars Reubens and Scarfe, with the right writers they could work it out. Kaczmarek needs better writing or a better vehicle and something done with her hair. Speaking of "hair", Gosselaar needs his hair washed and cut.... oh, the biggie, acting classes (and not the one he is currently in). Zach Morris isn't charming high schoolers anymore.If you want a good show (quality writing and acting) watch "The Practice" on Hulu, check out Boston Legal or LA Law. Or how about Matlock?

MashedA L.A. Law & Hill Street Blues springs to mind when watching Raising The Bar, it has the same sort of feeling of colleagues working together and using each other in a supportive way. Each of the main characters has it's own idiosyncratic ways which endear you to them. What drew me to this series was tracking the career of 'Malcolm In The Middle' actress Jane Kaczmarek, I was curious as to what she was doing and to my delight she has taken a part the suits her down to the ground. I wouldn't say the role is challenging but rather something which fits naturally with her previous role as the domineering mother and not forgetting the the same role she voiced in 'The Simpsons'. Unfortunately there is a familiarity with Raising The Bar which could stop it from being anything other than a series that gets shelved after a few seasons.... A series that will get a a thumbs up from the T.V. Execs is that of Kaczmarek's acting partner in 'Malcolm In The Middle' Bryan Cranston, that series is really breaking the mold, simply awesome!