Fairly Legal: Season One [Import]

Saw this pilot on Amazon Unbox and loved it. I'll be watching the show on TV now. It is a skillful combination of funny and serious scenes, with the indomitable and endlessly busy Sarah Shahi as Kate demonstrating how to be a mediator in even the most trying situations. The show would be worth watching just to learn how to mediate skillfully, but Kate is so much more than a mediator, and her on-again/off-again relationship with her ex-husband adds interest. The show moves quickly, and its variety of situations and characters keeps it fresh every minute. Recommend.

Season 1 of FAIRLY LEGAL consists of 10 episodes, each about 41 minutes long, on 3 DVDs. It's a lightweight dramedy set in San Francisco, focusing on the adventures of Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi). Kate is the daughter of a superstar lawyer, Teddy Reed, who passed away just before story begins. A former lawyer herself, Kate is now a mediator, living on her dad's boat and operating out of his high-class firm, Reed & Reed, which is managed by her icy step-mother, who's only a few years older than she is. The other key players are Kate's ex-husband, Justin, an assistant DA, with whom she still enjoys friendship and hook-ups, and Leo, her witty, African-American assistant with a love of 'nerdy' hobbies (e.g. video games, D&D, graphic novels). In most episodes, Kate tries to mediate a couple of challenging/unusual cases while also trying to solve the season-long mystery of her father's will, specifically: why did he leave a share of his estate to a person no one knows?

FAIRLY LEGAL is sleek, painless, and pretty forgettable. It's open to a bunch a snarky criticisms, from there being about 6 decent episodes stretched over 10 slots, to the rather stereotypical 'funny' black sidekick, to the awfully out-of-place end credits song. That said, it's a pleasant diversion, thanks to the absolutely stunning, unchained demi-goddess of spunk that is Kate/Sarah. She's simply a delight to watch (though the writers should give her some personality traits beyond spunky and stubborn in future seasons). Recommended as a Netflix rental or discount purchase. 3-1/2 stars.

This new show touched my heart. It has a great story line and the plot for this pilot was fantastic. The protagonist of the show has compassion for the "underdogs" of this life. I love it when she work day and night to help a gifted teenager with a scholarship to Yale University who happened to associate with his cousin who cause him to goto jail. In the end, he is free.

Thank you, "Fairly Legal" to allow the world to know that people still have heart and not just situational ethics.