Is there a place for a Steven Bochco drama in today’s TV world?
Every time I see ads for the new drama “Raising the Bar”, I think “really? another one?” It seems to follow the same formula for every other Steven Bochco drama. Take a guy who just wants to do whats right in this world, throw in some cops or lawyers, add in a pinch of corruption here and there. Add in a need for redemption and there we go. Overdramatized events that to this day make me wonder why court TV never cuts to the two opposing laywers sleeping together or cops raising their fist to the gods for not being able to save this victim. Steven Bochco, a four decade TV vet, has wrote for or produced a variety of dramas including Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, L.A. Law, Murder One, and a variety of Columbo movies. His dramas have each received numerous Emmy nominations, high critical praise, and good ratings. However that was then…this is now. His last few projects have been ridiculous with a dash of boring drama. Blind Justice was about a cop blinded in the line of duty who returns to the force. The tag line reads “Blinded in the line of duty. His partners don’t respect him. His wife lacks faith. Nobody 
believes in Jim Dunbar except himself.” Laughable at best. Pretty much like the show. I can respect that “Over There” was an ambitious project and perhaps that is why it failed. Add in the hands of people who focus on showing the same dramatic situations they’ve worked with before just placed in a war zone and you get failure. Commander in Chief was also a project doomed to failure. The only right thing that show did was hire Donald Sutherland. So he’s had 3 failed projects recently. This isn’t by far the most any producer or writer has had but I’m supposedly being sold Raising the Bar based on the fact that its a Steven Bochco drama. What has he given me lately? Here we are now, entertain us. Will he with this? Doubtful. The series revolves around a group of law school classmates who find themselves on opposite sides of the criminal law. Does this sound interesting to you? It doesn’t to me. Based on the mere idea mixed with Steven Bochco I can guess that someone will inevitably sleep with someone on the opposite side. Old classmates will realize the idealistic guy they used to know is now jaded with money. There will be moments of redemption when an opposing counsel turns over hidden evidence that will lose them the case. Justice will be carried out more often than not but when it fails we’ll get close ups of perhaps pretty lawyers looking crestfallen. Tight close up on Mark Paul Gosselaar’s eyes staring off trying to understand this decision. Someone will lose faith in the system. Someone will be shot. There will also be sex, sex, sex and a maybe some ass shots. I’d love to be proven wrong. I wouldn’t be shocked if the first episode proves all those predictions to be correct. What bothers me is when scripted television should be trying new ideas they’re banking on a “10 time Emmy winner” to bring them creativity. I just don’t think that old dog can show me a new trick. So tune in, see if I’m wrong, find me proven right, and if you’re still yearning for a legal drama by a TV vet then turn to ABC and watch Boston Legal which isnt recycled TV. Raising the Bar premieres Monday 10/9C on TNT.
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