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The Age
Thursday October 29, 2009
Raising the BarW, 7.30pmNYPD Blue creator Steven Bochco is back with an unconvincing legal drama in which overworked public defenders say things like "adjourn the hookers, plead the DWI down to the minimum, get me four years on the burglary" before being dragged off to jail for contempt of court. The hero of the piece is a long-haired, whiny idealist named Jerry (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), who is forever blowing his top at a seriously psycho judge (Jane Kaczmarek, pictured) €” hence all that time in the cells. Luckily, Jerry is friends with the judge's clerk, a gay man who is nonetheless sleeping with the judge and who gets Jerry out of trouble by (it is heavily implied) performing certain sex acts. Meanwhile, Jerry is sleeping with a prosecutor (Melissa Sagemiller) who neatly emasculates her sleazy boss every time he leers at her breasts. After a hard day in court (and/or the holding cells), everybody goes drinking at the same bar €” defenders, prosecutors and even the judge. The supposed point of difference about Raising the Bar is that is focuses on the defence lawyers and on defendants who are innocent or who at least don't deserve the long sentences that Kaczmarek's sadistic judge is itching to hand down. But Law & Order already covers that territory and it teases out the ethical, legal and societal issues in a far more nuanced and intelligent manner.True Hollywood Story: Hollywood Ex-WivesE!, 8.30pmTHIS tawdry, dull and pointless THS has Darcy LaPier, Sandra Will Carradine, Gretchen Bonaduce and Sharise Neil dish the dirt on their exes (Jean-Claude Van Damme, Keith Carradine, Danny Bonaduce and Vince Neil) and plug their new business ventures. Divorce might have hurt their bank balances but it hasn't put a dent in their egos. LaPier says she can't help it if rich men have always found her sexy because, after all, "I'm one of the most beautiful women in the world." E! lines up the usual gallery of prattling heads €” psychologists, lawyers and tabloid magazine hacks €” to witter on about the size of property settlements and the trauma experienced by Hollywood exes who suddenly find themselves swept off the red carpet. Remember: every time you watch E! or buy a glossy magazine, you encourage this sort of garbage.Worth a lookMary, Queen of Charity Shops (LifeStyle, 8.30pm). Op shops get a makeover.The Daily Show with John Stewart (Comedy, 6.30pm)True Horror: Dracula (BBC HD, 8.30pm)
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