Monday, March 10, 2008

All TV: 'Canterbury's Law' review, 'In Treatment' revisited

Today's column reviews "Canterbury's Law," about which all you really need to know is what's in that picture:
When Julianna Margulies left "ER" in 2000, turning down a $27 million contract extension, she said she was burnt-out on playing the same character and the same situations for so long, and she needed a change. And that's fair. Money isn't everything, and if you're unhappy in your current job, you have the right to do something else that pays less.

And yet, watching "Canterbury's Law" (8 p.m., Ch. 5), Margulies' first regular series since, I wonder if she would have stayed on "ER" had the producers gotten her out of those scrubs and into a miniskirt.

"Canterbury's Law" is a show that's almost entirely about Margulies' legs. That, or her shoes. Practically every scene opens with a fetishized close-up of Margulies' latest stylish pair of stilettos, then a pan up her stockings. When she complains that a co-worker is overshadowing her, he says, "Relax. You've got better legs." You know things are getting stressful for her when you see she's chosen to wear pants.
To read the full thing (including a brief plug for the final weeks of "In Treatment"), click here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

especially about Paul, who only seems able to conduct himself in a fully professional manner unless he's with Sophie.


I thought Paul was most professional with Sophie, less so with the others? Am I parsing your sentence incorrectly? Or do our opinions just differ? :-)

Alan Sepinwall said...

Am I parsing your sentence incorrectly?

No, I wrote it incorrectly, as one of several thousand words I wrote on that Friday. It should be "when," not "unless." I'll go fix it on the NJ.com version.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I've been waiting my whole life for the right show about Julianna Margulies's legs.

SOLD!

Anonymous said...

How very surprising, a show produced by Denis Leary climaxes with the female lead getting punched in the face.

Blankity-Blank said...

Man, I must be completely brainwashed by the trappings of television because I didn't notice any of this fetishized leg stuff. Maybe it's because I can't stop looking at Julianna Margulies' eyebrows. Seriously, have you watched them? They never move. It's fascinating.

Pamela Jaye said...

having read only the part of the article that's on the blog, I find myself wondering which network this is on. (and, come to think of it, based on the time stamp - what day it was posted. (though here in the comments I see a date. must go look harder)

Pamela Jaye said...

found the dates. if there is more than one post per day, they don't repeat....