There are a lot of "law" shows out there now, but none as robust as the new series Raising the Bar. Usually, these shows just focus on one side of the law. Law and Order focuses on the prosecution; Canterbury's Law focuses on the defense; Judging Amy focuses on the judge. But none of these are balanced and show all sides of the story. Raising the Bar breaks the mold in that it shows you all sides of the judicial process. Even though they're enemies in the courtroom, they're all friends (or at least frienemies) at the end of the day.

The main star of Raising the Bar is Jerry Kellerman (Mark-Paul Gosselaar). You might remember Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris from "Saved by the Bell." While I know he has been in quite a few different shows since then, he still hasn't escaped being known as Zack, although after seeing Raising the Bar, I think that he will now be seen in a different light. Jerry Kellerman is determined to fight for his defendants, even if they're not really good people - like the child rapist who's also accused of murder. Kellerman is determined that he's only going to be punished for the rape, not the murder. You don't get to choose your defendants when you're a public defender, but he is going to defend them all! During the pilot, Kellerman is told, "You don't always have to piss off the world." Of course, he's not going to listen, since that's the best description of his character I can think of.

Kellerman's co-workers are really good people as well. His boss is Rosalind (Gloria Reuben). Gloria is a really great actress, and she does a wonderful job trying to control these attorneys. Rosalind has to try and keep Kellerman in line (and out of jail). She has help in Richard Woolsley (Teddy Sears) and Roberta Gilardi (Natalia Cigliuti). Richard (also known as Rich) was a spoiled rich kid. His dad has more money than he knows what to do with. Rich just wants to help people though, so he becomes a public defender even though his dad would prefer he follow in his footsteps.

On the prosecution's side, there's Marcus McGrath (J. August Richards), Michelle Ernhardt (Melissa Sagemiller), and their boss, Nick Balco (Currie Graham). Marcus and Michelle are very good friends with Kellerman and Rich. They might fight horribly during the day for their clients, but at the end of the day, they all end up at the bar hanging out together. Their other friend, Charlie Sagansky (Jonathan Scarfe), has been Kellerman's best friend since they were young. Charlie is the clerk for Judge Trudy Kessler (Jane Kaczmarek). Charlie might be best friends with Kellerman, but Judge Kessler absolutely hates Kellerman. She makes his life difficult whenever she can.

As you can see, there is a whole lot going on in the show. There are also some bonus features on the DVD that are well worth watching. According to one of them, after episode 3, there are a lot of the cases that are based on real cases. To me, that just makes the shows all the more potent, since you really do end up feeling for these people. It's just really great to see all sides of the story and get the full picture. Raising the Bar really does show you the full picture. If you haven't seen this series yet, you are missing out. I highly recommend that you go pick them up today and then watch the second season starting June 8th on TNT.

---