I agree 100% with Mr. Leone's compare-and-contrast review of this show and "First Monday" (2002). IANAL, but even as a layperson I can tell that FM thoroughly sacrifices legal accuracy for maudlin melodrama. I'm sure The Court doesn't get things precisely right law-wise either, but it seems like they're at least striving for realism, and unlike FM, they haven't pulled any stunts so far that I can point at and laugh at as being completely off-the-wall.
I too had a healthy dose of skepticism upon first viewing TC, but I've been suitably impressed so far. There have been a few hokey moments (scenes with Field's character and the weepy bleeding-heart clerk for instance) but overall, the performances and presentation have been subtle, restrained, and intelligent. My overall impression is similar to my feelings about executive producer Carol Flint's other venture, "ER" (1994): while this show isn't completely free of the contrivance and tear-jerkiness endemic to all television dramas, the overall quality is such that I'm willing to overlook a few peccadilloes.
Kudos in particular to Chris Sarandon for his work. He does a wonderful job of straightforwardly playing a character that in the wrong hands could have been reduced to sappy saccharine.
