At its best, the new NBC series is adult, thoughtful and funny, though it strains too hard for eccentricity and has an irritating way of letting characters off the hooks on which it so merrily hoists them.
L.A. Law is the kind of show on which fine writing and acting combine to produce drama that is better than either of the two elements alone. If you watch only one new show this season, this should be it.
L.A. Law is realistic, witty, cynical, sexy and unabashed. If that's not enough to attract you, it is also startling, touching, fast-moving and mature. It is, among many other virtues, the best TV show I have ever seen about the legal profession.
The complex series, sometimes outrageously funny -- if you like black humor -- is a human drama filled with pathos, courtroom hijinks and a spattering of romance.
Sometimes the show does get too gritty for its own good. But it also has fine writing, good acting, snappy direction, generous imagination and daring irreverence.
What sets it apart is the writing. The technical touches may not wow us as they once did, but the writing was really quite astonishing. Not just what was said, but what was left unsaid.
