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"LA Law: The Next Generation"
Mar. 17th, 2004 03:26 amBack in the USA again, this time for a work-related meeting in Melbourne, Florida, a town on the coast about twenty miles south of Cape Canaveral. Before anyone gets too jealous, I will note that it has been chucking it down all day and although my 8th-floor room overlooks the beach, right now I am mainly getting the benefit of a howling gale tearing its noisy way past my window. Oh well, things are meant to improve tomorrow.
I've just watched the pilot of Century City, at first sight yet another series about an LA law firm, but with the unique selling point that it's set in 2030. Rather like the BBC's Star Cops (ah, the nostalgia) it bases its drama on the legal, criminal and ethical issues of new technology, although here focused more on courtroom battles than police action. This first episode's A-plot featured a man being prosecuted for bringing into the USA a clone embryo of his son, created to help cure the son's fatal disease. There was a plot twist that most sf readers would probably guess, but in all it seemed fairly well thought out (although I suspect someone on the writing team is a Bujold fan). The B-plot was more light relief, with an aging rock star excluded from his former boy-band for refusing rejuvenation treatment... (cue mandatory Mick Jagger joke).
I'm not sure how well Century City will do; law-show fans might be put off by the sf elements, TV sci-fi enthusiasts might find the earnest court scenes too boring, and sf readers will probably find a lot of the plot ideas very familiar. But the writers and producers seem to be trying hard - the show is definitely pitched as serious drama - and I hope it gets a chance to succeed. Oh, and it stars Ioan Gruffudd, who (as seen in Hornblower) does Earnest and Upstanding very well indeed. I wonder if Sky will pick it up?
MC
I've just watched the pilot of Century City, at first sight yet another series about an LA law firm, but with the unique selling point that it's set in 2030. Rather like the BBC's Star Cops (ah, the nostalgia) it bases its drama on the legal, criminal and ethical issues of new technology, although here focused more on courtroom battles than police action. This first episode's A-plot featured a man being prosecuted for bringing into the USA a clone embryo of his son, created to help cure the son's fatal disease. There was a plot twist that most sf readers would probably guess, but in all it seemed fairly well thought out (although I suspect someone on the writing team is a Bujold fan). The B-plot was more light relief, with an aging rock star excluded from his former boy-band for refusing rejuvenation treatment... (cue mandatory Mick Jagger joke).
I'm not sure how well Century City will do; law-show fans might be put off by the sf elements, TV sci-fi enthusiasts might find the earnest court scenes too boring, and sf readers will probably find a lot of the plot ideas very familiar. But the writers and producers seem to be trying hard - the show is definitely pitched as serious drama - and I hope it gets a chance to succeed. Oh, and it stars Ioan Gruffudd, who (as seen in Hornblower) does Earnest and Upstanding very well indeed. I wonder if Sky will pick it up?
MC
