S01.E01: The Necklace

[MyAimIsTrue]

There's no episode description available yet but once it is I will update.

[Primetimer]

Or is it guilty of great-man fluffing? Sarah D. Bunting renders a judgment.

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[WendyM]

Rico from Six Feet Under? Marshal Marshall from In Plain Sight? Plus the Law & Order connections? I'm so there!

[zxy556575]

I try -- try! -- to be open minded and give all new shows a chance, even if only turns out to be the first 10 minutes of a pilot. But I cannot in good conscience support anything P. McGraw adjacent, and no previews, ads, or reviews have presented any evidence that my bias is unfounded.

[LAFR]

I try -- try! -- to be open minded and give all new shows a chance, even if only turns out to be the first 10 minutes of a pilot. But I cannot in good conscience support anything P. McGraw adjacent, and no previews, ads, or reviews have presented any evidence that my bias is unfounded.

Agree. I didn't know he was a producer on the show until reading this and that pretty much ended it for me.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I was willing to look the other way on the subject matter because of my Michael Weatherly and Christopher Jackson love but I didn't know P McG was a producer.  Now I may need to rethink this.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'm sooo conflicted. I LOVE Michael and I LOATHE Quick Draw McGraw.  And when he said that Michael "HAD TO AUDITION" and get McDraw's "approval" to get the role, I saw RED. I was hoping the producer credit was a pity, "in name only to satisfy the ego" credit, but after hearing him congratulate his fatuous self, I don't know. Like, why would Michael want to try for a show about such an obvious asshole? 

I'll watch the pilot and then...see.

[thewhiteowl]

Well, for me, it has many more things going for it than against. Love Weatherly, liked Numb3rs and Leverage. Sounds like it has a bit of Lie To Me in there, too which I loved. The supporting cast sounds good and oddly enough I like Dr. Phil. So I' m in. 

[Jamoche]

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I'm sooo conflicted. I LOVE Michael and I LOATHE Quick Draw McGraw.  And when he said that Michael "HAD TO AUDITION" and get McDraw's "approval" to get the role, I saw RED.

Seriously? I was thinking this was a show built around Michael! 

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, Jamoche said:

Seriously? I was thinking this was a show built around Michael! 

No lie. Asshole was on The View last week, hyping pimping his oh so "hard hitting" interview with Burke Ramsay last week, and was very condescending and full of himself as he told them how Michael had to prove himself to play his younger self. BLECH.

[Pfj99]

Part of Dr. Phil's show today was a promo for "Bull."  I get the impression the show, and Dr. Phil's early career, is all about jury selection and manipulation.  Of course this is only to get innocent clients acquitted.  Of course.  I'll give the show a try, but it might make me too angry to keep watching it.

[marina to]

"I like Boss". Well done, show.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Great catch, I didn't connect those dots!

So far this show isn't working for me.

[GHScorpiosRule]

First, it's Marshall Marshall; now it's Pete Peters. What is it with Weller playing characters with two first names? Or two last names?

The trial...science of this is not wooing me. Like the "mirror jury" thing.  With a hacker on staff, and ability to bug clients' things...ooooookay.NOT.

Sigh. I wonder if Michael can go back to NCIS?

Edited September 21, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[marina to]

I liked Bess better than almost all of the main cast. That doesn't bode well. The stylist and the former cop show promise. Show needs to do better.

[Callietwo]

And if Bull is working for the defense, why was he riding along when they showed up to presumably arrest the mother of the weird girl?  And?  How did they know about her, the necklace, etc?

 

I don't like the styling of the show at all.. jurors talking to the audience, etc.  bleh.  I love Weatherly and will check out one more episode before I decide but this was eh.  

[marina to]

1 minute ago, Callietwo said:

And if Bull is working for the defense, why was he riding along when they showed up to presumably arrest the mother of the weird girl?  And?  How did they know about her, the necklace, etc?

My guess is in observing that family he made observations that he shared with the prosecution, which led to her arrest. And he asked to be there when it went down.

[MyAimIsTrue]

19 minutes ago, marina to said:

 

I liked Bess better than almost all of the main cast.

 

Same here.  I don't know who the actress was but she was amazing at the end.

Poor Chris Jackson, from George Washington in "Hamilton" to a jury stylist??

[GHScorpiosRule]

Blergh.

If they could just limit scenes with just Michael and guest stars, I think I could like this show. All that nonsense with predicting jury behavior/how they'll decide/and the arrogance of how Bull and his team KNOW what they will decide before the jurors themselves? is such...too much disbelief for me to suspend my disbelief.

[marina to]

Samantha Jones is the actor playing Bess.

[Ohmo]

10 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Blergh.

If they could just limit scenes with just Michael and guest stars, I think I could like this show. All that nonsense with predicting jury behavior/how they'll decide/and the arrogance of how Bull and his team KNOW what they will decide before the jurors themselves? is such...too much disbelief for me to suspend my disbelief.

Yeah, it was too "busy" for me.  Normally, I like shows like Numbers and Leverage, but I felt overstimulated by this show.  Too much "stuff," and then it seemed to get very clinical.

The "Boss" reference irritated me, actually.  I found it to be lazy and annoying.  Anyone who has watched NCIS knows that Tony called Gibbs "Boss" hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times.  Michael decided that he wanted to do something different from Tony.  The NCIS audience sent Tony on his way to new opportunities.  I felt like the writers were trying to have it both ways.  Michael's either playing Tony or he's not, and since he's not, leave the NCIS references be.

Unless, of course, Michael one day returns to NCIS (which I'm not ashamed to say, would please me 'cuz I miss Tony.)

[marina to]

19 minutes ago, Ohmo said:

he "Boss" reference irritated me, actually.  I found it to be lazy and annoying.  Anyone who has watched NCIS knows that Tony called Gibbs "Boss" hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times.  Michael decided that he wanted to do something different from Tony.  The NCIS audience sent Tony on his way to new opportunities.  I felt like the writers were trying to have it both ways.  Michael's either playing Tony or he's not, and since he's not, leave the NCIS references be.

I liked it because a) it indicated that in this show, he's top dog & b) a throwback to when Gibbs left for a while and he made McGee call him Boss.

[JackONeill]

I give it an Okay. I did like Bull's team, but why do they have to be so -- young (mostly). 

Jury selection is an interesting process, but kind of in a "playing chess is interesting" way.

The whole ending (arresting the right killer) seemed rushed and I don't see them having enough time each episode to get the accused off AND find the correct culprit.

[Skycatcher]

56 minutes ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

I don't know who the actress [Bess] was but she was amazing at the end.

I loved watching her as she took in information from the testimonies.  The changes on her face were soooo subtle. Very good.

As for the show......not sure.  I may watch a few more episodes, but I'm not seeing how it won't become very tedious very quickly. Or is MW going to be getting involved in crime scenes, analyzing suspects, etc? Awkward.

[sjohnson]

Pass. 

[marina to]

59 minutes ago, RogerDodger said:

One thing - If the clothes and haircut were so important for the defendant's appearance to the jury, why did Bull wait until after the opening arguments to use the stylist?   

Wasn't there a comment made that they didn't get access to him until after the opening arguments?

[buckboard]

So a psychologist and his team don't just advise the high-powered, high priced attorney, they RUN the case.

They interview potential jurors; they dress the defendant; they prepare the client how to act and plead without consulting his attorney.  They even interview witnesses.  They play the lead attorney's assistant against the lead.  They don't just have an alternate jury, they are running their own trial.  While a team like Dr. Bull's could be very useful, the would work FOR the lead attorney, advising him, not TELLING a former Attorney General what to do.

And as for the poor associate having to drag all the trial material into the courtroom, there are no paralegals and clerks on the defense team?  

[brgjoe]

I generally liked it.  Mostly because of MW.  The other cast members are OK and all, but nobody really stood out for me.  On the plus side, none of them particularly annoyed me either.  So there's that.  :)  The ending felt a bit rushed to me as well.

I did like the "Call me 'Boss'." line.  Heh.  And I didn't see him as "DiNozzo" much of the time.  I think he can make this Bull character his own. as well.

My only trepidation is that I am not sure jury selection will be a truly exciting, grippng thing for people to tune in for.  At least it doesn't excite me much.  Granted, I will still watch the show more than likely.   Again, mostly because MW is in it.  But it will be interesting to me how much of the audience this show will retain from it's debut.

So, I'm in.  At least for the foreseeable future.

[Mama No Life]

I like Weatherly and I almost forgot about DiNozzo so that's good.

 

I almost forgot about the rest of it too, so that's not good.

 

We'll see.

[Lostinthehouse]

I'm not sure about this yet.  MW was just too "one-note" - arrogance and fluff.  His breathy vocal delivery perplexed me - I know he has a voice, I've seen him use his voice in NCIS.  So why be all breath-y here?

Interesting story, I liked the jury selection process, fun twist at the end.  But if MW puffs his way through the next episode, I'm out.

[Skycatcher]

26 minutes ago, Lostinthehouse said:

I'm not sure about this yet.  MW was just too "one-note" - arrogance and fluff.  His breathy vocal delivery perplexed me - I know he has a voice, I've seen him use his voice in NCIS.  So why be all breath-y here?

It's got to be an interesting challenge, to create a character that is different than DiNozzo, yet has the same endearing qualities that made DiNozzo a favorite.  Maybe the breathiness is an attempt to differentiate the two? Especially when the show airs right after the old nest show.  I know they wanted to take advantage of the fan base, but still, not exactly helpful in creating a new character.  I think it might have a better chance on a different night.

[MyAimIsTrue]

7 hours ago, brgjoe said:

My only trepidation is that I am not sure jury selection will be a truly exciting, grippng thing for people to tune in for. 

I was thinking the same thing, and also how an hour of that each week could get old quickly.  I plan to give the show at least one more look and hopefully there will be more depth in future episodes.

[beadgirl]

Quote

So a psychologist and his team don't just advise the high-powered, high priced attorney, they RUN the case.

They interview potential jurors; they dress the defendant; they prepare the client how to act and plead without consulting his attorney.  They even interview witnesses.  They play the lead attorney's assistant against the lead.  They don't just have an alternate jury, they are running their own trial.  While a team like Dr. Bull's could be very useful, the would work FOR the lead attorney, advising him, not TELLING a former Attorney General what to do.

No kidding.  Apparently this high-powered attorney with years and years of experience didn't know to clean up his client and put him in a suit.  Or how to voir dire.  Or realize that how one presents the evidence matters.  If this whole series is going to be "Bull always knows better than every trial attorney ever," I'm out.

Not to mention that only the wealthiest of the wealthy will be able to afford Bull.  You think this show is going to address class and financial inequities in the legal system?  Show the very successful hero offering his services pro-bono?  Or will it just be a bunch of poor-little-rich-kid stories?

Too bad, because Weatherly is an engaging presence (even if I never like his characters).

Edited September 21, 2016 by beadgirl

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, buckboard said:

...And as for the poor associate having to drag all the trial material into the courtroom, there are no paralegals and clerks on the defense team?  

I must've been under the influence of Weatherly's charm, or maybe I just couldn't believe that she hadn't figured a better way to schelp the stuff (thumb drive and then print in court house for non-chain of custody docs?), but I assumed Bull had set her up to do it that way for the optics. But I'm probably wrong. And if there are too many of these scenarios, the bloom might be off the rose for me.

For right now, it fits my fluffy viewing requirements. I have enough thoughtful, deeper shows already.

 

28 minutes ago, beadgirl said:

...Not to mention that only the wealthiest of the wealthy will be able to afford Bull.  You think this show is going to address class and financial inequities in the legal system?  Show the very successful hero offering his services pro-bono?  Or will it just be a bunch of poor-little-rich-kid stories?

Too bad, because Weatherly is an engaging presence (even if I never like his characters).

Hopefully he does some pro bono stuff, or maybe manipulates the rich to fund such cases.

Edited September 21, 2016 by shapeshifter
typos and clarity

[Gregg247]

I wasn't sure how the characters in the show were related to each other.  I knew the defendant's father (who used to play "troubled youth" on shows like this himself) and mother (the blonde who was taking the Zanax), but who were those other people?  There was the grown man, who by the end turned out to (maybe) be the defendant's secret gay boyfriend (?), his wife, who was apparently the real killer, and that weird girl with the stalker-ish obsession.  How were they related in the story?  Why were they there?  Was this explained at some point?

No offense to Dr. Bull and his team, but I don't think the defense attorney really needed them.  That case seemed extremely weak.  A hot young drug dealer is strangled and thrown over the side of a yacht, and her "boyfriend" is immediately attested for it.  Was there any other evidence?  Would this have even gotten to a jury with so little evidence?  

Why was the defense attorney such a bonehead?  They wrote him like the most incompetent nincompoop to ever walk into a courtroom,.  The problem with this show is that the better the defense attorney, the less the need for Dr. Bull and his team.  How many really rich defendants are going to hire incompetent lawyers?

How did they figure out the real killer's identity?

The jury selection portion of the show was the least interesting part of the show for me.

[Good Queen Jane]

This show is such a mess. I've given up expecting shows about the legal process to be realistic, but this show makes Suits look like a documentary! The conflict between the trial lawyer and the consultant makes no sense at all. One or the other would be gone within days. The only way they could make this show interesting is to have a wealthy benefactor who sends the team around the country to help out overwhelmed lawyers fighting to right wrongs. Then there would be an explanation why the lawyer was so incompetent and needed help and allow someone other than the super rich to benefit from the team's very expensive techniques.

[Misslindsey]

11 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

Poor Chris Jackson, from George Washington in "Hamilton" to a jury stylist??

This. Chris Jackson is why I tuned in, which is slightly bad because whenever he is onscreen I just want him to sing.

[Kelda Feegle]

This one is on the bubble for me. I didn't like MW in NCIS,  in part because they never really let him grow up, in this he looked like he was trying to play an adult. Lie to me vibes all over it, I enjoyed that for a while, until Roth's head tilt and character arrogance got to be too much for me. 

I'll give this another ep and decide.

[shrewd.buddha]

Maybe they should have just named this show "Rigged" , because, like most shows about lawyers, it turns the legal system into a game where winning at all costs is the only thing that matters.

And when will we see Dr. Bull doing his best work for a client who is most likely guilty? (OJ's dream team) That's usually the rich type of client who can afford these type of expensive services, right? 

It was watchable, but I was turned off by almost every character, including Bull and his overly cocky team of jury manipulators. 

Edited September 21, 2016 by shrewd.buddha

[rhys]

I'm annoyed beyond reason that Dr Phil thinks MW resembles him. Just no.

[pally]

the show was very uneven...lets hope it improves in the coming weeks

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, Callietwo said:

...How did they know about her, the necklace, etc?... 

The not-girlfriend described it on the witness stand. I don't recall if they showed her a picture of it. If the show had a morgue person on Bull's payroll, likely they would have described her being strangled with the necklace.

I'm guessing her husband told the cops when he found the necklace back in the wife's jewelry box. I suppose it salved his conscience for being willing to have his teen lover go to prison to protect his sexual preferences.

 

1 hour ago, Gregg247 said:

...There was the grown man, who by the end turned out to (maybe) be the defendant's secret gay boyfriend (?), his wife, who was apparently the real killer, and that weird girl with the stalker-ish obsession.  How were they related in the story?  Why were they there?  Was this explained at some point?....

The kid was in high school, right? Where's SVU when you need'em? 
The mother had betrothed (in her mind) her daughter to the suspect since they were upper crust preschoolers.

 

34 minutes ago, shrewd.buddha said:

Maybe they should have just named this show "Rigged" , because, like most shows about lawyers, it turns the legal system into a game where winning at all costs is the only thing that matters....

It could've been a running joke if intead of Bull, he was Dr. Rigg, but right now, it looks like Bull crap might be a more accurate joke.

Hopefully the future episodes will not require the audience to fill in so many plot holes.

Edited September 21, 2016 by shapeshifter

[Calamity Jane]

6 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Random thoughts:

For some reason this show reminded me of a very poorly done, "Lie To Me".

 

Almost from the first moment, I got a strong vibe of "Lie to Me."  Something about the layout of the offices, the ensemble of characters, and of course more obviously, the nature of the work.   That was a show I enjoyed greatly the first season, not so much after that.  I'll watch this to see how it goes - the premise kind of creeped me out with all the online spying on jurors, so I'll have to see if I can get past that.  

[thewhiteowl]

It was not TV show perfection but I was entertained. Sure, it had some implausible moments, name a show that doesn't. It certainly is not a documentary. I liked Weatherly he did a good job. The rest are kind of blur for now but I didn't find anyone cringe worthy. For a pilot, completely acceptable and worth watching. 

As an aside, I've met Dr Phil and believe it or not the man is loaded with charisma. He makes you feel absolutely connected with just a long look. I did not quite get that from Bull but am willing to be persuaded. I'm so in.

[Ohmo]

Quote

CBS | Despite solid reader reviews (average grade “B+”), NCIS (15.6 mil/2.1) opened Season 14 down from both a year ago (18.2 mil/2.5) and its May finale (18 mil/2.6). Michael Weatherly’s Bull (15.5 mil/2.2. average grade “B-“) in turn veritably matched NCIS‘ audience while improving on the demo

Ratings

[camussie]

It wasn't a perfect premiere but I liked it well enough.  As they billed it wasn't an autobiography of Dr. Phil at all but rather inspired by his early career of being a trial consultant.  I also am not offended by what Dr. Bull and his team do.  Innocent until proven guilty and trial by a jury of your peers are at the very foundation of our rights.    

As for what didn't work - the arrest of the mother at the end.  They should have ended it on her putting the necklace up letting the audience know who was guilty but not having Bull figure it out.  

[Ohmo]

1 hour ago, Calamity Jane said:

 I'll watch this to see how it goes - the premise kind of creeped me out with all the online spying on jurors, so I'll have to see if I can get past that.  

Agreed.  The wall of monitors and what information that could find out about each person creeped me out as well.

Did anyone else get a "Natalie Holloway" vibe from the case?  It wasn't an exact match, but it had elements to it.  Bahamas instead of Aruba.  Natalie was last seen on a beach.  Alyssa's body washed up on the beach.

I get the sense that I'm supposed to like Jason and his team, but I'm not sure that I do.  As has been mentioned upthread, not everyone will be able to afford Jason.  In this particular case, Jason's client was innocent, but TPTB need to make TAC more accessible and less elitist.

[MyAimIsTrue]

20 minutes ago, Ohmo said:

Did anyone else get a "Natalie Holloway" vibe from the case?

It was the first thing I thought of.

[crowsworks]

Him remarking on the perfect hair in the opening reminded me of a famous photo of Courtney Love when Curt stopped breathing in some foreign country. He as they stuffed him into an ambulance and she caught in an anguished silent scream at the press. A perfect gash of blood red lips in a pale face. Perfect lipstick when she woke up to a dying husband. oh well.

Edited September 21, 2016 by crowsworks
spell

[gazebo]

I'm still figuring out how Bull knew it was the rich girl's mom who killed Elyssa.  I know Bull noted the amethyst necklace on the dead girl's neck in one of the pictures but how did he know the rich girl's mom still have it?

MW is a nice likable presence in this Show.  Everyone else was kind of bland to me.  I guess they will have to fill in the rest of Bull's team later on in order for me to get some idea of what kind of people they are.  That particular juror that Bull knows all the other jurors will listen to, well she had more presence than the rest of Bull's team.  Great acting from that particular actress.

This episode felt predictable to me.  I knew that accused rich kid was going to be gay and I knew Bull was going to get the lady lawyer to take over the case.  Still I'm willing to give this Show a chance because of MW's charm.