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Conviction: The Complete Series
R1 - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Cameron Murray & Noor Razzak (9th September 2006). |
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The Film
 "Conviction" is a television show about a group of up and coming talented Assistant District Attorneys and their lives outside the courtroom. This yet another show from the pen of Dick Wolf ("Law and Order" (1990-Present), "SVU" (1999-Present) and "Criminal Intent" (2001-Present)), but this show is some what different to his previous works, its actually quite fun. That is not to say that at times the subject matter is not truly horrific, its disrespectful to deal with topics like rape, murder and domestic violence in a flippant and off hand way, but the cases with which the characters deal with are not the focus of the show. The series is more about the way the characters deal with the stress that these cases place on themselves and in turn the people around them. Set in the New York City District Attorneys office, the pilot starts with a new ADA Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges) on his first day. Potter has come from a large law firm and the question on everyones lips within the DAs office is why has he given up $150,000 a year to work for about $50,000? It all sounds pretty standard but works well within the show, because you get the impression that it is a thankless job with few benefits other than to know that you have made the world at least for a period of time a better place (although the series does deal with situations where this is not the case). As the series progresses we see him mature and start to fill out in his new job, becoming more comfortable with the role that he has found himself in. Its hard to tell who the main star of the show is, with pretty much every member of the cast getting their time to shine. The relationships between the characters is quite mixed and varied, which is true within any office, whether it be the slow burning romantic ember between Peluso (Eric Blafour) or the purely based on sex (with one persons attachment slightly greater than the others) relationship of Steele (Anson Mount) and Rossi (Milena Govich). There is something in this series for everyone and enough twists and teasing to keep you guessing throughout. The style is different from your typical "Law & Order" episode and suits the material of the scripts well. As opposed to having a lot of handheld shots it is predominantly steady and mounted cameras. The lighting is done well as you'd expect from a reasonably well budgeted production. As with a lot of TV shows the style is nothing amazing, it shows you what you need to see and doesn't try and blow you away visually. What will blow you away is the number of decent television stars in this show, with most if not all the cast having been in quality shows prior to this one. Eric Blafour from "24" (2001-Present), "Six Feet Under" (2001-Present) and "The O.C" (2003-Present), Stephanie March whose reprising her character from "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999-Present), Anson Mount from "Lost" (2004-Present), Julianne Nicholson previously seen in "Ally McBeal" (1997-2002) and "ER" (1994-Present) and J. August Richards who had a brief stint on "Angel" (1999-2004) some of you will debate whether that classes as a good show but dammit I'm writing this review. Now you would expect with this caliber of cast that the acting would be first rate and it doesn't disappoint, when you're supposed to feel a characters pain you do, you sympathise and empathise with them. I enjoyed this series of "Conviction" and sad to see that there will only be these 13 episodes. If you are a fan of good television with a legal twist then this is the series for you, it's nowhere near as quirky as a "Boston Legal" (2004-Present) or as hard hitting as the rest of the "Law and Order" family, but it still has a place on TV as a stop gap between the crap and those few truly fantastic show that seem to crowd our television screens. The series included 13 episodes: - "Pilot" Nick Potter joins the New York District Attorney's office which is currently investigating a known drug dealer. Meanwhile, Finn loses key evidence for her first case at trial. Assistant D.A. Mike Randolph (Elias Koteas) is gunned down. - "Denial" Steele prosecutes a 14-year-old boy as an adult after he murdered his brother with a baseball bat. Meanwhile Peluso investigates a high school hate crime against a gay man. And Rossi finds it difficult to get a prostitute to testify at a rape trial while Finn gets ready for her blind date. - "Breakup" Finn investigates why a mother convinced her daughter that she was dying of cancer, the girl committed suicide, but more she digs into the case the more she discovers it was the mother's doing. Potter's friend is arrested for drug possession, but when his friend comes to him for help he passes the case to Desmond. Meanwhile, Cabot begins an anti-drug campaign. - "Indebted" Desmond prosecute a rap producer who has been charged with murder. Potter goes on a ride along with two cops and witnesses the cops handing a perp with force which has Internal Affairs investigating; Rossi prosecutes a wife beater, while her mother tells her she's leaving her father for being an alcoholic and abusive, and Finn has to find a way to settle a case involving a diplomat's son and a strip club. - "Savasana" Finn is assigned to a shaken baby case. Potter doesn't settle a case despite his boss' wishes and instead wins at trial. Desmond has a one night stand with a woman who turns out works at the courthouse. Steele and Cabot re-ignite and old flame but then drops a big announcement. - "Madness" Desmond decides to work in a psychiatric ward trying cases. Finn is forced to assist a heartless prosecutor. Potter takes Desmond's bail reduction case and ends up with bad results. While Rossi deals with a family battle concerning a deaf girl's boyfriend who stabbed her father. - "True Love" Potter is beaten and robbed at gunpoint after trying to get a witness to testify. Rossi takes on a case that involves a model who claims she was raped by a well-known professional. Steele's tries a murder case where the partner in a gay relationship is accused of murder. Finn meets an attractive Doctor who becomes her star witness for her latest case. - "Downhill" Potter lands an easy case involving theft of money from a church, but the easy case becomes complicated as the priest wants the charges dropped. Cabot makes a deal with the defendant in a rape case Rossi is prosecuting for a conviction in an insurance fraud case. Desmond's joins an exclusive black men's club but he discovers that comes with a heavy price. And Finn deals with a landlord/tenant case. - "The Wall" Desmond and Steele find it difficulty to prosecute a case in which a teenage girl died while playing a "choking game". Peluso faces the blue wall when he tries to prosecute a cop killer. Cabot sends Finn and Potter to acting classes in the hopes it will improve their appearances in court. Meanwhile, Rossi tries to deal with her very dysfunctional family. - "Deliverance" Steele goes toe-to-toe with a n ingenious and conniving female attorney who defends herself after she is accused of murdering her husband. - "Indiscretion" Steele tries to prosecute another rape case, but the victim's father stands in his way. Potter fumbles an easy drug case. Desmond gets some insight from a fortune teller, who is being prosecuted. Finn and Peluso almost have a date. - "180.80" [i]A young woman is discovered murdered shortly after she was seen leaving a local bar. The bar's bouncer is accused of her death and is arrested along with an accomplice. The woman's death creates massive media coverage as her father is a well-known politican. - "Hostage (2)" The two murder suspects (from the previous episode) take control over the courthouse by holding the people hostage. They negotiate their escape with the police.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is clean and sharp, the transfer presents colors vividly and skin tones are natural and realistic. I could not spot any print damage as this series seems to have been transferred from it's original digital source (The series was shot in HD Digital) and aside from some compression artefacts and minor aliasing and also moiré patterns appeared around some objects this was a fairly ok transfer. Blacks were deep and flaws were minimal, Universal has presented this show with an acceptable transfer that will likely please most viewers.
Audio
Only one audio track is included on these episodes, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. I found that for a 5.1 track the majority of sound was directed to the front speakers although environmental and directional effects occasionally made use of the rear channels to add depth (however little). Dialogue was presented clean and distortion free, music as well as rendered effectively. While this track isn't as aggressive as film soundtracks it's more than suitable for this TV series. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired only.
Extras
Universal have included only a minuscule amount of extras in the form of bonus trailers and character profiles. Below is a closer look at these extras. DISC ONE: This disc includes a collection of bonus trailers for: - "Law & Order" series promo which runs for 1 minute 15 seconds. - "House: Seasons 1 & 2" which runs for 30 seconds. - "Las Vegas: Seasons 1-3" which runs for 32 seconds. - "Miami Vice: Seasons 1 & 2" which runs for 1 minute. - "Monk: Seasons 1-4" which runs for 45 seconds. - "The Incredible Hulk: Season 1" which runs for 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Columbo: Seasons 1-5" which runs for 58 seconds. - "Murder, She Wrote: Seasons 1-3" which runs for 44 seconds. - "Amazing Stories: Season 1" which runs for 53 seconds. - "Northern Exposure: Seasons 1-4" which runs for 55 seconds. - "Quantum Leap: Seasons 1-4" which runs for 55 seconds. The first four trailers listed are start-up previews and can be skipped. DISC TWO: No extras are featured on this disc. DISC THREE: Rounding out the extras on this DVD set are a series of 7 character profiles, in it the cast tell us about their characters, why it's fun to play then and work on this show and also briefly talk about key moments for the characters. These are promotional interviews that offer very little information that you won't already know if you watched the show. They're good for one viewing only and are quickly forgotten about. The profiles included are for: - "Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot" which runs for 2 minutes 25 seconds. - "Anson Mount as Jim Steele" which runs for 2 minutes 28 seconds. - "Julianne Nicholson as Christina Finn" which runs for 2 minutes 7 seconds. - "J. August Richards as Billy Desmond" which runs for 2 minutes 17 seconds. - "Eric Balfour as Brian Peluso" which runs for 2 minutes 14 seconds. - "Jordan Bridges as Nick Potter" which runs for 2 minutes 2 seconds. - "Milena Govich as Jessica Rossi" which runs for 2 minutes 15 seconds. These paltry extras are a huge disappointment, although this series was cancelled it would have been nice on the part of Universal to at least include some extras with substance.
Packaging
This 3-disc set is packaged in a 2-panel digi-pack that comes with a cardboard slip-cover.
Overall
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