Just when you though it was safe to go back into the courtroom

I've had some rather disappointing news. It mostly (entirely) revolves around the cancellation of the two year-old James Woods legal drama Shark. I can't help but find it strange that every lawyer show on network TV that is actually interested in justice has a very short life span.

There's really no good reason to shut Shark down. For one thing, the main character is actually interesting. Woods' Sebastian Stark is a long-time criminal defense attorney nicknamed Shark for his well-earned reputation of getting high-profile, extremely unsavoury, and mostly guilty big-time crooks off the hook. As a defense lawyer, he was willing to do literally whatever it took to win his clients case. But that was the old Shark, and the show is about the new. Running off the all too rare foundational belief that people can change, Stark can no longer stomach protecting people who shouldn't be allowed to run free just because the price is right, and now works as a prosecutor with the Los Angeles district attorney's office. He's also realized that he wants a relationship with his teenage daughter, who's mostly been with his ex-wife - so he's given himself a reason to not become embroiled in crime-related situations that could endanger his life. And I was really looking forward to seeing where the show would go with one of the young lawyers on his team who idealizes the man Stark used to be, and is eager to follow in those footsteps in spite of his example and warnings.

Choosing to work within a moral framework hasn't blunted Stark's edge in the courtroom, merely made him more creative. And, as mentioned before, its made him passionate about actual justice, not the legal loophole variety - which is the heart of what makes Shark such good TV. Plus, the character is consistent in his change of lifestyle and philosophy - near the end of this season, it became relevant that twelve years earlier, while working the seedy side of things, Stark had witnessed the dumping of a body and not reported it. When the news became public (don't know how, missed that episode), Stark had a felony on his hands...and did absolutely nothing to try to get away with it. The new Stark wanted to take full responsibility for his mistake, despite the protests of his young team, and that responsibility led to his immediate disbarment in the state of California. What was shocking wasn't that Stark didn't get away with his crime in the end, but that a character in prime time didn't want to get away with it. When he tried flirting with his old ways after his disbarment (remember, it was just for one state), he quickly discovered that he couldn't do it anymore - because he changed! Actual change, the kind temptation can hurt but not destroy.

The writing was good and consistent, as was the acting from all involved, and if I haven't made it clear already, I'm really going to miss this show. It's one I'd actually buy one day.