Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

thezone1 I found this title on Hulu. I loved The Mentalist with Simon Baker, so, I gave this a shot. Nick Fallon (Simon Baker), is a very intelligent attorney who apparently loved to party. He gets busted for possession of cocaine and gets sentenced to 1500 hours of community service. This service is what makes the series so interesting. He is used to operating in a corporate environment playing for millions of dollars. Now, he has to help children often stuck in impossible situations. He tries so hard to do the right thing but it doesn't always turn out the way he wants or the way you think it should. I have known people that were stuck in the "system" and it isn't always the best for kids. In one episode a teenager is being seduced by her father (John DeLance). As awful as this is, it turns out that this destroys the family. The girl is sent into a worse situation (if you can believe that) and even says she would rather be having sex with her dad than being stuck in the system. A very interesting comment by the producer on the way it really works in the real world. I think what I really like about this series is it gives you a glimpse into what life is really like when you have to deal with judges and social workers. I guess the message is to keep your nose clean and whatever you do don't put yourself in a position that you have to deal with these people. Excellent Series, I was disappointed to see that it only has 3 seasons.

annreynolds I'm a Simon Baker fan, and I discovered this series with great delight. I have always enjoyed The Mentalist, but this show is much better. The character, Nick Fallin, is much more believable. Nick isn't a common type of person, but I'm not sure that Patrick Jane really exists at all.The series has shape. It leads us through a long string of choices that lead to a solid and believable resolution.I was glad that the writers of The Mentalist allowed Jane and Lisbon to get together, but it was a cut and paste job based on a fantasy about law enforcement. The Mentalist had certain morality problems for me, such as the concession that was made to the advisability of giving in to revenge. The last few seasons of The Mentalist were basically good-will promotions for the FBI. Good guys and bad guys, black and white; The Mentalist was entertainment.But in The Guardian, even though we don't necessarily like Lulu's choices, we can't blame her. She isn't consistently pristine, and sometimes she seems selfish, but she seems to have the moral core to live easily with herself. Regarding Nick, we know that he can give into self-pity and addiction, but we also know that he can choose the altruistic value over the superficial, and we know that he can do it consistently. Both characters have chosen each other as they are, rather than demanding perfection of the other. Their chaotic background denies them refuge in the easy answers.Even though I would have liked to watch more than three seasons of this series, it isn't really necessary; the story that emerges is, essentially, complete. There are questions that I could ask, such as, "What will Nick's father do?" or "Will the law firm succeed?" But the momentum of the drama is strong enough to suggest the answers. What was contrived in The Mentalist is organic in The Guardian, leaving the viewers with a strong taste of hope, not only for the protagonists, but for the intensely brave children as well.

gordem1 This series is about people who can't seem to get in touch with their feelings. I keep trying to find some redeeming qualities in these characters but they all keep living down to my expectations. It's obvious that the writers intend this to be a one-dimensional, emotionless and bland storyline but I can't imagine why. It's almost as if they are intentionally trying to chase viewers away. If Nick, or his father, or Lulu......or any of the others could just manage an "I love you" or "you're a jerk" it may add a touch of reality but if you were ever surrounded by this many dead characters you would likely be in a mortuary.

yellowstone The Guardian is hands down the best drama currently on television. It's amazing to me how Simon Baker has never won an Emmy for his portrayal of Nick Fallin - the ex cocaine addict who's forced to put in 1600 hours of community service as a child advocate for the legal aid services center in Pittsburgh. This is in addition to being a principal partner in his father's corporate law firm. Watching Nick run from the courtroom to the board room (and occasionally the bedroom) and back again with nary a moment to gather his thoughts can leave the viewer exhausted by the end of the show but this is also part of its appeal. We can feel Nick's stress and associate it with our own harried lives.None of the central characters on this show are without their flaws - Nick is often aloof and emotionless - caring more about corporate mergers than whether or not he is best serving the interests of those he defends during his community service. He rarely gives his downtrodden, legal aid clients a second thought once he has finished representing them. His father, brilliantly played by the veteran character actor Dabney Coleman can also be abrasive, manipulative, callous and, as the second season finale graphically showed also violent and dangerously obsessed with a twelve year old girl he took in as a foster child. The interaction (or lack thereof) between the two, neither whom is able to really show their true feelings towards one another is often painful to watch.The rest of the cast with the exception of Wendy Muniz are all expertly cast. Charles Malik Whitfield as James Mooney, the ex gang member who has escaped the ghetto to become a lawyer for the legal aid group is both menacing and heroic at the same time. One powerfull episode has him almost beating to death a young black man who he has been told caused the death of his troubled nephew. He later discovers that this person was innocent and must deal with how to come to terms with almost killing and disfiguring an innocent man. Raphael Sbarge as Jake Straka, another success driven lawyer at Nick's firm, makes us think of all the lawyers we have known who can barely give us the time of day unless the reward is large enough. Alan Rosenberg who plays Alvin Masterson, the director of the clinic, tries to keep the chaos controllable even while fighting his own demons which include an unhealthy weakness for some of his former female clients. Only Wendy Muniz fails to convince in her role as Lulu Archer, another one of the legal aid lawyers. The series' writers seem unable to decide whether she should be a foil to Nick or just another lovesick conquest. Their romantic scenes together lack passion or chemistry and often seem contrived. All in all though this is a thoughtful, powerful, and at times, emotionally brutal show. Enjoy it while you can - it's sure to be short lived.