Conviction (2006)

It’s quite an interesting concept, branch out the Law & Order stories.

Major crimes unit gets their own show, special victims gets their own show and so on.

And now we have the DA’s office getting its own show.

Conviction is a series based on the Law & Order SVU character ADA Alexandra Cabot. Played by Stephanie March, Alex Cabot returns to New York City’s DA’s office as bureau chief, supervising a group of young but talented assistant district attorneys.

In a departure from the usual L&W method, Conviction is focused on the characters as well as the cases. The focus on the characters is less on victims and more on the ADAs- their personal lives become the center of attention. We see how the pressure of the high intensity work affects the young men and women who are the last line of defense against the forces of chaos.

We meet one of the new boys in the team, Nick Potter (played by Jordan Bridges) on his first day at the office. When he walks in the whole place seems to be in apparent chaos. He quickly makes his acquaintances around the office and is met with skepticism about his commitment. He had been making six figures at a law firm previously and taking up public service is seen as an insane act.

However, Nick does meet Mike Randolph, one of the senior ADAs. He is involved in a case involving drug related murder. Nick is impressed by the quiet confidence and dedication of Randolph- he has not let cynicism destroy his idealism. Randolph gives quiet encouragements to the young ADAs when they are at their most vulnerable moments and is very well liked in the office.

So it may not have been the best beginning for Nick when due to his inexperience, the perpetrator of the drug trial gains access to information of Randolph’s whereabouts and has him assassinated. Nick is wrecked with guilt but decides to stay on. He is encouraged by his colleague, Jessica Rossi (played by Milena Govich). Jessica is a fiercely independent person who has strong feelings about the role she plays in law enforcement. She often opts for going to trial rather than cutting a deal which infuriates her superiors. She is having an affair with her boss, Jim Steele (played by Anson Mount).

Steele gets the job of being deputy to Alex Cabot after the assassination of Randolph. He was one his best friends and so Steele is affected deeply by his death. He pushes his subordinates very hard to get results and is not afraid of resorting to hardball tactics. While Randolph was quite content in trying to use persuasion as a means to get a witness to testify, Steel would rather charge the witness to being an accessory to the crime. Needless to say that such tactics often gets the job done.

Another ADA who is rather inexperienced is Christina Finn (played by Julianne Nicholson). At the beginning of the show we see Finn at her first trial. Her nervousness and callow attitude gets her in hot water with the judge when it turns out that she had mislaid some of the evidence. It does not help that the defendant manages to charm the pants off the jury and the whole courtroom is taken in by his humor. However, Finn manages to pull through and convinces the jury that the seriousness of the crime must not be overlooked. She wins the case.

Alex Cabot remains the head of the unit and her stint at the SVU has made her quite the political animal. She is not above manipulating her subordinates and she often plays hardball in getting what she wants. Although not unscrupulous, her attitude is definitely playing for the media and being on its right side. One may find this disheartening but it is perfectly natural since the DA’s office needs all the help it can get from the media. Alex does a pretty good job in leading the team.

This show ran for one season and aired thirteen episodes. Although no Firefly, it was a pretty good series and each episode was very character driven, living up to its expectations. It ran in the late spring of 2006 on the Friday night slot. Despite low ratings, I am rather disappointed that it did not get a second season.

On a more cheerful note, the show is available on Netflix for instant viewing.