How does one follow up retiring from the Supreme Court while still being able to walk without the use of a cane? Taking a case no one would expect a Hispanic lawyer to take seems right up Cyrus Garza’s alley. At some point, Outlaw and, well, the outlaw himself aren’t going to be able throw the audience and his team for a loop just for the sake of it. Will Outlaw settle down and keep its shingle hung?
If nothing else, the show isn’t afraid to shake up the audience’s expectations. Considering Garza’s abrupt change in the pilot, it was easy to assume that the team was going to be rushing to defend the shooting victim. His choice to, instead, defend the police officer even threw me for a loop. To Garza, though, the case wasn’t about race; it was about State’s Rights. Even his closing (a nice piece of writing, by the way), was about “protecting the little guy,” pretty much the defining characteristic for the argument for State’s Rights.
I found Garza trading future legal services with the club owner an interesting development. I get that he’s been sitting at the top of a slippery slope ever since his gambling debts started, but this is a much, much different situation. If he continues to make these kinds of deals, it is going to come back and bit him in the rear. Not necessarily from a guy that runs an illegal card game, because, frankly, he’s already got problems in that area. But who knows where the next deal will be made?
Another questionable decision was how Garza handled things during voir dire. Not that he went all maverick with who he selected, because, let’s not forget he’s an outlaw, but not including his legal team in prepping for whatever his plan/no-plan was plain irresponsible.
Outlaw is teeter-totting on the cancellation bubble, and I’m not sure picking a case that is sure to alienate half of potential viewers right out of the gate is the way to go. I like Jimmy Smits quite a bit, and think that Outlaw is one of the more unique lawyer dramas I’ve seen in a while (or, at least one of the more unique lawyer dramas I’ve seen in a while not named The Defenders). NBC has already lost the cancellation lottery, by having Lone Star the first new show to go this year. Is Outlaw going to be the next show down?
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Sep 28, 2010 @ 23:48 EST5EDT
Outlaw is kind of a stupid idea for a show because it’s so unrealistic while they try to make it seem real.
What was NBC thinknig when they decided to put it on Fridays? It’s like they just wanted to burn it off right away. They should hold the show until they cancel something else and then use it as filler. The funny thing is L&O got better ratings on Friday last year. Stupid NBC.
I haven’t seen “The Defenders” but it seems from the ads to be kind of like Boston Legal, but with bad actors. Not original at all to me, I’m not sure there is such thing as an original lawyer show.