Murders are committed, then solved, as personalities clash on ABC's new limited-run series "The D.A.," which steps in for "20/20" for four consecutive Fridays starting tonight.
The characters in "The D.A." display the types of traits that used to be commonplace among TV drama law-enforcement types, before the genre was co-opted by lovable eccentrics, quirky neurotics, bumbling crypto-geniuses and gruff-but-lovable tortured souls. With the exception, perhaps, of a sluttish campaign consultant -- and she disappears after the pilot, anyway -- "The D.A." is almost disconcertingly free of colorful oddballs.
Exuding a vaguely familiar, sincere, almost old-fashioned air, right down to its just-the-facts title, the new drama feels sturdy and reliable, if by and large unremarkable. (Justice always prevails, and just in the nick of time too.) "The D.A." is the perfect Friday-night block-filler.
Steven Weber stars as Los Angeles District Attorney David Franks, the kind of character often described in press releases as "embattled." As an elected official, Franks must juggle between doing what's right and doing what looks right (or good, anyway), always a tough call in today's image-conscious judiciary system. To make matters worse, half his staff hates him, an old friend reveals he is running against him and his campaign manager -- the minx -- sleeps with the cop assigned to guard a protected witness on the eve of that witness' murder. No wonder she is gone by Episode 2, and no wonder the D.A. is prone to bouts of high-strung ill humor and paranoia. Franks is one Shrinky Dink short of a total meltdown.
Politics is never far from the D.A.'s mind -- he has gubernatorial aspirations; it's California, who doesn't? -- so he can't afford to indulge in the crusading righteousness favored by his dashing deputy D.A. (and the son of a murdered congressman) Mark Camacho (Bruno Campos), nor in the weary pragmatism of his dewy-eyed, chain-smoking sidekick, Chief Deputy Lisa Patterson (Sarah Paulson). (At least she smokes in the pilot. The nasty habit is abandoned, along with the mop of curls, in Episode 2.)
Paulson's gawkily adolescent tough-but-tender air -- never more apparent than when she's defending her boss from bad press, loose campaign consultants and himself -- and her proprietary tone suggests she may be harboring feelings for the D.A. that exceed the bounds of the professional. When leopard-print-wearing campaign manager Ellen Baker (Aunjanue Ellis) disappears in Episode 2 and is replaced by the equally suspiciously slinky Jinette McMahon (Michaela Conlin), Lisa can barely meet her gaze but gives her the full pout and eye-roll treatment the moment she walks out of view.
