The RPM Show

By Ryan Matthews

For the network NBC, this is a rebuilding year, and one of their new pilots stars Jimmy Smits who was previously on LA Law and The West Wing. It’s called Outlaw, and it’s about a Supreme Court Justice named Cyrus Garza, played by Smits. He decides to resign from the bench and tries to start his own law firm. He decides to do this based on what he believes is the right way to serve justice, by becoming a defense attorney. Now on his team are Eddie Franks his law clerk, played by Jesse Bradford from the films Swordfish and Clockstoppers. Also, there’s Lucinda Pearl, Garza’s private investigator, along with his longtime friend Al Druzinsky, and finally Mereta Stockman who is another defense attorney.

After watching the first episode, I really liked how the Smits handled himself in this role and how funny he could be as well. The supporting cast looks good and so far they are doing a good job. This show reminds of the former CBS drama Shark with James Woods, which was about a defense attorney who switches sides and becomes a prosecutor while taking on the toughest cases. Now, even though the premise of Outlaw is about a judge, and not just another lawyer, they do share some similarities. In the end, I thought this was a very fast-paced legal drama I could watch every week, but it is in a tough spot: Fridays at 10/9c on NBC.

Fridays are usually a death sentence for some shows on that night, but the network is trying to bring back original programming for Friday nights, which is a smart move because most shows are scripted programming such as Dateline and 20/20. I give Outlaw three out of four stars and I wish it the best of luck in the future. What do you think of the show? Do we really need another legal drama despite the fact that Jimmy Smits is in the lead role? Or will it get the axe sooner rather than later? Send us an e-mail!