Fairly Legal - Season Two

After a limited release on DVD to select sellers a few months back, the final season of USA's Fairly Legal got a full release last week. The show starred Sarah Shahi as the lovable but impossible to get along with Kate, a former lawyer turned negotiator who had more success in resolving other people's problems than her own. The show's Second Season introduced Ryan Johnson as Ben, the the ambulance chaser turned partner at Reed & Reed, creating a love triangle between Kate, Ben, and Kate's ex-husband Justin (Michael Trucco).

The Second Season's highlights include Kate meeting Ben in the season premiere, a job for Judge Nicastro (Gerald McRaney), the mediation between an engineer trying to expose his former company's dangerous new engine designs, saving an apartment owner from loosing his building because of a single rowdy tenant, investigating the true reasons a young girl (Jonna Walsh) was expelled from a prestigious private school, mediating a prison hunger strike, and the season's (and show's) final episode.

The addition of Johnson's character was an awfully big change to the chemistry of the show and the fact that the writers seemed reluctant to do anything more than tease a romantic relationship between Ben and Kate (who spent most of this season back with Justin) meant viewers never truly had to take him seriously as a romantic interest for the show's leading lady.

Although not one of USA Network's strongest (but certainly better than some of their current crop), Shahi managed to sell even the weaker episodes of the series by imbuing the character and show with a wild energy which was nearly always fun to watch. I was surprised to see it cancelled after only two seasons.

The three-disc set includes all 13 episodes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.

[Universal Studios, $34.98]