By Annette Cole Mastron, Communications Director for Southern
Writers Magazine
Each September, I look forward to the new television show
offerings on the major networks. I’m a TV junkie for good reasons. I like
seeing how the show writers handle challenging situations in the limited time
they have to garner viewership for a show that must compete with veteran shows
and their established viewers. Such is the case with Bluff City Law. I truly
love this show and wish it to surge past established shows like “Bull,” “The
Good Doctor,” and of course “Monday Night Football.” In my humble opinion the placement of “Bluff
City Law” against these established shows and primo football didn’t give BCL
time to be seen by viewers.
Bluff City Law scripts are excellent and have a true sense of
the authentic flair of Memphis and how things work in our city. Like most
Southern towns, everyone knows somebody who knows someone within two or three
people in your sphere of friends. In a city of a million people, Memphis is still
just a small interconnected town. It’s like that 1990’s game described on
Wikipedia, “The Six Degrees of Kevin
Bacon or "Bacon's Law"
as a parlour game based
on the "six degrees of separation" concept, which posits that
any two people on
Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart.” Only in Memphis it’s more
like 2 to 3 acquaintances before you know someone.
Real life Memphis attorneys, Richard Glassman and his daughter,
Lauran Stimac are legal consultants for the show. Their expertise has become a
source of many of the episodes’ plots. I find it so fascinating, especially
since I worked with Richard Glassman in my previous career as an insurance
investigator. He’s a friend and a fierce defender of his clients rights, much
like the character of Jimmy Smits in Bluff City Law. In an interview with NBC affiliate, WMC
Channel 5, Glassman said, “I got an email from one of the writers the other
day. The end of it was, got any new cases coming up. He’s looking for
storylines,” he said. This is a well researched and cleverly written legal
drama which makes it worthy of saving.
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis’s newspaper reported on the
viability of Bluff City Law last week, “The producers announced Thursday
that shooting will end October 31, with the completion of the
show's 10th episode. Six scripts had been written for
additional episodes, but NBC has decided not to go ahead with the series
at this time. “Bluff City Law" has not been canceled, however.
Executives will access the program after its 10 episodes air, to see if it
builds any traction on Hulu or other delayed-viewing and on-demand platforms.”
I wish NBC realized what the writers of “Bluff City Law” understand; Memphis,
(the setting of the show) like “The Law,” is complicated, gritty and requires
nurturing to get viewers to understand and then fall in love with both the city
and the show. This is a serious, well-written show taking on serious issues.
It’s a show about underdogs who sometimes win, but when they don’t, they live
to fight another day. It’s a show that shows lawyers as real people with real
problems who fight for their clients. Isn’t that what all lawyers already know?
Hopefully, the executives will re-evaluate and continue with the show’s
production.
This past week celebrates the 67th year of the children’s book, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. Do you
remember the tears you shed while reading this book? A brief review of the 184
page book provides a great story set on a working animal farm where Fern, the
farmer’s daughter, saves her friend, Wilbur, the pig. The themes shown in this
children’s book actually provide lessons to be carried from childhood into
adulthood. One of the central themes is to celebrate and make the most out of
life. As Charlotte, the heroine spider, says, “After all, what’s a life,
anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help
being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping
you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s
life can stand a little of that.” Memphis is always celebrating
something.
Other lessons shown are give people who seem rough around the edges a
chance. At the first meeting of Charlotte and Wilbur, it was a bit rough. Then,
Wilbur gave her a chance, and he saw a kind heart and a friendship formed that
through her efforts, Wilbur was again saved. Appreciating diversity is shown with the interactions of the
various animals born in the same barn they all find a way to reach amicable cohabitation and
resolve issues throughout the book. Much like the diversity found in our
city.
One of the most important lessons is to never dismiss those
involved in the creation of something great. As Charlotte began weaving words
into her web no one even saw Charlotte. They just saw her handiwork. As is the
case of Bluff City Law, the show deserves a longer stint on network TV. The
actors are perfectly cast; scenes are filmed with the backdrop of the gritty
picturesque city of Memphis; it is produced brilliantly with well-researched
scripts by writers who go the extra mile to get it right.
My thanks to my talented picture-taking friend, Rene Leach for
the fantastic spider web picture she took out her Memphis backdoor. The web
appeared like Charlotte’s web overnight between her iron fence, and I revised
Rene’s pictures in the spirit of the illustrations from “Charlotte’s Web.” Come
on America. Help give BCL a winning judgement by watching Bluff City Law on NBC
on Monday nights at 9PM CST or on demand at NBC. You don’t want to
miss this show. To the NBC executives who make programming decisions, to quote
the post it note from episode 1, “Change the World” and give Bluff City Law a
fighting chance! #SaveBluffCityLaw
No comments:
Post a Comment