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IMDb > "Raising the Bar" (2008)

"Raising the Bar" (2008) More at IMDbPro »TV series 2008-????

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"Raising the Bar" (2008): :  -- Clip: Agree to disagree, post
"Raising the Bar" (2008): :  -- Clip: Shows over, post
"Raising the Bar" (2008): :  -- Clip: Pressing pause, post
"Raising the Bar" (2008): :  -- Clip: Appealing the judge, post
"Raising the Bar" (2008): :  -- Former law school classmates reunite in court when they take on rival clients.

Overview

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View company contact information for Raising the Bar on IMDbPro.
Seasons:
Genre:
Plot:
Former law school classmates reunite in court when they take on rival clients.
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(17 articles)
Raising the Bar: TNT Drama Cancelled; No Season Three
 (From TVSeriesFinale. 1 December 2009, 10:34 AM, PST)

Goodbye Raising The Bar
 (From AOL - TVSquad. 1 December 2009, 9:06 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Friends And Colleagues And Adversaries more (6 total)

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 12 of 41)

Mark-Paul Gosselaar ... Jerry Kellerman (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Gloria Reuben ... Rosalind Whitman (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Currie Graham ... Nick Balco (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Melissa Sagemiller ... Michelle Ernhardt (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

J. August Richards ... Marcus McGrath (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Jonathan Scarfe ... Charlie Sagansky (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Teddy Sears ... Richard Patrick Woolsley (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Jane Kaczmarek ... Judge Trudy Kessler (22 episodes, 2008-2009)

Natalia Cigliuti ... Roberta Gilardi / ... (21 episodes, 2008-2009)

Stacy Hall ... Vince Culp (14 episodes, 2008-2009)

Jon Polito ... Judge Dominick Ventimiglia (10 episodes, 2008-2009)

Paul Joyner ... Assistant District Attorney (10 episodes, 2008)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Untitled Steven Bochco/TNT Project (USA) (working title)
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Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Natalia Cigliuti got their start from two different Saved By the Bell series. more

FAQ

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
Friends And Colleagues And Adversaries, 31 August 2009
8/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

The mostly young cast of Raising The Bar and the performances they give will probably interest more young people into going into the law than any other show since Perry Mason. It's also a lot more realistic than Perry Mason.

The real test for this show and perhaps it's a bit unfair to compare it with Steven Bochco's last big NYPD Blue in terms of staying power, is to see if the premise carries it beyond the attractive cast. It certainly sustains Law And Order despite cast changes that have completely eliminated the original members now. That's what happened with NYPD Blue, but they did have Dennis Franz to anchor that show.

Bochco got his cast from a variety of sources from daytime and nighttime television, in some cases the players have experience in both. There are role models aplenty here.

My favorite is Mark-Paul Gosselaar who shed the Zack Morris image in NYPD Blue has now gone on to a different idealistic character in the person of Legal Aid lawyer Jerry Kellerman. There was an episode where his supervisor at the panel criticized him for being unable to watch an injustice being persecuted. Now that's someone I can always admire. Gosselaar as Kellerman is charming, mature, and idealistic and looking a whole lot better since he shed the long hair from the first season.

For those who like hard as nails prosecutors, Currie Graham also from NYPD Blue is supervising bureau chief assistant district attorney Nick Baldo. Hard to believe that Jack McCoy and Baldo work for the same office. They think they're doing society a service, but it's also a numbers game with them, to rack up a collection of scalps so to speak. Baldo shows why the Kellermans of the world are really needed.

And you have to love Mary Jane Kaczmarek as the tough female judge who's succeeded in what was a male dominated profession. Remember it was only 28 years ago a woman finally made it to the Supreme Court. She's had to be tough to survive. It's also twisted her somewhat, in many ways she's the most complex character on the show.

Shows that have as long a run as NYPD Blue are few and far between, but I'm hoping this one has a real long 7 to 8 year run. The scripts are literate and factual and the players make you care about their characters. What's not to like?

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Cancelled ....too bad LimeH2O
Cancelled. scarecrow1683
3 unaired episodes!! Fodera
Does anyone know ... jmkrivitzky
'No Child's Left Behind' in real life soapfumes
Canada?? poppenflip
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