This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
There have been TV shows about high-priced, corporate attorneys. And TV shows about wise-cracking, street-smart lawyers. "Franklin & Bash" (Wednesday, 7 p.m., TNT) is a TV show about both.
Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) star as those smart-aleck lawyers. They're intentionally outrageous — like when they tell a witness to disrobe in the courtroom.
Their unusual — but effective — style catches the eye of Stanton Infeld (Malcolm McDowell), head of one of the top law firms in Los Angeles. "I want you both to come here and work for me at Infeld Daniels," he says.
"As attorneys?" Bash asks in surprise.
They agree. Otherwise, there would be no show. Infeld also hires their two legal aides — smart, capable Carmen (Dana Davis) and agoraphobic Pindar (Kumail Nanjiani).
From there it's a culture clash between Franklin and Bash and Infeld's uptight nephew, Damien Karp (Reed Diamond).
"Seriously, why are they here?" Karp asks his uncle. "Is this a joke? Do they have pictures of you with a Burmese she-male?"
"Not that I know of," Infeld replies.
If Karp isn't playing enough of the fool, his ex-girlfriend (Garcelle Beauvais) is the firm's top lawyer.
"Franklin & Bash" is part legal show, part buddy comedy.
"There's a strong procedural component to it," said writer/executive producer Bill Chais. That is mixed with "the sort-of bromance genre — the kind of Judd Apatow-ish, slightly anarchic, subversive kind of quality that you can really run with on a cable show."
This is definitely a cable show. Gosselaar makes like "NYPD Blue" — a show he starred in for four seasons — walking away from the camera completely nude in the premiere episode.
"Franklin & Bash" isn't particularly original. It feels a lot like "Boston Legal" or even "Ally McBeal."
Its success or failure comes down to chemistry and whether viewers like Gosselaar and Meyer in the lead roles.
And that's where "Franklin & Bash" runs into trouble. Gosselaar is pretty likable. Meyer — not so much. Their banter comes across as quite forced and seems, well, scripted.
Clearly, it is. Of course. Duh.
But really good TV shows — those that combine good writing, good acting and that undefinable chemistry — manage to make their relationships feel natural.
I've seen six episodes of "Franklin & Bash," and it still seems pretty forced.
It's not a bad show. It's kind of fun.
But it's not as good as it wants to be and not as good as you'll wish it was.
Scott D. Pierce's column appears Mondays and Fridays in The Mix.
Twitter: @ScottDPierce
sltrib.com/blogs/tv