The Lincoln Lawyer

It starts with a series of books written by Michael Connelly.  The series winds in and out of a dozen or so characters' lives, over 30 some books.  One of the major plot lines involves Mickey Haller, a hot shot LA lawyer who's the son of a hot shot lawyer.  He does a lot of his work in a Lincoln Continental, hence the show's title.

That's where the books and the Netflix series part ways.  I don't remember the plot of Matthew McConaughey's Lincoln Lawyer, but I recall it as more of a plot with a gimmick (the car) than a faithful representation of one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite authors.

But TBG and I are in sports deprivation mode, now that even the Tour de France and the women's soccer (which I never got to write about) are over.  There is nothing worth watching on the networks, and there's only so much MSNBC blather I can handle.  I took the lists of What to Watch This Summer I've been collecting and we dove in.

It's kept us intrigued for days. Two seasons, ten episodes each, each episode 50 minutes of pretty (bordering on excellent) cinematography and editing, in a naturally bi-cultural setting. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is a Mexican actor who slips between Spanish and English, followed by the rest of the cast, who are a delightful blend of funky and colorful individuals with enough baggage to support ten or eleven series themselves.

The first season was better than the second season, but the second season had some fabulous clothes and sly touches that kept us coming back for more.  In a summer where it's too hot to do anything but watch and read inside, a binge worthy tv recommendation seemed like a generous offering this morning.

It's not Shakespeare.  Some of the legal maneuverings seem to come from the minds of the lying liar's lawyers rather than anything that would really happen in a courtroom.  But there are no commercials, the supporting cast - especially the women - is outstanding, and really, what else are we going to do?