“The Deep End”: Lawyer Barbies in love

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:21:00 +0000

When you do everything perfectly, shouldn't you be rewarded for it? That's what a gaggle of first-year lawyers ask themselves in ABC's "The Deep End" (premieres 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21), a new one-hour drama about recent law grads who work long hours, cling fast to their ideals in the face of corruption, and toss back liquor shots by crystal-blue swimming pools.

But the same question might apply to "The Deep End" itself: The cast is hot, the dialogue is sharp and snappy, the story lines move briskly, and we're offered a few layers of soapy intrigue immediately, from Dylan (Matt Long), the young idealist who's falling for the pretty redheaded paralegal while trying not to get fired by his unethical shark of a boss (whom everyone refers to as "the prince of darkness"), to Beth (Leah Pipes), the gorgeous blond perfectionist whose disapproving, cutthroat father fuels her temptation to screw over other people just to get ahead.

Yes, this is "Ally McBeal" meets "Lipstick Jungle" meets "The Practice," a frothy, fast-paced mélange of every ABC soap that ever featured high-powered yuppies whose designer heels echoed importantly as they click-clacked over shiny corporate floors. With a premise this slick and promising, with faces this pretty, how could "The Deep End" possibly fail?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Caught between two worlds

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:17:00 +0000

At the ripe old age of 28, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is simultaneously a showbiz old pro and one of the hottest young acting talents to emerge in this decade. When Gordon-Levitt played his first high-impact dramatic roles in edgy, independent films like "Mysterious Skin" (2004) and "Brick" (2005), there were a handful of snickers at first: Wait, isn't that Tommy, the teenage kid from "3rd Rock From the Sun"? It was indeed, but Gordon-Levitt has been acting since early childhood. He had an extensive TV résumé long before the first of his 133 "3rd Rock" episodes -- with recurring roles on "Roseanne," "The Powers That Be" and the early-'90s "Dark Shadows" reboot -- and he damn sure hasn't let that role define his subsequent career.

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“The Deep End”: Lawyer Barbies in love

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Caught between two worlds