TVSquad

(S01E07) "Would it kill you guys to put up a painting, a plant?" - Jaime, to Ruth, about the cold decor at HQ.

Jaime Sommers: Worst. Spy. Ever.

Seriously, I don't care how much money has gone into her, I'd fire her right now, send her back to bartending. She follows a bad guy with a suitcase and then gets distracted by a cell phone call from boyfriend Tom? She couldn't just not answer it or maybe tell him she'll call him back? What is she, 14? She's probably also mad that she's has to, like, totally work and everything, at the same time there's a new Gossip Girl on The CW!

(S01E06) "I bet you haven't seen a movie made before 1983." - Tom, to Jaime

Does anyone else think that Jaime is sort of dumb? I mean, she's hot and can fight and seems to be an OK spy-type person, but there doesn't seem to be anything else going on up there. If she wasn't a spy, she'd be back at the bar, banging random dudes and drinking a lot and arguing with her sister all the time. The above quote from Tom illustrates that. I bet she's not really interested in anything and seems rather dull to me. Or maybe it's just the way Michelle Ryan is playing her. Did I mention she's hot?

(S01E11) Didn't Stephanie March have shorter hair last week?

This week we have another instance of Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges) wrestling with his demons. He's trying to save a reformed gang member from jail and he goes over ADA Jessica Rossi's (Milena Govich) head to Bureau Chief Alexandra Cabot (March), who recommends a lesser sentence. I thought we got over Nick's psychological problems with his mugging last week, but this episode may be out of order. On a side note, we get to see very little of Rossi this week. Her only storyline is to establish that she's not a high-class gal because she doesn't know what 'Cocktail Attire' means or what Foie Gras is.

(S01E09)  I totally hated the judge on ADA Steele's case. He made my blood boil as he kept ruling against Steele and pushing for a lesser charge against a high school kid who killed a classmate. I know I wouldn't have kept my cool the way Steele did. But, was he right to continue with the murder charges? The judge's original offer for a lesser charge was for 1-3 years in jail. Steele refused to reduce the charge, got his conviction (no thanks to the judge), and then the judge reduced the charge anyway and put the kid on probation. Steele had to know that the judge had the ability to do this. He had to see it coming, right? Or is he just so stubborn and self-absorbed that he can't see past his own nose? He didn't seem to be fighting for the victim, rather for himself.

(S01E08) So... the beginning of Conviction was cut off here in Portland because the Trailblazers/Lakers game ran long (Surprise, surprise: the Blazers lost 99-110). If there were any good, steamy sex scenes to kick off the episode like there were last week, I missed 'em.

Let me just say outright, what I don't like about this show is the way that Alexandra Cabot has become such a bitch. While on SVU, she was unorthodox, but passionate. Now her priorities are her career and she seems to have forgotten what it was like to live and breathe for a victim.

(S01E07) Surpise! Did everybody's TiVos or DVRs catch Conviction last night? Mine didn't! Luckily, I was flipping through the channels and I saw that it was on. TiVo is currently in a time out.

So, NBC put Conviction on a Tuesday night where Law & Order: SVU usually airs. This is obviously a ploy to get the SVU crowd interested in Dick Wolf's new ADA lovefest (seriously, the guy is in love with prosecuting attorneys). The problem is, it's very different than the procedural drama that we know as Law & Order. Could you imagine tuning in last night for the first time and wondering who on earth all these people are? Sheesh.

(S01E06) First of all... yum. Eric Balfour dancing with that woman in the opening scene? That, my friends, is how you open a show. Too bad J. August Richards totally ruined the mood.

Is it me or was everyone talking really fast during this episode? That opening sequence was all smooth and slow and then we just dove right the heck into fast-talking office-speak and, I tell you what, I spent the rest of the episode playing catch-up.

Once again, lots of things happen. Christina (Julianne Nicholson) is heartbroken over an emotional case involving a dead baby, Billy (J. August Richards) is trying to keep his perfect record in the courtroom, Cabot (Stephanie March) and Steele (Anson Mount) get it on, Potter (Jordan Bridges) grows some balls, and Peluso (Eric Balfour) hounds the beautiful but icey girl in the office. By the way, did anybody catch why the title of this episode is 'Savasana'? I don't get it.

Well, Billy is a jerk. In his personal life and his work life. He sleeps with a girl who turns out to be a clerk and then totally shrugs her off when he sees her in the courthouse. But, even worse than that was his attempt to get a woman to drop her 1974 rape case because it wasn't a slam dunk for him. He tells the rape victim, "I don't want to put you through any unnecessary pain." Grrrr.

I thought this week's episode of Conviction was much, much better than last week's episode. I still think that there are too many storylines in each episode, making it hard to care too much for any particular character. But, the multiple storyline thing seems to be the M.O. for this show. So be it.

Is anybody else wondering where this show is going? It's trying to balance a procedural drama, which is Dick Wolf's cup of tea, with a bunch of personal storylines, which are usually not included in Dick Wolf shows. It seems clumsy, fragmented, and packed with too much information. I still don't know any of the characters' names and I feel like I'm not getting any time to get to know them because the show jumps from character to character so quickly.