Fairly Legal

It's a bright, fun little show, adhering to the formula that has worked for so many other light dramas on USA: tight writing, a little romance, whirly movement.

The Fairly Legal writers manage to make this intellectually formidable centerpiece lively and intriguing and Shahi, whose timing is just as exceptional as her looks, makes it funny and sexy. The rest of the cast give us characters who may have started off stock but quickly become multilayered and, like the show itself, capable of all manner of surprises.

It's a well-constructed piece of popular entertainment from a dependable provider of the same, with an easy-to-like star and an easy-to-grasp premise.

If you've hit your David E. Kelley lawyer limit, Fairly Legal might be the dramatic departure you need. Give peace a chance.

It's Shahi, whose Kate may be grumpy but who somehow gets to smile more in one episode than she might have in an entire season of "Life," who lights up the screen and makes Legal a keeper.

[Sarah Shahi] plays this lead role with assurance and aplomb, elevating the entire enterprise in the process.

The by-the-numbers legal dramedy is given a needed boost by its incredibly likable star Sarah Shahi (Life).

USA's Fairly Legal is fairly good. OK, I hate myself for that. But the phrase "fairly good" just seems so right in this case.

The 90-minute Fairly Legal pilot, written by series creator Michael Sardo, moves at breakneck speed and fairly effortlessly welcomes viewers into spastic Kate's world. It's not a bad place to visit--but I probably won't be checking in on her on a regular basis.

Legal is fairly banal, and its focus is often as fuzzy and vague as its by-the-numbers title. Thankfully, Shahi has more than enough personal charm and sex appeal to keep this vehicle afloat until it finds its own voice.

All told, Fairly Legal feels as if the network--despite riding a nifty string of successes by placing a light spin on familiar genres--has dipped into this particular shallow pool once too often.

Fairly Legal is adequately entertaining, thanks in large part to Shahi, an engaging actress who looks like Anne Hathaway.

One problem with the show is intrinsic to its premise. Though mediation is valuable in the real world, it doesn't lead itself to interesting stories in a medium that chugs on conflict, victims and victors.

Over the three episodes USA sent out for review (the pilot, a mid-season episode, and the first season finale), what Kate does only occasionally matches up with the judge's speech, and none of her cases are interesting enough to distinguish Fairly Legal from the abundance of law shows on TV.

Shahi makes a valiant attempt to make these stories entertaining, and the fact that she succeeds part of the time is a testament to her energy and skills. But the progression of the plots and the resolutions are so pat that there's almost no suspense in these stories.

In another series on another network, Kate might have stood out. Stuck on USA, though, she's an extraordinary woman on an ordinary show.