Goliath

That's a lot of acting chops squeezed into one series, and Kelley is too gifted a writer not to produce some clever dialogue and twists; still, the tale of a drunken lawyer seizing this shot at redemption can't help but feel a tad stale, almost like a variation of Thornton's "The Bad News Bears" role.

A lot of the time the storytelling is needlessly pokey, dragging through situations that are too familiar from too many other series and movies, as if trying to make us think Goliath is arty and atmospheric and "character-driven." But on the other hand: behold Billy Bob Thornton.

Keep your eyes on Thornton and the shading he brings to his work--because most everything else in Goliath, the title included, is so on-the-nose it could make you cringe.

As the story unspools, the part of it in which McBride figures continues to be entertaining, in a been-there-done-that kind of way. ... But then there’s the other half of the show’s odd bordering-on-bizarre split personality. ... Suddenly we’re in an arch, slick, hyped-up TV legal show, with lawyers marching in formation and exchanging withering put-downs.

Whatever there is to enjoy about the show, it’s all surface level, and that surface is too choppy to be routinely entertaining.

Thornton seems to be playing against script. His Billy seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself, despite the dire circumstances he finds himself in. It’s about the only surprise in Goliath. By the end of the second episode, it becomes obvious there are forces in play that will stop at nothing to thwart Billy’s quest for answers.

Overcooked though it may be, Goliath (terrible title, by the way) is entertaining because Thornton knows how to effectively underplay overwritten dialogue.

Goliath, so far, never comes within spitting distance of any of those productions. It’s David E. Kelley doing variations on his earlier shows, with some very good actors trying to make it fresh.