TV Review: Close to Home Premiere

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

A quick look at a new show that premiered tonight on CBS at 10/9c. Close to Home is a Jerry Bruckheimer television production. This crime drama follows prosecuting attorney Annabeth Chase when she returns to work after a three month long maternity leave following the birth of her daughter. Her first case back hits a bit close to home for her. It occurred just six blocks from where she lives.

A woman is accused of setting fire to her house while herself and her two young children are inside. They are rescued by the fire men that respond to the fire call, but we soon learn that there is more to this case than a simple case of a woman setting her home on fire. This is a strange case of abuse. Apparently her husband has been locking her and their two children up in the house for the last two years. Annabeth drops the case against the woman and immediately goes after the husband, but there is a problem here. The woman crumbles during her deposition, walking away from the case and returning to her husband.

Annabeth is undeterred and continues to look for other evidence of the wife's claims. A 911 tape pops up from years before of the son calling in. Annabeth uses this to continue the case, and the son comes forward. At the age of ten, the little boy stands up and offers to testify. He speaks of the abuse, and reveals what really happened the day the house was set on fire. He is the one that did it. The admission sends a gasp through the courtroom. The husband is sent to jail for twenty five years, and the family is set free.

I hadn't heard much about this show, but I'd enjoyed other new additions to CBS's programming this fall, so I decided to give the show a fair shot. I really enjoyed this hour. I'm usually not one for court dramas. I don't watch any of the ones currently airing, and I really don't plan on doing so. However, I might consider tuning in to this one again.

The characters are really enjoyable here, and they are real. Something that I enjoy finding in television. I hate when I feel that is actor on the screen. I know it is, but I want the actor to take the role and make the character come alive for me as a viewer. I feel that the actors have done this here. Plus, when you have a name like Jerry Bruckheimer behind a project it has to be done well. The opening sequence with the burning house and the fire men felt like a movie to me. Some of the external shots were also very movie like. I'll definitely be tuning in to watch next week.