In a case of 'if you blinked, you missed it…' Universal Home Entertainment is releasing another series on DVD that was given the green light, only to have the rug of cancellation pulled out from under it before it had a chance to get really good. Dick Wolf, the uber-genius behind all of the various "Law & Order" series, opted to create a lawyer series that would introduce viewers to the world of fresh-faced newbies. The result was "Conviction." Heading up "Conviction" was actress Stephanie March, who was continuing as the character Alex Cabot from "Law & Order: SVU." As bureau chief, it was her responsibility to wipe the noses of a group new assistant district attorneys. As it is in the real world of young lawyers, they generally ended up with really crappy cases, which was one of the show's strengths. There's just nothing quite like seeing wife beaters and rapists getting their just desserts. The problem with the series however, was that it didn't spend enough time on these cases. Trying to make the series as realistic as possible, it seemed that it focused far more time on the character's sex lives.

It is true that in real life, the power and money that surround being a young lawyer (or any 'professional' for that matter) does tend to cause people to revert to their base needs and desires. I see it everyday. I work at a large accounting firm and am always amazed at how incredibly stupid and lazy the new associates are when it comes to how they do their work. But if someone mentions the word 'party', they are on it like flies on… well you know…

That being said, "Conviction" only ran for 13 episodes before being pulled and those episodes are available this month. The series started off with a bang and showed a lot of promise that it might have become a really great show. But after a couple of episodes, I noticed it started getting a bit stale. I was losing interest, but knew I had to make it through to the finale episode. It was here that the series again showed promise as tat final episode was so good that it made me wish there were more.

The DVD set doesn’t have much in the way of special features, I guess because it was a cancelled show without a huge fan base to rely on. You'll only find some characters profiles here.

EPISODES:
Pilot
Denial
Breakup
Indebted
Savasana
Madness
True Love
Downhill
The Wall
Deliverance
Indiscretion
180.180
Hostage

Starring: Eric Balfour, Jordan Bridges, Milena Govich, Stephanie March, Julianne Nicholson
Extras: Character Profiles
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 8/22/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Conviction: The Complete Series a C.