It Won't Stand Up

I missed the first two episodes, but I finally caught Rake, a new hourlong series on Fox starring Greg Kinnear.  Based on an Australian show, it's about a criminal defense lawyer who's got plenty of problems of his own.  Perhaps the earlier shows were better, but based on what I saw, I don't think I'm coming back.

The plot was about a woman who fakes her son's cancer to get insurance money which she spends in a casino.  Kinnear, who himself is up to his ears in debt, argues to a jury (whom he knows way too much about) that she's the victim, not the criminal.  Really?  I know legal shows like to be cutting edge, but this was just silly.  Seemed like a pretty clear case of fraud to me.  In addition, Kinnear suddenly gets a lot of money which would allow him to pay off his debts, but he loses it by trying to prove something to his ex-wife in bidding for a worthless object at a school fundraising auction.  This is just annoying.

Rake would like to be a legal House.  All it needs now, I guess, are good scripts, plots and characters.