BULL stars Michael Weatherly
as Dr. Jason Bull in a drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw,
the founder of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time.
Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he
combines psychology, human intuition and high-tech data to learn what makes
jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick.
Bull employs an enviable team of
experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to
the very last detail. They include his quick-witted brother-in-law, Benny
Colón, who plays a defense attorney in mock trials; Marissa Morgan, a
cutting-edge neurolinguistics expert from the Department of Homeland Security;
former NYPD detective Danny James, the firm's tough but relatable investigator;
haughty millennial hacker Cable McCrory, who is responsible for gathering cyber
intelligence; and Chunk Palmer, a fashion-conscious stylist and former
All-American lineman who fine-tunes clients' appearances for trial. In high-stakes
trials, Dr. Bull's combination of remarkable insight into human nature, three
Ph.D.s and top-notch staff creates winning strategies that tip the scales of
justice in his clients' favor.
Executive
Producer - Steven Spielberg
Pilot
Episode – The Necklace
Initial thought – House MD meets
Scandal?
Michael
Weatherly is charming, witty and even asks the client to call him boss, which
made me think of Gibbs and NCIS. A talented actor in a two dimensional role. The rest of the casting is well placed, Geneva Carr as Marissa
Morgan is almost a translator for the audience.
In the
pilot episode, The Necklace, Bull takes on a murder case involving a privileged
rich kid. The episode goes through the initial headlines of the crime and then
gets down to the first meeting of Bull and the clients defense team. Bull and
his team then go about explaining what they do at TAC (Trial Analysis
Corporation ) and how they will get save the son’s future utilizing psychology
to procure the perfect jury.
TAC
apparently has some serious alliances as they have a list of all potential
jurors and do wide and deep analysis into those individuals lives. Have to
admit, got a little scared knowing somewhere out in the real world this
technology probably exists.
From there,
they create a mirror jury (people who literally mirror the real jury with 94%
accuracy) they watch the testimony along with the jury and TAC analyzes the
responses. Tracking the jury movement and how they are feeling every step of
the way. This methodology is called trial science.
So right
off the bat, no question whether this kid is guilty or not, the parents spent
the money so Bull is going to get the kid off.
In this
instance, the kid was innocent as reveled by Bull and his team. Bull’s team
also identifies the real murderer, showing their arrest at the conclusion and everyone
goes home happy.
As a first
episode it wasn’t bad, plot, characters, background all there. In the beginning
of this article I asked the question if this is a House MD meets Scandal
scenario? At this time I am going to say no. In Scandal you have a political cleaner
who may not always be on the right side, but she wears a white hat and is looking
for true justice (usually). In House MD we had a severely flawed character who
despite his failings was utterly brilliant and worked to save lives, not for a
price but for the challenge.
If I am
being honest I do not like the premise of Bull. I realize trial analysis is a
real thing, but it completely mocks the US Justice system by illuminating how
juries can be manipulated to sway a verdict. For instance, in one of the early
scene’s Bull compares the statement, ‘innocent until proven guilty’ to the Big
Mac song. Stating its old hat and not reality. Granted he is right, however I
do not like the glorification of trial science within the show. The vibe I get
is ‘look at how cool this is’ and it really isn’t. I might be a little harsh in
my initial judgments but this is what my gut says. Bull, thus far, is in it for
the money and the challenge and so I have no affection toward the character.
In a time where people are protesting, enraged and even killing due to the alleged unfairness of the justice system, showing the court system can be rigged (albeit fictional) is a big leap.
Bull is part
of the three
episode test, and has two more episodes to hook me. Bull is on Tuesdays, 8 PM CST – Check your local listings
Love to
hear what you think! Comment and let me know if you agree or disagree with my
assessment.
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