Pick of the Week: "Raising" An Important Issue

I recently had someone call me the Queen of Facebook. So a dramatization of the dangers of social networking is certainly going to catch my attention.

And when that dramatization is as well done as this one, it’s also going to be my Pick…

My Pick of the Week is “Raising the Bar.”

In tomorrow night’s episode, Jerry (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) represents a father who posted a picture of his child in the bathtub on his private webpage for his family and friends. The father is being charged because the image was picked up and sold by a child pornography site.

Because the DA’s office is looking to make an example of the man, Balco (Currie Graham) tries the case himself. And, of course, Judge Kessler (Jane Kaczmarek) is presiding.

In a slight departure for the show, there is no other case during the hour. The only other story that gets any time is the latest twist in Bobbi’s (Natalia Cigliuti) divorce.

The hour is solid not only because of the timely story and the many twists and turns in the case, it’s also a great showcase for the talented Graham. Recently, he has become a master at playing slightly eccentric bosses (“Desperate Housewives”) and it looked like Balco was going to be another one. But this hour presents Balco as a crafty legal mind and he and Jerry are perfect adversaries. Their final scene together is a classic.

But possibly most impressive is how the episode ends, because if you think you know how it’s going to end, you’re wrong. And isn’t that what great drama is all about?

“Raising the Bar” airs Monday, June 29th at 10 p.m. on TNT...

Photo Credit: Karen Neal/TNT