The Code (2019)

FFS, if every lawyer, doctor and scientist was as thin-skinned as those who keep rehashing MINOR inaccuracies, there'd be no TV shows at all & Sci Fi wouldn't exist. The pilot was the worst episode so far, but after 2 or 3 episodes, I found myself caring for the characters: a female JAG who struggled to get where she is now, and her staff, which is both easy on the eyes and clever, handle one or more Military court cases each week. The show reminds me of "For the people", a legal procedural show about the Southern District of NY mixed with a more realistic version of JAG and just a tiny pinch of "Army Wives". Except for episode 1 - a lame rip-off of "a few good men" where the prosecution calling the defendant to testify is hard to stomach for anyone who enjoys legal drama - the court cases are compelling and address a variety of issues: women in combat, legal agreements with allied countries, dealing with the Pentagon, political corruption (no party affiliation provided, which is refreshing these days!), murder, theft, leaks of classified information, spies, cyber-security etc The character development is slow but steady. By episode 5, the Senior officer (the only actress I'd seen before, in "Desperate Housewives") has her son deployed and missing, the main defense counsel and his wife are struggling with infertility, the main prosecutor lost his best friend in combat and is now helping the charming widow and her young son (romantic connection coming up). The two female leads are equally interesting: one worked very hard, but has yet to demonstrate her ability to surmount unexpected obstacles in life while juggling career and family (she helps her brother who suffers from a chronic illness), while the other who gets mocked for being called Harper Li (Harper Lee, "to killa mockingbird") is at first a bit cold, and finding her footing as the junior officer in the group. She comes from a well-known family of lawyers but chose to serve our country instead of following family tradition. Each character is realistic, they sometimes succeed, but they also fail even with the best of intentions. Episode 3 is gripping, when Harper Li comes up with a very clever solution, which backfires unexpectedly. They're lawyers, not geniuses, not super heroes but hard-working tough intelligent US Marines who face difficult choices, while aware that the most convenient solution isn't always the morally correct one (the most compelling aspect of the show for me). Most have never seen combat, except briefly in the context of a case (ie more realistic than JAG or NCIS), their time on each case is limited. Nobody's firing semi-automatics in the court room while jumping from submarines into cockpits to save the planet (unlike JAG), judges and "juries" are grouchy and unpredictable i.e. realistic, Decent overseas action, good suspense, plot twists and cliff-hangers thus far. No political bias at all, no overt sexual content, even though some romantic relationship is likely to develop, but not necessarily between the main characters. This show isn't perfect, but it's finding its legs and I hope it'll find a large enough audience. No horrible plot gap, decent acting and writing, which could improve a bit, so 7/10, which corresponds to the bell curve of all ratings, thereby making it clear that most people agree with me more than with the nit-pickers : ) So I advise you to give this show a try and see for yourself, rather than judging based on 40 identical and non representative reviews bashing its pilot based on COSTUMES and hairdos, even if the show would absolutely benefit from a Military consultant. And if you're so thin-skinned that you can't get passed DETAILS, learn to use a remote control, instead of ruining it for the rest of us! . Unlike JAG, where the main protagonist was *the* best jet fighter in the entire Navy, and *the* best lawyer on the planet, along with *the* wisest man ever, who pronounced UCMJ correctly but never bothered much about following its rules, especially on fraternization (but hey, realistic since he wore his uniform correctly lol), The Code doesn't fall into the "perfect hero" cliches. I watched JAG, enjoyed it even, but this is a different show, by a different producer, in a different era: spice and variety are a must, both in life and on TV.