Canterbury's Law

(Fox, 2010) legal drama

Only six of this stinker's contracted thirteen episodes were produced, and so it only appeared on-air from March 10 to April 18, 2010. Did the show fail because of subpar writing and unconvincing acting, or because the cinematic style incorporated unsteady cams, fast editing, and loud dialogue to lend a sense of artificial urgency? Or could it be that, for a show that purported to take place in Rhode Island (but was filmed in New York City) precious little Ocean State authenticity was on display?

The series was created by a guy named Dave Erickson who grew up in Raynham, Massachusetts, but worked summers in his dad's Warwick, Bristol, and East Greenwich sub shops. The title character, Elizabeth Canterbury (Julianna Margulies), is "a rebellious defense attorney who's willing to bend the law in order to protect the wrongfully accused." No Rhode Island accents are heard on the show because, according to Margulies, "People would have said, 'Huh?'"

In the pilot episode a skyline shot looks nothing like Providence and none of the landscapes or buildings look remotely Rhode Islandy. The only attempts at authenticity are a Providence police car and a Rhode Island license plate on Canterbury's car. When Fox is referenced, it's Boston's Fox 25 rather than Providence's Fox affiliate, WNAC 64. Even the one Rhode Island town mentioned—Claremont—is fictitious.