GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Television

2008-09 Midseason
2008 Fall Season
2008 Summer Season
2007-08 Midseason
2007 Fall Season
2007 Summer Season
2006-07 Midseason
2006 Fall Season
2006 Summer Season
2005-06 Midseason
2005 Fall Season
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss TV In Our Forums

 

 

Upcoming & Recent Series Premieres

Damages Season Two 80
FX, Wednesday

13: Fear Is Real 33
CW, Wednesday

Game Show in My Head 34
CBS, Saturday

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Just Legal
SERIES: WB, Monday 9:00p (60 minutes)

Just Legal
Critic Score
Metascore: 53 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.3 out of 10
based on 21 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?
based on 64 votes
read user comments
rate this tv show

Starring Don Johnson, Jay Baruchel, and Jamie Lee Kirchner

This legal drama pairs an older, drunker, down-and-out Venice Beach, California attorney (Don Johnson) with a new younger partner (Undeclared's Jay Baruchel), who just graduated from law school at the age of 18.

GENRE(S): Drama
CREATED BY: Jonathan Shapiro
FIRST AIR DATE: September 19, 2005
LAST AIR DATE: October 3, 2005

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Baltimore Sun David Zurawik
Baruchel... plays Ross with a winningly earnest goofiness, while Johnson skillfully navigates the darkly comic territory of being over the hill and irritated by everything and everyone who reminds him of his glory days.
Read Full Review
75
New York Daily News David Hinckley
These attorneys quickly become characters, not just caricatures, and make "Just Legal" very easy to enjoy.
Read Full Review
75
USA Today Robert Bianco
There is something extraordinarily appealing about the show's central pair.
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times Alessandra Stanley
Mr. Johnson is surprisingly deft, and even at times poignant, in the part. Even when the plot and other characters turn cartoonish, he manages to strike a deeper chord.
Read Full Review
70
PopMatters Samantha Bornemann
Sure, this has all been done before, but familiarity doesn't make Just Legal any less fun.
Read Full Review
70
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
If you can ignore for a moment a logical flaw that permeates the series, you'll find an absorbing, well-paced legal drama with both heart and attitude, not to mention cinematography good enough to carry the Jerry Bruckheimer imprimatur.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Tribune Sid Smith
The plotting is OK, the dialogue is better and the two leads are appealing.
Read Full Review
63
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
There's promise here, as long as it gets grittier and funnier, and doesn't descend into bombast.
Read Full Review
60
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
There's something weirdly charming about the pair's chemistry.
Read Full Review
60
Los Angeles Times Paul Brownfield
It's rather old-fashioned, except that there's something real about the chemistry.
Read Full Review
60
TV Guide Matt Roush
Mostly overcomes its contrived premise and clichéd courtroom theatrics with well-played characters you might actually root for.
50
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
A gimmicky, cliched legal drama that seems to have been unearthed from 20 years ago.
Read Full Review
50
Entertainment Weekly Dalton Ross
The constant moral back-patting leaves me feeling, well, limp. [30 Sep 2005, p.87]
50
Variety Brian Lowry
It's Don Johnson's irascible charm as a boozing, bottom-feeding barrister that occasionally elevates this hour above its mundane legal jockeying.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman
By no means is "Just Legal" a top-notch drama as yet, but it certainly has potential to be agreeable lighter fare.
Read Full Review
50
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
Baruchel and Johnson (who is quite appealing in his role) have real chemistry.
Read Full Review
40
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
It's a formulaic, lazily devised legal series that fails to surprise or amuse.
Read Full Review
40
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
The central issue about Just Legal is that it's such a predictable series.
Read Full Review
30
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
"Just Legal" is just tedious.
Read Full Review
10
Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm
Stunningly flat.
Read Full Review
0
Miami Herald Glenn Garvin
Give it credit for consistency: a bad concept, badly written for bad actors.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this tv show is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 64 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Debbie F. gave it a10:
Please bring "Just Legal" back, my husband and I both liked the show very much.

Jennifer R. gave it a10:
The show is great. PLEASE bring it back. Email me when it is scheduled. I check the t.v. guide everyday to see if it's on. Thank you.

CHRISTOPHER G gave it a10:
i loved the show it pissed me off when i found out it was canseled. there so much garbage on tv and when something go comes on without tits and ass it gets canseled. BRING IT BACK----BRING IT BACK--NOW

Therese M gave it a10:
Great stories and characters.

Karen M gave it a10:
Please bring it back!!!!!!!!!!

Deb K gave it a10:
love it!!

Kay G gave it a10:
Please bring "Just Legal" back ...It is a great well cast show. I am a die-hard Don Johnson fan. I saw Jay Baruchel on "Numbers" last week & it made me wan t to do something to try to bring the show back.!

Read more user comments...

Discuss this tv show in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use