Too many fans seem to be blown away

Please don't spend money on this.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The other being Law and Order: Trial by Jury, also a very short-lived series that had its problems but was getting better. Conviction is an uneven show and nowhere near the best work that Dick Wolf did (the original Law and Order), but it showed a lot of potential and got cancelled- which I put down to scheduling- before it had time to properly grow.Like Trial by Jury, Conviction also has a few too many characters, and some are better developed and more interesting than others, with Potter and Finn faring the best of the main characters and one does wish that the show gave a reason for Cabot's presence and how and why she came out of witness protection for continuity with Special Victims Unit. That a lot of the show felt rushed with a lot of content and too short a length added to this. While the concept was really interesting and different, the most original of Wolf's shows, some of the writing still could have been tighter, some of it detailing the personal lives of the characters was like predictable soap-opera, especially in the early episodes. There are also times where it does try to do too much, with instances of trying to take on two, three or more elements (grit, light-heartedness) with variable effectiveness (like the light-heartedness feeling occasionally at odds), giving it at times a disjointed feel.On the other hand, even with a different, glossier look, the series is stylishly filmed and looks great. The music is quirkier and more varied than the Law and Order shows, but no less atmospheric or fitting, and there is some taut thought-provoking script-writing in the scenes dealing with the crimes, trials and in the later episodes and in a way that feels more honest than Trial by Jury. The early episodes lack tightness, and the show feels rushed and over-stuffed, but the stories do maintain interest and thought and there are some great moments, like the teen being tried as an adult, the cancer storyline and especially the spectacular finale that was both intense and heart-wrenching. Conviction also has some excellent acting, Stephanie March does not disappoint (anyone who is a fan of her character on Special Victim's Unit will love her here), Eric Balfour does sleazy perfectly, Anson Mount is stoic and powerful in presence and Julianne Nicholson is affectingly vulnerable.All in all, uneven and could have been better, but also impresses in a lot of areas and deserved a fairer chance than it got. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Compelling show, enjoyed every episode. Thought I would hate it, but couldn't resist downloading the first episode for free from itunes. I was hooked from there. Too bad it was canceled. Some of the comments here claim that this show was too formulaic, but I beg to differ. There was a freshness in the cast of this show. Enough to make it worthwhile to come back to. My one criticism stems from the predictability of the episodes. It seems that the young DAs somehow win every single case, or at least get a pretty good plea deal. This seems unrealistic to say the least. I would think that there is a MUCH lower success rate with these types of cases. Then again, TV requires suspension of disbelief, and apparently the better the show, the more one must suspend. Here's hoping that the powers that be see some of the positive comments about this show and decide to breathe life into it once again.

The writing for Peluso in last night's episode was so much snappier than the other characters, I thought maybe Eric Balfour was ad libbing. If they kept writing priceless monologues like his dating tips, which made me laugh out loud ("Next thing you know, it's herbal tea and Miles Davis!"), then this show could break through. So far though, IMO the only time it has any life at all is when Balfour's on screen. He demonstrated his range in last night's episode--from funny to womanizing to sweet to compassionate to desperate to tough. Maybe it's his character--you can do a lot more with that character. Maybe it's that he's a terrific actor and brings energy to the role. But the writing for the other characters was markedly less skilled. It seemed wooden and clichéd and one-note.

Wanting to duplicate the "success" of the soon-to-be-defunct WB (if targeting young viewers made so much money why did they fold their tent?!!) NBC cast a bunch of pretty-boys and girls in this show.No attention was paid to acting ability and when you add absurdly unrealistic situations and dialogue, you get a show that is creatively DOA (like practically every show on NBC nowadays) Isn't it time that some executives who actually know what they're doing be hired by NBC instead of the hipsters currently in power there who can only spin the numbers and obsess over the "all important" demographics that would make them feel hip.Ageism is just as bad as all the other prejudices, but somehow, in TV land, it's all right to be prejudiced against older viewers, actors and creators. The result is hopelessly bad shows like Convictions (and most of the UPN and WB lineups)