“Bull,” a new CBS show starring Michael Weatherly as Dr. Bull, is an interesting new twist on the serious idea of a jury consultant. The new show follows a team of trial analysis, who help their clients win their trials even when all odds seem to be against them. The team, led by Dr. Bull, is stacked with everyone you could need to win a trial including a tech genius, ex-cop, homeland security agent, defense attorney, and fashion expert. Each member has a critical job in preparing the client so the jury sees them as innocent.
This idea of jury analysis is not a new idea and has been in movies and TV for quite some time. The seller for “Bull” seems to be Michael Weatherly, who was previously on the extremely popular NCIS. If “Bull” did not have Weatherly has the main character, the rating would not be as high as they are. The main reason the pilot got so many views is due to fact people wanted to see what Weatherly was doing after his time on NCIS.
The first episode was an exciting trial where Dr. Bull and the team had to work extremely hard coming up with new and creative ways to convince the jury that this rich, arrogant boy didn’t kill one of his classmates. While it didn’t completely meet my expectations, it wasn’t bad. My expectations were simply extremely high due to Weatherly’s previous performance on NCIS.
As the episodes continued it got less and less exciting. By the end of the fourth episode, it was almost boring. Every episode is the same, there is a client who really shouldn’t win the trial. Bull steps in and works his magic, and they win the trial. It became very predictable making it much less interesting to watch.
While the show doesn’t by any means live up to NCIS’s legacy, it is not by any means a bad show. It is something to keep watching in hope for a twist or spin that keeps the people on their toes. The characters work extremely well together, giving people something to connect to, bringing them back each week to watch the next episode. Overall a good show that needs a little more suspense and surprise.