"How to Get Away with Murder"

Anyone else watching? I just watched the first ep on Hulu. I think it is interesting so far; enough to at least try another ep. It stars Viola Davis who is one of my favorite actors.

I’m enjoying it well enough so far. And the most recent ep gave me the impression that the story’s going to get pretty complicated, which I like.

I don’t watch Shonda Rimes’s other shows, but my wife wanted to check this one out so we’re watching it. It’s ridiculous, unbelievable, and very soapy, but also fun in a guilty-pleasure sort of way.

God help us all, though, if any of the criminal defenses used in this show would actually fly in a real courtroom! A man on trial for stabbing his second wife to death had been previously acquitted for stabbing his first wife to death. While on the stand, he admits that he did indeed kill his first wife (for which he of course can’t be tried again). This actually wins him a not-guilty verdict because the two victims were stabbed in a different way. Ohhhh…kay…

Yeah, the show is entertaining, but the trial strategy (and legal ethics) are absurd to say the least. An expert concludes that it must have been someone else because a hunter could have killed his second wife much neater. Well, maybe he wanted her to suffer?

Plus, what state allows defendants facing the death penalty out on bail?

My girl friend is a big Shonda Rimes show fan, so she watches this. And I decided to watch just to see how it compares.

I went through my Shonda Rimes checklist as I watched:

  • Main character is a strong, black woman. Check
    Grey’s: Bailey
    Scandal: Olivia

  • Big, graphic interracial romance/relationship. Check
    Grey’s: you pick
    Scandal: Olivia and POTS

  • Graphic homosexual romance/relationship. Check
    Grey’s: Arizona and Torres
    Scandal: Cyrus and the reporter

Getting a little formulaic, if you ask me.