What happens when a spoiled rich lawyer gets arrested for drug possession? He”s forced to do 15,000 hours of community service for the child advocacy agency. That doesn”t really sound so bad, after all he could be in jail.
- Paul Wong
- Courtesy of CBS
But for corporate attorney Nick Fallin (Simon Baker, “Felicity”) serving the community doesn”t work well with his schedule. Little does he know his journey will make him “The Guardian.”
Nick is an associate in his father”s firm and seems to care only about himself. On his first day at the courthouse, he meets a social worker and his first client, a boy named Hunter.
As the day progresses, Nick admits he has never actually been before a judge a real comforting thought for Hunter. The boy refuses to speak in their first interview so Nick goes into the courtroom without any information. When it turns out the boy witnessed his father stabbing his mother to death, Nick turns and runs out of the courthouse. This seems to be the first time he really gets a sense of what child advocacy is all about. Hunter reveals he wants to live with his father, if possible, in the future. Nick visits Hunter”s father in prison and realizes he can help reunite father and son.
While Nick tries to help Hunter, he also has a deal to close for his law firm. A large corporation wants to buy a dot-com business. This seems to be thrown into the plot to show Nick is a competent lawyer and has another job outside his community service. It is important to know he has a day job so Nick will ultimately have to decide the type of work he wants to do in the end. But as he spends more time with Hunter, his heart will soften and one can guess that his days as a corporate lawyer are numbered.
The series is ongoing Hunter”s story will continue for multiple episodes and more cases should begin to pile on Nick. “The Guardian” focuses on Nick with others as minimal supporting cast to help him find out information and give him access to what he needs. He uses the social worker to gain entrance into Hunter”s home to search it and uses his secretary Amanda (Erica Leehsen, “The Sopranos”) for background checks.
The show moves quickly through the action so it”s never boring or repetitive. At times it was hard to pinpoint the direction Nick”s thoughts were taking, especially in the scenes with Hunter”s father.
“The Guardian” mixes a cute guy with snappy dialogue and cute kids. The combination appeals to many groups of people. The fact it is a quality show does not hurt either. The internal and external conflicts that will arise within Nick are surely worth watching for. A successful attorney learning to make a difference in children”s lives is a wonderful concept to watch and inspire you to do the same.