Sebastian Stark (James Woods) is the most brilliant defense lawyer in town. He is loaded and he gets a kick out of being the best. Winning his recent trial however changes things forever: a wife-beater has almost beaten his wife to death but apparently called 911 and saved her. Sebastian wins his case, on the grounds that if he’d intended to kill her, he wouldn’t have called 911. Both his defendant and his beaten wife are grateful.
But at night, he gets a phone call. This time, the guy has actually killed his wife. He is not in shock or depressed but smug that Sebastian will make him walk free again. This makes Sebastian reconsider his career as a defense lawyer. He’d no doubt soon shake the shock and guilt and move on, but he gets an interesting offer: he is proposed to work with the D.A’s (Jeri Ryan) office.
Suddenly finding himself on the opposite end of the table, Sebastian is now determined to put every criminal behind bars. He starts by training and showing his “rookie” young lawyers team (Sophina Brown, Sarah Carter, Sam Page, Alexis Cruz) some tough love. They are not all that impressed about his approach, but at the end of the day, they know he is the best and they have a lot to learn.
Sebastian’s personal life is also about to have a major change: His ex-wife is moving to New York and taking their 16-year-old daughter Julie (Danielle Panabaker) with her.
However Julie makes a surprising decision and Stark’s life begins a very different chapter.
Sebastian Stark is the much more social version of House. He is equally brilliant. He knows how good he is. But he is also aware that he hasn’t been the perfect father and he does his best to make it up to his daughter. It is impossible not to like and admire Stark and James Woods make him a great character to watch.
Shark is a first class drama/thriller with lots of entertaining moments. Unfortunately it only lasted for 38 episodes. It is from 2006 and if you like your mystery shows, Shark is a must. Watch a couple of episodes and you will probably be upset about the fact it only aired for 2 seasons.
Favorite Line from Episode 1, Season 1:
Sebastian Stark: (his first reaction to the Mayor’s offer): Me a prosecutor? I eat prosecutors for breakfast, they are my main source of fiber. Come on!
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Wanna know about the Best Shark Villain?
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You like your shows thrilling and leading characters brilliant? Here are some other shows you might like (if you already like them, please drop by and leave your comments):
The Closer starring Kyra Sedgwick
The Mentalist starring Simon Baker