Reader Jeannie Jacks wants to know the following:

I can't remember the exact name of the show, but I think it was "Justice Denied".  It came on Friday nights, 9:00 on ABC. What happened to it? All of a sudden it was gone!  I loved it because it showed just how screwed up our justice system really can be.

Jeannie, the name of the show was In Justice and it was a mid-season replacement for ABC this past winter. It starred Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex in the City) as the head of the Oakland, California based National Justice Project. Their job was to revisit cases where they believed that the person found guilty and put and jail was actually innocent.

Maybe no one realized this yet. Or, maybe no one really cared. During the 2005-06 television season, seven alumni of FOX's Beverly Hills, 90210 have appeared or will appear in a regular series.

Do you doubt me? Do you think it isn't true? Do you think I have way too much time on my hands? Well, the last may be true, but that's not the point.

Click on, dear reader, for the proof that you seek.

Perhaps the fears of cancellation that fans of In Justice have addressed may be coming to fruition. Tonight will be the second Friday in a row where the show is not on the schedule. In addition, the next air date listed on ABC's website is the ominous TBD (To Be Determined for the unaware).

Add to that Kyle MacLachlan's recurring role on Desperate Housewives and Constance Zimmer's role in a new ABC comedy pilot called 52 Flights (according to her website) the future of the National Justice Project is not looking too good. Then again, this could just be a ploy to have the remaining episodes air during the May sweeps season, but that doesn't seem likely as the network would release its fall schedule before sweeps period ends.

So, if you are a fan of In Justice, say a prayer to your respective television gods.

This week we focus on The National Justice Project's Sonya Quintano (Marisol Nichols), as a case from her past re-surfaces. We haven't seen much of Sonya except where she is a secondary player, so this is a good chance to explore her character. We also focus on attorney David Swain (Kyle MacLachlan) and investigator Charles Conti (Jason O'Mara).

Okay, I lied; Sonya is not the focus of this episode, unlike Brianna (Constance Zimmer) was last episode. She's there for a few scenes but it's mostly Conti and Swain in this episode. I can't believe TV lies to me like that!

There are a few things going for this show. First, it's not a show about a bunch of attorneys with suits and briefcases (well, accept David Swain) who leave the investigation to others. This show is about a bunch of attorneys in jeans and sneakers who learn how to perform the investigations on their own. In other words, they use their skills. In every episode Conti, or whoever is handling the investigation, asks questions to the other attorneys as to what is amiss about the case they are looking into.

The other thing about this show is that they aren't afraid to learn more about criminal investigation. In one scene Conti learns a little bit about what the criminal scientists call "smears"; fingerprints that smear on a weapon. With the knowledge that Conti gathers you already can see that the client in this episode was actually innocent.

 

According to fellow TV Squadder Bob Sassone, I could be reviewing one of the last episodes of In Justice before it goes on "hiatus". I'm surprised at this, considering that ABC has been touting the show as the highest rated new drama on Friday nights. That, and I never had a chance to warm up to the show.

Or, this could be all bogus and we could be talking about the show ten years from now and how it jumped the shark in season seven when it became a three-camera, studio audience sitcom. 

Despite the speculation, I shall plow ahead. This week the focus is on Constance Zimmer's character Brianna. What I didn't realize last episode was that Brianna, as well as Jon (Daniel Cosgrove) and Sonya (Marisol Nichols) are attorneys at the National Justice Project. Charles Conti (Jason O'Mara) is the exception; he's a former cop.

As far as I know, In Justice is still on tonight, but things don't look good for the show. And one way you know that is that star Kyle MacLachlan has jumped on over to Desperate Housewives to be the new love interest for Teri Hatcher's character (and maybe have some pie and dance with a dwarf).

Well, at least he's staying with the same network. He's signed for a handful of eps, but could come back for more.

I'm sorry, but every time I see Kyle MacLachan I think of that scene in the film Blue Velvet where he's hiding in the closet, nothing on but his birthday suit, while Dennis Hopper sucks in oxygen and swears at Isabella Rossellini. So, I came into this review a bit jaded. Turns out that Kyle didn't appear naked once during the entire show.

In Justice is a procedural show, first and foremost. There's an injustice, the Justice Project team investigates, Kyle MacLachan's character goes the legal route, and there's a happy resolution.  They also incorporate features from other procedurals, such as the flashback from such shows as CSI and Without a Trace. But it's also slower and a bit more character-driven than, say, Law & Order.

I didn't set out to watch In Justice, and the last thing I need is another courtroom drama to love. But it was Sunday, all of my favorite shows were in re-runs or supplanted by tedious TV movies or double-length episodes of Extreme Makeover, my boys were all feverish, and I wanted to do nothing for a while. And so, I didn't change the channel from the very dull Desperate Housewives recap.

And look! There's Kyle MacLachlan, who last played Charlotte's impotent Scottish husband on Sex and the City. And hey! That's Constance Zimmer, who I finally identified as the only reason worth watching the insultingly awful Good Morning Miami. And the criminal who is so grateful to be taken in by the Justice Project - that's one of my faves, she played Sela Ward's sister on the fabulous and much-missed Once and Again. (And if you're still wondering where it is you've seen Marisol Nichols - she played Audrey Griswold on Vegas Vacation. *groan* She's still a hottie, though.)

Now that 2005 is behind us, we can look forward to new and returning favorite shows all this month on television. What will you be watching?

South Beach (Wednesdays, UPN) Two hot, New York City working-class bachelors leave the big city behind to follow one of their girlfriends to South Beach, FL, only to discover that she has a new boyfriend. They get mixed up with the rich and famous in the club scene. After viewing a sneak preview on UPN's website, it looks like a guilty pleasure like The O.C., except with more sex and no high school. Jennifer Lopez is the executive producer and it co-stars Vanessa Williams as a club owner and mother to one of the main characters. South Beach premieres on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8 pm.