Shark (TV series)

Television series
German title	Shark
Original title	Shark
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Year (s)	2006-2008
length	45 minutes
Episodes	38 in 2 seasons
genre	Crime , drama
idea	Ian Biedermann
music	Mark Morgan Sean Callery
First broadcast	September 21, 2006 on CBS
German-language first broadcast	January 14, 2008 on VOX
occupation

Shark is an American crime series about star lawyer Sebastian Stark. In the pilot, he changes sides and becomes a prosecutor. In the USA, the series ran from September 2006 to May 2008 on CBS . In May 2008, the broadcaster CBS announced the discontinuation of the series.

action

One of Sebastian Stark's clients, a brutal thug, kills his wife after being saved from conviction with Stark's help just a few days earlier. The murderer is not afraid of punishment because he knows that star lawyer Stark is on his side. Sebastian Stark is no longer ready to take his place.

Stark is withdrawing from the business for the time being until his friend, the mayor Manuel Delgado, makes him head of a new special unit of the public prosecutor's office. Manuel Delgado takes this step in order to put a stop to rich offenders and their star lawyers.

Characters

Sebastian Stark

Sebastian Stark is the protagonist of the series and head of the special unit of the public prosecutor's office convened by the mayor. At the beginning he is not satisfied with his new job and does not get along very well with his team; but he gets used to the new circumstances relatively quickly and becomes almost unbeatable as a public prosecutor . Stark pursues three mantras , which he makes clear to his young colleagues from the start.

• “There is war in court. If you lose, you are dead. "
• "The truth is relative, choose one."
• "Since we have a jury , only twelve opinions are important to us."

He makes these three basic rules clear again and again in the course of the plot, even if some of his colleagues and especially Jessica Devlin strictly reject the use of them. Stark countered the criticism with the statement: "The good Lord is responsible for justice".

He has a lot more problems with his daughter Julie: He knows that he has been a bad father over the years and tries to make amends. There are often conflicts with Julie.

Julie Stark

Julie Stark is Sebastian Stark's daughter. Because her parents divorced, she moves in with her father in the first episode. Her mother went to New York City with her new significant other .

Claire Stark

Claire Stark ( Lindsay Frost / Orla Brady ) is Sebastian's ex-wife and Julie's mother. At the beginning of the first season she moves to New York with her fiancé and wants to take her daughter with her, but she refuses. In the second season, she returns to LA because the relationship with her new husband also failed. She takes care of her daughter's crises with her new friend Trevor, who is addicted to alcohol and drugs. While she is looking for an apartment, she lives with her ex-husband, who makes her clear advances. Claire, however, does not allow herself to be seduced by Sebastian again and shortly afterwards moves into her own apartment.

Prosecutors

• Jessica Devlin is the district attorney and Stark's manager. At first she is against Stark as a prosecutor; over time, however, she can come to terms with him and work reasonably well with him. Even so, she doesn't always agree with Stark's methods. After her failed re-election, she is a member of Stark's team in Season 2.
• Raina Troy is a prosecutor and the friend of Stark's investigator Isaac Wright.
• Madeline Poe is a prosecutor and in the first episode she volunteers for Stark's special unit to learn from him. She and Casey sleep together on a regular basis, but that doesn't make the job more difficult or complicated.
• Casey Woodland is a district attorney after he was appointed to the post by his father and senator. Only Jessica Devlin knows about it and blackmails him with it in the third episode so that he has to provide her with information about Stark's contacts. He left the team at the end of season 1 to devote himself to his father's election campaign.
• Martin Allende is a public prosecutor. In episode 11 he saves a girl in a shootout and is shot in the process. He dies in the hospital.
• Danny Reyes is a prosecutor. He joined the team in the first episode of the second season. Before that he was in the organized crime department in LA, where he mainly dealt with Eastern European gangs. He had the highest conviction rate among his peers in his six-year career. At first, he displeases Stark, but he quickly learns to appreciate him because he can work well past the law.
• Leo Cutler is the district attorney and is thus Stark's superior from season 2. He won the elections against Jessica Devlin and has held her post ever since. Stark and him have a hostility right from the start - Stark considers him to be an "incompetent ass-creeper".
• Jordan Westlake is actually the Federal Prosecutor's assistant, who joins his team after the investigation into Sebastian Stark.

Isaac Wright

Isaac Wright is a former police officer who was fired from service because of false testimony. It took a long time to accept Stark's offer to work for him as an investigator. Over time, he develops a relationship with Raina.

Manuel Delgado

Manuel Delgado is the incumbent mayor. In the first episode he persuades Stark to switch to the public prosecutor's office. Nevertheless, he sometimes goes against him in order to assert his own interests.

occupation

character	actor	German Voice actor	Episodes
Sebastian Stark	James Woods	Frank Glaubrecht	1.01-2.16
Julie Stark	Danielle Panabaker	Anne Helm	1.01-2.16
Jessica Devlin	Jeri Ryan	Anke Reitzenstein	1.01-2.16
Raina Troy	Sophina Brown	Victoria Storm	1.01-2.16
Madeline Poe	Sarah Carter	Luise Helm	1.01-2.16
Isaac Wright	Henry Simmons	Tobias Kluckert	1.02, 1.08-2.16
Casey Woodland	Sam Page	Daniel Fehlow	1.01-1.22
Danny Reyes	Kevin Alejandro	Norman Matt	2.01-2.16
Martin Allende	Alexis Cruz	Nico Mamone	1.01-1.11
Manuel Delgado	Carlos Gomez	Erich Rauker	1.01–2.09 (12 appearances)
Leo Cutler	Kevin Pollak	Gerald Schaale	2.01–2.16 (9 appearances)
Jordan Westlake	Paula Marshall	Antje von der Ahe	2.13–2.16 (3 appearances)

Jeri Ryan was no longer seen in episodes 2.13-2.16 due to her pregnancy, but was still named as the leading actress in the opening credits. For the last 3 episodes she was replaced by Paula Marshall as prosecutor Jordan Westlake .

Episode list

Soundtrack

The title track refers to Stark's nickname "Shark" ( [...] I'm the Devil that you need, when I'm out in the water .) In the opening credits of the second season, only one instrumental version can be heard, which is by VOX was used as an outro in the nightly reruns of the first season.

Charisma

In the US, the series ran for the first time on September 21, 2006 on the television channel CBS . 38 episodes were filmed and broadcast in two seasons. Due to falling ratings in the second season, the station discontinued the series.

In German-speaking countries, VOX broadcast an episode of Shark every Monday at 9:05 p.m. from January 14, 2008 , but changed the broadcast slot on March 24, 2008 to 10:05 p.m. From June 23, 2008, the first season was repeated. The second season aired from November 24, 2008 to March 9, 2009. This season has been repeated since the following week.

criticism

“The series offers staged crime entertainment with a high budget and a great lead actor,” writes series junkies , but at the same time sees Shark as a “rather cheap copy of the brilliant Dr. House ". Overall, the verdict is: "A below average interesting crime series, which is raised to above average level by its ingenious acting main actor James Woods."

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} "Shark" & "Moonlight" are history
2. ↑ Repetition of the first season from June 23, 2008
3. ↑ Shark: Review of the German launch on "VOX"

Web links

• Shark (TV series) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Official website on CBS.com (English)