Goliath Of Mice and Men (2016– ) Online

Billy Bob Thornton plays a down and out (but very talented) lawyer. He is drowning himself in alcohol and sex. He is estranged from his wife. He has been successful in the past but now has lost his will. One day a woman comes in. Her brother was killed when a boat exploded. It was ruled a suicide, but she knows her brother would not do such a thing. As he digs in, he suspects the man's wife of a cover-up. Also, if the suicide thing doesn't happen, the firm his wife works for stands to lose a lot of money. He becomes involved with the woman who sought him out and now surrounds himself with some interesting partners (one a hooker and another scatterbrained lawyer). Soon, threats begin to fly and he comes to realize how big a liability he is becoming. Nicely done first episode.

The rock of this series is Billy Bob Thorton. While this is an original Amazon series which makes it less main stream than the Bad Santa movies, this series starts to show that Thorton is a pretty darned good actor. The role here is like Paul Newman in "The Verdict" in structure, but Thorton's character gets to go beyond that because this has a lot more adult content.

The case introduced is a murder that has been ruled a suicide involving a person working for a large defense contractor who makes "weapons to keep us safe overseas." Of course there's a lot more to come as this series takes the luxury of developing this case and the trial over 8 episodes of twists and turns. This one introduces the characters, and the client gets a real personal introduction to Billy Bob.

Not everyone has Amazon (though they are trying to get just everyone) but if you do get access to it, this series is a first season must see. Veteran actor William Hurt plays the evil bad guy that has rocked Thorton's world in more ways than one. Here Hurt has just started clicking. Then there is the eye full of Brittany Gold that we start to take into consideration here. Consider this the very beginning of evidence discovery and you will get hooked.

The premise of this opening episode of "Goliath" is that of a burned out attorney, who is drawn back into the profession to fight for justice in a death of a man on a boat that may have involved foul play.

Apart from Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of the attorney, the characters seemed like stereotypes. The most strained relationship was that of the the attorney and his ex-wife, who works for the corrupt law firm implicated in the blowing up of the boat. The woman is all too willing to throw her former husband under the bus. William Hurt's character of a vindictive attorney almost seems like he is from a science fiction film with his maddening habit of the "cricket."

I couldn't help but think of the Paul Newman thriller "The Verdict," which was brilliantly directed by Sidney Lumet and developed the same conceit of the burned-out attorney seeking a comeback to his life and career.