TV REVIEW : ‘Eddie Dodd’: ABC Loses This One on Appeal

The only thing prime time needs less than another lawyer is another lawyer who brings nothing new to the courtroom. Enter “Eddie Dodd,” the ABC series getting a tryout in the time slot of “thirtysomething.”

Tonight’s episode (at 10 on Channels 7, 3 10 and 42) is only moderately better than last week’s formulaic, hokey premiere which introduced heroic Eddie (Treat Williams) as a crusading, compassionate do-gooder who risks even contempt of court to battle for his underdog clients. The man’s a saint.

Last week Eddie successfully defended a mercy killer, and this week he triumphs again after learning that the judge in his case--a revered giant of jurisprudence--has Alzheimer’s disease. Eddie must weigh the interests of his client against the interests of the judge he idolizes, an interesting premise that the show badly botches.

William’s saccharine Eddy has a great capacity for goodness, so great that it grates after even one episode. As in the premiere, tonight’s story is script-poor (the judge is just a mess until somehow pulling himself together for his final big scene), predictable and maudlin on cue, worth seeing only for Lee Richardson’s moving performance as the stricken jurist.