'CANTERBURY' HAS LEGAL TALES TO TELL.

Byline: David Kronke

TV Critic

The title "Canterbury's Law" title would seem to reference Geoffrey Chaucer's lawyer's yarn from "The Canterbury Tales," except that doesn't really scan -- its heroine survived travails due to her devout belief in prayer. But ascending Rhode Island defense attorney Elizabeth Canterbury (Julianna Margulies), the protagonist of "Canterbury's Law," boasts no such virtue.

As tonight's episode opens, it's revealed she's sleeping with Frank (James McCaffrey), whom she's defending against a murder charge. Liz is married, albeit tenuously, to Matt (Aidan Quinn), who turns up just enough to offer exposition about how troubled their marriage is.

Their relationship's torment stems from the fact that their young son disappeared a few years ago -- and yet, Canterbury seems to represent a lot of clients suspected of having a hand in killing the children of grieving parents (in fact, she does so in both episodes offered for review). That she's willing to do so doesn't smack so much of brazen provocation as it does of abject psychological self-abnegation.

There's a lot about "Canterbury's Law" that's not bad, but much of it feels just slightly off. A lot of the performances feel manufactured, even Margulies': She just doesn't quite exude the charismatic brass that such a character would need.

And while no one could credibly handle a line like "You feckless puppet! Where do you get the stones to accuse me?," Terry Kinney, playing her nemesis, prosecutor Zach Williams, appears to have been cast more for his shifty looks than his acting chops.

It doesn't help that the soundtrack is filled with yowling guitars in an effort to make the show seem "edgy," or that frenetic editing and woozy camerawork seem borrowed from dozens of previous cop and lawyer shows. And it certainly won't help that just after Fox announced it was picking up the show, Margulies announced she was pregnant.

Even without the aforementioned misgivings, "Canterbury's Law" doesn't offer enough to be more than a run-of-the-mill legal drama.

David Kronke, [phone] david.kronke(at)dailynews.com www.insidesocal.com/tv/>

CANTERBURY'S LAW - Two stars

>What: Julianna Margulies stars as a defense attorney whose brazen tactics win cases but win her few friends.

>Where: Fox (Channel 11).

>When: 8 tonight.

>In a nutshell: Casting feels off, story lines feel off; the whole thing just doesn't quite work.

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Photo:

Juliana Margulies