The Guardian: The Complete Series

a good series, great acting and story telling. This is about a bunch of lawyers who help kids with social service problems in court.

Really great series … Simon Baker is very entertaining

I just discovered this gem on Netflix, and over a long week-end watched all 3 series. I was so compelled by the intensity of this series that I ordered the complete set for future viewing. There was such extraordinary character development--I almost felt the emotional pains that each experienced dealing with their individual life issues. The stories regarding child advocacy were also realistic--at times very difficult to watch, for they brought back memories from my own past. As I watched the character of James Mooney (Charles Malik Whitfield) morph into a person with a deep raging desire for revenge, it arrested my attention; for throughout the series he brought about a grittiness to his concern for the disadvantaged. After brutally beating the person he thought was responsible for the death of his nephew he returned to work the next day as if nothing had happened revealing a dark side to his personality (the side hidden from those that he worked with daily). Simon Baker & Dabney Coleman (Burton & Nick Fallin) was a study in acute family dysfunction. The legal stories were realistic, showing the aggressive & devious approach that can be taken in corporate law. I enjoyed the epiphany moment when Nicolas (a psychologically complex person) realized the scandalous attitude of a coal mine owner in Pennsylvania--trying to coverup that his company was culpable for the serious health concerns in a small community. Kathleen Chalfant did an outstanding job playing the character of Laurie Solt--tough, caring, dedicated and extremely concerned about the welfare of children. I also enjoyed watching Rosenberg's character as Masterson. He was intense till the end--often struggling to keep his emotions in check. Dysfunctional families; the inability to communicate effectively; emotional walls to hide deep seated pain; the inability to maintain healthy relationships; a 16 yr affair ultimately leading to divorce & a suicide attempt are a psychologist's dream. The Guardian showed that life is often messy. The acting throughout the series was excellent. Story lines very credible. Several notable guest stars were seen throughout the series: Farrah Fawcett, Gina Torres (married to Laurence Fishburne), Lolita Davidovich, Chris Pine,Corey Feldman, Joseph Campanella & Bethany Joy Galeotti. It was a shame that this series did not last longer. It is not often that we are shown programming of this quality. I guess the TV industry would rather feed us reality shows and 'vanity fair.'

Surely, one of the most thought-provoking, gritty, and multi-plotted TV series ever. While the adventures of lawyers are well-represented in our media, not so other professions depicted in this series, particularly social workers and others involved in support of the troubled and the underclasses. Strong acting from Baker, Coleman, and crew. In particular, Whitfield (who, when he was 14, made a small fortune dealing in drugs on mean streets), brings his real-life chops to this series (before being written out of it). Here, you'll see, smell, and rub shoulders with a full range of street people that only spending several nights in a Bowery door stoop will offer. "Name" stars make frequent guest appearances (if there is anyone steamier than Lolita Davidovich, I haven't seen her!). Producer Hollander was inspired (we hear) by his own father's professional experiences (proving again, its best to "write what you know"). That said, as the series progresses, it appears to put legal and social issues on the back-burner, and instead tends to emphasize the personal lives of the lead actors (good up to a point: personal problems do in fact impact on professional judgements). However, the result is that this series regresses downward to the level of daytime soap (which is, in fact, the acting background of the dimpled and aaaahdorable Wendy Moniz). My guess is, The Guardian was failing in the ratings, and this approach was thought to offer a reprieve from the network hangman (it didn't work). The main thrust here must be to show how the disadvantaged are cared for (proverbial warts and all) at a social agency. However, there's an illustrative and revealing sub-plot as well. The Guardian is an excellent primer for anyone inexperienced in the machinations of professional life: the jealousies, back-stabbing, and petty crimes that occur as people in just about every organization go about their daily business; "life in the real world". Note: the first year on DVD is ***NOT*** close-captioned (the other two years are captioned).

I very much enjoyed The Guardian. It was an excellent, if short-lived series with one of my favorite actors, Simon Baker. Parts of this series deal with some heavy subject matter, such as poverty, drug addiction, and abuse. It does so in a thought-provoking even if not candy-coated manner. There are no 'perfect' characters in this show. They all have realistic flaws and their own quirks that make this series so down-to-earth and relatable. I wish this show had gotten more than 3 seasons. The ending seemed slightly rushed, even if it was still somewhat satisfying.

Great price good programming would like to see more of this type

The series surrounds the character of Nick Fallon, a young lawyer who has been accused of drug abuse and is ordered to do community service as a child advocate. the series shows the frustrating situations that are dealt with by social workers and the law trying to place the children in various shelters or foster care because their parents are to ill equipped to take care of them or they are drug addicts or are in jail. Occasionally it is hard to watch but it needs to be watched. Simon Baker adds to the intensity of this series with his great acting skills and looks. This is a very well done series but I would need to be mentally prepared to watch it again.

les dvd sont illisibles sur mon lecteur. J'ai payé EUR 60 pour des dvd que je ne peux pas regarder. Attention, arnaque de la part d'amazon qui ne mentionne pas que les dvd ne sont pas lisibles en France. le système de notation d'amazon m'oblige a indiquer au moins une étoile pour pouvoir envoyer mon commentaire mais la vraie note est zéro

Mi dispiace aver ricevuto un cofanetto che in italia non si può vedere.... c'è un blocco che non fa leggere il dvd... potevate scriverlo!! Cinzia

È una serie “impegnata”, “politically correct”, gli attori recitano molto bene, Simon Baker è molto convincente, rende con successo tutte le sfaccettature del personaggio che interpreta, è decisamente una bella serie. Attenzione però: la serie può essere visualizzata solo con lettori dvd multiregione perché, in questa versione, è uscita solo per il mercato USA (regione 1). L’Europa è regione 2, quindi i dvd risultano bloccati sulla maggioranza dei lettori venduti qui. Io sono riuscita a raggirare il problema usando il lettore dvd per computer (il mio è un Mac, quindi multiregione), poi ho collegato un cavo HDML alla televisione.

Ich kannte die Serie vorher nicht auf deutsch, mir war die deutsche DVD aber definitiv zu teuer, zumal es die dritte Staffel nicht mit deutscher Tonspur auf DVD gibt, also habe ich es gewagt eine Originalfassung zu kaufen. Man muss sich im klaren darüber sein, dass man einen DVD-Player braucht, der auch DVDs mit dem Ländercode 1 abspielt oder aber man spielt sie auf dem PC ab - aber Achtung, der PC lässt nur 5 Änderungen des Ländercodes zu, dann bleibt es bei dem zuletzt geänderten Format! Ich habe den Kauf nicht bereut, ich verstehe die Schauspieler auch mehr oder weniger gut, das meiste versteht man aber auch aus dem Zusammenhang. Eine Folge habe ich inzwischen auch auf Deutsch gesehen und fand die Synchronisierung jedoch ganz furchtbar. Auf Deutsch kommt Simon Baker total arrogant rüber, so extrem ist es in der Originalfassung nicht. Auch nuschelt er überhaupt nicht, was ich schon von einer Kundin gelesen habe. Ich verstehe die schlechte Bewertung eines anderen Käufers nicht, da ich definitiv noch einmal von dem Händler angeschrieben wurde, ob ich auch wirklich die DVDs mit Ländercode 1 kaufen möchte. Eine tolle Serie, die auch auf Englisch gut zu verstehen ist.

De momento puedo decir que se ve bien y parece remasterizada. El único problema es que la funda ha venido rota y no cierra bien pero teniendo en cuenta que viene desde USA pues ha cruzado el charco hasta llegarme a mi por lo que es comprensible. Por otro lado, los discos son de otra región por lo que puedo reproducirlos en un DVD Player que compré y que acepta todas las regiones. Comentar también que como es la versión americana, solo viene el audio en inglés y sin subtítulos, por lo que si no entiendes inglés te recomiendo que no la compres.