Nine Hours is a political statement by the writers.

Everything is political. Every word someone utters, every decision everyone makes -- buy this rather than that, drive or walk, eat this rather than that -- everything has an impact on someone else in society and therefore is political.

And: What's wrong with a TV show having a viewpoint? Art is meaningful because it prompts people to think and feel.

And, what you call the writers' "bias" is just reality:
--- Black people are disproportionately represented on death row;
--- the death penalty has been shown, in study after study, to have zero deterrent value and thus is of questionable use in a civilized society;
--- many innocent people have been executed, which raises questions about the morality of the death penalty and whether it should be part of a society that consider itself progressive/civilized;
--- if killing is illegal in a society, then why should the government have the right to kill?;
--- China, North Korea, Iran, and the US carry out the greatest number of executions in the world; I don't know too many people who want the US be in the same category as nations with some of the worst human-rights records.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

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courtjes,

Nine Hours (2010) uses every trite predictable plot line to rail against the death penalty. The writers play on prayer, race, father-daughter relationship, unsympathetic wardens to work up the viewer's emotions on a political statement.

This episode is actually one of my favourite episodes of the entire show, especially because of the slightly different pace (due to the limited 9 hours in the case) and because of the different locations (outside of the walls of the offices and the court). Not to mention all the Kalicia scenes; it placed No. 5 on the list of favourite episodes in the last TGW survey with 35 fans voting it one of their favourites (http://tgwfandomsurvey.tumblr.com/post/146460929418/question-what-are-your-favorite-episodes). So I certainly wouldn't say it's "a total waste of time" even if I felt it's a mere political statement like you do.

I'm not interested in discussing political views on this topic, and I don't really recall all the details of the case/episode. However, you might want to take a look at episode 3.08, Death Row Tip (2011), and 5.01, Everything Is Ending (2013) in comparison. Both are about 2 more different death row cases and show more than just "political statements" by the writers; especially the one from season 3 is pretty heavy, and the other one that started season 5 was grueling and brought back the warden from Nine Hours (2010).

Best wishes,

janar

"Love [...] is the most incredible gift to give and to receive as a human being." - Ellen Page

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The entire show is about Democrats/liberals, very likely written by Democratic/liberal writers, and written primarily for a Democrat/liberal watching audience. If you are not of that political ilk, then there may be a bit of eye-rolling. With that said, the writers do paint the ugly underbelly of the Democrat machine from time to time, so it's not all flattering to them. Also, in later seasons they do bring in a major conservative client which helps bring in a small amount of parity. One of my most memorable episodes may be the one where Diane is brought to some sort of hunting lodge with a group of wealthy conservatives in hopes of landing a client since you actually get to hear some conservative arguments presented.

Anyway, if you get past the general political vibes of the show, it's quite a good legal drama.

http://www.westerncivforum.com

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