So it's around that time of year where I start wading my way through the shows that have been picked up and seeing which ones are of interest. 'Life' is one of the ones that's caught my interest enough to warrant a further look.

Life stars Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers) as Detective Charlie Crews. Charlie has recently been exhonerated for a series of murders he did not commit. Due to the length of his imprisonment, and the dangers for a cop in prison he was given a substantial amount of money (and allowed to return to the force as a detective) as compensation. Those of you who've seen Band of Brothers know the power Damian can bring to the screen. He's an accomplished and compelling actor.
Also of note is Robin Weigert (Deadwood) as his Captain with an agenda. She wants him off the force. And Sarah Shahi from Teachers (amongst other shows) as his reluctant partner and eye candy.

Now of course, the show already has a twist to push it away from the rest of the cop shows out there. That's essential in this day of entertainment. Charlie was framed and railroaded for the murders, but he doesn't know why. This metaplot is bundled up with 'crime of the week' cases, much like 'The Dead Zone' or 'Burn Notice' likes to do.
The thing is, alone that wouldn't be enough to make the show interesting. So the writers have taken Charlie and given his character an additional twist. He attempts to follow zen and as such has at times a very cryptic and unusual method. It also affects his conversational tone and dialog. But he's no zen master by any stretch of the imagination. He struggles to follow the teachings and is far from enlightened.
What this gives us is a character who attempts to be calm on the surface, while underneath there is turmoil and a driving need to find out why he was framed. He's alternately amusing and deep, in some small way he reminds me of House.

The most developed (if two episodes is developed) of the other characters is his partner. While the details of her life are still kept somewhat vague it's clearly established from the start that she has issues. She's in rehab and goes out seeking one night stands. She also somewhat resents Crews, but also seems to understand that he's a good cop and a man who was greatly wronged.

Anyway, it's hard to talk about much more when I've only seen 1h30mins of the show. But it's interesting, has fast paced and amusing dialog with an interesting metaplot to tie progression together. If you like cop shows, investigative shows or just quirky characters I'd recommend giving it a look.

Right now tv.com has it rated at a 9.1 - I wouldn't go that high but it's certainly pushed in with a high 8 and shows signs of growing from there.