(S03E21) James Spader is the luckiest sonofabitch on the planet! But more on that later.
I think David E. Kelley has been monitoring my thoughts. More Gail O' Grady, more Chris Clemenson and less Constance Zimmer, could I ask for anything more? How about Joey Slotnick in the kind of role he was born to play. I really liked seeing Slotnick playing the arrogant loser character that he's played before on shows like Nip/Tuck. Very few people can play those parts as funny and as sensitively as he.
The "showdown of the socially awkward" had to be the best trial of the season. Watching Clarence and Jerry wrestle with their respective personality problems was mesmerizing. How do either of them control themselves while offering a decent legal representation. It's rare when I am unable to pick a side and I still am not sure if the verdict was a just one.
In other big trial, I have to recognize the brilliance of Shelley Berman. Every time he appears on this show, he tops himself and in tonight's episode, for the first time, recognizes that he is far from an effective judge. He is, however, funny as hell.
To refer back to my earlier statement, I wonder if James Spader realizes that he has kissed some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood; Gail O'Grady, Rhona Mitra, Laura San Giacomo and even Kim Richards. That is quite an impressive list. My hat is off to you, Mr. Spader.
If I have any criticism of this episode it would have to be the abrupt drop off of comedy in the second half. I really liked Brad's passionate speech about his relationship with the military but I could have done without the rest of the dramatic content.
I guess what struck me most was the portrayal of the trial lawyer as a lonely, sad person. It seems that in order to be a good person, they must disassociate themselves with the trial, which, in turn, makes them a less effective lawyer. Quite the Catch 22, which explains why most trial lawyers are, in fact, complete jackasses. Next week, when I report for jury duty, I'll bring along some extra compassion.
I give this episode a 6.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2007 @ 11:15AM
George said...
That wasn't much of review.... :rolleyes:
You missed what made this episode one of the best, William Shatner.. Denny didn’t even have to speak and that was the brilliance of the episode…
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5-02-2007 @ 11:57AM
David said...
I like the fact that they lost both cases. That more loses in this one episode than the rest of the series combined.
I finally got my mom to watch the show but she doesn't understand the "HAnds" storyline or the DA and Alan storyline and those are great.
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5-02-2007 @ 1:16PM
brykmantra said...
I've always liked Shelley Berman, and I've seen him in more things in the last 6 months (Meet the Fockers, The Holiday) than in the last 25 years. I'm glad he's getting work.
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5-02-2007 @ 12:40PM
MacGuffin said...
Boston Legal never fails to deliver. This may be the best David E. Kelly series ever, which is almost heresy considering how excellent and incredible L.A. Law was or how fun and quirky Ally McBeal was.
It's really amazing how touching the series is and it always throws out plenty of red meat to liberals, which I assume is its main audience.
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5-02-2007 @ 12:43PM
BigTed said...
One thing that bugged me about this episode -- and bothers me about "Boston Legal" in general -- is that in both cases, the lawyers on either side didn't say a word about the laws themselves. All they did was argue what they thought the judge and jury, respectively, should decide based on some inner sense of justice. That's not the way real court works! And it led, in one case, to the judge deciding against a client just because he didn't like him.
At least on other legal shows, you hear a little bit of the legal arguments as well as the personal ones.
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5-02-2007 @ 1:23PM
brykmantra said...
@BigTed:
I agree totally. That was always my big complaint with Ally McBeal (another DEK product), that nobody ever touched a law book or cite precedent.
At the same time, there was the much better Family Law, where the lawyers would cite rulings and precedents back and forth at each other like a fierce ninja star battle -- it was intense!
Then you watch Ally McBeal, and the only argument is like, "What kind of country do we live in where a person can't be free to ..." or "Look in your hearts and ask yourself if she doesn't deserve ..."
That's not a law drama, it's a telenovela -- and a sloppy one at that. You'd think Kelley would have learned, but apparently not ...
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5-03-2007 @ 3:31AM
Brian said...
David Kelley already addressed the departure from the law (although many lawyers definitely felt that like The Practice, for instance, was legally accurate) on an episode earlier this season—if we weren't supposed to be human in the courtroom, we wouldn't have juries.
That's a really important point. If we were just trying to follow the law, point blank, we would only need a judge (or, perhaps, not even a judge). Trials are about providing a human interpretation of a static, mechanical system.
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5-02-2007 @ 2:46PM
Jimmy said...
I've been liking Boston Legal more and more in the last few weeks and I think most of that has to do with the fact more of this great cast is being used. We've had more of Julie Bowen, Mark Valley, and Rene Auberjonois in the past few weeks than we've had all year. I even liked Brad's little speech about why he wanted to wear his uniform. And while I certainly don't agree that Americans may be turn anti-Military (I won't get into my whole anti-Iraq War does not equal anti-Military cause nobody cares, right?) I think Denise's reasons for not wanting her husband to wear his uniform were silly, but then they were meant to be. I know I've said this before, but I am so glad ABC renewed this series.
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5-02-2007 @ 5:42PM
OneCharmingBastard said...
Solid episode from start to finish - and Brad's speech was some of the best work I've ever seen Mark Valley do - and I'm a fan, but it was so......spot on. As for the Clarence/Jerry showdown, it was one of the best moments of the season, and for a fan of the show, one of the highlights of the entire series.
I too am glad ABC renewed it - it is one of those shows that just gets better and better.
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5-11-2007 @ 10:41PM
elinor s said...
please---does anyone know who "Poole" is?? will he or she someday appear out of the blue i will appreciate an answer. thx
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