(S03E23) This week's episode really spoke to me on a number on levels. As a father, as a liberal and as a person who depends on my pet to help keep my sanity.
As the show opened, I was really afraid that something might happen to ruin Brad & Denise's wedding but I can make an exception for childbirth. The whole birthing storyline was very nice and adding Shelly Berman was the icing on the cake.
Once again, a great performance by Chris Clemenson. I now have another reason to hope BL gets renewed, so I can see more of Jerry Espensen. The whole duck storyline was so entertaining and that duck had to be the coolest duck ever. I rely on my cat, Elvis, for a lot of things and I actually had to convince my landlord to let me keep him, so my heart went out to "the duck lady," especially after Denny gave the duck a heart attack.
Which brings me to the other storyline. The topic of illegal immigration is one of the hottest in America these days. Personally, I'm torn on the issue, but I appreciated what the show had to say. The best part had to be the line, "...abuse of the 14th amendment" and Alan's subsequent silence. I hope the idea that civil rights belong to all Americans and are meant to be used as we choose was not lost on anybody, especially when the same episode portrays an old man with dementia who collects guns and threatens to fire them at random moments.
If I have one nitpick of the episode, it would be that I wish the writers would have explained how Ray Abruzzo's character went from being a Boston cop to a Boston lawyer. Am I the only one who remembers him from The Practice? Considering Alan used to work over at Donnell, Frutt, blah, blah, blah he should be very familiar with the man's police work.
Before I wrap up I have to recognize the great work of Michael Gross. He is still money in the bank. Also, from now on, whenever anyone I know screws up, I'm going to say that they "killed a duck and dropped the grail."
I apologize if this review is a little disjointed but it's because, according to my Boston Legal drinking game, I have to chug every time Alan pronounces room as "rum." Now, I'm off to have a scotch and a cigar on my balcony.
Overall, I give this episode a five.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-16-2007 @ 3:04PM
David said...
There were some great quotes I wrote down and then lost, very sad. ABC also renewed the show back in January and they had their upfronts yesterday and the show is staying in place.
And I hate Jerry Espensen, he is way too overused.
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5-16-2007 @ 3:53PM
MacGuffin said...
Christian Clemenson really has made 'Jerry Espensen' a breakout character. Frankly, I never thought I was going to be able to say that because I was afraid that it was just going to be this silly character. But Jerry really has become multi-dimensional with a lot of heart.
BL really is a great show and probably has the best casting on TV right now. Every week, the guest stars are brilliant choices, including Shelley Berman, the aforementioned Ray Abruzzo and Chuck McCann, who played the judge this week.
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5-16-2007 @ 3:54PM
Paul Little said...
It was great to see the Stanley Cup, and so many classic hockey facts, thrown into an episode of a mainstream TV show. Not so great was the Stanley Cup falling off a balcony! :P But I'm pretty certain the Grey Cup (Canada's 80+ year old football trophy) has been through much more than that.
I love this show so very much.
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5-16-2007 @ 4:54PM
Karen said...
Denny does not have dementia....he knows EXACTLY what he is doing.
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5-16-2007 @ 5:15PM
Sam G. said...
Dropping the Stanley Cup is not funny. I shrieked when I saw that.
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5-16-2007 @ 10:18PM
jordancda said...
I love Jerry...I get more emotionally moved by his character every week than most of the others; although Denny's "getting old" speech to Shirley this week was very moving as well. But Jerry's slow and steady growth and maturation over his time on the series has been phenomenal to watch and very much like real life. He has had to work hard to become what he is, and his constant struggle with having to become "mean" to be a good lawyer has been very engaging and thought provoking.
Also, as much as I love Alan...his political rants do occasionally get tiresome for me. This episode was one of those moments. Usually BL does a decent job of presenting both sides of an issue, but it is clear that they gave the "moral high ground" to Alan on illegal immigration. Also, was it not clear to everyone else that Alan was juxtaposing immigration with illegal immigration? I'd say that few in America is against immigration...but that's not how he portrayed it - and he glorified illegal immigration as if its the same thing as someone going through all the proper steps to attain citizenship.
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5-17-2007 @ 5:50AM
Rob Walley said...
I too cringed when the Stanley Cup fell from the balcony, but the Keeper scene of the week had to be Denny firing the rifle and scaring the duck...to death. Classic!
I too was moved by the immigration storyline, but I am a conservative and gleaned from the events that when a subject is cast in a shade of gray instead of black and white, then we can circumvent the law. Political statements in this show have run the gamut from red to blue, but it would have been a more powerful statement on the part of the writers to have the law upheld in court and Alan brooding over the injustice of it all on the balcony.
And for a site that makes it's business reporting and commenting on TV it is surprising that the writer completely missed that Boston Legal officially made ABC's first round of renewals back on March 21.
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5-17-2007 @ 10:30AM
Cold Chilli said...
Drinking from the Cup, without being a winner, Sarcralige!
The cup falling from the balcony, funny, but I knew it was coming when they showed it on the balcony.
I liked how Denny tried to put his name on the cup, though.
What kind of accent did Michael Gross have? It sounded like a bad Boston crossed with a worse drunken Irish.
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5-17-2007 @ 2:44PM
Rob Walley said...
It has been pointed out to me that I missed the fact in my last post (#7) that the priest was found guilty and I bow to the TV Gods...I did forget that point. My problem with the situation had more to do with offering the woman he was protecting amnesty if she turned witness against him. No matter how good and upstanding the woman had been, she still broke the law and thus set into motion the very events that brought down the priest. Again, this is what BL does very well week in and week out by examining relevant, current issues that have no easy answers.
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6-04-2007 @ 10:54PM
Scott said...
Hey, I know I'm weeks late on this, but did anyone else think that Chuck McCann (the judge) was channeling Robert Prosky? With that beard, he was a dead ringer for him. And McCann is known for his comedic work; this role was dramatic.
Also, this was the first episode I've seen that wasn't written by David E. Kelley himself where the court case and arguments were as dead-on and brilliantly written as if he were the writer. The only difference? The kooky stuff wasn't nearly as kooky as D.E.K. writes--which was a big improvement to me. I hope the writers of this episode are on staff.
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