TVSquad

(S04E12) "What's the tragic part... beside the music?" - Shirley Schmidt

My first reaction to the opening scene this week was one of amazement. First of all, who was it that decided Missy was the character everyone was dying to see again? I disliked the character the first time and, now that she is sans Selleck, I despise her. Furthermore, what person in their right mind is supposed to feel sympathy for a confessed semen thief who is so mentally unbalanced that she borders on dangerous? By the way, it takes a special kind of actor to pull off the racist comments without being completely offensive. Meredith Patterson is not that actor. Nice voice, though.

To be fair, I had no sympathy for Terrence either. His argument made perfect sense but you simply can not force a woman to stop being pregnant. No court in the world is going to order a mentally sound woman to have an abortion even if it is through a pill even the judge said as much. His only recourse was to sue for damages. There's no law that says he has to be with Missy in order to be there for his baby. That whole argument is ludicrous. More importantly, if he didn't want to be with Missy, he could have walked away before she secured his sample.

To make matters worse, the case becomes a lame battle of the sexes for everyone in the office. Since when do the misfits at Crane, Poole & Schmidt take sides based on their sex? Isn't Carl supposed to only care about winning and making money and am I supposed to believe that the constantly self-objectifying Lorraine is now concerned about another woman's rights?

As if Missy's return wasn't bad enough, Leigh Swift decides to waltz back in as well. Is it really a good idea to hire the one lawyer who hates you because you dumped him for an iPhone? I hate to sound like a broken record but Leigh knew the rules and the consequences for breaking them. Public school is no place for civil disobedience, whether it's by a student or a teacher.

I have always enjoyed Jere Burns in the past. Too bad that stopped tonight. He was clearly phoning in his performance in tonight's episode. I saw a better performance from Burns as Lindsay Lohan's dad in Life Size.

The only saving grace in the episode was James Spader's hilarious performance. It seems that the more ridiculous the case, the funnier he is.

Speaking of hilarious, why has it been so long since we've seen Carl Sack? I actually forgot how funny Larroquette is in the role. Is it just me or does it seem that the writers have a tough time writing scenes that feature both Denny and Carl? Their one scene together this episode was hardly Emmy material.

I had all but tuned out by the time everyone finished their closing speeches. Quite frankly, after a season of Alan's politicizing, I have heard more than enough. At least Leigh's case had the right outcome. As for Jerry, I know his choices are limited but, as Katie has tried to convince him, he can do better.