(S04E14) Hooray! Finally another episode with a lot of Larroquette. In fact I think I just came up with a new spinoff...Carl and The Beav.
Katie's case was a little confusing but very interesting. I had never heard of such a situation. Also as soon as I heard that the client had AIDS, I became worried that Alan might treat us to another one of his speeches. Honestly, the more I heard about the case, the more fascinated I was by it. I have always been a fan of Michael Landes and I found him particularly engaging in this episode. What I liked the most was how simply Katie spelled it out for opposing counsel. They made a bet that the client would die. He got lucky and is living. They lost. It happens sometimes, but when you make a bet and you lose, you have to pay. It makes perfect sense to me. I don't really approve of Katie kissing her client but considering that Jerry is the closest she's come to a relationship, I can look past it.
The rapid switching back and forth between cases was pretty interesting to watch, although I thought it did a disservice to Gary Williams, Taraji Henson and the others. They may be considered supporting characters but I'd like to see more of them.
Carl's explanation for breaking up with Shirley was a real nice piece of acting by Larroquette; it was well-written, too. There are a great number of people in the world who are just like Carl & Shirley. Single, in their 40s or 50s who still think that an active and exciting personal life is no longer within their reach. I certainly identified with what he was saying. Also, it made me wonder if his protests to the Beav were just for show.
I'm not sure what to think about Carl's case. He seemed too eager to take the offer. I guess he just would like to get paid for a change. However, I really want to find out what happened to the ashes.
As much as I love Isabella Hofmann, I just couldn't get behind her case. I agree that the schools put a lot of pressure on kids these days. I am amazed when my 9 year old daughter brings me her geometry homework for help. I didn't take geometry 'til I was a senior in high school. However, the bottom line is that parents make the policy for their children's schools and they are responsible. She saw what was happening and could have stopped it. She could have even sent her daughter to a different school altogether. In my opinion, schools are responsible for giving our kids a solid education and keeping them safe while they are there. Hundreds of kids die in car accidents every day and only a foolish parent lets their kid drive when they know they haven't had enough sleep.
I wasn't that into the lawsuit against the pastor but I will say that Lorraine was absolutely right to sue the church. They clearly hired a pastor who not only was bad at his job but also put them at risk. As long is this case didn't go to trial and end with a speech about organized religion, I was fine with it.
As far Denny & Alan...perfectly ridiculous.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-20-2008 @ 9:37AM
SilentGuy said...
To get Teresa Graves you'd have to visit Teresa's grave.
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2-20-2008 @ 10:41AM
Jon said...
Is it me or was there a lot of negativity in this review? I happen to enjoy Alan's speeches, and it isn't just because I 100% agree with him, they are well thought out and he just says how I usually feel about a subject. He just happens to be more articulate than I am at expressing those thoughts, (well OK David E. Kelley is).
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2-20-2008 @ 11:17AM
Oreo said...
This episode was blah and boring. It was just a rehash of previous episodes. Anyone remember the Micheal J. Fox episodes?
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2-20-2008 @ 2:34PM
Chip Douglas said...
I agree. I am not interested in any of these supporting charachters as I was in the past. I feel like it has all been done before. The Beav is a great new character. She has some life but is still ridiculous. As far as Denny and Alan are concerned, Denny Crane.
2-20-2008 @ 2:15PM
Jimmy said...
This week's cases, every one of them, were boring and stupid, and that's been a symptom of BL since it began this season. I've been a huge fan of this show from day one, but lately it's been very unwatchable. Alan and Denny used to be the center of this show, but now they're just campy fools. Even Alan's speeches don't have the fire they used to. Above all, this series is filled to the brim with a talented cast, always has been, but no one can seem to find a way to properly use them. John Larroquette is too talented to be wasted like this on a weekly basis. I will say it was fun seeing his character spar with Allison la Placa's. Haven't she and Larroquette worked together in the past?
If ABC brings this series back for another season I'll be surprised.
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2-20-2008 @ 2:50PM
tkap said...
I love Boston Legal but it's getting old. James Spader got pregnant how far back? How long do men gestate? You would think by now he would have found someone who would have told him "Have the baby or get a cesarian already." The sexiness has been sucked out of him by the gutbaby phenomenon which affects many a middle aged man who eats/drinks too much because of stress/lazyness - unless he's just retaining water. And he's left doing homoerotic scenes with Captain Kirk. Oka, if you just have to get in the bandwagon of the gay acting thing then Kirk is the guy to go with. And here we see the main differences between American GAY and everywhere else: watch BBC America guys, that's how it's done; stop pushing so much. Of course you could also watch, what's the name of that show, hmmm, How I Met Your Mother! Neil Patric Harris: the coolest gay guy man in America. Now, could I think he's cool if I was a homophobe? I didn't think so. Don't tell me you don't think he's cool now.
One more thing, old people are not sexy, they are not at their "prime" in any sense of the word and, most of them are not even mature, just old. John Larroquette is 61, Candice Bergen 62 - waaaay past the time when they should be "dating" and having "flings" and meeting exes who inspire them into song. And having Scott Bakula romance Candice does not make him her age, he's 53 and does not look as old as they do, even with make up. The only thing you are if you are dating and having flings in your 60s is pitiful and, frankly, unattractive no matter how many Hollywood writers decide that sixty is sexy.
You may try to portray Gays as pure hearted angels and AIDS infected people as charming and old people as sexy but in the end they are just people, like every one else and the attempt to make believe they are special only causes resentment and (more) alienation.
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2-20-2008 @ 4:37PM
Oreo said...
And the judges. The show used to have several different fun judges. Now we get the same two judges week after week. The old gay male and the one that is insane.
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2-20-2008 @ 8:19PM
BC said...
"the bottom line is that parents make the policy for their children's schools and they are responsible"
I take it you don't live in the USA. In this country school boards and administrators run schools and parents are told to piss well off. And yes, she sould send her daughter to another school if she has a spare $10-30K per year, or less if she can accept a religious school where her daughter will learn morals and literacy but no science after the early 19th century. The only thing you're right about is she should have taken the keys if she knew her daughter was exhausted.
And to the person who says there are only two judges, the judge in this case was Patrice Webb (Debra Mooney) who hasn't been on in about a year and was indeed greatly missed.
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3-21-2008 @ 12:22PM
stand4it said...
Spot on BC. I'm a parent dealing with those school boards & administrators' policies. And while I'm not certain I agree with blaming a school for suicide or sleep deprivation, this episode brought an important issue to the public's attention......the direction of our nation's public education. When does a teenager get to just be a teenager? Why are we throwing adulthood on these kids while they're trying to deal with adolescence? We're supposed to be teaching them, preparing them, & leading-by-example yes......but guiding them......not shoving college classes & life-long decisions down their throats as soon as they enter high school. C'mon. Just being a freshman was always tough enough. And yet, we still need to somehow ensure we are indeed giving them an education. I loved the well-articulated debate so well in this episode, I'm wondering if I can persuade the writers to consider bringing out the debate on drug testing in our nation's schools. http://okla-voices.webs.com.
2-21-2008 @ 4:05PM
RC said...
Remember when Alan Shore was on The Practice and he would do anything for a client even if it was blatantly illegal and not even give it a second thought? That is the Alan Shore I enjoyed watching.
I am getting kinda of tired of all the long speeches on whatever the topic of the week is. It isn't about the people in the case at all. I think the writers pick a topic (overstressed teenagers), write the closing statements, then think up a case that could somehow be related to the topic.
Lastly, I thought the conversation with Shirley about the guy with AIDS was really prejudiced and slightly offensive. I know you have to consider the consequences of dating someone with a disease but it was like they were sending the message "don't date AIDS people!"
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2-24-2008 @ 1:57AM
R said...
What the F?...So many negative comments, I'm surprised, but you're all still talking about the show and that's a positive. It all sounds so mean spirited about old people, bloatness, etc. This show is so different and I'm not old or bloated, I just love the show. I do wish we could see more of Clarice though.
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4-16-2008 @ 1:55PM
Brooke said...
It isn't mean spirited. It's the unfortunate truth. The show this year is a huge disappointment because we want to like it and remember when it was the best show on TV. And couldn't wait for each new episode. The characters were great and they all had wonderful roles. Not now. I don't know where they all went but the show is dull and boring without them. Their writers are still out on strike I'm sure because the writing is so terrible. The entire show has become very boring and really, really stupid most of the time. Even Denny who always charmed and amused is now just too stupid to listen to. And Alan pontificates just a little too much to be interesting. And the kind of cases they're handling? Give me strength. TOO STUPID!! You can't stay loyal just because you remember the good shows. Not when they appear to be long gone.
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