Boston LegalThe Bad Seed
Original Air Date: Oct 20, 2008
Kathryn – TwoCents Reviewer
kathryn@twocentscorp.com
We open with Carl Sack, Shirley and Alan all peering intently at Denny’s eyeball. Denny’s convinced he’s dying of Salmonella so he’s done what any intelligent person does – he’s gone to Shirley, who obviously had to call in Carl for a consult. Alan is just there as a concerned loved one.
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[photo: ABC.com]
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Boston Legal
ReplyDeleteThe Bad Seed
Original Air Date: Oct 20, 2008
Kathryn – TwoCents Reviewer
kathryn@twocentscorp.com
We open with Carl Sack, Shirley and Alan all peering intently at Denny’s eyeball. Denny’s convinced he’s dying of Salmonella so he’s done what any intelligent person does – he’s gone to Shirley, who obviously had to call in Carl for a consult. Alan is just there as a concerned loved one.
Shirley’s clinic duty is interrupted. Judging by his clothes, i.e. he’s not wearing a fifteen thousand dollar Armani suit; he’s a ‘poor person’. He’s looking for Mr Poole because he needs a lawyer. Carl assures him Poole is ‘neither here nor there’, Crane is also out of it (even when he’s in the same room) so that just leaves Schmidt.
I suppose that’s what you would do if you didn’t know much about lawyering, but the odds of finding a top law firm with its four top lawyers all hanging around the foyer performing amateur medical diagnoses on each other is beyond belief.
As Shirley leaves with Poor Guy, Alan wonders why no one ever asks for him. “Am I not the star of this show?” bemoans James Spader.
Cheeky writers; talk about breaking the fourth wall! Bill Shatner assures him his Emmy loss this year had nothing to do with his talent, but everything is about sex, power and money (I presume that is the subtext).
Then, happy that Shirley has diagnosed Denny NOT dying of Salmonella and they are in agreement the Emmys and Hollywood are weird, James Spader and Bill Shatner going around hugging like it’s already the wrap party. But maybe that’s what this season is – one big long goodbye.
They even leap on Carl. I’m not too sure, but either Bill and James are tiny tiny men, John Larroquette is huge or he’s standing on a box. Whatever: it’s a great visual gag.
Not the Pentagon again!
Alan asks Shirley why on Earth she wants to sue the US Military for medical negligence causing the death of a soldier when the Supreme Court has expressly barred soldiers from suing military hospitals (the Ferris Doctrine) and she simply explains that when a man comes in off the street, whose only brother has been killed and asks for help that you help him, Alan has no choice but to pick up his lance and go tilting at windmills.
The Pentagon’s lawyer, Wade, is not impressed – especially when Alan offers to hug him.
Denny also doesn’t think Alan can win and bets him fifty thousand he’ll lose.
“Have you no shame… whatsoever?” asks Alan.
“None,” replies Denny with relish.
While this is going on Wade is warning Shirley Alan is a bad seed and his behavior is harming the firm’s reputation. Shirley defends Alan as the most noble and ethical lawyer she knows. Uh Oh! Especially when the judge finds out about the bet because Denny blabbed. He’s not impressed. He’s also not impressed by the David Shore Bush bashing issue of the week. He says while the fact America deliberately targets the poor kids to go off and fight its wars should be addressed; it has nothing to do with the case and can he see counsel in chambers.
Shirley’s eyes boggle as Alan admits he did take the bet and he takes bets all the time. Shirley’s eyes boggle even more crazily as he digs himself in deeper by saying he was lying about taking bets all the time. He just lies because his therapist recommends he lie all the time to get past his gambling problem. For such a brilliant lawyer that speech sucked. The judge is going to recommend Alan for disbarment and poor Alan follows Shirley out like a disgraced puppy.
So now Shirley is not impressed Alan has peed on her favorite rug; Alan is not impressed with Denny and Denny is mortified. Captain Kirk can’t lose Mr Spock! He doesn’t exactly go to the Genesis planet and fight Klingons to get Spock’s body so he can shove his Katra back in it, but he’s not giving up on Alan. Fortunately Alan has already forgiven him so there’s more hugging and Alan wins the case.
Finally someone is impressed. Mysteriously Alan’s David Shore Memorial Speech has worked yet again. The judge disagrees with Wade’s argument the Ferris Doctrine should go before the legislature (I don’t think Wade helped his argument by talking about his heated swimming pool in his summation). The military do target poor people and it’s unfair they can’t sue their doctors like everybody else in America. The law needs to be examined before the courts, not the legislature, because there are more rich people enrolled to vote than poor people. Although, technically, the poor people couldn’t vote anyway if they’d all been killed fighting wars, but it’s a good point.
Jerry’s family is weirder than he is.
Jerry’s sister used to throw rocks at him. Hmm - maybe this explains a few things? She’s terrifying. She barges in; tells him to get off the desk; accuses Katie Lloyd of shagging him; tells everyone far too much about her sex life; and announces her son Henry may be dating his half sister because they could both come from the same sperm donor - and would Jerry mind telling him.
They go off to the sperm donor bank and ask if they could know the identity of the donor so Henry can have a sense of identity. The guy from the sperm donor bank is not impressed – especially when Jerry brings out the wooden cigarette.
Jerry’s judge is also not impressed, but she does order the sperm donor bank to tell the kids if they are related (the whole incest thing). Why Jerry didn’t ask for this in the first place is a mystery, but I suspect David Shore wanted to shove another issue in there because he’s running out time.
In a total rip off from House it turns out they really are half brother and sister and they both find the idea they could have reproduced totally ick.
The Balcony scene
Denny wants Alan to go to a dude ranch with him where they can bond over the camp fire, the horses and the sheep. Denny seems a little oddly fixated on the fact there will be sheep there, but Alan agrees. I bet horse lover William Shatner is going to enjoy that episode and there will be many funny gags involving Alan falling off a horse.
So stay tuned and get your two cents in on the final season before all we are left with is the faint lingering small of a fine Cuban cigar.