(Season 3, Episodes 5-8)
Did you know that Lindsay was a woman? Or that Eugene and Rebecca were black? Okay, I did too, but this was the first time I got to watch The Practice on my TV, instead of off of Hulu on my computer. Thanks, FX, for airing them at 7AM on the weekends!
Interesting cases, and interesting drama. David E. Kelley’s bringing the goods!
3.5 “The Battlefield”
Lindsay just can’t let go of the fact that her mentor and professor, Anderson Pearson (Edward Herrmann), is going to jail for murder. Her attempt at an appeal, based on the argument that Judge Hiller (Linda Hunt) hadn’t let them use self defense, was like a crazy person swatting at invisible attackers. And not in the funny way, like Ross on Friends after his maple syrup candy high. I think I’m done liking Lindsay; I don’t get what’s wrong with her.
Ellenor and Eugene continued preparing their defense in the Vogelman (Michael Monks) trial. I’m shocked they were able to get his porn deemed inadmissible at trial. I actually found myself enjoying Ellenor, although that could now be relative to Lindsay.
Jimmy, meanwhile, defended his cousin in a wrongful termination suit: he fired a fast-rising Iranian woman in his employ after learning that she was Iranian. Jimmy’s argument that he had to help out family was questionable, but why didn’t he simply argue ineffectual management, since her subordinates would no longer follow her instructions? Then it becomes a question of their discrimination, not his cousin’s.
Mind you, this was all pre-September 11th, so it was interesting listening to Jimmy discuss a world paralyzed by fear — he had no idea what was to come. Can a verdict be illegal? Because the jury found his cousin innocent … luckily, the judge overturned the finding. At least the show doesn’t intend for things to become completely unrealistic. Although the plaintiff did refer to Jimmy as “a little too good” … uh, no?
This isn’t the first time it’s made an appearance, but what’s with the cheesy mood-setting dramatic music?
3.6 “One of Those Days”
With no chance of winning, Eugene and Ellenor go with “Plan B” in their defense of George Vogelman, casting suspicion on, amongst others, the victim’s brother. Good for George (how was he found not guilty?), bad for Eugene — the victim’s father hit him in the face with his metal cane for what he did to his son. Ouch. And the prosecution wanted to bring the head to the trial? Holy hell!
Not much of the rest of the firm in this episode, but we did get a nice look at Helen. Ellenor sandbagged her by calling her as a witness in George’s defense — there’s something to be said for long-term thinking, you know. Helen’s bound to be pissed. Plus, when the hell is the DA going to fire her? How many strikes can one person get?
3.7 “Trench Work”
It would be easy to forget that Tony Danza is actually a good actor, but he is, and he proves it here. Looking very good, Danza comes in as attorney Tommy Silva, serving notice to Donnell, et al, that he represents the father and brother of Susan Robin, the murdered woman in the Vogelman trial. The suit alleges that Eugene, and the firm, slandered the brother when they accused him of murder, and that his life is now ruined. Interesting twist, though I’m not sure I see how any of that doesn’t fall under qualified immunity. But I guess that’s the question at hand.
Lindsay continued her ill-advised pursuit of (in)justice for Anderson Pearson, by looking to get the charge reduced to manslaughter. Seriously, what’s wrong with her? Is she demented? Whoever he is to her, he shot a guy five times. It’s over … let it go. It even lands her in jail for the first time on the series (or, more accurately, throwing her brief at the judge did that), and it’s not long before Bobby joins her there. The fact that they won the motion, and got Pearson’s prison term reduced to two years, is an example of how TV shows skew to warm feelings for their characters, instead of realism.
Helen got blindsided by the father of the girl who was murdered a few weeks back, a murder witnessed by a 4 year-old boy. Feeling as if she’d failed the parents, she pursued the case fervently, somehow managing to convince a judge on probable cause. Then she drew on another chestnut, dealing with Eugene on his “wrongly convicted” client, also from a recent episode, in order to get a jailhouse confession. She operates like them … she might as well just join the criminal defense side.
3.8 “Swearing In”
Rebecca’s due to be sworn into the Bar, but not before she has to defend a man on trial for breaking and entering … or is he a serial killer? Is Rebecca a bit too dramatic to be a lawyer? I just hope her personality, and everything else that I really like about her, doesn’t slip away now that she can practice law.
Jimmy is first chair in defending the firm in the Robin lawsuit.… No! Bad choice, Bobby. Of course it will work out for the best in the end, and Jimmy will be a hero, but that goes back to what I said earlier about warm feelings versus realism. Jimmy sucks.
Bobby and Lindsay defend a woman accused of being a baby shaker, in a case with the hardest of heart-tugs: the baby died. Strange case, with a lot of religion and psychiatric questions mixed in. While it’s a headline topic, I’m not sure the plot has the makings of a headliner for the show. We shall see.
Lindsay is still off her rocker, losing it with Eugene about the “Plan B” defense decision. She gets so defensive whenever Pearson is thrown in her face, but everyone else is right: what’s with her puppy-dog allegiance to a man who denigrated her and her firm at every turn?
Now that his story is behind us, can she turn it around?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Oct 01, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
