Are they running out of ideas already? More Tom Selleck? We knew his marriage to Missy wouldn’t last, but still . . .
And another week with Shirley as the answer to every man’s wet dream. Stop already!
I love Constance Zimmer (Claire) more each week. And I started watching Berko’s eyes after they were mentioned in last week’s thread, and they are weird.
I don’t like the new opening credits. I used to look forward to the shots of Spader in the old one, they were much more dynamic.
That was a terrible episode, a definite reminder of how up and down the series can be at times. Huge disappointment after last week’s. Even the balcony scene was disappointing, and I LOVE the balcony scenes. The new lawyers and what small progress we made on the murder case were highlights, and it was probably good for everyone that our short lawyer friend realized just who Denny really was.
I think this week shifted my attitude from “the show is more fun sometimes when Shirley isn’t involved” to “I know it won’t happen, but Candice Bergen should be the next cast member out the revolving door”. Ugh.
I thought the episode was rather routine, but I do like the idea of Shirley as a sex object. Since I am in Candice Bergen’s approximate age bracket, it’s cheering to think that somebody might possibly lust after me. Especially if it were somebody like James Spader or Tom Selleck.
I miss Parker Posey as “The Squid.” Wonder why she left.
Woah, this is polarizing.
I really, really enjoyed it.
As I WAS ABOUT TO come here and see what others thought, I was thinking that BL is the fastest moving hour of television around. Snap, sparkle, ka-zam. The new girl is growing on me and the new guy has already won me over. Get rid of Denise and Brad. The two new guys are a lot more fun.
Why the hatred for Bergen?
The balcony scene was too short (and I’m still rooting for a live stage production of Spader and Shatner discussing life over drinks and cigars).
I like Bergen, but I think they’re overdoing it, with everyone lusting after her, week after week. She’s still sexy, we know that, but when they keep bringing it up, it’s like they’re trying to convince us.
I also like that she still loves Ivan but realizes that he’s such a womanizer, it can’t last. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to resist, consequences be damned.
I’m also loving Peepie-guy, especially the way he says “boy”.
I don’t hate Bergen so much as I think her character is played out. When she first came on the show midway through the first season, she was something fresh, something smart, something new. For the past half-season or more, Shirley hasn’t really done all that much other than a) be smacked over our heads as an object of desire, as AuntiePam has mentioned, and b) make one requisite not-funny, played-out political crack each episode. These things on their own are not a problem; in last week’s episode, we had the required “Alan wants Shirley” crack, but that was 30 seconds out of the episode and most of what we saw of her. As an auxilary character, she’s fine. But how long has it been since we’ve had a major plotline involving her that was something other than “Sex!”? If I want to see older people looked at as sex objects, I can watch Desperate Housewives; I need something more from my characters on such a great show as BL. Most of the cast on this show gets rotated in and out, and even many who have been on a while (Brad, Denise, even Denny sometimes) have few-episode-streaks where they’re very much in the background. Every time someone gets even close to boring, we get new guys who we almost always agreed are (as Charlie Tan just said) “a lot more fun”. We’ve seen very, very little of Rene Auberjonois since the plot thread with his daughter, and that’s probably why. Every character except Alan gets this, because he’s the most complex character by far and the anchor of the show. Shirley wasn’t really on screen that much for the last six or eight episodes of season two… then they bring her back… and we get more of exactly the same stuff. The character needs something fresh, even if it’s as something as easy as an interesting case that isn’t about a broken marriage or an ancient vibrator.
/soapbox off
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love this show; it’s one of the absolute best things on TV even on the weeks where I’m profoundly disappointed. If Charlie Tan’s stage production ever happens, I’m paying top dollar for front row seats. The little things (the judges, the witnesses, the DAs, everything else) each week are always top notch. I just want something other than the same Shirley-Ivan-Denny storyline for the fifth time, and “add Alan to the lust triangle and do it all over again” wasn’t what I was really looking for
Oh, and I don’t know that the kid did it… but I also don’t know if I’m convinced yet that the judge did it. That’s a really interesting case between the witness, the DA, and the judge presiding over it - another reason what I wanted more of it this week than we got!
I’ve only seen 3 shows, so Shirley doesn’t bother me yet.
Taken as a whole, the shows have varied, but I am blown away by the cleverness of the dialog and the fast, confident delivery. Has the show always been like this? Or has it evolved into this?
The first season was perhaps as absolutely close to perfect as a one hour legal comedy/drama can possibly get. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The second season had a few episodes that were… less compelling… but taken as a whole was still excellent, and had a couple of the absolute best episodes to boot.
One of the things you have to get used to, starting from the beginning, is that the cast has turned over a LOT. Alan, Denny, and Brad are the only main characters that have been such since the pilot; Paul was also there as a lesser character that has since grown. Pretty much everyone else came along later, much of the original cast has been left behind, and there have been more than a few lawyers in between as well. So other than Alan and Denny, you really can’t get TOO attached to anyone… not even Tara Wilson
AuntiePam: so I’ve heard, but as far as I can tell, there’s no way for anyone to watch them (I missed the Practice, didn’t get grabbed by the earlier seasons, would LOVE to see the later stuff with Alan and Tara) because it’s not out on DVD. Sucks, majorly, especially since the seasons I want will be the last ones to come out when they finally do.
I only started watching The Practice when Spader joined, and then it was sporadic.
My memory might be off, but I remember Shore on The Practice as witty and clever but with less heart. Is that right? Did his character get warmer when he moved to Boston Legal?
I’ve been told by a friend that saw it all that The Practice focused much more strongly on the darker side of Alan Shore. He does a lot of these things on Boston Legal, but we also see a lot more of the warm/fuzzy/sexy/awesome side of him.
I was just glad they didn’t drag “the Badger” and Denny into court and turn it into some mushy thing about Being Nicer to Little People. At least he redeemed himself a bit by offering to help her in court against the attorney in the HMO case.
I called this ep. “the Trek partial reunion,” due not only to Armin Shimerman’s guest spot, but also Ethan (Neelix) Phillips’ appearance.
And thanks for starting this thread, AuntiePam. It slipped my mind this week.
Must be the Mad Cow.