'Boston Legal': What?! He has a wide stance!
Hey, remember that show? Takes place Boston? With lawyers? And the Shat? Well, it was finally back on tonight after an absence of several weeks. Minus side: Hello, we've been without Denny Crane for weeks! Plus side: They've got enough new episodes stored up now to last a month longer than most scripted shows. We'll be verrry thankful for Boston Legal when it's all Big Brother: Cobbled-Together Winter Edition and Lame Gameshow Idea #427. Trust me. Anyway, Boston Legal was back tonight, with a main plot ripped from the airport bathroom stalls. (Spoilers ahead...)
Denny Crane vs. the Wide Stance: Denny, much to his dismay, gets busted in a courtroom bathroom for soliciting gay sex from an undercover officer. Apparently, trying to relieve oneself while constipated and soliciting gay bathroom sex share many of the same signals. Though I didn't notice any waving of fingers under the stall divider, Denny certainly did have a wide stance. At any rate, Denny insists upon fighting it out in court rather than quietly pleading guilty to a lesser charge, putting a lot of pressure on Alan to win the case. (And Paul Lewiston is back for the week! With a beard!) The assistant DA is played by Steven Culp, making me miss Rex on Desperate Housewives all the more. Despite a terrible turn on the stand in his own defense in which his "sleepovers" with Alan are brought up, Denny gets off with Alan's help (I can't even pretend there was no pun intended there). Which is just as well--the irony of his being brought down for gay solicitation after getting off scott free for actually soliciting a prostitute would be too much for even me to bear. And can I just point out that I really, really want the phrase "getting Larry Craig-ed" to make its way into our lexicon?
Free Speech vs. Old People: Robert Wuhl, a local shock jock and old friend of Shirley's, has been fired for saying on his radio show that old people should die. Thus leading to a big trial about free speech, political commentary, freedom of the press, etc. This case is largely notable for the fact that Bethany is back, baby, and feistier than ever. She and the judge, played by Loretta Devine (the Chief's wife on Grey's Anatomy), get into a bit of a fight when the judge makes fun of her size, and she gets thrown into jail for contempt for calling the judge fat. Whoops. Shirley visits her to clear the air between them, telling Bethany that things are tense between them because she's able to push Shirley's buttons. Bethany: "Is it because I was with Denny, and you still love him?" Shirley: "It could be many things, but...not that." HA! I love Bethany. Here's hoping she stays back.
Katie vs. "Lorraine": Wow, I did NOT see this plot coming. After her suspicions were ignited when Lorraine suggested that Denny "call 999" in case of emergency, Katie realizes that Lorraine looks familiar to her (and also like a criminal), and asks if she's spent time in England. Lorraine denies it, but Whitney and Katie discover that "Lorraine" didn't exist prior to law school. When confronted, Lorraine claims to be on the run from a murderous Pakistani husband whom she cheated on in London, where she's from. Say WHAT?! She begs them not to reveal her secret, as it could jeopardize her life, but Whitney's just pissed that Lorraine's putting them all at risk what with the fatwa and everything. Um, bananas. And we all know that Alan's only going to find her hotter when he discovers that she's got a British accent, plus whatever secret identity she's really hiding.
The Balcony: Alan and Denny discuss what life would be like if people thought they were gay, while sucking on phalluses (of the cigar variety), and look forward to their afterlives as soulmates in Hell. An interesting pair, those two...
Denny and Alan: Best heterosexual couple ever, or kind of ridiculous? What secret do you think Lorraine is really hiding?
For more TV recaps and commentary, visit Liz at Glowy Box.
Honestly> Lorraine on the run from a Pakistani husband? Seriously, that's the best the writers could come up with? They must have been practising their strike slogans while dreaming this one up! Pakistani men have arranged marriages with Pakistani women not criminal entities
Liz - your pun intended line made me laugh out loud. Unfortunately, I cannot forward it to any of my friends without having to go into a lengthy explanation of Boston Legal's synopsis!
Honestly? Lorraine on the run from a Pakistani husband? Seriously, that's the best the writers could come up with? They must have been spending too much time coming up with their strike slogans while dreaming this one up! If Lorraine's Pakistani husband was the type to kill her for being unfaithful he would also be the type to marry a Pakistani woman as is tradition. He wouldn't saddle himself with a nut job like Lorraine. And in any event, Katie recognised Lorraine from somewhere and it wasn't because she ran into her at a Pakistani cricket match! This is just an excuse for Saffron Burrows to give up all attempts at her atrocious american accent (similar to Gabriel Anwar's rubbish Irish accent on Burn Notice) and go back to using her native tongue. With any luck it might also improve her acting but I'm not holding my breath!
My friend E has just found himself a new friend and now he and J are very similar to Alan and Denny. I love Alan and Denny's relationship - love comes in many forms and if more heteresexual men were as honest about their feelings women wouldn't have to complain as much about men who don't talk.
Incidentally, I'm not impressed with that Judge - why is it OK for her to be rude to Bethany but it's not OK for Bethany to be rude back? Talk about an abuse of power - people have been in court for less!
The whole bathroom storyline was a farce (but I enjoyed watching it). As if the court would let this go to trial. Alan was right when he said it was a waste of taxpayers' money. They need to do a storyline where they get rid of that crackpop judge. Perhaps he should have been the judge on Shirley's trial.
Speaking of Shirley's trial, I love when Shirley gets all constitutional on us. She's right. The show is right (er left) and Shirley is at her best in the court room. And it was a stroke of genius having her go against Bethany. Their scene at the end in the jailhouse was solid and I'm hoping that Shirley hires Bethany to the firm.
Seeing Paul back in action was a highlight. I'm not sure why they brought in JL's character when they could have just as well used Paul. And with Paul's return they only one left unmentioned is Claire.
No fingers this episode and a much more tonned down Clarence lead to a more seasoned episode. I think Lorraine lied to Katie about her husband and the real story is more complex. Perhaps they are related (although I've been hoping that Katie is really Shirley's relative or daughter).
I think the reason they can't find any information about Lorraine prior to 1999 is because prior to 1999 she was "Larry." With that in mind and Alan's obsession with her, it opens up a potential storyline about Alan's sexuality. Hmmm.....
I thought the same thing, Jane! She's a guy, or "was" a guy. Good episode last night.
only this show and shatner could get away with this...and thank god they did.
welcome back boston legal...
:-)
mark-allen
Really love the fact that "Denny's" cellphone when opened up, sounds like the old communicators used on Star Trek!
The first thing I thought of when lorraine was telling that obvius lie about the Fatwah - She used to be a man! I think Alan would be appalled & Denny more intrigued with her than ever!
I just LOVE it when a show like this one does social commentary with satire, the whole Larry Craig thing was absolutely fascinating. On Alan and Denny and their relationship, I have a similar one with my friend Mal. It started about 3 years ago when he had a hip joint replaced and needed someone to live-in, a caregiver, until he could manage on his own again. I sort of volunteered, and moved in for several months. The only difference is when we have sleepovers, we use separate bedrooms, but otherwise we do pretty much like Alan and Denny. We've vacationed together, the works. Hmmmm, does Denny do sleepovers at Alan's? I seem to remember only Alan over at Denny's. No matter. The point is that men can and do have platonic relationships with other men pretty much exactly like women do. We just do not talk about it (or even think about it) as much as women...