Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Craig Turk, Robert King, and Michelle King
Directed by James Whitmore, Jr.
When this episode began with a really goofy tone, I was immediately worried about its direction. It may have something to do with casting such an easily recognizable face in Christina Ricci as comedinne Therese Dodd or getting too cute with the censoring of curse words in the middle of the trial. After showing a Case of the Week that had real stakes and a serious aftermath, it’s jarring to see this. It also doesn’t help that Peter’s campaign storyline goes to the same well as the Case of the Week by referring to a birthmark on Peter’s private area.
I know it’s supposed to be funny and offset the usually serious occurrences on the show, but this is very difficult to pull off on a drama. The other subplots played it straight, so not surprisingly, they were the ones that worked throughout the episode. The show hasn’t explored Cary’s past very much so it’s intriguing to see what the dynamics were between himself and his father. It also looks like the show is setting up a little war between the partners of Lockhart-Gardner and Mr. Hayden.
I think any personal impressions made on the Case of the Week here is dependent on how viewers read all of Therese’s actions in the episode. She could appear to be an airhead intentionally, not actually caring about the consequences of her shocking actions on late night television. That was my thought process for much, if not all, of the episode. I guess she was banking on Will and Alicia winning the case and protecting her from paying an outrageous fine. The ending of the plot proved as much, since she rankled two of the three FCC commissioners that were going to receive an explanation for her actions. Did Burl Preston (F. Murray Abraham returning in a guest role that oozes charm and contempt) really want the FCC and the Parents Against Indecency group to be so involved in a case like this?
Will says it himself: The case’s notoriety garners more viewers for the network, and thus, making the network executives more money. There’s little to gain in the outcome of the case, though it’s not without some memorable moments. Inappropriate jokes about 9/11 aside, Therese kissing Cary out of nowhere might be part a calculated move to gain sympathy from the tie-breaking FCC commissioner and part a small attraction towards Cary. We just don’t know what her true agenda is, and I don’t think the show really cares in the end. So I have to question why viewers would even be invested in it.
This episode was such a mess that small subplots like former Captain Hellinger from the previous episode on the hunt for a legal job get forgotten. That, along with the subplots involving Cary and Mr. Hayden, were the strongest of the bunch. The episode is just so over-stuffed with too many moving parts that it was hard to find what would be enjoyable to watch. Cary has softened over the years from the hard-edged young lawyer (Alicia even acknowledges that she didn’t like him at first) and so the sudden appearance of his cold lobbyist father presents a very interesting directions for the subplot to go. At first, I thought the big news from his father was that he was dying. It was the most obvious direction given the dialog being delivered by both Cary and his father. It turns out, all Jeffrey wanted was a favor from his son in a quid pro quo arrangement. Cary’s walls were brought down for a second, then put up right away after the revelation of his father’s true intentions. People don’t change, and I think it made Cary appear more human. Also, he looks more affable in my eyes.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hayden tries to sell the firm to a shopping Burl Preston, only to be undercut by a conniving David Lee. Lockhart-Gardner seems intent on surviving the bankruptcy, but it’s still unclear how they will get out from under their enormous financial hole at this point. The first step seems to be infuriating Mr. Hayden at every available opportunity. Peter starts out looking really laughable once the rumor about his anatomy comes out. This impression turns on a dime near the end of the episode when he and Alicia negotiate ways to help each other. Again, the show plays this entirely straight, and looks better for it. Alicia and Peter may or may not be technically married, but they are growing closer, even as the rumor mill of the election spins out of control on an almost-weekly basis. The scene where Peter rescues Captain Hellinger from a tense interview by immediately hiring her and putting her to work in the SAO was a highlight. Peter needs to have a take-charge attitude to be effective at all that he’s doing. Hopefully, the campaign can steer itself away from these sexual escapades and illicit rumors that the writers seem obsessed about. Mixing an overly comedic tone in one story with a serious one just isn’t going to work every time.
Score: 7/10
