The Practice virgin’s diary – First degree sex monkeys seize the means

(Season 2, Episodes 5-8)

Oh me oh my, but is Bobby in for a wild ride with Helen Gamble (Lara Flynn Boyle). I’m not sure I want to see him with a love interest, but I guess you never know unless you try. Lindsay struggling with her role as a criminal lawyer for drug dealers seems like a bit too much drama for something that was clear to us all from the pilot, while Eugene continues to be way too pigeonholed with racism cases (acquired racism as the basis for paid disability from the Boston PD?). Jimmy continues to be useless (does he get any better?), and Ellenor is really just too much, and not in a good way. Still waiting for Rebecca to go to law school….

2.05 “First Degree”

Disbarment proceedings have begun for Ellenor and Lindsay. I know it’s both or neither, so I’m willing to throw Lindsay out of the boat for the sake of getting rid of Ellenor. Unfortunately, I know that’s not to be. And, what the hell was up with Jimmy telling Lindsay about his erotic dream about her? He’s gone creepy uncle really fast.

I don’t get how Bobby is a lawyer anymore. Seriously! This time around, he totally missed the fact that his client was guilty of murder… what a moron. I know as a viewer I have a different perspective, but talk about missing the obvious. I will say, for his sake, that he was totally in the right going after the other defendant to save his own. To argue otherwise is to ignore the obligation he has to his clients.

Which isn’t to say that Bobby’s not completely stupid, both in court and out. And, meaning no offense to crying little girls, but Bobby’s a crying little girl. The ridiculous tremor in McDermott’s voice, its constant presence every time he’s talking to the jury, is beyond over-acting; it’s pathetic.

In fact, I think the entire cast needs a little acting 101 refresher. I spent a lot of this episode laughing whenever anyone opened their mouth in any sort of serious scene.

2.06 “Sex, Lies & Monkeys”

Disbarment over! Well, that lasted for all of two seconds. I’m not sure what point Bobby’s judge pal was trying to make when she explained it to him, but there goes the first opportunity to be rid of Ellenor. I’m not giving up.

Instead, she faced a lawsuit from the man she scorned back in season one. It was an extremely uncomfortable case, but what else could it have been, being completely on a superficial level?

Which is also what Jimmy’s first jury trial orbited around — his client was fired from his paper for looking like a monkey. Awesome! A ridiculously stupid case for a ridiculously stupid lawyer! Is he supposed to seem wide-eyed and cute, or just really irritating?

I was disappointed, both in Lindsay and the show, that they didn’t do more to pursue the fact that she was drugged by her former boyfriend. The situation ended up seeming like it was just an over-step taken by someone who knew how much she needed to lower her inhibitions in order to enjoy sex. This is likely an issue that is a real issue, and the pass the show gave everyone involved sends the wrong message to the next guy, or girl, who thinks about pulling the same kind of “innocent” crap. They owed us all a lot better.

2.07 “Search and Seizure”

Besides dropping the hint a few times in conversations with her friend Helen, are we meant to know that Lindsay has a thing for Bobby? She certainly never gives that impression in her interactions with him. No, the only basis for said crush is the cliched “crush on the older boss” thing. Too bad, too, because theirs would be an interesting pairing.

Well, up until this episode, maybe, when Lindsay went all nutty because she’s been successful defending drug dealers. So what? Is she not a criminal attorney? Did she really just wake up to that fact? Of course, with job offers comes clarity, but it’s still kind of forced. I was impressed, however, with how she played hardball with Lenny (Paul Ben-Victor from The Wire and In Plain Sight) over her fee. Nice one.

The only other thing of real note in this episode (besides Helen grabbing Bobby’s crotch at a party) was the case of the husband who was looking to force his wife to get a c-section in order to save their baby. Without getting into the grander arguments here, why is it that the father would have no legal position over his own baby? The law gives men the really short stick in those types of situations.

But it was beyond insane that their doctor took the baby out anyway. First of all, it’s impossible for her not to have felt anything from the c-section; anesthetized or not, you’d feel it. Second, what the hell? What kind of a sick person is he?

And, what’s wrong with Rebecca that she didn’t go to the police? I don’t care that it would have caused the family undue drama — the man cut out a baby! He should be arrested, plain and simple. Rebecca is no friend of theirs.

2.08 “The Means”

Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside, as Aaron Wilton), before he was president on 24, was Eugene’s latest in a long string of black clients who will, or won’t, cry racism. It’s getting old fast, and if Eugene’s nothing more than a one-trick-pony….

It was also the latest example of how Bobby Donnell and Associates will tell their clients to do anything to get themselves off — acquitted, you perverts. Isn’t there any requirement for them to be lawyers? I’m not defending the righteousness of the justice system, but if they can’t either, why did they become lawyers in the first place?

Bobby was the one who questioned Wilton, and his theory was to rile him up to the point of anger, to prove that he was easily prone to fury. Why does someone yelling when they’re mad always mean that they have no self-control? It’s an example that’s trotted out time and again on TV, and means nothing other than that they’re upset and therefore yelling…. How does that prove that they, for instance, have murderous rage somewhere inside of them? It’s nothing more than a cheap trick.

At the same time, the guy should not have been acquitted. Yes, he was just trying to help his fellow man in the beginning, but he threw a security guard through a window, ultimately leading to his death. How is that not a punishable offense?

I’m not sure that the team here should be attorneys. I think some sort of private investigator, or maybe even law enforcement, is more up their alley. Clearly that’s not happening, but I wonder just how long they can go before they realize that they’re not doing what lawyers should be doing.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Aug 14, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT