TV Review: Boston Legal - "Trick or Treat"
Published November 02, 2006
Halloween is the time of year when all sorts of surprises happen. For the cast of Boston Legal, this is no exception. Did they pack too much into one hour? I'll let you be the judge.
Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) in a Grim Reaper costume should be a hint of things to come. As it happens, she finds herself being handed a document suing Jeffrey Coho (Craig Bierko) for defamation of character. The action introduces her to Lincoln Meyer (David Dean Botrell), the Peeping Tom neighbor in the Scott Little murder trial. When she asks Jeffrey what he said, he replies that he accused Meyer of being a murderer.
Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois) assigns Brad Chase (Mark Valley) to handle the suit, saying this will give the two a chance to 'bond'. Um, doesn’t he know they do not exactly get along? Brad snidely asks Jeffrey if he's having some trouble. Couldn't resist getting the dig in, could you, Brad? Fortunately for them, Lincoln is acting as his own attorney. A bad idea, to be sure, even if one is an attorney.
After deposing Lincoln, where they hear his side of the story, Brad brings up the questions opposing counsel might ask. Jeffrey points out if the case goes to trial, one of them is a bad lawyer. They present their case in a courtroom. Before they proceed, Jeffrey sits next to Lincoln and apologizes, saying he was doing his job and it wasn't anything personal. Lincoln replies it was VERY personal. When the judge asks Lincoln about the Peeping Tom charge against him, Lincoln babbles on, basically convincing the judge he is mentally disturbed. The judge rules in favor of Brad and Jeffrey, throwing out the case. Lincoln is not happy, not happy at all.
Alan Shore (James Spader) comforts Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen) after she learns, via mariachi band, her fiance, Daniel Post, has died. When she confirms it, Alan offers to go with her to the morgue. She thanks him, but says no; she was expecting this and she's fine. Unfortunately, Shirley shows up in costume, which is when Denise bursts into tears. The story gets stranger, but I'll come back to this later.
Meanwhile, Alan has his own case to handle, after Jerry Espenson (Emmy winner Christian Clemenson) lies on a federal jury questionnaire about a death penalty case, saying he believed in the death penalty when he didn’t. He might not have gotten caught, but he was interviewed for a magazine article about his firm. He slipped up and told the whole truth. This is serious, and Alan tells him so. Upon consulting with others, Alan does not have a defense for perjury (lying under oath). All he can do is throw Jerry on the mercy of the jury. To make matters worse, Jerry blurts out he lied. Alan wins, but he also tells Jerry he will one day wind up in prison, no matter how good the attorney.
- TV Review: Boston Legal - "Trick or Treat"
- Published: November 02, 2006
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: TV Recap, Video: Drama, Video: Comedy, Video: Television
- Part of a feature: Boston Legal
- Writer: NancyGail
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ABC announced just this week that Constance Zimmer will join the regular cast in the next episode. The previous news about her joining the regular cast was not an official announcement.
Sue,
I heard about CZ from another commenter who had a screen name close to a news site.
Not that it matters now, but what was Jeffrey dressed as? Not talking about Sally, beacause now Alan knows she is looking elsewhere for love. Of course, Brad should now find out about Daniel....
Looked like Jeffrey was dressed as a WWI fighter pilot.
Nancy - Craig Bierko joining the cast was announced by ABC before the season even started. The newsbit at b-l.org about Constance Zimmer being upped to a regular castmember was more of a scoop or a leak, not an official announcement from ABC.
I agree that it's about time they got her in the main credits. I'd also like to see Meredith Eaton-Gilden (Bethany) join the cast. She's fun.
Yikes! The "look down" joke are horrendous, I can't imagine her an a regular. Seems to me an addition usually means someone's on their way out, The way the show is going looks like Denise. Lincoln Meyer, however, has defnitely been on TOO long. Think he's gay?
Darn it all! I meant to comment about the episode sooner, but got distracted.
Anyway, I'm not surprised at the revelation about Bethany and Denny, although it does put a bit of the "ewww" factor a bit too close to the yumminess of their interaction.
Daniel's death offscreen was a disappointment. Where was the big angst-ridden scene, where Jeffrey and Brad fight for the right to comfort Denise? Perhaps it'll come next week.
And the costumes at the party...a bit odd, if you ask me. Since there hasn't been much to put Alan, Denny, and Claire together in the office or courtroom (Alan and Claire, yes, but not the three of them together), the girl group singers didn't make sense. At least, not in this combination. Last year's costumes were much better.
oh, and if there's not some sort of Shirley/Lincoln story in the future, the writers are off their game. What a perfect pairing that would be!
Hang on a sec, Joan. I'll reply to the part I can. Denise told Jeffrey she was off limits, so I don't exactly see him as a comfort. A bigger dustup would be Brad and Jeffrey since they have never liked each other. There are pre-empts coming so wait to watch!
Shirley and Lincoln? EWWWW!!!!! He and anybody would be yucky, to put it mildly. BL is depending WAY too much on long arcs for stories.
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