Boston Legal: Tabloid Nation

(S04E15) "Life's a cabaret, man." - Denny Crane

Christopher Rich is one of my favorite of Alan's adversaries not only because he's a "hoot" himself but because he is one of the few lawyers who give back to Alan exactly what he dishes out. As much as I adore Alan Shore, it pleases me to no end to see him get frustrated almost to the point of anger. Who knows, one day, he may even lose to someone like Melvin Palmer but I won't hold my breath.

When Alan lost his temper with Melvin, it was great. I can't remember ever seeing Alan look so embarrassed. I guess we shouldn't be shocked that a guy who has no ability to suffer fools also has a deep seated fear of clowns.

I wouldn't be doing my job as a reviewer, a historian or even as a TV fan if I didn't comment on the great closing by Alan. I have always said that television is the best mix of entertainment and education that is available. It's free, it's available to everyone and it's so easy to use even a child can benefit from it. It was TV that showed us the moon landing and other historic events. Alan's point about television helping to end the Vietnam war is one I often make. The best part, however, was the list of brilliant people he named; Kovacs, Serling and Murrow. Three men who worked in distinctly different areas, yet would never have achieved their level of greatness, if not for television. I also appreciated the tip of the hat to The Defenders. For all of David E. Kelley's faults, he still remains one of the best things about modern television.

It was great seeing Stephen Root again, I just wish his character had been a little more Jimmy James than Bill Dauterive. As for his case, I was interested when I heard the part about him shooting and eating seals and less so after I heard the mention of George Bush.

I must admit, with Boston Legal on hiatus for so long, my tolerance for blatant politicizing has gone way down. Anyone who knows me, will tell you I am no fan of our outgoing President but this show makes a good case for the existence of the oft-mentioned liberal media. I suppose the truth is that I just got spoiled watching Jericho make a stronger statement with much less noise.

I found Ethan's objections to Shirley's defense really quite ludicrous. If he isn't mentally unbalanced then why did he repeatedly break the law and shoot the seals? He says it was because he needed to eat. In that case, why doesn't he get a job and earn some money for food? The answer to that, of course, is because he is too mentally unbalanced to secure or keep any kind of employment. This is what happens when you try and make one character represent thousands of people, the analogy just doesn't hold up.

I don't know what I liked more, the unabashed reasoning Denny gave for walking around with no pants or the Fred Sanford-esque gait he assumed while walking down the hall.

Denny certainly topped himself in this episode with the artificial tears. I busted out laughing when he tried them out on Carl and I couldn't help thinking that the apparatus would have come in very handy in the early days of Shatner's career. It certainly couldn't have made him look any worse. The execution of the device at dinner was hilarious and pitiful at the same time. I actually felt bad for laughing at Denny. The moment at the end between Denny and Carl was brilliant.

In closing, I highly endorse Denny's "cigars and scotch" relationship.