Show Notes for Boston Illegal Radio
"Legal Deficits" 2x10 December 13, 2005
Host Dana Greenlee; Co-host Kyle Abney

"Legal Deficits" mp3 download [76 min; 26 mb]

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1. Intro
A story of a story of felonies and misdeamenors, handcuffs, bingo, hands, necissity and being a hoot. Its as simple as that.

Episode Conversation
Let’s take this by storyline: 1) Brad’s 3 felonies 2) Melissa's fiscal issues 3) Balcony scene
written by David E. Kelley & Lawrence Broch and directed by Mike Listo
Christian Clemenson .... Jerry Espenson
Marisa Coughlan .... Melissa Hughes
Richard Fancy .... Father Michael Ryan
Juan Garcia .... Detective Perry Vale
Henry Gibson .... Judge Clark Brown
Currie Graham .... A.D.A. Frank Ginsberg
Christopher Rich .... Attorney Melvin Palme

2. Brad in handcuffs
Starts with two CPS staffers in or facing jail; add in Catherine, Denny for contempt, presumably Alan for contempt…
1-SB: Brad: Immediate trial
Currie Graham. Just this fall: Desp Housewives, House, Over There. On TP, (The Firm 8x19 Sheldon Modry) he was quite different from ADA Ginsberg, playing an associate of CP&S who was clearly intimidated by Denny Crane. On "NYPD Blue". Role on Steven Bochco's "Over There", playing a burned-out medic who ends up killing himself.
Denny: Did you just say don't make me the story? Shocked
2-SB: Brad/Denise: It’s ok to show a little fear
Brad/Denise chemistry?
3-SB: Denny/Brad: First question.
4-SB: Denny/Brad/Frank Ginsberg: Objection! $9,000 door
5-SB: Denny: Mock the proceedings. That’s the button for your closing.
6-SB: Shirley’s closing (Denny mouthed ‘end’)
7-SB: Foreman: Verdict; Judge Clark Brown: Shocking and outrageous!
Poignant moment between Denny/Brad; Brad/Denise: shake hands? Hug? Just nod and smile.

3. Alan’s faceoff with the credit card industry
Hands: Bingo!
8-SB: Melissa: Fiscal issues
9-SB: Hands speech: Bingo
Why doesn't he move his hands?
Friend Katy recalled Christian Clemenson just happens to be one of James' oldest friends. He played Spaders brother in Bad Influence (1990) (Pismo Boll) The Practice, season 2; Ally McBeal, LA Law; Family Ties (will be in Cancer Man Can w/MJFox) Standout character for me was in "The West Wing" playing "Evan Woodkirk, Smithsonian Curator" in episode: "The Women of Qumar" (episode # 3.9) 28 November 2001
10-SB: Alan: the dead beats
11-SB: Melvin Palmer, how are you. Keep my exuberance down.
Christopher Rich (Prominence Attorney Melvin Palmer) Most familiar to television viewers as the dim-witted anchorman Miller Redfield on "Murphy Brown"
Good ol boy colloquialisms; Hands can’t take it anymore.
12-SB: Melvin: shoot some ducks together; Hands: Deception and fraud!
Shore: You find people in dire straits and market directly to them with the hope of forming a lifelong relationship. I had a former client who kind of operated his business the same way.
Attorney Melvin Palmer: Really? What line of work was he in?
Alan Shore: He sold heroin.
Melvin: Mr Shore. You’re all hat, and no cattle.
13-SB: Shore: Here’s the thing about me. I am a hoot.
(I thought it got too personal, for example)
14-SB: Shore: Saying in MASS, get horribly sick and die
15-SB: Melissa: Single sexiest thing…

5. The Balcony
16-SB: Alan: I must tell you though it’s not that I don’t appreciate the value of fascistic problem solving, but given Brad and the FBI’s tactics here, if I had been the prosecutor Brad’d be in prison tonight. And if I’d be representing the pedophile I’d be getting him out.
"Fascistic" - derivative of fascist, meaning among other things....opinionated, stubborn, etc. I’m a big fan and a wordmonger) (hahaah - The Italian name of the movement, fascismo, is derived from fascio, “bundle, (political) group,”
Look on Alan's face has more to do with the fact that he was more upset than he was willing to say that Denny came to Brad's
assistance at all. Disappointed with Denny because it was Brad he was defending so vigorously. Alan doesn't like Brad and it seems like Alan has done all he could to win Denny over to his side just to annoy Brad.

6. Kyle’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

7. Previews (no sound bite)
Next ep: We’ll dissect 2x011: “The Cancer Man Can” Jan. 10, 2005
The one where Joanna Cassidy is Beverly Bridge, stealing the heart of Denny Crane at a charity dinner. (Joanna Cassidy starred w/ Spader in The Family Tree - It aired on NBC from February to March 1983)

9. Parallel Universe: Trek in the Courtroom from Debb in Montreal:
Themes
The Introverted Expert: Lt. Reginald Barclay
Vigilante Justice
Loan Sharks and Hookers, Ferengis and Dabo Girls
>> Details and images [pdf]
17-SB: “Star Trek Hands”

10. BL News
Calendar
- Dec. 20: preempted for another Barbara Walters special
- Dec. 24: Mark Valley's [Brad] birthday [41]
- Dec. 27: 02x1&2: "The Black Widow" & "Schadenfreude" [repeats]
- Jan. 03: preempted for Orange Bowl
- Jan. 5: SAG Award Nominations, 6:07am PST / E!, TNT
- Jan. 10: 02x11: "The Cancer Man Can"
- Jan. 17: 02x12: "Helping Hands"
- Jan. 24: 02x13: "Too Much Information"
- unknown: "Breast in Show"
- unknown: "Smile"
- Feb. 21: "Live Big" [Guest Star Tom Selleck]
- unknown: “There’s fire” (Crane: "What am I suppose to do? Beam myself to Boston every morning?")
Recent Ratings
Dec. 13, 2005 "Legal Deficits" - 11.7 million viewers. Households: 6.7/11, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #7. NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" rerun, 7.6/12, came in first, followed by "The Amazing Race," 7.3/11. Ranked #32 for week of Dec. 5-11, 2005 with 9,540,000 viewers [3.4 viewers RTG]
Ranked #28 Season to Date from Sept. 19 - Dec. 11, 2005 with 11,220,000 viewers [4.0 RTG; No. of TC: 9]
Boston Legal is ranked #11 on TiVo's most recorded shows chart as of Dec. 16. It was #9 last week. There are more than 110 million households in the U.S., only 2.73% of which own TiVos (about 3 million).
Mark Valley guest stars
Premiere of Emily's Reasons Why Not (Heather Graham) Monday, 9:00 p.m., January 9
Golden Globes
Congratulations to Candice Bergen, nominated for a Golden Globe today for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television." The 63rd Golden Globe awards will be handed out January 16, 2005 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and televised on NBC.
Cheaters to hire Denny Crane
Four employees of the WB’s reality show "Cheaters" have been indicted in Texas, on charges including assault. The charges against "Cheaters" host Joey Greco, director Hunter Carson and two security guards stem from having film of the wife having sex with Police Capt. in an unmarked city vehicle on three occasions. When she tried to flee, she was allegedly allegedly assaulted by the four defendants in their attempt to keep her on camera.
"Cheaters" creator and executive producer Bobby Goldstein told the newspaper the charges were "just nuts" and joked he was "hiring Denny Crane from ‘Boston Legal’" to represent his staff.
BL.org: Transcript for Legal Deficits.
Plea: There was a great Boston Legal Parody on the MAD TV november 26, 2005 # 1107. Searching like mad

11. Feedback
PHONE: anonymous call
EMAIL: I am a Minister of the Gospel and am currently working on a ministry project centered around debt elimination and the credit card industry.
EMAIL: From Kris
1. Denny still has it as he ultimately identified the winning approach to Brad's case.
2. Denny's examination of Brad was priceless...
3. I really, really, really despise the priest!!! Give the guy who played him a big hand cause he did a great job of irritating me with the mannerisms and dialog.
4. Shirley's cross-examination of the priest was superb.
Now for my rant!! What the heck was Alan thinking as he sat on the balcony talking to Denny? If he were the DA, Brad would have gone to jail?
BLOG: Dean's World (http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1134763460.shtml)
"Laugh-out-loud funny, and a thinker. It takes every absurdity in the legal system and raises it to the level of high comedy. Just imagine every thorny legal issue, whether current or classic, and ask either William Shakespeare or Groucho Marx putting pen to paper and write a short play about it.
Or better yet, imagine the both of them collaborating on it. How can you not love this show? It's so gut-bustingly funny and yet intellectually challenging, it's a tour-de-force."

END: Theme - Mashup The Doors/Muppets

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