Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
The Man From Mount Olympus has been busy this weekend. I don't know how he does it, sitting in front of that flickering cathode tube week after week. Today, he's got a double header of David E. Kelly and a wee bit o' ROSWELL. Let's see what America's favorite eating disorder's been up to this summer, and let's see if this show shook its terminal case of the wackies from last season. I know that I'm tempted just to see the first new work by Robert Downey Jr. in the past year. HERC?
ALLY McBEAL 4.1
WHAT IS IT?
The season premiere of “Ally McBeal,” airing Monday
evening 9 p.m. on the Fox network.
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?
Series creator David E. Kelley is credited with the
teleplay.
WHY ARE YOU EVEN REVIEWING THIS SHOW? DOESN’T “ALLY
McBEAL” BITE?
As hard as it might be to believe now, there was a
time when “Ally McBeal” easily exceeded most big-deal
motion picture comedies in terms of laugh content.
The first season had Ally pining after
childhood-sweetheart-turned-married-law-firm-partner
Billy Thomas, plus wildly crass comic relief in the
form of Richard Fish and John Cage. The Emmy-winning
second season introduced two more highly amusing
characters in the form of
best-friends-with-law-degrees Nell Porter and Ling
Woo. Then there were unicorns, and Billy became a
blonde Robert Palmer, and I began wondering what
Malcolm & Eddie were up over on the WB. But those
first two seasons were SO good, I can’t resist
checking back from time to time.
ANY SURPRISES IN THE OPENER?
Probably the biggest are in the opening credits. Film
actor and occasional jailbird Robert Downey Jr., who
committed to appearing in only eight episodes this
season, gets his very own spot in the titles (he
inherits Gil Bellows’ old slot, just before Peter
MacNicol). James LeGros, who plays attorney Mark
Albert, has also garnered a spot in the title
sequence.
HOW IS DOWNEY?
Swell. Put Kelley’s words in his mouth and he shines
in ways his feature work has heretofore only hinted
upon. Have we ever seen the actor as focused?
IS THE SHOW FUNNY AGAIN?
Tonight’s episode is the funniest in some time. The
biggest guffaw comes when that old Barry White
chestnut is trotted out in a wholly unexpected
context. But the show is still not what it was in its
Emmy-garnering heyday.
HOW TO IMPROVE IT?
Consider bolstering Richard Fish’s role again. I
never tired of Greg Germann’s delivery of those
pointed, politically incorrect diatribes. And it
couldn’t hurt to give girlfriend Ling (Lucy Liu) a lot
more screen time. She was just as tactless, and her
growls remain good for a chortle.
WHAT’S THE OPENER ABOUT?
Passion. Ally’s Brit boyfriend proposes that she move
in with him. She claims to love him but finds their
lovemaking less than inspiring. When she seeks out
her therapist, she discovers that Tracy has fled.
Moreover, Tracy has left Ally’s very thick file (but
no forwarding address) with Downey’s character, who
has moved into the therapist’s office. The wacky
twist: Ally inexplicably assumes Downey is another
therapist; we learn only in the final minutes that he
is, in fact, an attorney. Much better this episode is
the second story featuring Cage’s representation of an
rich, unattractive friend who is divorcing her
unfaithful pretty-boy husband.
WILL YOU BE WATCHING NEXT WEEK?
Definitely.
HERC’S RATING FOR “ALLY McBEAL” 4.1?
**1/2
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins
I warn you not to defy me!
I am – Hercules!
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