Opening Credits: Quotes of the Week
I’ll keep this part short this week, but here are some doozies:
Ozzy Osbourne a real wordsmith
In the most recent episode of the MTV series “The Osbournes” (right before Ozzy had his ATV accident), Ozzy is sitting in the living room of his English estate with daughter Kelly and her boyfriend. She is playing with one of those mind numbing “Bop It” electronic toys (similar to the color coded electronic memory game, Simon, except with different commands). Poor Ozzy is annoyed by Kelly. However, instead of asking her to stop or just leave the room, he felt compelled to tell his daughter:
Kelly .Why don’t you go make some babies?!?!
What would you think if you were 19 and you’re dad told you do that?
* * * * *
I love it when irony is worked into a TV script
In the most recent episode of “Frasier” Laurie Metcalf guest stars as Frasier’s first wife and star of the traveling child show “Nanny G.” While explaining the stresses she’s feeling about the job, she spouts this ironic beauty to Frasier (being played by Kelsey Grammer since his days on Cheers).
Do you have any idea what it’s like to play the same character for 20 years?
Something tells me he might
* * * * *
Seth Cohen: Misunderstood Genius
When explaining to Ryan how complicated his love life is considering his ex (Marissa) still loves him while he pines over his former ex (Teresa) who is engaged to an old friend of his from Chino, Seth Cohen had this to say:
That would actually make that romantic triangle more of a romantic rhombus.
I admit it I wouldn’t have thought to say rhombus
TV HEADLINES: “American Idol,” ESPN, Ricki Lake, Janet Jackson, Mark Cuban and Bill Shatner
“American Idol” Producers flex their muscles
In yet another example of those affiliated with “American Idol” seeking to secure an “Idol” with a squeaky clean image, another contestant has been kicked off the show with a chance to “try out again next season.”
According to several sources, including the New York Daily News and Zap2it, Donnie Williams was disqualified from the singing competition after being arrested in the early morning hours of Monday, February 23rd for suspicion of drunken driving. The Zap2it article cites a report in the Contra Costa Times that states Williams was pulled over after being clocked driving his Ford Taurus at over 100 mph and subsequently arrested from there. Ironically, he was coming from a party celebrating his newfound fortune and celebrity. Now, because he didn’t play it smart, he’s lost everything he was striving for.
While the news of Williams’ arrest circulated quickly on Monday and Tuesday, there was no official word of the contestant’s fate until during the Wednesday, February 25th elimination broadcast when Ryan Seacrest announced the last group of eight contestants that would perform on the March 2nd show. (Williams was slated to perform in that final group). Williams was nowhere to be found in that listing. Instead, Seacrest announced George Huff of New Orleans in the final group. Official word was released by Fox the following day announcing the contestant’s disqualification.
According to the report in the Contra Costa Times, Williams largely cooperated with authorities during the arrest process but at one point did loudly proclaim “You’re ruining my life. So, I think even HE knew that this wasn’t going to bode well for his future in the “American Idol” competition. It’s a shame something like this has to happen to an aspiring performer, but this isn’t an overwhelming surprise. The record company and Fox network don’t want (or need) a public relations bruise because someone they entrusted a lot of responsibility (and money) can’t keep him/herself out of trouble with the law.
Although, isn’t a bit ironic that Fox, the network that always strives for edgy, provocative entertainment, is all of a sudden looking for only those with a squeaky clean image and background? I guess it depends on whom you ask
The Catholic Church is going to have to get ready for another hit
Zap2it reported this week that Showtime has green lit the original film to be titled Our Fathers, which will be based on David France’s book of the same title.
The book relied on the accounts of victims and others involved to paint the picture of how a scandal like this could continue to manifest and grow over a 50 year period. It will start in 2002 when The Boston Globe first broke the story and has since spread to various dioceses across the country, making this a horrid scandal that can’t be confined to just a few “bad eggs.” In a statement in the Zap2it report, Robert Greenblatt said the following when talking about the purpose of the movie:
We have no intention of making this movie exploitative. But when I read France’s book, I was compelled to make this movie because the majority of the public has no idea how widespread or complex this issue is or how faithful Catholics were deceived in such epic proportions.
Oh, by the way, in case you couldn’t tell, the Catholic Church is going portrayed as the brutal, uncaring, evil antagonist in this story.
The Catholic Church really can’t catch much of a break here. This story has been out in the open for almost two years now and while the media has swept the issue under the rug to some degree to focus on other stories like the economy and the United States Presidential race, and this week the Oscars, there is no doubt that everything will be dredged up again once this movie is made available to the media and eventually aired on the network.
Meanwhile, one other huge story circulating the news now is the release of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ which brutally describes the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ. While Gibson financed, directed, and released the film largely on his own and not with the help of the Catholic Church, the bottom line is he, as an unofficial representative of the Catholic faith whether we like it or not, has released a film that is genuinely offending many people who view it as grossly violent and anti-Semetic. I am sure the Catholic Church, whether they are directly involved in the making of the film or not, doesn’t want those images flying around the media and etching their way into people’s heads.
ESPN goes for 2
Details about two upcoming made-for-TV movies being developed by sports network, ESPN, have been released.
First and foremost, According to TVBarn.com and an ESPN press release, the network has secured accomplished film actor, Barry Pepper (61*, Saving Private Ryan, and We Were Soldiers) to star in the lead role and co-executive a movie about the life of famous NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt a movie entitled3.
The press release and report have not lent much information to exactly what about Earnhardt’s life they will be focusing on or if it will just be a quick run through of his life or racing career. In fact, the press release just mentioned how happy the two were have each other to be able to work on the project and that filming will begin this summer and have a December 2004 airdate.
Here’s a question: Will ESPN take extra care in portraying the “good” in the man so not to offend people affiliated with NASCAR? After all, stock car racing is an immensely popular sport and the network is going to need people like Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon available and not upset with them if the movie portrays the legendary driver in the wrong light. It’s obvious they didn’t care about that with Bob Knight and Pete Rose (I’ll get to him ) since they are despicable men not well liked anyway. However, Earnhardt is a different story. So, I think ESPN will have to be careful in how they approach this.
The second film on ESPN’s agenda for the last quarter of 2004 will focus on the life of former baseball legend and current baseball outcast, Pete Rose. The movie, titled Hustle, will focus on Rose’s baseball in the mid to late 1980s, right before his banishment from baseball in 1991 and is set to air September 25th.
Interestingly, in his statement to the press, Mark Shapiro, ESPN Executive Vice President for original programming, did not make mention if this would me a movie featuring an actor playing the role of Pete Rose (similar to the way Barry Pepper will play Dale Earnhardt) or if it merely be will more of a documentary style movie. If the latter is the case, what makes this different from the dozens of news specials already done about Pete Rose? I’m also puzzled by the fact that the production will begin in the spring and then be edited and aired in just six short months, especially considering the Dale Earnhardt movie won’t air until the end of the year.
Either way, it should be an interesting year at ESPN as the network continues to expand its repertoire beyond just sports news and analysis.
It’s time to say good bye to Ricki and then hello again
According to the New York Post‘s Starr Report, the author, Michael Starr has reported that Ricki Lake’s talk show (creatively titled “Ricki Lake”) will not return for a 12th season to host her famous daytime gabfest. The author stated that she just decided to get out of the daily grind after her latest contract expired. Starr also said that Lake has been looking to get back into acting for some time now and even moved to Los Angeles last spring to take that effort more seriously. In the mean time, she is commuting back and forth to New York City where the show has always been taped.
Lake’s show could probably be considered one of the pioneers of talk show television since she was among the first to reach the advertising prize of viewers under age 18. It was about this time when the talk show format changed and other less successful creations spawned utilizing similar techniques (including flashy graphics and younger guests). Instead of just targeting middle-age women home watching daytime television, it became a show everyone could get into.
In addition, with the cancellation of Lake’s show and the demise of Jerry Springer’s mess of a talk show, the format itself (finding ordinary people to talk about their problems on national television) has largely vanished from its hey day in the mid 1990s when more than 20 different talk shows patrolled the highway known as television syndication. Who knows how much longer Maury Povich and Montel Williams can last?
Meanwhile, even though Lake will be saying goodbye to her talk show, she has been cast in an untitled CBS comedy pilot where she will play the lead role as a policeman’s recent widow while trying to raise two small kids and run a popular bar where policemen often frequent. With Lake’s bubbly personality and maternal instincts oozing (if you’ve seen one episode of her talk show, you know what I’m talking about ), it could be a nice show. However, it reminds me more of a drama than a comedy Death of any kind usually doesn’t translate to comedy unless you’re Danny DeVito.
Anyway
Just another reason to love Mark Cuban
If you’re not familiar with one of the coolest in professional sports, let me acquaint you a little bit
His name is Mark Cuban and owns the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Dallas Mavericks. He became a billionaire during the dot-com revolution of the late 1990s and early 2000s becoming a co-founder of Broadcast.com and Microsolutions and selling those companies off. From there, he wanted to buy a professional sports franchise, so he did, rescuing the Mavericks from the depths of mediocrity and poor attendance by injecting life (and A LOT of money) into the team. Now, the team is loaded with terrific players (though they still need a defensive presence) and the American Airlines Arena in Dallas is loaded with paying customers.
Since then, Cuban has made a name for himself for being as passionate as the craziest fan and as mouthy as Dennis Rodman could only hope to be. He’s been fined by the NBA multiple times and been forced to pay around $1 million back to the league. In addition, during a publicity stunt, he worked an afternoon in a Dairy Queen after making a not so nice connection between the job an NBA referee did in a game and an employee from the ice cream chain.
Everybody loves this guy
Now, he has teamed up with ABC to bring “The Benefactor” to the broadcast airwaves for a six-episode run this summer. The premise is fairly similar to “The Apprentice” where a cool billionaire has a group of contestants take part in a series of competitions for the ultimate prize. However, the difference is that Cuban isn’t offering the winner a job where they have to work hard for the rest of their lives, they get a million dollars right out of Cuban’s bank account. And the way you win? You better hope he likes you because that’s what you need to win, the affection of the guy with the checkbook.
As Zap2it noted in their article about the show, the reason why is doing this in this fashion is quite simple:
Why? Because he can.
Makes sense to me
In fact, it makes me want to apply to get on
Some Ratings News
Some interesting ratings results crept into the news this week that are worth noting
* More Regis comin’ up – One question that crept into the minds of those who followed the television industry this week: Would America welcome Regis Philbin and the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” format back into primetime with open arms or shun it like an episode of “A Minute with Stan Hooper”? Well, the verdict is in and it appears you like Regis! You really do!
According to multiple sources, the debut episode of “Super Millionaire” (more money, harder questions, additional lifelines) on Sunday, February 22nd secured 17.5 million viewers. In addition, the other three episodes aired in the last full week of February all pulled in better numbers than the shows airing on its network that night and in the show occupying the timeslot before it.
So, ABC’s reaction is natural .order more episodes. However, it appears (at least for now) that the network will confine the shows to ratings sweeps times since the show will not appear again until May sweeps, the time where most taped shows go off the air until the fall. Hopefully, the network will fight the instinct to bombard its primetime schedule with multiple episodes of slightly modified creation
*My Big Fat Ratings Number – It appears that even Fox is surprised by the number of viewers that tuned in to the finale of “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance” on Monday, February 23rd. According to numbers released, close to 21 million viewers had their eyes glued to the last show. The premise was that a woman had to fool her family into believing she met a large, dopey, doofus, fell madly in love with him and were going to get married on a reality television show. She believed that both the “groom to be” and her were contestants but the groom, who was an actor as well, was fooling her.
TV Critics loathed the six-week-long practical joke, but apparently, many people bypassed opinions of the experts to see the ultimate payoff. I am sure Fox is happy with the unexpected success, but this is one reality show that definitely can’t be revisited without some sort of skepticism of all involved. The curiosity factor got people tune in once the same way it happened with “Joe Millionaire,” but what can be done to ensure the format will work again? After all, no one cared about “The Next Joe Millionaire.”
* “Sex and the City” Hits it “Big” – Amazingly, according to several sources, approximately 10.6 million people tuned in to see the final “Sex and the City” where Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) went home to New York City and chose “Mr. Big” over “the Russian.” That’s pretty remarkable because HBO is a premium cable channel, meaning paying for basic cable isn’t enough to see it, customers need to pay an extra $8-12 per month. The network comes into roughly 25-33% of the nation’s homes. Imagine if the show were on NBC right after “Friends.” (Then again, let’s not I like the swearing and nudity.)
The wild success of the show and its’ finale have already spawned the creation of a “Sex and the City” movie to pick up where everything left off. As I explained last week, I’m not a huge fan of taking that route. Everything ended perfectly. If they were going to just pick up where left off, why bother stopping production on the show at all? Looks like that will be up to Michael Patrick King, Sarah Jessica Parker, and the others involved with the next project in the series
***Quick Hits***
*** Boobgate may never go away According to multiple sources, Janet Jackson has pulled out of the ABC biopic devoted to legendary singer, Lena Horne. While that is confirmed, it is not definitely known WHY she has decided to back out of the special. There are some reports saying the network doing the special, decided they did not want her involved. Going even further, one industry source (and several television reports) said Horne herself did not want Jackson representing her in a television movie.
OK is this ever going to go away? If so, how long is it going to take? If I were Janet, I would do as many things as possible (concerts, television appearances, whatever ) to make this go away. The sooner, the better
*** The Real World heads back east According to Zap2it, TVBarn.com and an MTV press release, the all music network has chosen Philadelphia as the next city that will host the grand daddy of all reality television series, “The Real World” this coming spring. The show, featuring seven 20something strangers living in a ridiculously lavish house and working together, will be entering its 15th season. In the statement, Jon Murray, Creator and Executive Producer, indicated he was happy about the move because the weather will be nice at the time of production.
In addition, the press release announced that the next season of “Road Rules,” the show where six youths jump in an RV and travel to complete assorted missions for cash and prizes, will be filmed in South America, specifically Argentina and Chile.
Thank God more characters to throw into the “Real World vs. Road Rules Challenge.” That show has become as intriguing and interesting as the shows that it was spawned from.
*** Bill Shatner returns to network TV William Shatner has signed on to take a role in four episodes of ABC’s “The Practice” revolving around a story arc that will take the show to the end of the 2003-04 season. Shatner will play Denny Crane, “a self-aggrandizing but powerful man whose firm is squaring off against Young, Frutt & Berlutti in a case” according to Zap2it.
The Zap2it article brings up a good point. Shatner has largely taken comedic roles over the last several years sort of cashing in on the cult celebrity status that he has attained thanks to playing Captain James Kirk on the early “Star Trek” television series and feature length films. So, now that he is heading back into heavy drama, it should be interesting to see how he reacts and if it’s possible that he be taken seriously
*** Finally I think we can all agree that this news story from Zap2it crosses somewhere between the mysterious line of either being funny or sad
5 Opinions
I would love to be able to put together a “reader feedback” column for the readers of this TV update. The problem is very few people write back to tell me how good or bad I’m doing, or to disagree or agree with the opinions I embed in the news I report from sources over the Internet and media.
So, I’ll introduce another new feature to this column simply called “5 Opinions.” In this part of the column, I’ll take some news from the TV world or maybe some intriguing storyline developments from the medium’s most popular shows and spout off a series of opinions that will either get someone to email me and say “Damn straight!” or “You idiot! You’re wrong!”
I do enjoy hearing from readers, so feel free to drop me a line at coachcoogan@hotmail.com if you’d like to share one of YOUR opinions with ME.
In the mean time, here are some of mine
1. Where have you gone Laurie Metcalf? – Metcalf, most famous for her role as Jackie Harris on “Roseanne” made an appearance on the most recent episode of NBC’s “Frasier” as the radio-psychiatrist’s (sexually excitable) first wife from his “Pre-Cheers” days.
Frankly, she was brilliant on “Roseanne” and she was brilliant on this most recent appearance on “Frasier” as well. When it comes to physical comedic talents, she is one of the best the television industry has to offer. Whether she was jumping on “Frasier” as his ex-wife or running around and screaming like a crazy woman on “Roseanne,” she always knows what works and what doesn’t. She may not be a gifted wordsmith like Roseanne was while on the show, but I found her to be a more valuable character than the domestic goddess herself.
Bottom line, she needs to get back on network television comedy in some way or another, and hopefully that will happen soon.
2. Stat Boy: Not getting it done – Both Eric S. and Ken Anderson complained recently about the recent performance poor Tony Reali, otherwise known as “Stat Boy” from ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” and now the host of “Around the Horn.” Well, they’re right on as far as I’m concerned.
Tony was alright when he would fill in for the former host, Max Kellerman, but all the time? It just isn’t working for me. I believe the problem he has in serving in the new capacity is that he doesn’t have a strong enough personality to pull it off. Kellerman was a jerk at times, but he did what needs to be done on that show and be confident, keep some order, but raise a little of his own hell in the process. Poor Tony is trying his best but he just doesn’t have a strong enough personality to control four opinionated sports columnists. Eric S. couldn’t believe how much he misses Kellerman. I am inclined to agree with him. What I do know is, right now, it just isn’t working with “Stat Boy.” Let’s hope ESPN is in the market for a replacement
3. I don’t agree with this. – I am on the mailing list of several of TVGuide.com’s commentary emails. Some are delightfully droll, some are pointless, and some are just plain wrong. I have no idea who wrote this beauty sent to me on Thursday, February 26th, but I don’t really agree with it. While trashing NBC staple, “Will & Grace” the mystery writer stated the following:
“Will & Grace” ran out of new things to say some time ago. The sexual innuendos, double entendres and gay repartee that was so fresh, edgy and delightfully naughty in the early years of the series (which debuted in 1998) has become trite, limp and, quite frankly, borderline offensive. The principal players — Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally — whose characterizations were once so outrageously beguiling, have lost their charm and insouciance and, for the most part, are just phoning it in.
This is one TV viewer that is not on the same boat is the person who wrote this criticism of one of the few great comedies left on television today. While it’s obvious the show isn’t as novel and new as it once was, the bottom line is the writers have still churned out a quality product that makes me laugh out loud a pretty bold statement since very few shows belong in that category.
From a writing standpoint, it’s always sexier to completely trash a show and make the reader raise his eyebrows and think about it. However, this time, I think he or she went after the wrong show. He should spend more time and space offering suggestions to saving a great comedy than dismissing it as dribble.
4. Sports Talk Radio coming to TV? – Many people have talked about “Pardon the Interruption,” ESPN’s attempt to sort of bring sports talk radio to a television show format. Everybody who loves sports seems to love the show too. While it’s a fun show and I enjoy watching it on occasion, there is another sports talk show I like to watch on TV during the week:
WFAN’s “Mike and the Mad Dog”
Of course, that famed New York duo, Mike Francesa and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, are really doing a radio show and not a television show, but George Steinbrenner’s YES Network has found a brilliant (and cheap) way to fill its programming schedule during the day while the radio station, WFAN, gets increased visibility with the show getting beamed to New York and New Jersey residents and satellite dishes across the country. These two provide an informative, entertaining, and interesting radio show that talks about, makes fun of, and analyzes sports (and some entertainment).
My question is why haven’t other cable channels picked up on this brilliant programming idea? In this day in age, every major market has a notable sports talk radio personality. Boston has Eddie Andelman and to a lesser degree, Glenn “Big O” Ordway; Chicago has Mike North; Los Angeles has JT the Brick and Jim Rome in syndication. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Nothing against Wilbon and Kornheiser, but if I could get my Boston guys on my local cable channel through a satellite dish, I’d watch or have them on the background while I was home. It just seems like a smart move.
5. I love “Sex “ – I am a guy writing for a website/online magazine that is aimed primarily (but certainly not exclusively) to guys, specifically younger fellows. But you want to know what? I’m not afraid to admit it:
I have always enjoyed “Sex and the City.”
First of all, if you haven’t realized it yet, when people look at the history of popular culture and view life between 1998 and 2004, if you don’t think “Sex and the City” is one of the first 10-15 things they look at to gage the period, you’re crazy. It showed a different side of women never seen before whether it was sex, relationships, friendships, men, or sex, relationships, and friendships with men. The show did things never done on television before.
If you fail to realize the cultural significance of the show, just look at the show’s writing and acting. Both are absolutely outstanding, particularly the writing. Any show that provides moments of intense and quality laughter and moments of significance sadness in near equality should be appreciated, not antagonized. In addition to running the gamut of emotional situations, the storylines were always intriguing and worth following from week to week, season to season. That’s one of the marks of a quality television show: leave them wanting more and wanting to come next week “Sex and the City” always provided those type of situations and now that it is gone, will be sorely missed.
Thank God for constant repeats and DVD sales though Maybe you can experience the quality television viewing experience for yourself
Closing Credits: James Spader has SAVED “The Practice!!!”
I owe 411music’s Matthew Michaels an apology. We got into a pretty heated argument at the end of last summer/beginning of the fall over David E. Kelley’s success (I never thought that would get me heated ). He assured me that Kelley would be to able to rescue “The Practice” from the depths it sank into last season because he was a very talented television writer. The sow dealt with schedule changes, bad storylines, cast members mailing it in only to be let go later to significantly cut costs. I didn’t think the show had a chance in hell of surviving the 2003-04 season, no matter how successful Kelley has been in the past or how talented he supposedly is now.
Well, as far as I am concerned, “The Practice” has regained some of that luster its lost last season. It will never be a Top 10 show again and probably won’t gain any Emmy nominations any time soon, but it’s returned to the Top 40 in primetime ratings averaging close to 10 million viewers (the numbers I accessed came from the Los Angeles Times for the week of February 16-22) and had become appointment viewing for me again.
So Matt, I apologize. David E. Kelley was able to rescue the show. You were right.
How did this happen? One could argue it was the move back to Sunday nights at 10:00 PM. It could also be concluded that the storylines are a little less farfetched since the lawyers are back to defending their clients rather than getting involved with them. However, for me, the reason is simple. It boils down to one thing:
The addition of Alan Shore to the law firm of Young, Frutt, and Berlutti.
Shore, a former anti-trust lawyer who begged his old friend, Eleanor Frutt (Camryn Manheim), for a job at her firm is played by accomplished actor, James Spader. I have to admit that initially, Shore irked me to no end and was almost a reason not to watch the show. However, I kept tuning in, week after week, and began liking the pompous, arrogant, morally bankrupt character (at least he appears that way on the surface ). However, he is immensely intriguing and even though he is largely evil himself, will commit unspeakable, ethically void, and sometimes illegal maneuvers in court to get the people who are even more evil than himself. It could be labeled the “Robin Hood Syndrome.” He often steals from the rich (or simply screws the rich depending on the situation) to help the poor.
Amazingly, while he is in the middle of all this complicated, potentially career threatening maneuvering, he never stops to loosen his tie, unbutton his coat, wipe his brow, catch his breath, or even blink. He operates with a completely devoted robotic calculation that only changes when someone stands in his way and makes him angry. Even when he gets angry, he quickly catches his breath, delivers a cold, hard stare that basically says the same thing an action star would say in a movie to the bad guy: “You’ve messed with the wrong man.”
David E. Kelley writes the character beautifully primarily because Shore is so unpredictable, but he maintains that “Robin Hood Syndrome” where he always serves the interests of his clients, he just doesn’t do so with any ethics in mind. Getting the win and earning the money is the important thing and if need be, he will help a friend or destroy an enemy in the process. However, he never turns to “the dark side.” He dangerously straddles the line but never crosses over completely. So, it’s easier to root for him.
Spader also does a splendid job of playing Alan Shore. He maintains that cool, calculated persona on the outside, while burning with rage on the inside to get the job done by any means possible. Then, at the end of the day, he goes to home to his nice, big house, sits by his pool, and sips a nice hard alcoholic beverage watered down by melting ice.
The bottom line is he is now the most captivating character on the show and everyone else is pretty much left to watch Spader playing Alan Shore in sheer amazement. All the major storylines now revolve around him and the other characters still around from last season have to do their best to get dragged by Shore’s coat tails to get some air time. The show is still titled “The Practice,” but might as well be called “Alan Shore: Bastard Lawyer.” That’s one thing Kelley needs to watch for as he continues to write these shows with storylines revolving around Alan Shore. It’s always interesting when he’s on the screen, but Kelley is going to have to write more situations for the other characters or risk losing the audience when he does and it’s too late because nobody cares about the “supporting cast.”
There is an intriguing multiple part story arc playing out right now where Shore returns to his hometown of Dedham, MA (the series takes place in Boston) and defends his rich, childhood best friend who is accused of murdering the mistress he was in love with. This is significant for two reasons. First, it appears the already strained relationship between Jimmy Berluti (Michael Badalucco) and Shore will take a significant turn one way or another since Shore requested Berluti serve as co-counsel on the high profile case. Second, towards the end of the episode that aired Sunday, February 22nd, Eugene Young (Steve Harris) told Eleanor Frutt (Camryn Manheim) that Shore was to be fired once he finished representing his friend in Dedham.
Something tells me, that part of the storyline won’t pan out and Alan will be there as long as there is a series to film for Sunday night TV.
In the mean time
Enjoy the (Oscar’s) show!!!
— Coogan
