Boston Legal - Angel of Death - OAD 01/09/07 *spoilers*

[JC Hollywood FL]

My first thread start, hope I named it properly.

Denny Crane: "Can I ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with me. Can you and I get naked in a jacuzzi tonight?"

"I'm a big fan of diversity. I date midgets, you know. Ask him."

Alan: "And their mothers."

[busyba]

"I only have 2 plane tickets."
"Gee, and all I have is a Gulfstream."

:)

"I was there. Well, I flew over it in my Gulfstream, that counts, right?"
"To some"

[IBTL] ;)

[busyba]

OH! I almost forgot about the most unforgettable part of the episode....

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I really want to see what an elephant raping a rhinoceros looks like. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[MusicMama]

I'm not sure that the 3 plots worked together very well, but the interactions were "interesting". Alan and Denny are always great, I'm a little tired of Clarence/Clarice, and please fire Craig Bierko because no matter who he interacts with, the scene is a loss -- but by far the funniest were Shirley and (Rene Auberjonois) about the 'friends with benefits'.

I wondered when Kelley would take on any of the Katrina topics. He came at it quite well - many of the statements that I have heard (and said) in my office showed up somewhere.

I have missed this show during the Christmas special wasteland.

[mrmike]

please fire Craig Bierko because no matter who he interacts with, the scene is a loss


++

The man is a soggy potato chip on the plate of life.

[Fish Man]

WOW!

Great episode!!

What many people may not realize is that the story about the mercy killings was ripped from the news reports of an actual pending case in New Orleans.

The actual case hasn't been tried yet.

Here are a few comparisons of the fictional Boston Legal case and the real case:


The real doctor facing charges of mercy killing is Dr. Anna Pou. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Pou) The actress playing the doctor in this episode could be her twin sister.
In the episode, the doctor was accused of euthanizing 5 patients. In the real world case, it's 4 patients.
The coroners testimony, including the description of the two drugs found, and the fact that neither one, by itself, was found in lethal concentration, but that the combination was lethal, was taken almost verbatim from statements the real coroner has made to the press.
The doctor's description of conditions in the hospital, and her statement that according to radio reports, "no help was coming" are taken almost verbatim from statements Dr. Anna Pou has made to the press.
Several lines in the prosecuting attorney's closing argument, particularly the "this is America" stuff were taken almost verbatim to statements Louisiana State Attorney General, Charles Foti has made to the press.


In addition, I personally know 3 doctors and nurses who stayed in area hospitals through the ordeal. I completely agree that the conditions are impossible to imagine. No water, no electricity, the bottom floor of the hospital flooded to the ceiling, strung out armed thugs breaking in, holding the doctors at gunpoint while they raid the pharmacy...

I could probably imagine this with about as much accuracy as I could imagine a Nazi death camp.

The 3 people I know who personally stayed in these conditions now suffer from profound Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I can't imagine...

Following the episode, our ABC affiliate interviewed several local people in the legal and medical profession as to what they thought about the episode. In particular, they interviewed Dr. Pou's lawyer. He said he hated the episode and that it contaminated the jury pool. I found myself talking to the TV. I told him, "Dude, in the episode Alan Shore was YOU, and he WON!" :)

Finally, a couple of nits:

They just had to portray the "southern" judge as an uneducated hayseed who didn't know the law and who blatantly flaunted his bias in chambers. :rolleyes: Add to that grotesque charactature of a southern judge the fact that he looked like a fat Colonel Sanders... :rolleyes:

Also, people from New Orleans do not speak with a southern accent! (And, even the "southern" accent spoken by the judge and the prosecutor were about as accurate as southern accents as Dick Van Dyke did a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins!)

People from New Orleans sound like people from Brooklyn!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yat_%28New_Orleans%29) Why can't TV and the movies ever get that right!

[Jesda]

Tired of the writers making Denny Crane look stupid instead of just eccentric.

[ruexp67]

The episode had a hard time keeping my interest.

I thought Denise was going to get Jeff and Brad to meet each OTHER each expecting to meet Denise somewhere. Aparantly Denise is just interested in sleezing it up with both of them. Personally, I have pretty low moral standards, but this falls below even my sensibilities.

I think in general the show takes too long with certain characters and kills the bit. For examples of how this is done, check out Saturday Night Live from the 90s. "Hands" "Mr. PeePee." "The little guy who killed his mother with the frying pan." All of those charcters were decent 'bits' that went on WAAYYYYYYYYY too long.

On a side note: I heard a radio interview with Craig Bierco (SP?) and he was witty, sarcastic and funny. They obviously are not giving him ANY material to work with on BL and it is dissapointing, because I too dread to see his scenes.

[Jesda]

I thought Denise was going to get Jeff and Brad to meet each OTHER each expecting to meet Denise somewhere. Aparantly Denise is just interested in sleezing it up with both of them. Personally, I have pretty low moral standards, but this falls below even my sensibilities.

I think she's still grieving, but dealing with it through sex.

[vikingguy]

Outside the denny and alan stuff it was pretty blah for me. Denny was pretty awesome with a room full of hookers lol. They should of made the episode 90% alan and denny since they were on a road trip. I was let down not nearly as good as thier previous roadies together.

[milo99]

"I was there. Well, I flew over it in my Gulfstream, that counts, right?"
"To some"

[IBTL] ;)

hah, you know, when i first heard that line, the first thought that came to mind was he was actually bashing Gore for his claiming during the first debate that he visited a post hurricane place in TX ( i think) when he wasn't actually there. Then i thought, wait, this is DEK, he must be making some reference to Bush.

So either he's trying to soften his image as only a Repub basher, or just more of the same. Either way, i laughed at the line. :)

[busyba]

In particular, they interviewed Dr. Pou's lawyer. He said he hated the episode and that it contaminated the jury pool. I found myself talking to the TV. I told him, "Dude, in the episode Alan Shore was YOU, and he WON!" :)

Yeah, he won, but the way it was portrayed, the doctor was absolutely guilty according to the law, Alan just convinced the jury to not care about the law. If I was a lawyer, that's probably not the message I'd want to contaminate my jury pool with. :)

[Fish Man]

Yeah, he won, but the way it was portrayed, the doctor was absolutely guilty according to the law, Alan just convinced the jury to not care about the law. If I was a lawyer, that's probably not the message I'd want to contaminate my jury pool with. :)

"Absolutely guilty according to the law?"

As someone who lived through Katrina, and lost everything (albeit not in a hospital), but as someone who also personally knows 2 doctors and 1 nurse who spent Katrina and the week after in hospitals, I can tell you this:

In the chaotic conditions, 110+ degrees inside the hospital, no drinkable water, no electricity, the pharmacy looted, the stench of rotting dead bodies, urine, feces, vomit everywhere, etc...

There was simply no way to practice medicine. There was no way to monitor vitals, other than taking temperature and pulse manually and listening to hearts with stethoscopes.

There was no way to monitor drug levels in a patients system, and all the patients were screaming out for relief of their agony.

I can see where a doctor who hadn't slept in a week and who was dehydrated to the point of near unconsciousness herself, would simply hit a patient up with a few more CC's when they'd wake up and scream for relief of their pain.

In other words, it's clear that the fatal dosages may have been accidental.

I'm mixing what happened in the "real world", what friends of mine have told me first hand with what was in the episode, but the story in the episode was supposed to reveal the "real world" happenings anyway.

Imagine trying to care for very sick patients in the midst of a death camp with nothing but a stethoscope and possibly a watch with a second hand for timing pulse.

"Clearly guilty"? No way!

[busyba]

In other words, it's clear that the fatal dosages may have been accidental.
Except the doctor (in the episode) never made that claim.

I'm not necessarily arguing that she was in fact guilty according to the law, I'm just saying that the episode portrayed her as such.

[jb007]

How about Denny Crane pre-credits with the kazoo belting out the first few bars of the theme song?! Hilarious! :D

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

I agree, I don't think the 3 storylines fit. They could of stuck with the N.O. storyline and added some more of Denny playing the kazoo.

Also, was this the first week that Anthony Williams (Clarence) was listed in opening credits? I'm getting to like him/her, glad he will be sticking around.

They need more for Paul to do tho. Odo is not getting enough screen time.

[bearymore]

hah, you know, when i first heard that line, the first thought that came to mind was he was actually bashing Gore for his claiming during the first debate that he visited a post hurricane place in TX ( i think) when he wasn't actually there. Then i thought, wait, this is DEK, he must be making some reference to Bush.

So either he's trying to soften his image as only a Repub basher, or just more of the same. Either way, i laughed at the line. :)

Bush and Airforce One. Certainly you must remember the soulful picture of the Decider peering out of the 747 window at the carnage.