The Practice virgin’s diary – Justice is not served
(Season 5, Episodes 19-20)
It is with deep regret that I inform you that next week you’ll have to do without my virgin diary. For some inexplicable reason, FX is only airing one episode per weekend for the next two weeks, a steep decline from the four the network was airing just a few months back. As this comes at the conclusion of season five, it behooves us all to wait until we can wrap the season up in one shot. I’m only sorry that I cannot offer you an emergency contact number like therapists do when they go away on vacation.
5.19 “Home of the Brave”
I think Helen must have become the new Bobby sometime in season five. In addition to his not doing much on a regular basis anymore, she seems to be the attorney who has the brightest spotlight shined on them from week to week. If only she were more fun to watch. Read the rest of this entry »
The Practice virgin’s diary – Always be vigilant about your semen’s whereabouts
(Season 5, Episodes 17-18)
It’s great that Ellenor is having a baby, and I imagine it was probably important in 2001 to have a professional woman on TV choosing to have a baby on her own. But I wonder where the writers intended to go with the story. Not that she can’t juggle work and home, no matter how unfair the balance, but the likelihood is that she will be Ellenor Frutt, Attorney far more than she’s Mommy, so I wonder what this will have been for in the long-term. To compare, Lindsay has been MIA for a bit — not surprising, because she has an infant at home, but she’s either going to be gone because she’s home with the baby, or she’ll be working without much mention of the baby. So when do we see what it looks like for someone to “do it all?”
5.17 “What Child Is This?”
The planted semen trick is pretty cool, but if we’re to believe that the wife did it, that means that Kate Littlefield (Isabella Hofmann) pocketed her husband semen after they had sex, and then planted it on her daughter before or after she murdered her for having an affair with her stepfather. I’m not sure which part of that is the most disturbing, but it definitely made for a fun, and interesting, case. The fact that it was the other, younger daughter, who the stepfather was sleeping with also and who appears to have maybe killed her sister out of jealousy … not a Thanksgiving dinner I would have liked to be at. Or would I? Read the rest of this entry »
Diary of a Carnivale virgin – WTF, HBO?
(Season 3, Episode 12)
After watching the series finale of Carnivale, all I could think about was how and why HBO canceled this show. I just don’t understand it. I suppose it had to do with ratings and money, as most of these decisions do, but I’m still pretty pissed. I can only imagine that Daniel Knauff, the creator and brains behind the show, is even more pissed than I am, even all these years later. The show was so richly developed, with an intricate mythology and an obvious long-term plan. I just can’t even imagine having a huge story to tell and being cut off a third of the way through. Hopefully the rest of the story will be told at some point in the future.
The Practice virgin’s diary – Another season five crossover … ratings getting desperate?
(Season 5, Episodes 15-16)
It wasn’t the most fascinating or compelling case, but episode 14’s terminated teacher was left in the middle, with Ellenor essentially challenging Principal Steven Harper (Chi McBride) to a court battle. And the question of why Superintendant Marsha Shinn (Debbi Morgan) seemed to be gunning for her client also hung in the air. So where’d it go?
Instead, we moved on to Ellenor’s battle with her sperm donor, and Rebecca’s continued hospitalization. And the rape of a little girl. Not slouching, just strange.
5.15 “Awakenings”
Ted McGinley guested as Ellenor’s longtime best friend and sperm donor — who couldn’t imagine Jefferson D’Arcy in that position? But when Michael (McGinley) decided that he wanted to be a part of the baby’s life, Ellenor took him to court. Good for Jimmy for standing by her after initially being so judgmental, but Jimmy? I know everyone else was busy, but if anything screams “We don’t care about you!” it’s leaving her in the hands of Jimmy the Grunt. Read the rest of this entry »
Diary of a Carnivale virgin – The tension builds
(Season 2, Episodes 10-11)
I only have one episode left in my journey through Carnivale, and I’m a little sad to see it go. I’m sure I’ll be able to keep up better with some of the current shows that have drifted to the back of my DVR, but I’m going to miss the bizarre dust bowl drama. It doesn’t help that it was cut down before its prime, canceled after only two seasons. I’m curious to see how many loose ends are left open as the series concludes.
The Practice virgin’s diary – It’s time for Bobby to take a sabbatical
(Season 5, Episodes 13-14)
It seems I’ve hit a snafu with FX and the network’s airing of The Practice re-runs. I’m not sure who they imagined would be watching at 7AM on Saturdays and Sundays, but apparently that crowd isn’t tuning in as enthusiastically as they’d hoped, because the network has pulled back from airing four episodes per weekend to just one or two. I guess, like a refinanced mortgage, we’re going to pay less per installment for a longer fixed life.
In other words, financial freedom, or in this case Alan Shore, is farther away than once imagined.
5.13 “The Thin Line”
I assume that, at the time of its original airing, Bobby’s murder trial was a big thing. Even with his “not guilty” in the bag, it must have been a fitting climax to the William Hinks story. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get onboard. Putting aside the fact that in no way could Bobby be found innocent on all three charges that he was facing (he did, after all, send Alan over to break into Hinks’ home and scare him), his refusal to ever consider the advice of his own partners — and supposed close friends — is so insulting as to leave me wondering why he ever hired them as attorneys in the first place. How is Bobby always right? Read the rest of this entry »
Diary of a Carnivale virgin – Iris is evil and Sofie is back
(Season 2, Episodes 8-9)
It’s been a little while since I’ve sat down for some Carnivale. My absence was due to a mixture of being busy with the holidays, catching up on some recently released movies, and trying to draw out the final episodes of the show. Now, however, I’ve carved out some time and I have less than a handful of episodes remaining before I am completely done with the HBO show.
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