The Practice 9/28/03 Season Premiere (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I enjoyed James Spader's Alan Shore character, he's a bit offbeat, and has a little bit of Al McBeal in him, though he's a roguish womanizer at heart. Oh, and the paralegal is a worthy addition as well (Rhona Mitra, who got me to watch Party of Five way back when).

 

[Adam_ME]

I enjoyed the hell out of James Spader's character. Slimy, but lovable. His encounter with Eugene was classic. He's exactly what this show needs to rejuvnate itself after that horrific Bobby/Lindsay storyline last season.

Ditto on Rhona Mitra being a welcome addition to the cast. Way too hot to be working as a paralegal, but I won't complain. I was a little surprised that they let her use her British accent on the show.

 

[Al Shing]

Ditto on Rhona Mitra being a welcome addition to the cast.

A Holly Marie Combs look-a-like with a British accent. And in High Definition. I'm there.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

And Dr. Phlox as a bitchy old judge. I look forward to the show.

I had a good laugh though, watching the opening credits. Down to five people from a cast of thousands.

I also like that they're not shying away from cast changes; they're implictly acknowledging that most of the office buggered off.

 

[Bob-N]

Would have been nice to know where the other characters went. Nice receptionist! Quite an upgrade.

Jamie had really small cameos during this episode when she was getting a lot of screen time at the end of last season.

The new guy has potential. Looking forward to watching this season on it's original Sunday night slot.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Rhona Mitra the original (or was that Nell McAndrews?) Lara Croft, for showing up at trade shows and what not?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Nell was not the original Lara Croft model, there were a few others before she got the job. I'm not sure if Rhona was THE original Lara Croft model, but according to IMDB, she was.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

The opening credits seem rather empty now.

 

[Elizabeth S]

I really enjoyed Spader's character. With his blurred ethical line, and fast-thinking/talking nature, it puts a little more zip into the show after Bobby's morose, angst-ridden personality.

 

[VicRuiz]

Nice receptionist! Quite an upgrade.

You people must be crazy! Marla Sokoloff was the cutest face on TV. I'm in mourning!

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I really enjoyed Spader's character. With his blurred ethical line, and fast-thinking/talking nature, it puts a little more zip into the show after Bobby's morose, angst-ridden personality.

My thoughts exactly. The whole Bobby/Lindsey thing was turning the show into a soap-opera. When you think about it, they kept the most interesting characters – Jimmy (wow, what have they been feeding him!) , Eleanor and (especially!) Eugene. I personally always found the Rebecca Washington character to be bland, bland, bland. I think I will miss Lara Flynn Boyle’s character the most.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Scooter]

Umm..which Judge was Phlox???

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Rhona Mitra, what a fffffox!!! Yowza!! And she's even more cute with the accent.

I pretty much thought David Kelley had said he was going to put a dash of humor back into the proceedings. Probably since Alley MacBeal is now gone. Remember, he did write most of the best first few season episodes of L.A. Law and most of the Picket Fences episodes, which won a lot of awards and blended humor with drama.

James Spader seems to be the "Finch-lite" of the new firm (again, bringing that Alley MacBeal touch to the show). He loves money, cigars, women, and beneath it all has a good heart (perhaps more openly so than Finch ever could express).

I loved how he played on a fellow slime-ball's greed and turned the tables on that blonde, she-bitch plaintiff, by making her have to admit she really had been the "bad-guy" all along by verbally assaulting his client before she'd see dime one. Obviously, she probably dropped the whole suit rather than admit that she was wrong.

A pretty solid opener with Chris O'Donnell taking a turn as a "ripped from the headlines" psycho (his character gets more screen time next week) and Sharon Stone makes an appearance too! Not bad for a show that was about to be canned last season.

Dan

 

[Craig S]

James Spader seems to be the "Finch-lite" of the new firm (again, bringing that Alley MacBeal touch to the show). He loves money, cigars, women, and beneath it all has a good heart (perhaps more openly so than Finch ever could express).

OK, I was racking my brain trying to figure out how Spader's character was anything like David Spade on "Just Shoot Me", then I realized you were referring to Richard Fish from "Ally"!!

Apt comparison, however.

 

[Holadem]

Goddamit, I forgot about this. Will it rerun?

--
H

 

[Patrick Sun]

Maybe in the Christmas re-run season. Otherwise, in the summer.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Phlox was the nasty judge who kept shutting Eugene and Jimmy down.

At least, the wife and I both think so. Odo's been on there a few times, too. And Q.

 

[BobV]

Nah, Phlox was not the old judge.