Ally McBeal 10/29/01 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I'm probably the only guy that'll admit that I still watch Ally McBeal. I found the season premiere of Ally to be pretty funny (to me). Having that lawyer with the neck tick when he says words that begin with "c" be a therapist to Ally was a stroke of genius. They introduced quite a few new players in the mix, and they don't totally stick out like a sore thumb.
I guess it comes down to me enjoying the neuroses of the characters, and the rapid fire dialogue. After 4 years, there's still plenty of laughs to mine from the main characters, even if the cast rotates out many of the players every year, perhaps that's why it remain fresher than most comedies in the later years.
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[Michael Reuben]

I'm probably the only guy that'll admit that I still watch Ally McBeal.

Hardly.

I found the season opener a mixed bag. The new female lawyer has potential as a character. The new male lawyers look like retreads of previous ones. Peter MacNichol is supposed to have a reduced role this season, and judging by last night's script, they can't phase him out fast enough for my taste. The John Cage routine has run out of steam.
As absurdly exaggerated as his plots may be, Kelley usually makes a point of maintaining a veneer of legal accuracy. So the obvious mistakes in the class action plot were pretty surprising (example: it's a certification hearing, not a decertification hearing). He may have a law degree, but it's time for him to hire a technical advisor.
The lawyer-turned-therapist is a stretch, but it's obviously designed to utilize the comic talents of John Michael Higgins, who was so good as David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift. (He's also a fine stage actor.) His previous role as an opposing counsel limited what he could do. The new scenario has a lot of promise.
M.

 

[Derek Miner]

Another guy who watches Ally McBeal here. I'm also one of the few people of either gender who tuned into the half-hour version, Ally.
I actually watched the season premiere of Ally McBeal a couple hours before watching the season premiere of Boston Public, that other David E. Kelley show. I wish I had seen Ally second, because I could have used the laughs folowing the lackluster season premiere of BP.
I like where the show seems to be going this season. I heard Peter MacNichol and Lucy Liu are only in for a few episodes. When they're gone, I hope I don't miss the characters as much as I'm fearing. I can only hope there will be some better stuff ahead for Jane Krakowski and Portia de Rossi, who had nothing to do in the season premiere.
It seems odd, however, that so many people just up and disappeared this year with (so far) no explaination. I heard a while back that James Le Gross was out, which I assume is why they were hiring a lawyer in this first episode. Then there's Lisa Nicole Carson, Taye Diggs (didn't he stay through the end of last season?) and the girl Richard convniced to move to Boston from LA. Are they gonna tell us where these people went?
= Derek =

 

[Rain]

quote: Are they gonna tell us where these people went?[/quote]
I doubt it. They never said anything about where Carson's character was for most of last season, when the actress was away due to "exhaustion."
All in all, though, I enjoyed the premiere. I don't think the show has been this funny in a while.
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[Edited last by Rain on October 30, 2001 at 02:22 PM]

 

[Elizabeth S]

I had quite the opposite reaction. I thought it was a wretched season premiere. This whole parallel of the new "Ally-like" lawyer and her "Billy-like" counterpart isn't a very interesting idea. I found the episode quite humorless. Didn't like her new therapist. The only new character with slight potential seemed to be the new black female lawyer -- I guess a little sass to replace Lisa Nicole Carson. I also thought Calista wasn't looking too well, and that haircut didn't help.
Maybe I'll try one more episode next week, but after watching from the debut episode, I think I may give up on this. Especially with the impending departure of Peter McNichol, the interesting Cage/Fish dynamic will be gone.
[Edited last by Elizabeth S on October 30, 2001 at 06:35 PM]

 

[Robert Ringwald]

The black female lawyer was good last season, but I have a feeling that Regina Hall is going to shine this season.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Patrick, with a woman as fine as Lucy Liu on this show, you better believe I watch it!
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