The Guardian 5/13/03 (1 Viewer)

[DeborahK]

Any other Guardian fans here?

So, last night was the season finale and what the hell was that all about??? I have really like this show -- I find it refreshingly off beat and just plain interesting. You never know where they are going with this stuff. But last night's episode struck me as just completely over the top and unbelievable. Not all of it, but the stuff with Nick and his father beating up that guy over a parking place because they both are emotionally repressed and had really, really bad days? Give me a break ...

Deborah

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I'll second that one! They did show their license plate, so I have a feeling that they are both going to be in it pretty deep when this picks backs up.

I am disappointed that they didn't give the girl a polygraph test too. They probably would have found out that her dad put her up to it. Oh, and he's into porn. You'd think the courts would have told him to get lost.

Glenn

 

[Rex Bachmann]

DeborahK wrote (post #1):

You're right. It was a bit bizarre, but the show has slowly highlighted almost all the male characters getting into legal trouble. (Gee, you'd think lawyers would know better.)

Nicholas, of course, from the beginning. Now Burton, the dad, also, not just in regard to the violence incident, but in the shady dealings with the Amanda's father (at the suggestion of the less than ethical new partner, who represents him in allegations of improper sexual conduct toward the girl). His "love" for the girl is also a manifestation of his unleashed repressions, as far as I can see. (Do I note a bit of jealousy on the part of Nicholas at the attention lavished on her that he never received at that (or any other) age from his own father?)

Alvin Masterson's arrest and public disgrace for consorting with a prostitute (?) (#27 "Assuming the Position"). Jake Straka's white-collar ethical foibles, which have been borderline illegal and which have gotten him restricted to handling only certain types of law cases. And James Mooney's organized vigilante violence that has by now resulted in his own victimization and the new (temporary?) associate's murder at the public legal services center.

Actually, what I've found attractive about the show is (or was) its tension and conflict between the older, demanding father and the highly flawed adult son. The more they get away from that, the less interesting the show becomes for me.

 

[DeborahK]

Rex,

You are right that the show has been highlighting all the various male lawyers getting into trouble. I had not really noticed that.

When I started watching the show last season, I thought the direction it was going to take was basically The Education of Nick Fallon, i.e. into how to be a real human being instead of a selfish prick. But as of the this season's finale, I don't really think this is where they are going.

BTW, I think the kid who plays Shannon is sensational. She has got it all down, just right. I think that Nick very well may be a bit jealous of Shannon, but I was surprised by his urging his father to dump her and his characterizing her dismissively as just a street kid. After all, her mother o.d.ed in his apartment and Nick is suppose to have some empathy for kids like Shannon.

Hmmm.

Deborah

 

[DeborahK]

Hi, Glenn,

I think porn was the dad's business and for better or worse, in the US it is a legal business. Rightly or wrongly, most courts in the US give biological parents a lot of leeway to have and keep their own kids. There often has to be real abuse and/or profound neglect for a court to not award a child to its biological parent. Even parolled murders have been able to regain custody of their children.

Deborah

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Very true, but it just seemed a little bit too neat. She cuts school and immediately spins this yarn. I won't debate how true anything was when he walked in on her.

I know porn is legal, but if her dad was ok, she would be with him. He did have other marks against him, and I am sure that if her real dad was looking out for her welfare, he would not have let her cut school. It would be much safer for him to go through the courts to get custody, or at least visitation rights.

Since her dad did not have a legal right to do what he did, he could have been charged with kidnapping, right?

Glenn

 

[DeborahK]

Hi, Glenn,

If I remember correctly, after her grandmother died Shannon asked to live with her father. However, he did not want her, which was something of a psychologically delicate situation for the social workers, etc. I think we are suppose to think that Shannon genuinely wants to be with her father and that her father suddenly wants her because he has discovered that Burton is a person of means and this might be an opportunity to extort money out of him. So I think we have Shannon set up to be pretty destroyed and Burton to get deeper and deeper in trouble around all of this. At least that's where I think they are going.

I do think that technically Shannon's dad could have been charged with kidnapping, but would likely have basically gotten away with what he did since Shannon went with him willingly. And he brought her back. I was actually a little surprised the court did not award him any sort of visitation. At any rate, despite the fact that the man has some interest and curiosity about her, I think that Shannon is going to end being this guys meal ticket and that he will use her in exactly this way.

Deborah

 

[Glenn Overholt]

You're probably right, especially after what father and son did at the end. Like father, like son?

I'm sure she has an undying love for her real dad, but you did say that he would 'use her', and that is the part that scares me. If/when he gets away with it, will she figure it out and realize that she has made a dreadful mistake?

Glenn