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| Ed NBC Wednesday 8 pm/7 central | |||||||||
Reviewed by Joel Zand January 31, 2001 This week, "Ed" viewers can get nostalgic by revisiting an early fall episode. . .
You can take lawyer Ed Stevens out of New York City, but you can't take the New York City lawyer out of Ed Stevens. Receiving a letter and settlement proposal from his wife's divorce attorney, Ed is reminded once again about his wife's affair with the mailman back in Manhattan. The thought is enough to make his local mail carrier pretty darn envious of all the action. Why do viewers relive Ed's soon-to-be-ex caught in flagrante delicto with the mailman during the opening credits of each show? Why do they relive his firing from his old law firm too? It would appear that the show's creators will not let viewers empathize with Ed each week unless we become voyeuristic vultures to our hero's misery. It's a perfect transition to this week's opening scene with Ed doing some pro bono in the classroom of his unrequited local love, Carol the schoolteacher, by telling her class about being a lawyer. He quickly puts them to sleep. Like any good bowling alley lawyer, Ed decides to mix a few pins with his clients' problems. Three of his old high-school acquaintances enlist Ed's legal skills to sue a fourth Stuckeyville High School alum over a promise to divvy-up their fortunes equally, fifteen years after graduation. Share-and-share alike! The purported contract was miraculously preserved on a barroom napkin. It turns out that the "fourth musketeer" that they want to sue to is now worth a $100 million. The fact that the guy made it to the cover of Forbes magazine doesn't convince Ed to take the case. The real clincher is that if he takes the case, the New York City law firm that fired him will represent the other side. Once again, we find Ed quickly in Stuckeyville's local court after having obtained long-arm jurisdiction over the big-bucks defendant from New York. That's pretty easy, given that the deal on the bar napkin was written in Stuckeyville. What is ludicrous, however, is the idea that the New York City lawyers made an oral motion to dismiss the case. No, no, no! How will the dirty rotten scoundrels at Ed's old New York law firm earn their keep if they can't spend long hours billing for an oral motion? And just how can a bunch of New York lawyers suddenly be admitted to practice in an Ohio courtroom without being admitted by the court pro hac vice? This is television, however, where truth and justice have precedence over the boring necessities of paperwork and legal procedure. Why else would the local judge fast-track the case for trial?
Ed also takes a cute, albeit highly unethical, route to playing touché with his old law firm, by trying to fool his old colleagues with a team of lawyers in court. Suddenly Phil, Kenny, and Shirley from the bowing alley are all masquerading as lawyers in the courtroom, along with Molly the high school teacher. We never quite learn how this trial for $50 million concludes, however, because there are too many settlement negotiations going on amongst the parties in barrooms and the bowling alley. In the end, viewers learn that sometimes justice is priceless amongst old friends. By the end of the show, Ed signs his own divorce papers without ever retaining a lawyer. This is a family lawyer's worst nightmare and a foolish idea for any practitioner. But it makes for interesting television, leaving viewers wondering whether their hero will sweep high school teacher Carol off her feet on the next show. Stay tuned… |
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In a curious role reversal with the show's protagonist, Joel Zand is a New York solo practitioner who left his Midwestern roots behind to work with Findlaw. He has represented New York City landlords, tenants, and folks with pets in pit-bullesque litigation (always representing the underdog, of course). Zand received his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Chicago. |
