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| Ed NBC Wednesday 8 pm/7 central | |||||||||
Reviewed by Joel Zand March 28, 2001 Breaking The Rules Sometimes being an advocate can tear an attorney up inside. Clients want lawyers to advance their case based on moral purpose alone. But that doesn't always happen, and while a moral win is great, it's worth nothing without a legal victory. Should Ed's clients always play by the rules? If not, when should the rules be bent? Tough questions for Ed and the Stuckeybowl gang this week. Principled People The episode centers on the trials and tribulations of Clark Salinger -- a straight A, Stuckeyville High braniac who is in the running for an Ivy League college scholarship. His one obstacle appears to be the gym coach, Frank Corwin. Clark's teacher Carol Vescey is on his side. Although she doesn't even know Corwin, Carol Vescey isn't hesitant to tell Ed that she thinks the Coach has the "I.Q. of a Pop-Tart!" Carol will do anything to help Clark avoid getting a dreaded D+ in gym. Warren Cheswick, of course, is there to help, offering a little payback for the tutoring assistance that Clark gave him in chemistry. But all the training and coaching in the world can't help this athletically-challenged kid avoid facing the realty that he simply can't make this grade. Coach Corwin won't hand out grades for the asking, nor should he. But that is basically what the kid and Carol want - for Corwin to forget about the fact that working hard will teach Stuckeyville High's graduating students that they've got to earn what they get in this world. (haven't they done the same thing in all their other classes?) Coach Corwin is standing up for what he believes is right. Instead of taking up Clark's case, Ed defends Coach Corwin against the kid's lawsuit claiming discriminatory grading; this puts Ed's relationship with Carol on a tightrope. And the tension between the two soars when Ed learns that years ago, Carol also refused to give a former Stuckeyville High sensation star the good grade that he needed in English class. Her decision resulted in the revocation of the Stuckeyville Toreador's basketball eligibility, and athletic agents were then unable to open the door to the kid's future. Ed and Carol also discover that the school's former star now spends his days working at a convenience store. The hurt they feel for this former athlete and his lost opportunities is too painful to bear. They quickly realize that the rules aren't always meant to be applied with an ironclad fist, reminding lawyers and lawyer wannabes of the heavy responsibility that judges must carry every time they decide a case. Fortunately, Stuckeyville won't have to relive this same kind of mistake, as Clark, Coach Erwin, and the school principal decide to talk settlement and resolve their differences. We don't know what will happen, but the future still looks bright for Clark. This is a tear-jerking episode with mournful tunes from Lou Reed ("Perfect Day") and Patty Griffin ("Forgiveness"). If your heart isn't all messed by the time Carol and Ed go for a peanut butter and bacon sandwich, you're in the wrong town. Stuckeyville is for real folks with real life problems that will hit you hard. Shirley Loves The Law . . . Ed fans are in for a treat this episode when Stuckeybowl's own Shirley makes a career change to become the bowling alley lawyer's new legal assistant. Shirley decides to make the switch after an inspiring moment ordering Combos for the Stuckeybowl. Usually she gets the kind filled with cheese, but she decides to really "live it up" ordering the kind with peanut butter instead. "But I realized that change was not enough. I need more." Shirley is every law office's administrative dream. "I'm very organized," she tells Ed in her job interview. "For example, I store the bendy straws and the straight straws separately." A true sign of law office expertise.
. . . But What Will Phil Do Without Her Help? Plenty. The quick-thinking Stuckeybowl stud decides to have a field day interviewing scantily clad job applicants to help out behind the counter, while Shirley devotes her time to more legal pursuits. It's a good thing that Phil works for a lawyer that can keep him in line. The guy is a sexual harassment litigator's dream defendant. After Ed catches Phil's interviewee spraying odor repellent into bowling shoes, he's got an explanation ready: "Bosco, I didn't hire her, she's my intern. And that's a win-win situation all the way around, baby!" |
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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. |
