TiVo Community Forums Archives - The Practice 3/14

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

The Practice 3/14 - yes, spoilers
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: Rcrew

10 am on Monday, and no thread yet? I just finished watching.

Again, another good episode, and one that wasn't dominated by Alan. That's not a negative comment, just that I liked the episode, and it was probably due to Jamie's performance.

What about that last scene with Elenore? Which side is she going to come down on? Alan or Eugene?

Posted by: ybrew

Suprised this wasn't posted yet.

Nice to see Lucy back.

They overdid the firing part (based on previous episodes where Eugene & Elenore kept debating firing him), but I know they had to build this up to future episodes where the Firm gets sued.

I don't remember the Firm being all about character & integrity and all that other good stuff.

Looking forward to Alan screwing more with them.

Posted by: michad

Did I read or make up that the firm will lose the lawsuit?

Posted by: crazywater

quote:
Originally posted by michad
Did I read or make up that the firm will lose the lawsuit?

Well since they are planning a spin-off with James Spader and several others, they probably will have Spaders character win his lawsuit and take Jamie and Tara with him to his new firm...

Posted by: daperlman

In the medical malpractice case I found myself siding with the insurance company and doctor. At one point Jamie said something about (paraphrasing) )how we should be ashamed to live in a country where poor are discriminated against by receiving lower quality health-care to which I'd respond: that in case she didn't notice, an individual money buys goods and services in a capitalist society. If one cannot pay for a good or service he/she isn't simply entitled to it. OTOH I one can pay for better care they are entitled too it.

Not going for pre-natal check up significantly increases chances of complications or birth defects, much like not wearing sunscreen increases your chances of getting sun burnt or skin cancer... whether you can afford the sunscreen is immaterial, the responsibility is yours... this is the cost of living in a free society.

Posted by: vman41

What will the spinoff be called? The Nefarious Practice?

Posted by: Rcrew

3 minutes apart... The Practice 3/14.

When the contractions are that close, it's almost time, right?

TWINS!

Posted by: DreadPirateRob

I was siding with the doctor/insurance company as well. In general, I am against the malpractice caps (the MICRA cap in CA is $250K, which makes the MA cap ludicrously low) unless they are indexed for inflation. But I just didn't buy that this doctor was negligent - there are clinics that provide pre-natal care, and from the looks of things, the couple didn't even try this. Given the lack of pre-natal care, I don't think it was foreseeable for the doctor to have suspected an abnornal uterus. Kinda thought the whole storyline was a reach.

I actually watched 3 eps in a row last night, as I hadn't felt the urge to watch it the last few weeks. I have to say that while I used to love this show, it's time is done (which I guess makes it a good decision to cancel it). I'm just tired of the formula David E. Kelley has used for years to add drama - the truly innocent get convicted for life, and the truly guilty go free. And there's always a dramatic "reveal" at the end of the episode. That's why I was so not surprised at the ending of last week's ep.

I am curious as to see how the firing plays out - that's an area the show hasn't really explored much.

Posted by: Rcrew

quote:
Originally posted by DreadPirateRob
That's why I was so not surprised at the ending of last week's ep

As I said in the thread for the 3rd ep in that arc, I ended up watching it 3 or 4 times.

Shore was excellent in the court room. Ok, I know it's a script. But I still thought the court battle was very well written. It wasn't until the third viewing that I really paid attention, and was impressed. Perhaps that in itself is a black mark on the show, that it took so long for me to appreciate the acting and writing. But hey, maybe I'm just slow.

Posted by: Maniacal1

Just for the record, I believe the malpractice award cap in Massachusetts is $500K, not the totally ridiculous $20K Mr. Kelley used in his script.

Posted by: DreadPirateRob

quote:
Originally posted by Maniacal1
Just for the record, I believe the malpractice award cap in Massachusetts is $500K, not the totally ridiculous $20K Mr. Kelley used in his script.

Gotcha. I figured that number had to be ridiculously low. As I said, California's MICRA cap of $250K was set in 1976 (or thereabouts), but it wasn't indexed for inflation. Needless to say, the $250K was a lot more money back then... when I was in law school I clerked for a firm trying to challenge the law. They hired an economist who estimated that had the cap been indexed for inflation, it would have been at around $960K. Big difference.

I'm all for the people/legislature deciding to put caps in place to give the malpractice carriers some cost certainty, but let's make sure to do it correctly. At the rates expert witnesses cost now, many *legit* plaintiff's attorneys won't take the case unless the victim was young and made good money - lost earnings aren't subject to the cap. The cases are simply too expensive to pursue, and the malpractice carriers won't settle, so most cases go to trial.

Posted by: markan10

Did anyone happen to hear the message on Alan's answering machine? "I can't get to the phone right now because I am currently with a prostitute...."

He cracks me up..

Posted by: Snappa77

quote:
Originally posted by markan10
Did anyone happen to hear the message on Alan's answering machine? "I can't get to the phone right now because I am currently with a prostitute...."

He cracks me up..

I was ROTFLMAO.

I didn't like how they made Eugene the bad guy here. They could have written it a lil better so it seemed he was a lil more justified. Cuz it really just seemed like he fired Alan cuz he didn't like him. And Jimmy didn't help with his "I'm not too sure" looks he kept giving.

I'm not sure if the writers intended it this way but I liked and rooted for the Doctor and disliked and rooted against the widowed husband. Anyone else did this too?

I just watched an older episode of the Practice with guest star John Laraquette and I would LOVE to see his character and Alan Shore go at it. And I want to see Betty White again. That is my practice wishlist.:D

Posted by: ybrew

quote:
Originally posted by Snappa77

I just watched an older episode of the Practice with guest star John Laraquette and I would LOVE to see his character and Alan Shore go at it. And I want to see Betty White again. That is my practice wishlist.:D

Alan Shore vs John Laraquette would be AWESOME.

Although, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing William Shatner soon.

Posted by: Rcrew

Well, I was feeling for the Dr, and the husband.

They took a little of the edge off the sympathy for the Dr, when they/he revealed that although a medical review board had never, ever found him culpable in an incident, he'd been sued 7, SEVEN, times.

Seems like he's been reviewed plenty of times, and there's a possibility they might cover up just a bit. We didn't hear the results of the 7 suits, but his insurance company is going to drop him after a 20k settlement?

You know what, where there's smoke, there's fire...

The buy off for me on the husband was that he didn't want money as his first priority. He wanted an admission they made a mistake.

Leans me toward the husband.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

The point about the lawsuits is that doctors get sued all the time, even if they haven't done anything wrong. None of the things he was sued for resulted in any action being taken against him, and obviously he won all the suits. And I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a doctor who lost a malpractice suite would no longer be insurable.

I DID feel sorry for the doctor, and I think I was supposed to. His point about lawyers was dead-on, and I think it was a subtle but definite slam against the very foundation of the show.

Posted by: Rcrew

I'm still mixed on the Dr. I guess I want to believe that the medical review boards would gloss over an incident. It seems like a weak statement to rely on the fact they'd never found anything wrong. With so much experience going in front of them, I'm back to the smoke/fire cliche.

Add to that being sued 7 times... Why didn't his lawyer while spouting his facts, bring up a statistic about how often Dr.s are sued. that would relieve that issue.

He was painted in a sympathetic light, but with flaws. If they wanted to work that harder, the jury shouldn't have come back with a 3mil plus award. They, the jury, represent you and I, correct? Their verdict and award has to say something about what we're ultimately to think.

Posted by: daperlman

quote:
Originally posted by Rcrew
Seems like he's been reviewed plenty of times, and there's a possibility they might cover up just a bit. We didn't hear the results of the 7 suits, but his insurance company is going to drop him after a 20k settlement?

You know what, where there's smoke, there's fire...

Yes that is what insurance companies do. As for being sued, I bet doctors who work at free clinics are sued hundreds of times. For one thing they are seeing patients who usually put themselves in harm's way by not keeping reg. appointments (like the plaintiff in this case).
The reality in this world is that stuff costs money.... especially raising children. If you don't have it to spend don't take on additional responsibility by getting your GF/ wife pregnant.

Posted by: Crrink

I kept waiting for the lawyers to raise the argument that, since the doctor knew the couple had no prenatal care, he should've taken extra steps to make sure the wife was o.k.
I think a simple ultrasound would've revealed the problem with her uterus....but then, I guess they didn't want his negligence to be a certainty?

Looking forward to the war between Eugene and Alan, but I agree with previous posters - I've been watching this show since the first season, and their firm has never been known as a place of integrity. I mean, they spent a whole year on Eugene's moral crisis over that....and come to think of it, I think Lindsey had a similar crisis as well. Representing drug dealers and various other bad guys, the big 'Plan B' thread from a season or two ago.... the list goes on and on
Yeah, Shore has taken it all to a new low, but Eugene's over the top reaction was not very well written, IMO.
I also miss Eugene in the courtroom - until Shore he was my favorite litigator on the show.

Hm, maybe they'll pit Eugene and Alan against each other in a case before the season is over...that would be cool :)

Posted by: milo99

quote:
Originally posted by daperlman
Yes that is what insurance companies do. As for being sued, I bet doctors who work at free clinics are sued hundreds of times. For one thing they are seeing patients who usually put themselves in harm's way by not keeping reg. appointments (like the plaintiff in this case).
The reality in this world is that stuff costs money.... especially raising children. If you don't have it to spend don't take on additional responsibility by getting your GF/ wife pregnant.

you're dead on with both points, capitalist system and this. It amazes me how often people are very well versed of their rights, but go absolutely brain dead on their RESPONSIBILITIES. arrggg ticks me off

the only reason i was hesitant to support the doctor is cuz in the opening scene, he did seem kind condescending and downplaying the pain. Don't know if that was on purpose, or if that was the actor trying to sound like a doctor calming a patient. Who knows. And then of course the fact that he was willing to refinance his house so he could pay the guy out of his own pocket showed that he really wasn't about the money, so I was kind of hoping he'd win.

Anyway, so anybody else here think that it was weird seeing Lumberg be the attorney? I just kept waiting for him to go "ummm, yeeeaaa. That'd be great." :D

Posted by: justapixel

This particular episode just goes to how awful it really is without James Spader on the screen. Eugene, Jimmy and Eleanor are so utterly tedious. Ugh, I cannot STAND the false sincerity.

The day they spin off the show with Spader is the day my Practice SP gets canceled. I'll enjoy watching him devastate them until that happens. :)

Posted by: rgr

Thought this episode was great!
The doctor had most of my sympathy. I think he was going to say that there were more ob/gyns on staff before insurance costs forced them to cut back, but then the lawyer cut him off. And the lack of ant pre-natal care? In Massachusetts? I cannot believe that they couldn't find a free clinic or a program that would offer some assistance. Based on what's happening now in Utah, the state could charge the husband with manslaughter by not getting appropriate medical care for his wife.

That's what has always bugged me about The Practice - individuals have no responsibility unless they are being sued - it's always society or the parents or the company that is to blame, not the person closest to the issue at hand.

As to the firing, I can just see the trial where Eugene gets on the stand and lists the unethical behavior that forced him to fire Alan. Then Shatner rips him a new one by pointing out that Eugene is just as culpable by not reporting Alan at the time, that he took the unethically gotten gains, and tried to steal Alan's personal clients.

Has Eugene and Jimmy been on a case this season? Or do they just sit around and whine?

Did anybody else notice that Kelli Williams (Lindsay Dole Donnell) directed this episode? I thought she did a great job.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

quote:
Originally posted by justapixel
The day they spin off the show with Spader is the day my Practice SP gets canceled.

You won't have much choice--they're replacing The Practice with a new show about corporate law, with some carry-over in cast. And which member of the firm has extensive experience in corporate law?

Posted by: Rcrew

Everyone remember how badly Elenore wanted to go corporate representation? She nearly quit when Bobby and Lindsay combined to vote her down. That was a few seasons ago.

I could see Elenore going with Alan to build a corporate practice. Could be why they brought him in as her friend.

Posted by: smak

Does anybody think this cancellation/spinoff was planned from the beginning of the year, or as I do think it was in response to the great word of mouth about Spader.

I find myself bored with the other people in the courtroom now.

I think Eugene will be blown away at trial. "How many times have you falsely accused somebody else of murder in trial, just to get your client off" About a million.

-smak-

Posted by: bobjohnson

quote:
Originally posted by smak
Does anybody think this cancellation/spinoff was planned from the beginning of the year, or as I do think it was in response to the great word of mouth about Spader.

I find myself bored with the other people in the courtroom now.

I think Eugene will be blown away at trial. "How many times have you falsely accused somebody else of murder in trial, just to get your client off" About a million.

-smak-

There's no way the spin off could've been planned. The Practice was virtually dead on arrival... There's no way DEK could foresee the huge success that is Spader. Granted, he saw something, and deserves credit for bringing him on in the first place, but I don't think DEK could know that Spader would be his savior.

Posted by: Rcrew

Ok, given that it wasn't a plan to spin off Spader, are they just meandering through scripts, or did a plan form at some point?

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

I think it's pretty clear at this point, knowing about the spin-off, that they know what they're doing...

The question would be, at what point did they decide? I'm guessing it was shortly before they wrote the last little story-arc, because before that, the Spader character was generally being severely under-used.

Posted by: Rcrew

Shore's parts have certainly traveled a maze.

I'm thinking back to the woman witness he ended up having a brief affair with. Just the way it played out, I thought it was going to continue. But it was nipped, making it look like a one night stand. I don't think it was managed well at all.

I would also say the point where a commitment was made was the beginning ep of the 3 part murder trial, specifically when Eugene says "he's gone after this trial".

But I'm going to have to hit the tombs and look at plots to get a better recall of other stories.

Posted by: tgr131

I thought Alan was a bit over the top in this episode. Interrupting Tara's phone call, butting in on the discussion of Jaime's case. Alan is usually smarmy and smooth, and I felt he was just boorish in those incidents. I guess the writers were trying to fire up Eugene, giving him a "final straw" type incident.

And I thought Eugene was stupid to call Tara in right after the blow up with Alan. Even Jimmy seemed to think the timing was stupid.

Didn't keep me from enjoying the episode, though.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

quote:
Originally posted by tgr131
I thought Alan was a bit over the top in this episode. Interrupting Tara's phone call, butting in on the discussion of Jaime's case. Alan is usually smarmy and smooth, and I felt he was just boorish in those incidents. I guess the writers were trying to fire up Eugene, giving him a "final straw" type incident.

And I thought Eugene was stupid to call Tara in right after the blow up with Alan. Even Jimmy seemed to think the timing was stupid.

Or maybe Alan was trying to fire up Eugene, goading him into doing something stupid...like calling Tara in right away.

Seems to me that both the writers and Alan knew exactly what they were doing!

Posted by: smak

Yah, when Eugene first said he's gone after this trial, it set up the next 2 months of shows which will be Alan suing the firm (what the hell is it called now), which will lead in to the spinoff.

I think Alan was trying to goad them into firing him at this particular point, because I believe he's going to argue he was a defacto partner, since he made most of the money.

I wonder if he'll bring up this last case, where 2/5 of the lawyers spent all that time to win $20,000 whereas he made the practice millions.

-smak-

Posted by: Rcrew

And, on the latest case, even though they got the capped award of $20K, there is an appeal-able $3.5 million judgment that's due to his strategy and contacts!

Posted by: omnibus

I loved how they played Jimmy as Eugenes lap dog. It was subtle but funny the way he appeared just behind him in a couple of scenes.

Posted by: Rcrew

Jimmy's character has been gutted all season. Pretty disappointing after the way they brought him forward from Jimmy the Grunt.

If you want to find the true integrity of this firm, look no further.