The Law Firm: Episode 2 - Attack of the Drones
*** Note: There will be minor SPOILERS regarding the second episode of NBC's The Law Firm. Please Avert Your Eyes if you don't want it ruined for you***
Yes, I watched The Law Firm again. No, I am not proud of it. The only thing I have to say is, like every reality show I've ever seen where people are kicked, I once again am very mad at who got kicked off, but mostly I am pissed at who remains.
I felt that at least one person deserved to be dismissed. Anika pretty much sucked and didn't have a good grip on what trial strategy might be all about. But, I had a real problem with Elizabeth getting canned, not because she did an awesome job (she didn't), but because she did a competent job and at least 2 other people should have been fired before her. She wasn't even the worst on her own team. Deep let himself get completely flummoxed by Keith's objections during the "trial", and eventually just gave up (or at least that is how they edited it). Sure, Deep gave a pretty good closing argument (although not great), and if they had to fire two people from that team, they should have gotten rid of Deep.
But the real reason I'm mad (although not surprised) is because, once again, the Asshole escaped dismissal because the producers want to keep the drama going. I don't care if this is reality TV, if a lawyer tells a judge (or arbiter in this case) that his decision is "Bullshit," he should have been fired on the spot. Period. But, because Olivier1 is a prick and the fashionable pretty boy of the group (and therefore in the minds of TV Land will bring the ratings) he gets to stay at least until mid-season. What a douche nozzle.
I think the worst thing about this show (besides the oh-so-flattering light it paints of our already highly-regarded profession) is the complete predictability of who the final 2 or 3 will be. It seems pretty clear that the only really good lawyer in the bunch is Chris, and the only other real competition seems to be Keith and Aileen. A few others really haven't been shown much (Barrett, I'm looking in your direction), so maybe they're OK. Why do I let these stupid shows suck me in?!
In other Reality TV news, I've also seen a couple episodes of a show on ABC2 called Brat Camp. It takes a bunch of badly behaved teenagers and sticks them into a hippy-style camp to make them work hard and straighten them out. The show is annoying, but there are two funny things about it. Each kid has their own caption whenever their name appears on screen. This guy is "Hyperactive" and she is the "Compulsive Liar". One of the best ones is "Tried to Stab His Twin", and my absolute favorite "Agressive Outcast". I'm sure the labels are good for their self-esteem. The other good part is the names of the counselors at this camp. There's Boulder, Glacier, Mother Bear, and my favorite Little Big Bear (who actually seems like a really patient and cool guy who would be great as a counselor, but he still needs to change his name).
So that's my (long) TV update for this week. Cheers!
Update: For the second week, Ditzy Genius has a huge recap of yesterday's episode of The Law Firm. The summary isn't that great (sorry DG, but the typos are everywhere!), but her little side comments are great. For example "Roy says that each of them perfromed well but not perfect - some even showed flashes of brilliance. I must have missed that part last week." and "The first case is about the most serious issue facing the world today: Terrorism. I feel everyone in America watching roll their eyes." Ha!
1Seriously, this dude's name is O-liv-i-ay! I know he's French and all that, but sit the f*$% down OLIVER.
2Yes, I'm one of the 4 people who watched ABC that day.
posted by Unreasonable Man @ 9:17 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I've been watching The Law Firm, too. Please, please, please tell me this is not an accurate portrait of the legal profession. First of all, I've surprised by just how poorly many of the lawyers have been performing - like in the "terrorist" case you don't bring up first thing "Eat Me"?
Secondly, I know the participants are in a competetion and under a lot of stress but I don't think I've seen anyone crack a smile or share a light moment in both episodes.
And to any law students or lawyers out there, does it strike any one else as strange that there hasn't been pne on-screen discussion related to law, rather than strategy or how to spin things, the entire time?
I think many of the lawyers are performing poorly because the only lawyers that were willing to go on this show were ones who didn't have as much to lose by leaving their current practice... in other words, these aren't the people who were top of their class getting jobs in BigLaw.
I do find it strange that they don't show the lawyers actually talking about the law, but I think that's because it would be boring TV for everyone but law students and other lawyers. There's only so much discussion about whether or not their was consideration for a contract, or whether a party's conduct met the reasonableness standard of negligence that Joe Public can take before their eyes glaze over. But I agree, I wish they actually showed a little more legal strategy rather than gamesmanship (i.e. theatrical) strategy (like bringing the 3-legged dog to court last week or Olivier trying to be distracting during the video deposition this week).
I would've liked to hear someone recite the elements of IIED. But that's just me. What wins trials are pretty faces--not the law.
I think the people who stayed on to this point 1) haven't made any major mistakes, or 2) have a feud going. Therefore, I believe Deep, Mike, Regina, and Olivier will be safe for a bit.
Igots, while I know you are right, that means that two douchebags (Mike and Olivier), an incompetant (Deep), and a surly, partial incompetant (Regina) will stick around for longer than they deserve. It's Omarosa all over again, but times 4.
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