BOSTON LEGAL: THE BAD SEED (TV)

Summary

One in this darkly comic series focusing on a firm of brilliant but emotionally-challenged attorneys in Boston. In this episode, Alan is surprised when Shirley recruits him for a seemingly unwinnable case, that of a man, Jason Canfield, trying to sue a military hospital for malpractice – an act prohibited by the Feres doctrine of 1950 – that caused his soldier brother's death. Jerry's no-nonsense sister Joy informs him that her son Henry, conceived from an anonymous sperm donor, may unknowingly be dating his biological half-sister, and Jerry has to summon his aggressive, wooden cigarette-smoking persona to demand confidential information from the bank. Wade Mathis is offended by Shirley and Alan's attempt to circumvent the military's legal immunity, and Denny, feeling that Alan's interest in the case is mere "Bush-bashing," cajoles him to place a $50,000 wager on the outcome.

Judge Byron Fudd allows the Feres case to go forward, and over dinner, Mathis sternly tells Shirley that her firm is gaining a bad reputation thanks to Alan's frequent antics, though she defends him as principled and honorable. Jerry gently breaks the (potentially) bad news to Henry and his oddly similar girlfriend Fiona, and Shirley interrogates a military recruiter, who bluntly explains that they have a "backdoor draft" that intentionally targets poorer families with fewer options. Fudd, however, gets fed up and disallows the witness, demanding their summations on the following day. He then furiously confronts Shirley and Alan about Alan's highly unethical financial wager with Denny, and they are both disgusted when Denny admits to telling the court clerk about the bet, with Alan going so far as to declare their friendship "done." In court, Jerry defends adoptees' and sperm-donor kids' "primal need" to know their own genetic background, and though the defense argues that anonymity is necessary to ensure sperm donations, Henry points out that he had no say in the contract made between his mother and the company.

Denny offers an unusually sincere apology to Alan, worried that he's "slipping" and should finally quit practicing law, but Alan forgives him and even agrees to double the bet. .Judge Peyton rules that Henry and Fiona have a right to know if they're related, though not to their identity of their father(s), and when Mathis argues that the Feres doctrine assures a "troops-first" mentality in times of war, Alan passionately declares that it is highly disrespectful to soldiers' lives to deny them legal protection from reckless medical care, adding that it's not considered a national outrage because of many soldiers' low-income backgrounds. Fiona and Henry are crushed to learn that they are indeed half-siblings, and everyone is shocked when Fudd declares that the Feres doctrine is outdated and that Canfield may continue with his case. Denny, handing over Alan's $100,000 winnings – which will go to supporting the troops – assures him that Shirley will forgive them in time and suggests a trip to the "wild west," and Alan tells his friend that he's not yet "slipping" after all. Includes commercials and promos.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: October 20, 2008 10:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:55:56
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 113724
• GENRE: Comedy
• SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Drama, legal; Lawyers
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2004-2008
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - "Changeling" motion picture
  • TV - Commercials - "Pride and Glory" motion picture
  • TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless networks
  • TV - Commercials - Allstate insurance
  • TV - Commercials - Apple Macintosh computers
  • TV - Commercials - Apple iPhone 3G devices
  • TV - Commercials - Avon Anew Rejuvenate cream
  • TV - Commercials - Cialis medication
  • TV - Commercials - Conservation.org website
  • TV - Commercials - Expedia.com travel website
  • TV - Commercials - Federal Student Aid financial services
  • TV - Commercials - Fisher-Price toys
  • TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Girl Scouts of America organization
  • TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Kmart stores
  • TV - Commercials - Levitra medication
  • TV - Commercials - Lincoln automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - Mazda automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Mercedes-Benz automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser product
  • TV - Commercials - Olay Ribbons body wash
  • TV - Commercials - Stride chewing gum
  • TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless cellular services
  • TV - Promos - "Boston Legal" upcoming episode
  • TV - Promos - "Eli Stone"
  • TV - Promos - "Private Practice"

CREDITS

• Mike Listo … Executive Producer
• Bill D'Elia … Executive Producer
• David E. Kelley … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
• Lawrence Broch … Executive Producer, Writer
• Susan Dickes … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
• Steve Robin … Supervising Producer
• Janet Knutsen McCann … Producer
• Anne M. Uemura … Co-Producer
• Sanford Golden … Co-Producer
• Karen Wyscarver … Co-Producer
• Den Menchaca … Associate Producer
• Robert Breech … Consulting Producer
• Robert Yannetti … Director
• Danny Lux … Music by
• James Spader … Cast, Alan Shore
• John Larroquette … Cast, Carl Sack
• Christian Clemenson … Cast, Jerry Espenson
• Tara Summers … Cast, Katie Lloyd
• Candice Bergen … Cast, Shirley Schmidt
• William Shatner … Cast, Denny Crane
• Roma Maffia … Cast, Judge Victoria Peyton
• Chuck McCann … Cast, Judge Byron Fudd
• Nora Dunn … Cast, Attorney Cynthia Rhodes
• Matt Winston … Cast, Ryan Chism
• BJ Wallace … Cast, Henry Espenson
• Emilee Wallace … Cast, Fiona
• David Sullivan … Cast, Jason Canfield
• Kent Faulcon … Cast, Owen Patterson
• James Rebhorn … Cast, Wade Mathis
• Annie Potts … Cast, Joy Espenson