Changes

Season: 3

Episode: 6

Production Code: #3M06

First Air Date: November 29, 1999

Writer: David E. Kelley

Director: Arlene Sanford

# of Times Richard said Bygones: 0

Guest Stars:

Gina Philips as Sandy Hingle
Farrah Fawcett as Robin Jones
Dan Butler as Mr. Bender (also Bulldog on Frasier)
Andy Umberger as ?
Drew Snyder as ?
D.C. Jefferson as Reporter #1
Nancy O’Dell (Access Hollywood as Reporter #2
Jerry Lambert as Reporter #3/Anchor
Jack Shearer as Judge Alan Raneor
John Harnegal as Foreman

Synopsis:

Basing your knowledge on Ally McBeal, you would think that The Library of Congress must devote four or five wings to case study on sexual harassment. Enough already, Boston surely has some good old fashioned murder, mayhem, and hot coffee spillages happening.

It’s a good thing they had the underrated skeletal remains of Farrah Fawcett playing Robin Jones, the woman accused of sofa surfing her way to the editorial echelon otherwise I wouldn’t have known this was a new sixty minutes of doppelganger material.

Between Lara Flynn Boyle’s (The Practice) visible through her jacket shoulder-blades and Farrah’s gaunt face, don’t you think right about now Ally looks like a shiny happy milk ad?

Anyway, Billy in flaring nostril Judd Nelson mode and John ‘Porky Pig’ Cage were co-council for about two minutes until The Biscuit’s numerous quirks got him fired on the spot.

With grounds like these, shouldn’t John sue? Maybe he could hire Georgia.

Tumult ensued, propelling John into high school yearbook life inventory when he saw his Barney Fife-dom laid bare on a television newscast. A real revelation followed, like we all didn’t notice that fifteen years down the road Anthony Michael Hall is still a computer nerd while Jack Nicholson will be a cool kid until the day he dies.

Beyond moving from pocket protectors to Armani, do you think people seriously ever change?

Oh, wait a second, besides Billy’s new card carrying status maybe there’s another reason to believe such a shift is possible; wasn’t that Nelle, former cucumber cold nineties Estella, wearing a pink silk Jennifer Love Hewitt nightie? No, thankyou.

On the plus side, guest star Dan Butler (Frasier) was superb as the fed up opposing council, hope they keep him on retainer. And also, no one in Hollywood does for older women’s self-esteem what David E. Kelley does. Sure, Billy is no Dr. Luca from ER, but at least Farrah’s not stuck portraying the dowdy Tyne Daly role.

Or would we be more comfortable with all women on television over fifty, if they gave into the gray and lived for baking cookies?

By the way, did you care that for the most part Ally was missing in action?

This derivative episode for the most part felt like walking on a treadmill, and we keep seeing the same white wall over and over again. The bottom line is, even comedians retire their material eventually.

©1999 Almost Human