Episode Report Card Kim: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Pilot
By Kim | Season 1 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.27.2003
Grant and Frances walk out of Triple L. Grant asks who "that weasel Turner thinks he is." Frances expositions, "Other than the son of Senator H.M. Turner, partner emeritus and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, you mean?" Grant whines about not getting the managing-partner job. France says it's not a disaster, it's a challenge, and offers her advice. Grant asks what it will cost him, and Frances says they'll discuss it later. Hmm, what does that mean? Grant says he does want it, and hurries after Frances as she hustles off.
Jack is back at the clinic, discussing the day's events with Riley, who is shocked by Barrington's death. Jack says that Christianson threatened to shut them down, and Riley thinks that now that Barrington's dead, Christianson will seize the chance to "torch this place down." Jack's assistant tells him that "that Nigerian woman with the unpronounceable name" is on line one. Riley tells that assistant (Kathy!) that the name is Nwamaka's heritage, so Kathy should be able to pronounce it. Kathy smarts back that she's "fourth-generation Bronx," and points out that Riley is Irish, and then asks how his Gaelic is these days. Go, Kathy! Jack takes the call, then tells Riley, "The INS, or whatever the hell they're calling it now, just picked up my client."
Detective Traub walks in and tells Kathy that he's looking for Jack. Traub spots Riley and Jack walking out. Riley greets him, and Traub says he needs to ask Jack about Barrington. Jack says he has a client emergency, but Kathy will set him up with an appointment. Remarkably similar to Christianson's response, no? Riley tells Traub that Barrington was "one of the good guys." Traub calls after them that someone will have to talk to him eventually. He's a cop. Can't he haul them downtown or something? Briscoe would already have an indictment.
At Triple L, David Krumholtz (who I can't stop picturing in his underwear belting out show tunes in Slums of Beverly Hills, which disturbs me) and some other paralegals make morbid jokes about Barrington's death. The boss (it's Jesse, Andrea's hubby from 90210!) asks Fineman (Krumholtz) what he's doing. Jesse tells him to get back to work. Another paralegal asks how they're supposed to work "when partners are jumping out of windows." Jesse says that they're paralegals, and that they don't concern themselves with what goes on upstairs. Anyone feel like Fineman's soon going to concern himself with what goes on upstairs? Elizabeth Mitchell (Ariel! The character names are coming fast and furious now! And also, "Ariel"? The hell?) charges in and asks Fineman about a particular case. They banter, and he promises to get the case to her within the hour. Ariel starts to mermaid off, and Fineman asks her if she wants to go to the Kurosawa retrospective with him that night. She wonders if he's asking her out, and seems flattered. Fineman asks if she's too good to date a paralegal now. Ariel says that she wouldn't date Fineman when she was one of his fellow paralegals, and that it's nothing personal. Yeah, she only dates evil lawyers named Grant. I think the word "dates" should be in quotation marks in that sentence to indicate irony. Fineman acts like he doesn't care, but he clearly does. Ariel leaves.