BOSTON LEGAL: HIRED GUNS (TV)

Summary

One in this darkly comic series focusing on a firm of brilliant but emotionally-challenged attorneys in Boston. In this episode, at the office Christmas party, Denny serenades the crowd with carols as Alan tries to get a mistletoe kiss from Tara. Sally interrupts to ask for his help with Carmen Flores, a member of the janitorial staff whose ex-husband has kidnapped their children and taken them to Peru for the holiday, as he has in past years. In the courtroom, A.D.A. Shubert offers his opening statement about Susan May, accused of murdering her husband and his mistress. He presents the case as open-and-shut, but Lori posits that she is innocent. Denny and Alan talk to Carmen, who says that the police have been unhelpful with her case, and they vow to assist her. On the stand, Detective Farley explains Susan's implausible story about finding her husband and his lover dead, pointing out that she had motive to kill them and that her prints were on the gun, but Brad pokes holes in his claims by revealing that Susan had no powder residue on her hands and that there had been recent unsolved burglaries in the neighborhood.

Lori and Brad tell Susan that things are going well, but that the burden of proof is still upon them. She asks if they believe her, and Lori admits that she is unsure. Elsewhere, Denny and Alan use their influence to order the cops to arrest Julio Flores. Lori and Brad question a doctor to establish time of death, and when Shubert rests, they call Susan to the stand. She describes how she went into shock upon discovering the two dead bodies, and though Shubert dismisses her memory loss as "convenient," they next question psychiatrist Dr. Waylon next and he explains the idea of "post-traumatic amnesia." He suggests that Susan may have killed the two after all in a "dissociative state" and then created a false memory to compensate, being unaware of her actions and therefore not guilty, though not because of insanity. Shubert objects to the use of two defenses at once, but Judge Stevens points out that he caused the damage with his own questions and allows the evidence to stand. However, he sternly tells Lori and Brad that he will note their trick on his "scorecards."

Alan makes another pass at Tara and she flirts aggressively back, but they are again interrupted when Julio arrives and confronts Alan with a gun, enraged at being arrested and losing his children. Alan orders everyone else to leave and attempts to talk to Julio as Shubert, Lori and Brad make their closing arguments in court. Denny strolls in, unaware of the situation, and when Tara and Sally update him, he takes out the rifle that he happens to have in his office and manages to shoot Julio in the shoulder, saving Alan. He talks to the police as Tara tends to a shaken Alan, who admits that he "thought that was it" for him. She then tells him that she loves him, saying that she too had a near-death experience once and wondered in the moment if she was loved, and they finally kiss. Susan is found not guilty on all counts, but wonders if the doctor was right or not about her being unaware of her actions. Alan spends the evening with Denny, who muses on the singularly Republican joy of "shooting bad guys" who threaten loved ones, and Alan is again touched as they toast to the season and the Red Sox's victory at the World Series. Includes commercials and promos.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: December 19, 2004 10:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:57:40
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:85212
• GENRE: Comedy
• SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Lawyers; Drama
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2004-2008
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - American Express credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - Best Buy stores
  • TV - Commercials - Cingular cellular phones
  • TV - Commercials - DeBeers diamonds
  • TV - Commercials - Habitat for Humanity
  • TV - Commercials - Hallmark Gold Crown stores
  • TV - Commercials - IBM E-Server i5 computers
  • TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
  • TV - Commercials - Lance Armstrong Foundation
  • TV - Commercials - March of Dimes
  • TV - Commercials - Maybelline mascara
  • TV - Commercials - Mercury automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Neulasta white blood cell medication
  • TV - Commercials - Office Depot stores
  • TV - Commercials - Outback Steakhouse restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Remicade Crohn's medication
  • TV - Commercials - Sprint cellular phones
  • TV - Commercials - United States Marines
  • TV - Commercials - Volkswagen automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Wal-Mart stores
  • TV - PSA - World Vision HIV/AIDS charity
  • TV - Promos - "Alias"
  • TV - Promos - "Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure"
  • TV - Promos - "King Arthur" home video
  • TV - Promos - "Primetime Live"
  • TV - Promos - "TV Guide Greatest Moments 2004"
  • TV - Promos - "The Bachelorette"
  • TV - Promos - "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" motion picture
  • TV - Promos - "The Manchurian Candidate" home video
  • TV - Promos - ABC Monday Night Football
  • TV - Promos - NBA on ABC

CREDITS

• Bill D'Elia … Executive Producer
• Scott Kaufer … Executive Producer
• Jeff Rake … Executive Producer
• David E. Kelley … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
• Peter Ocko … Co-Executive Producer
• Mike Listo … Co-Executive Producer
• Steve Robin … Supervising Producer
• Jonathan Shapiro … Supervising Producer
• Lukas Reiter … Supervising Producer
• Janet Knutsen McCann … Producer
• Anne E. Uemura … Associate Producer
• Robert Breech … Consulting Producer
• Kerry Ehrin … Consulting Producer
• Dennis Smith … Director
• Danny Lux … Music by
• James Spader … Cast, Alan Shore
• Monica Potter … Cast, Lori Colson
• Rhona Mitra … Cast, Tara Wilson
• Lake Bell … Cast, Sally Heep
• Mark Valley … Cast, Brad Chase
• William Shatner … Cast, Denny Crane
• Rocky Carroll … Cast, A.D.A. John Shubert
• Megan Ward … Cast, Susan May
• Ed O'Ross … Cast, Judge Phillip Stevens
• John Kapelos … Cast, Detective Wayne Farley
• Jodi Lyn O'Keefe … Cast, Nora Jacobs
• Daniel Edward Mora … Cast, Julio Flores
• Aaron Lustig … Cast, Dr. Herbert Waylon
• Ming Lo … Cast, Dr. Lee Chang
• Yeniffer Behrens … Cast, Carmen Flores
• Scott Conte … Cast, Officer Davis
• Michael C. Alexander … Cast, Officer Michaels
• Shirley Saunders … Cast, Foreperson
• Blair Bess … Cast, Hostage Negotiator
• Charles Emmett … Cast, Detective Smiley
• John Cragen … Cast, Paramedic
• Scott Reitz … Cast, SWAT Police