DIRTY SEXY MONEY: THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT {SECOND SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The second season premiere in this drama series about a troubled lawyer whose life is overtaken by his employers: a super-rich, morally-challenged family in New York City. In this episode, Nick arrives at his lavish birthday bash, thrown for him by the Darlings, and shares a tense moment with Lisa before Tripp presents him with a boat as a gift – though everyone is then shocked by the arrival of the police. Two days earlier, Nick assures Lisa that he will share a private birthday dinner with her alone before the Darlings' blowout, and then heads to a meeting with Patrick and Tripp, where he tries to restore peace between the feuding father and son. Tripp declares that Patrick's campaign is a complete mess, largely thanks to Ellen's drunken antics, and Patrick heatedly states that he will never return to the family fold. Jeremy attempts to rekindle his momentary passion with Lisa, though she sternly rebuffs him, and Karen peeks through Simon's emails during a romantic rendezvous and is taken aback when he suddenly declares that he loves her.
Karen arrives at Nick's office and attempts to seduce him as a "birthday present," admitting that she is in over her head with Simon and views Nick as an "exit ramp," but he simply tells her to disentangle herself from her father's enemy. Tripp visits Brian, who is still playing host to Andrea and Brian Jr., thanks to a delay with their visas, and asks him to "counsel" Ellen, but Brian refuses, irritably pointing out that he has left the church. Patrick frets over Carmelita's disappearance, further angering an embittered Ellen, and she furiously attacks him in the shower, claiming that she "took care" of Carmelita for good. In her rage, she slips on the wet floor and hits her head, and Patrick is horrified to realize that she is dead. Elsewhere, Jeremy mopes over Lisa and meets the mysterious Nola Lyons, and as Nick heads to his private dinner with Lisa, he is summoned by Tripp to the scene of Ellen's demise. Tripp hints that he wishes Nick to handle the matter quietly, but Nick declares that covering up a homicide, even an accidental one, is crossing a moral boundary.
Simon reveals that he knows about Karen's plans to "collect dirt" on him for Tripp, and he tells her about his newest invention: a clean-burning, non-toxic fuel from which he stands to make millions. He gives her the vial to give to her father, suggesting that he cares more about her than he does about defeating Tripp. Jeremy finds Lisa alone at dinner and joins her for an enjoyable evening after all, and Nick spots the two kissing when he makes his belated arrival. He seeks solace with Karen, suggesting that there is inescapable "chemistry" between the Georges and the Darlings, but she turns down his advances, realizing that she may have developed genuine feelings for Simon. Tripp, hinting that Ellen was simply the victim of her own bad choices, invites Nick to truly "join" the family once and for all, stating that he loves him as a son. Nick takes a moment to punch out Jeremy before heading home to Lisa, who points out that he too had a dalliance with Karen and will eventually have to choose between the Darlings and his own family. Brian confronts Tripp, angry that he apparently arranged for Andrea and Brian Jr.'s visas to clear as revenge for his refusal to help Ellen, but Tripp denies interfering and simply asks that Brian lie about his weekend whereabouts and say that he was out sailing. Karen returns Simon's fuel sample, seemingly convinced of his feelings for her, but he confides to someone on the phone that they have "got her." Jeremy enjoys an impromptu moment of intimacy with Nola, and the Darlings' staff is shocked to see that the family's country home has suddenly burned down. At Nick's party, Lisa assures him that they are "okay," but the cops then arrive and Patrick and Tripp turn on Nick, sure that he has betrayed them regarding Ellen's death. Detective Larrabee, however, arrests Tish – for the murder of Dutch. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: October 1, 2008 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:36
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 115391
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBT Collection; Comedy; Drama; Lawyers; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2007-2009
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Body of Lies" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Eagle Eye" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" home video
- TV - Commercials - "Pride and Glory" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Advil PM pain relief
- TV - Commercials - Applebee's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Apple iPod Touch devices
- TV - Commercials - Arbor Day Foundation
- TV - Commercials - Cadillac automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Federal Student Aid financial services
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Glade Fabric & Air air freshener
- TV - Commercials - Head & Shoulders shampoos and conditioners
- TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
- TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
- TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Nikon digital cameras
- TV - Commercials - Nissan automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Olay Regenerist hydrating cream
- TV - Commercials - Old Navy stores
- TV - Commercials - Revlon Beyond Natural makeup
- TV - Commercials - Sprint wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Target stores
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - USO organization
- TV - Commercials - Victoria's Secret stores
- TV - Commercials - Yaz birth control medication
- TV - PSA - TV Boss censoring device
- TV - Promos - "Desperate Housewives"
- TV - Promos - "Eli Stone"
- TV - Promos - "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
- TV - Promos - "Life On Mars"
- TV - Promos - "Ugly Betty"
- TV - Promos - "Wife Swap"
CREDITS
- Bryan Singer … Executive Producer
- Matthew Gross … Executive Producer
- Greg Berlanti … Executive Producer
- Craig Wright … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Jon Harmon Feldman … Executive Producer, Writer
- Paul Redford … Co-Executive Producer
- Yahlin Chang … Co-Executive Producer
- Bill Chais … Supervising Producer
- Peter Krause … Producer
- Melissa Berman … Producer
- Kelly Van Horn … Producer
- Artürs Rüsis … Co-Producer
- Emily Whitesell … Consulting Producer
- Jeff Melman … Director
- Peter Nashel … Music by
- Peter Krause … Cast, Nick George
- Donald Sutherland … Cast, Patrick 'Tripp' Darling III
- William Baldwin … Cast, Senator Patrick Darling
- Natalie Zea … Cast, Karen Darling
- Glenn Fitzgerald … Cast, Brian Darling
- Seth Gabel … Cast, Jeremy Darling
- Zoe McLellan … Cast, Lisa George
- Blair Underwood … Cast, Simon Elder
- Jill Clayburgh … Cast, Letitia 'Tish' Darling
- Lucy Liu … Cast, Nola Lyons
- Shawn Michael Patrick … Cast, Clark the Chauffeur
- Will Shadley … Cast, Brian Darling, Jr.
- Laura Margolis … Cast, Daisy
- Bellamy Young … Cast, Ellen Darling
- Joseph Siravo … Cast, Detective Larrabee
- John Bennett Perry … Cast, Hal Matheson
- John Kapelos … Cast, Cameron
- Sheryl Lee … Cast, Andrea Smithson
- Roxana Brusso … Cast, Maria the Maid
- Ron Ostrow … Cast, Reporter #1
- Angela Martinez … Cast, Reporter #2