S01.E08: RICO

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Here I go into esoteric big law machinations.  Thanks, VG!

 

As I understand it, Chuck is on a sabbatical.  It would be well beyond my capacity to understand if the firm would choose to get pissy about the copies.  Why?  If they try to screw him over on the use of firm facilities, he could decide to go after them by being a pit bull for denying him legitimate use or he could decide to finally separate fully by leaving entirely and demanding his payout, which would be millions.  Given how fastidiously and hard the firm has maintained the legal fiction that Chuck is on a sabbatical or hiatus, there is no way they would risk Chuck's anger at this point.  Good luck with the ultimate goal of having him declared incompetent once Chuck becomes motivated.  You can be darn sure opposing counsel would tell them Chuck was being his old self, too.  

 

Yes, Jimmy is going to get shafted in some way.  However, I don't see how or why Chuck would be the one to do it.  He has had every reason to give up entirely on his star-crossed brother.  He didn't.  Now, his brother, through pluck and savvy, has landed a monster case.  Where is the motivation to steal from him?  I've seen none.  If anything, the tolerant and patient Chuck I have seen would see to it that Jimmy got even more than he typically would (if not everything after expenses) as a co-counsel.  Would Chuck want to risk the heavy regret of stabbing his brother in the back just as he is coming out of his dark period?  

 

Given VG's incredibly fantastic track record of paying off character developments with earned choices, my guess is that Chuck meets a bad fate.  Then comes the question of a will - Jimmy's new focus!  Guess who would have forgotten to have Chuck redraw his will to his own benefit while taking care of his incapacitated brother?!  I can totally see where Chuck would not have left him a lot, though.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Lonesome Rhodes

[Starchild]

It might turn out to be somewhere in between. Chuck is acting in good faith, but HHM pulls the rug out from under both of them. And in a crucial moment where Chuck could stand up for Jimmy with Hamlin, he instead backs down and reluctantly lets Jimmy get screwed. Depending on where Jimmy is mentally when that happens, it could be the last straw.

 

Then, perhaps, before Jimmy has a chance to try to mend fences with Chuck, something final happens to prevent it forever.

[queenanne]

Not that I think they should turn this show into the comedic legal version of "Alias" and make everyone related, but I am starting to think and wonder about the role of "the other Hamlin".  Howard's father?  Sibling?  Wife?  While the show's not about Howard, maybe he has more reason to relate to Jimmy than he thinks.

 

I can also see and not-see, a scenario where Jimmy could have been taken on at HHM.  On one hand, the "University of American Samoa" would've looked like hell in the firm literature.  OTOH, it's simultaneously "the type of human-interest press that money can't buy", the contrasting Story of Two Brothers.

Edited March 24, 2015 by queenanne

[SoSueMe]

Yeah, my guess is Howard finds out by morning that Chuck suddenly used a couple hundred bucks worth of copying, out of the blue, without ever being in the office, looks into what has been copied, and finds out that Jimmy has ucovered a slam dunk case, thanks to Jimmy's dumpster diving, and Chucks acumen at putting together shredded (thankfully, not cross-cut!) documents, worth several million in contingency fees. From there, Howard uses the pretext of HHM's and Chuck's involvement to leave Jimmy out in the cold.

Yeah, and a glimpse of the preview makes me think that Howard is somehow going to back Kim into a corner over this. I fear it could be the beginning of the end of Jimmy's and Kim's relationship. I hope I'm wrong. I love them together.

[Umbelina]

I dunno.

 

Chuck chose HMM over Jimmy before.  I initially took it as Chuck being distracted too, but this man is supposed to be a legal savant.  Even distracted?  He knew on some level. 

[wrestlesflamingos]

So, Chuck is kinda dickish. I'd love Saul to emerge from spite rather than grief.

[peggy06]

So, Chuck is kinda dickish. I'd love Saul to emerge from spite rather than grief.

I agree with Peeaybee that Chuck was just in the zone when he suggested using his code (and he probably feels entitled to do so, being a named partner and founder of the firm). So I haven't seen anything to suggest he is willfully planning to stab Jimmy in the back. But I'm with you - I'd rather Chuck betray him than Chuck dies. You can mend fences, but you can't come back from the dead.

[LittleIggy]

It's Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Wanna bet how that D-bag Howard got his job?

[editorgrrl]

It's Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Wanna bet how that D-bag Howard got his job?

I've never understood who the other "H" is in HHM. Chuck said he'd have to discuss hiring Jimmy with the other partners, meaning there's one or more in addition to Howard. But in an earlier episode, Jimmy said something about Chuck building the firm while Howard was goofing off (on the golf course, I think).

[Dev F]

I've never understood who the other "H" is in HHM. Chuck said he'd have to discuss hiring Jimmy with the other partners, meaning there's one or more in addition to Howard. But in an earlier episode, Jimmy said something about Chuck building the firm while Howard was goofing off (on the golf course, I think).

 

The firm's full name is Hamlin Hamlin & McGill, so the other "H" is clearly some sort of relative of Howard's. But there isn't necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between the firm's partners and its name, so there could be one or more partners with less clout whose names aren't part of the firm name, and the second Hamlin could be someone distinguished who's no longer with the firm because he/she died or retired. (Similar to how on Mad Men, Sterling Cooper was actually named after Bert Cooper and Roger Sterling's dad, the original senior partner in the firm.)

[Starchild]

Until I'm told otherwise, I'm assuming that H1 is Howard's father, who took his son, and later young hotshot Chuck McGill, on as junior partners. Chuck was the workhorse while Howard schmoozed. Hamlin senior has retired and/or passed, leaving Junior in charge and Chuck shafted.

[candall]

 Jimmy would have had to rely on Chuck to provide references.

I'm counting all the other people at the firm who know Jimmy from working in the mailroom for years.  He's an affable guy, did a good job with the mail, showed initiative and seemed to be on good terms with everyone.  That should have been enough to net him a call from someone to Legal Aid or New Mexico HHS, I think. 

 

Michael J. Fox made a whole movie about leveraging himself out of the mailroom.  : )

 

ETA:  while I'm typing this, there's an old Intervention on tv and I think the woman has the same screaming meemees about electronic magnetic forcefields as Chuck!  (Uh oh:  "delusional disorder."  Residential treatment center.)

Edited March 25, 2015 by candall

[Bannon]

Man, McGill and McGill would be an aces law firm. Charlie Hustle out shaking the trees, and The Brain working judges, juries, and opposing counsel. The mere sight of Chuck and Jimmy would be like Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky arriving in your reception area to discuss business. 

[Toaster Strudel]

What I love about this show is the rich tapestry of positive human interactions between the characters.  I bask in the love, the loyalty, the worries, the help, the common goals.

[Lingo]

It might turn out to be somewhere in between. Chuck is acting in good faith, but HHM pulls the rug out from under both of them. And in a crucial moment where Chuck could stand up for Jimmy with Hamlin, he instead backs down and reluctantly lets Jimmy get screwed. Depending on where Jimmy is mentally when that happens, it could be the last straw.

 

Then, perhaps, before Jimmy has a chance to try to mend fences with Chuck, something final happens to prevent it forever.

 

Yeah, this is how I see it too.  Chuck just fails to stand up for Jimmy, because he doesn't really have faith in Jimmy.

[SlackerInc]

This whole nursing home plot reminds of when a much younger version of Frasier Crane's dad ripped off the folks living in his nursing home on Say Anything. And much like those Kettlemans, he justified it because "I take care of them! I wipe their mouths!" ha ha. 

 

I kept thinking of Say Anything too.

 

If Chuck dies at some point, then Chuck might leave a lot of money to the eventual Saul, which doesn't make sense for the show...

 

Maybe it's just because I'm kinda poor-ish myself, but I find myself puzzled at the repeated assertions that Jimmy can't score any money to speak of during the run of this prequel, because he's seen as being too poor in the era of Breaking Bad.  To me, while Jimmy is certainly a low-income guy with his two-tone car, fake British receptionist, and boiler room office in the back of the nail salon, the Saul we knew in BB was (will be) fairly well off.  He had a big office space with employees (and think about it: the type of clientele he represents would rather go to a strip mall than an office park), a fancy if ridiculous decoration scheme, a late model Cadillac DeVille parked outside (with "LWYRUP" vanity plates), and a bunch of cash in the safe.  Not to mention all the TV commercials, bus stop signs, and billboards.

Edited March 25, 2015 by SlackerInc

[pasdetrois]

Oh candall, an Intervention cross-over! Linda who could feel electricity over the telephone. Good times.

 

 

Now I'm questioning whether Chuck is also screwing Jimmy here.  This is a brilliant legal mind, who has near photographic recall.

 

I'm so captivated by Chuck's story. Originally it was because I wondered how he got to be so incapacitated, now there's tension as to whether his brilliance is re-emerging, and whether he will do the right thing by Jimmy once Chuck has regained his powers. I can see it going either way.

 

Jimmy waiting for his brother's approval after finally passing the bar broke my heart.

 

Was this latest episode the first time Jimmy referred to Chuck as his brother?

 

So perhaps Mike's daughter-in-law is another criminal-in-the-making, another Lady Macbeth who drives men to commit mayhem for financial gain.

 

I once had a temporary office in ABQ that was high up and all windows, like the attorneys' offices we're seeing. It was divine to be surrounded by that endless blue sky all day.

 

I'm evaluating assisted living for a family member and it's quite daunting, as one knows there are opportunities to be taken advantage of by The System. There is pressure to let them the assume representative payee role, or to hand over lots of money for all their services.

[Conan Troutman]

I kept thinking of Say Anything too.

 

 

Maybe it's just because I'm kinda poor-ish myself, but I find myself puzzled at the repeated assertions that Jimmy can't score any money to speak of during the run of this prequel, because he's seen as being too poor in the era of Breaking Bad.  To me, while Jimmy is certainly a low-income guy with his two-tone car, fake British receptionist, and boiler room office in the back of the nail salon, the Saul we knew in BB was (will be) fairly well off.  He had a big office space with employees (and think about it: the type of clientele he represents would rather go to a strip mall than an office park), a fancy if ridiculous decoration scheme, a late model Cadillac DeVille parked outside (with "LWYRUP" vanity plates), and a bunch of cash in the safe.  Not to mention all the TV commercials, bus stop signs, and billboards.

 

Obviously he will be in a way better situtation financially than he is right now. But I think the point that G&G have made so far is that honest lawyer Jimmy won't be able to accomplish that, for various reasons - it'll be only once Jimmy turns into sleazy, amoral Saul that he'll finally be really successfull. I think he might get a nice chunk of money from that Sandpiper case (maybe roughly what he would've gotten had he agreed to the initial setllement proposal from the other law firm), but that'll be chump change in comparison what HHM (and possibly Chuck) will get out of it. It could be the beginning of his transformation into Saul (I assume this will happen gradually, over several seasons, but this might be the clear starting point) and the small "finder's fee" he gets from the case could be both his motivation and starting capital.

 

I think Chuck would have been OK with Jimmy practicing law, (while looking over his shoulder, perhaps, to be sure he was doing so honestly) but he knows that nobody is going to hire this guy. Had Jimmy asked, he probably would have advised putting that time and money into pursuing some other career.

 

And Chuck would've probably been right about that - I can easily imagine an alternate universe Jimmy who would've made a fortune in sales by now. In another show, he could've been Saul Wheelin, used car mogul.

[Conan Troutman]

I didn't make that connection before, but as I just wrote in the Mike thread, there's another layer to Stacey and her newfound appreciation of dirty money: At the beginning of "Bingo", Mike's talking to the older Philly cop. Both cops pretty much know or at least higly suspect that Mike killed the Hoffmann and Fenske out of revenge for Matt (the case notes from the notebook clearly show they're on his trail and they got most of the details right), but can't prove anything. The older cop makes it clear they'll be questioning Stacey again and she might talk (especially about Matt's phone call, which they rightly assume was with Mike), and Mike is just like "well, whatever, her call". So she's probably not just guilting him, but decided to more or less blackmail him after the second visit from the Philly cops.

ETA: Just rewatched the scene with Stacey and Mike. As soon as she asks him about the money, he seems to get what's going on. Maybe I'm reading to much into Jonathan Banks' facial expression, but he seems well aware of what that's really all about, hence his immediate visit to the vet.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Conan Troutman

[Milburn Stone]

I was all ready to ask y'all what the metaphor of the copier machine whizzing away as they pulled the shot back to the disappointed Jimmy in the mail room was.  Then, BINGO, er, something...SHAZAM!  VG was foreshadowing Kim's eventual betrayal!  Yes, she went along with the original support utilizing firm facilities.  However, the preview, and Jimmy's lousy luck, portend a life-changing event.

 

I don't watch the previews because I don't want to be spoiled...but now I guess I am.

 

Damn.

 

I realize anything in the previews is technically "fair game" to discuss (at least it was at TwoP; I assume the same rules apply here), so I'm not saying you did anything wrong. I'm just putting out a general request to one and all for consideration to those of us who want to enjoy the show unspoiled. Maybe use spoiler tags? Or just say, "Don't read the following if you don't want to be spoiled"? Any kind of warning to skip over the post would be nice.

[wrestlesflamingos]

Previews are fair game and do not need spoiler tags. They are broadcast at the end of the episode, it's part of that experience. It's not a spoiler, it's a teaser.

[Milburn Stone]

Previews are fair game and do not need spoiler tags. They are broadcast at the end of the episode, it's part of that experience. It's not a spoiler, it's a teaser.

 

 

That was my assumption, wrestlesflamingos. I was just asking for consideration (on behalf of all who avoid previews), for those inclined to give it. For those not inclined to give it, I realize they're well within the rules.

[wrestlesflamingos]

I follow your thoughts. It's certainly an option for anyone that chooses to do it. It would be nice if we had spoiler tags that expire but ours are permanent. If anyone chooses to spoiler tag previews, I'll manually remove the tags when the season is over. Once everything airs, the tags are just resource hogs on the mobile skin.

[candall]

You're just going to have to get on board with the previews, Gunsmoke--producers seem to be making them more and more integral to the full experience.  There's one extremely popular show that sometimes sticks in an additional (current) scene AFTER the preview.

[ghoulina]

I didn't make that connection before, but as I just wrote in the Mike thread, there's another layer to Stacey and her newfound appreciation of dirty money: At the beginning of "Bingo", Mike's talking to the older Philly cop. Both cops pretty much know or at least higly suspect that Mike killed the Hoffmann and Fenske out of revenge for Matt (the case notes from the notebook clearly show they're on his trail and they got most of the details right), but can't prove anything. The older cop makes it clear they'll be questioning Stacey again and she might talk (especially about Matt's phone call, which they rightly assume was with Mike), and Mike is just like "well, whatever, her call". So she's probably not just guilting him, but decided to more or less blackmail him after the second visit from the Philly cops.

ETA: Just rewatched the scene with Stacey and Mike. As soon as she asks him about the money, he seems to get what's going on. Maybe I'm reading to much into Jonathan Banks' facial expression, but he seems well aware of what that's really all about, hence his immediate visit to the vet.

 

Great post, I agree. I feel like every time I watch that scene there is more depth to it, subtle nuances I didn't pick up on before. Mike is very astute, so Stacey wouldn't have to whack him over the head to get her point across. She clearly said nothing to the cops, she's suddenly letting him see Kaylee again, and boy could she use some money...hmmmmm....

[SlackerInc]

Previews are fair game and do not need spoiler tags. They are broadcast at the end of the episode, it's part of that experience. It's not a spoiler, it's a teaser.

 

They are not shown at the end of the episode as I watch it: I bought a season pass to the show on Amazon.  And I really dislike them.  As for their being "part of the experience", I highly doubt the people in charge of editing the actual episode have control over the presentation of the previews, as opposed to some network promotional department.

[wrestlesflamingos]

Regardless, asked and answered in this thread. A larger discussion can happen away from the episode thread please.

[Portia]

Obviously he will be in a way better situtation financially than he is right now. But I think the point that G&G have made so far is that honest lawyer Jimmy won't be able to accomplish that, for various reasons - it'll be only once Jimmy turns into sleazy, amoral Saul that he'll finally be really successfull.

As I watch poor Jimmy get beaten down again and again, I keep thinking of the expression "Nice guys finish last." This particularly sprang to mind when he graciously accepted that piddly wad of small bills from the old lady who didn't have his full fee on hand. Contrast that with his future Saul, who will demanding an up-front cashier's check for how many thousands of dollars?

[sasha206]

Am I the only one who can stand the actress who plays Kim Wexler?  Her voice is grating to me.  

[Xena]

Frozen Chuck at the start of the lawyers meeting reminded me of Cindy Brady and the red light.

[peeayebee]

Am I the only one who can stand the actress who plays Kim Wexler?  Her voice is grating to me.  

When we first met her at the beginning of the series, I didn't particularly like her, but I think she, and the actress, are great. Oh, and speaking of "great" I understand what you're saying by "grating", but I kind of like her voice.

 

 

The older cop makes it clear they'll be questioning Stacey again and she might talk (especially about Matt's phone call, which they rightly assume was with Mike), and Mike is just like "well, whatever, her call". So she's probably not just guilting him, but decided to more or less blackmail him after the second visit from the Philly cops.

 

I didn't take it like that. I think Mike just wasn't sure if Stacey would cover for him or if she would tell them what she really thought. Plus, Mike was just being his typical taciturn, different self.

[attica]

Nice to see Jillian Armanente again. She used to play the devoted clerk in Judging Amy, here she was the weasely Sandpiper lady.

 

I really am loving this show. But there's an overlaying sense of Things Will Go Badly that's kind of bumming me out. In BB, for all his ineptitude, Walt's trajectory was success following success -- I could root for him (in a perverse way) to triumph over the other miscreants of that universe. I want to root for Jimmy, but VG's been very good at tempering my expectations. We know there's not going to be this $20 million in Jimmy's future, and it's the waiting for that failure (and others, and others, and others) that's kind of depressing.  Mike's road is a bit more dramatically conventional -- he's good at his job, he's smart with its gains (up until Walter White fucks it up for him), and we feel he'll overcome his roadblocks as we go along.

 

Again, I want to root for Jimmy. Go Land Crabs!

[CarpeDiem54]

Am I the only one who can stand the actress who plays Kim Wexler?  Her voice is grating to me.

I was watching a bunch of reruns the other day of Law & Order/L&O - SVU/NCIS (so I'm not sure which show she was on) and I heard this incredibly annoying voice. I thought, "This bitch sounds like that Kim woman on BCS." Sure as shit, it was her. Can't stand her voice, either. She sounds like she has a ball of snot in her throat.

[shapeshifter]

...And Chuck would've probably been right about that - I can easily imagine an alternate universe Jimmy who would've made a fortune in sales by now. In another show, he could've been Saul Wheelin, used car mogul.

Now I'm imagining a flash-forward or flash-sideways to Saul Wheelin from Wheeling (IL.): "Don't let anyone take you for a ride."

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

The one I'm reading now is also going into the FUBAR relationship between Chuck and Jimmy, and suggesting (validly) that Chuck likes Jimmy in his role as "lesser."

Remember. . . these guys are brothers - there's a history that goes WAY back. I can see Chuck growing up as the talented overachieving brother and Jimmy as the screw up little brother that idolizes his older brother and is always trying to get approval. The letter scene is a perfect indication of that. Methinks Chuck was a bit of a superior acting asshole as an older brother that really didn't have a lot of time for his screw-up younger brother. 

[jnymph]

I want to give Jimmy a big smooch after he passes the bar.   Then I want him to call me and say "Hey Gorgeous!"; even if his intent is just to get me to look something up. 

Edited March 25, 2015 by jnymph

[duVerre]

 

Am I the only one who can stand the actress who plays Kim Wexler?  Her voice is grating to me.

 

Actually. I find her voice really, really pleasant. And since the first two episodes (when I really couldn't see it) her chemistry with Odenkirk has been off the charts.

[jnymph]

Actually. I find her voice really, really pleasant. And since the first two episodes (when I really couldn't see it) her chemistry with Odenkirk has been off the charts.

IMO her voice and manner of speaking is actually a refreshing change from the Valley Girl dialects that are so annoyingly prevalent on TV lately.

 

I was leery of her the first episode, but she's grown on me.  Now, I actually like her character, even though she got to kiss my TV boyfriend.  Hmmmpf. ; )

Edited March 25, 2015 by jnymph

[Ottis]

You know, the first time I watched that scene I wouldn't have said so. I thought she was just thinking out loud. But I rewatched this morning, and I was like - "Damned if she isn't hinting that Mike should find her some more ill-gotten money". It just seemed like such a passive aggressive thing to say.

 

 

I spend a fair amount of time around passive-aggressive people and my first thought was that she was playing Mike, and how interesting that was. Because she already has shown she is willing to use the money, with little interest in where it came from or how much more there may be.

 

I mean all their families never asked them about money?

 

 

You'd be surprised. In my experience, older folks don't like to talk about their money, even if they realize it is being taken in large amounts. I have an in-law right now who is not even 70 who struggles with finances and spending and is a prime mark to be taken, realizes it and still won't discuss her finances honestly with family who only want to protect her. There is pride and old-fashioned sensibilities and even ignorance involved in a topic like this.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Ottis

[Ohwell]

Am I the only one who can stand the actress who plays Kim Wexler?  Her voice is grating to me.

I can't stand her voice either.  Like carpediem said, she does sound like she's got a ball of snot in her throat.  I don't trust Kim when it comes to Jimmy.  I think it's because I see her as "settling" for whatever relationship she has with him (fuckbuddies?).  I think she thinks she can do better, but in the meantime she'll let Saul paint her toenails.  I just don't like her. 

[LuciaMia]

Hmmm, wonder why they just didn't buy their own copier?

[editorgrrl]

Kim didn't say that Chuck is only allowed to do pro bono cases outside the firm - just that the part of his contract that deals with him working elsewhere was meant for things like pro bono cases.

 

Jimmy asked Kim to look up four cases for him on Westlaw and print them out in full, as well as any cases referring to those cases.

 

Kim: Who do I bill it to?

Jimmy: Bill it to Howard…

Kim: You're not funny. I'm not billing it to my boss.

Jimmy: How about yours? I'll pay you back.

Kim: Jimmy, this is three, 400 bucks' worth of printing. The accountants will find it and I'll get fired, which sounds fun and all, but no.

 

Jimmy tells Kim to bill it to Chuck, that they're working on a class action suit worth at least a million dollars.

 

Kim: How does that work? Chuck's a partner at HHM.

Jimmy: So what? Look, I know Chuck's partnership agreement chapter and verse. He can work with outside parties.

Kim: That clause is intended for small-time stuff, pro bono cases.

Jimmy: So? I'm bono—I'm very bono. Chuck's a rock star, okay? They'll work it out.

 

Kim was entirely above board with Jimmy. Jimmy's so happy about finally catching a break that he dismisses Kim's warnings.

 

Edited to add that this episode's writer said on the "Better Call Saul" Insider podcast that he ran all the legal procedural stuff past his mom & his sister, who are both lawyers.

Edited March 25, 2015 by editorgrrl

[Milburn Stone]

I thought the guy who played the main lawyer for the nursing home was a really interesting actor I haven't seen before. Anyone know who he is?

[Boilergal]

I might have to get me one of these until someone comes up with a Go Land Crabs!! Shirt.

https://www.teepublic.com/show/149383-bcs-university-of-american-samoa-law-school

 

I don't think Chuck would intentionally screw over Jaul - I think he was super focused on what he was doing and only part listening when asked for his code for printing - He was Lawyer Chuck Mode- and didn't even give it a second thought.

 

As for Stacy with all the pearl clutching about golly gee willackers I have this money and I was going to donate it blah blah blah...Mike:  it's okay   Stacey: well this isn't nearly enough for me to live....mmmm hmmmmm   manipulate much?!?!   

[duVerre]

 

I thought the guy who played the main lawyer for the nursing home was a really interesting actor I haven't seen before. Anyone know who he is?

 

 

That is Dennis Boutsikaris. (His IMDB page is here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0100381/)

 

I always recognize him--without being to exactly recall where I've seen him before. He works so much it's like he's from everywhere and nowhere.  (I could have sworn I saw him for the first time on a "classic Law&Order" from the 90s, but IMDB says I'm wrong.)

[Captain I0]

That is Dennis Boutsikaris. (His IMDB page is here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0100381/)

 

I always recognize him--without being to exactly recall where I've seen him before. He works so much it's like he's from everywhere and nowhere.  (I could have sworn I saw him for the first time on a "classic Law&Order" from the 90s, but IMDB says I'm wrong.)

It doesn't look like IMDB says you are wrong to me. He's credited as being on Law & Order episodes in '90, '92. '96 & '98.

 

I never watched Law & Order though, so IMDB is telling me that I likely saw him first in Crocodile Dundee 2.

 

Irony? He's also credited in an episode of Matlock

[Malaprop cocktail]

Hmmm, wonder why they just didn't buy their own copier?

 

For one thing, Chuck is still not to the point that he would tolerate having a printer in the house, I suspect.

 

But really I think the "printing charges" actually refer to Westlaw charges. Westlaw is expensive, and firms like HHM have lawyers bill Westlaw charges (which can be either hourly or per-transaction) to client codes. It's less common (in my experience working for large law firms anyway) to require lawyers to assign a code to everything they print. I think for purposes of the story they just went with "printing charges" so that it was more relatable to most viewers, but in the real world she would need a client billing code for her Westlaw research.

 

In other words, it's the research that's really the expensive part, not the printing. Even if she just saved all the cases to PDF and gave Jimmy a thumb drive, she'd quickly rack up hundreds if not thousands of dollars in Westlaw fees.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Malaprop cocktail

[duVerre]

 

It doesn't look like IMDB says you are wrong to me. He's credited as being on Law & Order episodes in '90, '92. '96 & '98.

 

Jeez, I knew I was tired today, but honestly! .... (rubbing my eyes as they glaze over).

[Clanstarling]

I thought the dumpster scene was Classic Gilligan. ....then he gets another couple bags dumped right on his head, and he's got schmutz on his freakin' mouth! UGH! So nasty. And on a different/lesser show, it wouldn't have fazed me at all. Just something that happened. But, as was so often the case with BB, Gilligan is able to just NAIL a nerve with something that otherwise might be largely insignificant, or played off for comedy, or... I don't know, something. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that he can (and I'd wager deliberately does... it's kinda his thing) turn something that shouldn't be compelling in any way, and somehow manages to hit you with it powerfully, even if it's just a visceral gut reaction. A cringe

So true - I've seen dumpster scenes in a number of shows, and my "ick" response was weak. This one I could barely look at!

 

 

And now that we know those aspirin are $30 each, we just grit our teeth and bear it.  Except I have one friend, an attorney, who scrutinized her hospital bill and found she'd been charged $400 for use of the elevator her stretcher had been wheeled into.  She responded by battling each and every excessive charge on her multi-page statement.  It was inspiring just to hear her talk about i.

My mother was once charged for a "private room" - her gurney was in the hallway. My dad fought and won that battle.

 

The closeup of the coffee that Chuck was pouring for the two of them looked so delicious--made me want to go and make a fresh pot.  I didn't though.  Too lazy.

It wasn't so much the look of it, for me, but the sound. So luscious and inviting.

As for Chuck's code - I'm going to toss in a less inspirational idea - maybe it's the date he was accepted to law school, or passed his bar (depending on how old he's supposed to be) 1-8-68.

I totally think Mike's DIL was playing him - though I didn't think of all the motives others have. I just saw it as simple playing on his guilt. But the other motives are far more Gilligenesque.

[editorgrrl]

As for Chuck's code - I'm going to toss in a less inspirational idea - maybe it's the date he was accepted to law school, or passed his bar (depending on how old he's supposed to be) 1-8-68.

Michael McKean was born in 1947, but I honestly have no idea how old Chuck is supposed to be in 2002. (Nor Jimmy & Mike.)

Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released January 8, 1968.

Edited March 26, 2015 by editorgrrl