The Seamless Web: A Blog on Law, Popular Culture and Related Issues

Raymond Chandler's Detective

From the Spiked Review of Books, why Philip Marlowe is still relevant.

And So They Go

In quick succession, the literary and cultural world has lost Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser mysteries, Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, lawyer and novelist Louis Auchincloss, and J. D. Salinger, recently involved in a lengthy lawsuit over use of his iconic character Holden Caulfield.

"Damages" Returns; "The Deep End" Premieres

I watched the season debut of "Damages," and must say that Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) seems to be darker, more intense, and perhaps even subtler as she takes on a Bernie Madoff type and his family, wife (played by Lily Tomlin, whose range as an actor is quite amazing) and son (Campbell Scott) and attorney, Martin Short (Martin Short? yes, actually, and he's great) in her new case. Ellen (Rose Byrne) now works for the D.A.'s office (nice touch); she seems happier, and seems to have more of a purpose in life,  although one can never tell with Ellen. Tom is back in Patty's good graces (or is he?) He's a partner at the firm.

I must admit that I lost interest in the show last season, and only watched a few episodes. The twists and turns were a little too much for me, and Ellen became just a little too devious and amoral. While I appreciate the cleverness and maturity of the subject I just didn't like the characters all that much. This season looks more promising, and I plan to tune in to watch more of this very interesting storyline. I'm particularly interested to see how the relationship between Ellen and Patty continues to develop, since Ellen now seems to understand a little more about Patty, and Patty seems to have realized that.

The dynamic between and among women in the workplace is complex; I think too few sociologists have written about that. It' not simply that working women bond and all is well. Women can be competitive too, and some women can work actively to undercut other women, to prevent their success. At the same time, some women can misperceive other women's behavior as competitive or as threatening when it is not. All very interesting. I look forward to watching more of these characters and to seeing how the writers and actors depict them onscreen and evaluating how accurately I think they portray real women lawyers I know.

I also watched part of "The Deep End." Missed the first half; I thought it came on later than it did. This show disappointed me. I had hoped for something new, a hook, a new way of looking at the life of the first year associate, particularly in these tough economic times. But "The Deep End" offers the obligatory ambitious but clueless first year associates who don't know how much work actual law practice is going to be, including the naive female who's likely to get herself into trouble with a male attorney with a roving eye and another female whose advise is to do anything--ANYTHING--to get ahead (I refer you to Patty Hewes, above, who seems as if she would, but actually would not). There's a male associate who's not certain he's chosen the correct career (it's a bit late, isn't it, after one has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, Boo). There's the (male) Name Partner who is Evil Incarnate. There's the drinking and the talking about drinking (well, that might actually be true, but there are consequences and we almost never see that discussed on tv). There's the sex with inappropriate partners and the talking about sex. I didn't see anything in what I saw of the first episode that would suggest to me that this series will break any molds, but since I didn't see the whole thing, I'll watch tonight to see if things start looking up.

Another Legal Drama Headed For TV?

ABC has ordered the pilot of Jerry Bruckheimer's legal drama "The Whole Truth", described as " the building of a case from the perspective of both the defense and prosecution."

Legal Spirits

ABC's The Deep End makes its debut tomorrow night at 8 EST, 7 Central time. Here's a description of what happens in the pilot episode.

Dylan is given an impossible pro-bono custody case; a 90-year-old man signs an agreement, thinking that Beth is his daughter; Liam tries to get a client to sign with the firm under false pretenses; Addy gets attention when she speaks her mind.

Early reviews are in: from SFGate; the New York Daily News; Are You Screening? Hmmm. Well, I'll watch.

Meanwhile, Drop Dead Diva returns this summer. I must admit I wasn't hopeful about this series when it debuted last year, but it won me over. Brooke Elliott sparkles as ever-hopeful looking-for-love lawyer Jane Bingham, whose body also harbors the spirit of reincarnated dingbat model Deb. Will former fiance Grayson Kent (Jackson Hurst) ever look past Jane's outside and see her delightful inside? (Does Hollywood like to retell the story of Cinderella? Think "Ugly Betty"). And face it--Jane is cute and smart, and nice, as is Betty. How can the men in their lives lose?