"Philly" (2001) TV series 2001-2002

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Creators:

Steven Bochco
Alison Cross

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

9 October 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Courtroom | Lawyer | Criminal Defense | Law | Irish American

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kim Delaney	...	Kathleen Maguire (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
Diana-Maria Riva	...	Patricia (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
Rick Hoffman	...	Terry Loomis (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
Robert Harper	...	Judge Irwin Hawes (14 episodes, 2001-2002)
Dena Dietrich	...	Judge Ellen Armstrong (12 episodes, 2001-2002)
Tom Everett Scott	...	Will Froman (11 episodes, 2001-2002)
Kyle Secor	...	Daniel X. Cavanaugh (11 episodes, 2001-2002)
Scotty Leavenworth	...	Patrick Cavanaugh (10 episodes, 2001-2002)
Scott Alan Smith	...	A.D.A. Jerry Bingham (10 episodes, 2001-2002)
Bari K. Willerford	...	Martin (10 episodes, 2001-2002)

Runtime:

50 min (22 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Television

Offers nothing NEW

I saw about the first five minutes of the first episode of "Philly" because I was checking to see if any actors I liked were guest starring. They weren't. Instead, I saw, much to my disgust, Joanna Cassidy flashing her breasts...on network TV. Ugh. What a turn-off.

I forgot all about "Philly" until I discovered Nina Siemaszko was going to be a guest star, so I decided to watch that episode, hideously titled "Fork You Very Much." To give it credit, it was...better than I thought, but still offered nothing new and fresh to watch in the great slew of law-related shows. Basically, I guess Kim Delaney is supposed to be "Kathleen," a busy lawyer who works in a firm with Tom Everett Scott and some other folks. "Fork You Very Much" had Delaney and Scott in court just about the whole time. Delaney was so darned busy she had TWO cases--an evil rapist that she did not really want to defend and a kind, "troubled" alcoholic who neglected her kids, while Scott had to deal with some couple where the women did SOMETHING(to this second, I really don't know what) with a fork to her husband(hence the title, though why, since it was beyond the "B" plot.) He was also against some female prosecutor with a deep voice, whom I think he was supposed to be attracted to, and I guess he must love every women in the world, because he also had some chat with a judge(guest star Veronica Hamel) whom he had (trashily) slept with...Kathleen, on the other hand, basically spent all of her time being busy, but was vaguely set up with some detective.

I did not care about Tom Everett Scott's character or anything involving his plot. Scott was okay in a role that really could have been played by any 30-something(and I would have prefered it to have been played by somebody MUCH more interesting). Delaney was also alright, but her role was also very, very generic and could have been played by any actress. I did not care about Kathleen's social life, and actually "forgot" about her involvment with the stupid detective until he suddenly came back toward the end. Kathleen at work was a LITTLE bit more interesting, but her two cases did not go together in the least. Did they not have some other character that could have represented kind, troubled Teresa the Alcoholic? I could see why a female attorney character would be faced against the evil demon rapist character(the rapist was annoying and had creepy tattoos, but actually had a couple of funny lines), but they really didn't *need* the other case...not that I am complaining, since the guest star who played Teresa(and did a good job) was the reason I watched. At least the conclusions of Delaney's cases turned out sort of interestingly, with the rapist getting a verdict(I will not say of what, because I think it was supposed to be "shocking"). I um, predicted what would become of Teresa(except I didn't know "why" she would do what she did), but at least the final between Delaney and Scott and her was probably the best scene in the show.

Basically my viewing of an episode of "Philly" left me with the impression that it is a rather generic and run-of-the-mill show, that when featuring a good guest star makes a for PASSABLE viewing. I doubt I would watch it without any guest stars I like, however...