"Girls Club" (2002) TV series

Creator:

David E. Kelley

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

21 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Want it all? Risk it all.

Plot:

Three ambitious, but naive, young women work together at a prestigious San Francisco law firm and deal with everyday problems including sexist supervisors, stern bosses, back-stabbing co-workers and cheating boyfriends.

Plot Keywords:

Courtroom | Lawyer

Cast

Gretchen Mol	...	Lynne Camden (9 episodes, 2002)
Kathleen Robertson	...	Jeannie Falls (9 episodes, 2002)
Chyler Leigh	...	Sarah Mickle (9 episodes, 2002)
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Nicholas Hahn (9 episodes, 2002)
Sam Jaeger	...	Kevin O'Neil (9 episodes, 2002)
Donovan Leitch	...	Michael Harrod (9 episodes, 2002)
Brian Markinson	...	Spencer Lewis (9 episodes, 2002)
Lisa Banes	...	Meredith Holt (4 episodes, 2002)

Runtime:

60 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Manhattan Beach, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The show is set in San Francisco because creator David E. Kelley wanted a cosmopolitan setting. Previous Kelley shows have been set in Boston (including "Ally McBeal" (1997), "The Practice" (1997) and "Boston Public" (2000)) because Kelley believed it would be easier to get exterior footage shot in Boston if all of his shows were set there (although it turned out to be more expensive).

Quotes:

Marcia Holden: Lynne, if I can be older and wiser for a moment . . .
Lynne Camden: You can be older.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: North by North Quahog (#4.1)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Walk the Walk

Halfway there but killed before it had a chance

This could easily have been a good show if the network hadn't killed it after two episodes. But that's how networks are: stupid, reactionary, and unable to plan more than a few months ahead.

"Girls Club" wasn't great, and it wasn't awful. The cast was very, very good, although often made to look bad. The "girls" of the title had to suffer through a lot of bad makeup and bad hair, although they still managed to look good. The supporting cast was very strong, and there were good efforts all around.

The writing, unfortunately, was not great. This was one of the most unrealistic lawyer shows I've seen. I know, I know -- compared to "Ally McBeal", from the same creator? The problem is one of tone. "Girls Club" pretends to be serious, but the writing doesn't back that up. The law cases and courtroom behavior are ridiculous, and the characters (especially the main three) are incredibly unprofessional.

The show was supposedly about three young women who have trouble fitting in and getting respect in the "boys club" (I'm following their punctuation) of a big law firm. Unfortunately, their behavior is often so juvenile that I can't believe they could keep their jobs without sleeping with their superiors, which is exactly the kind of thing they're trying to avoid doing.

Not that I blame them. The point is that, given the way they act on the job, they don't *deserve* respect or advancement. The script is all wrong.

This show could easily have developed into something better if the writing had improved (which often happens by the end of a show's first season), but the network killed the show after two episodes, a gesture of zero faith and confidence, which is unwarranted considering David Kelley's record of hit shows.

Personally, I think this show, bad as it often was, was much better than "Boston Public" or "Birds of Prey", two shows that present no indications of improvement or demise. "Girls Club" had at its core the simplest of populist strategies (hot young women being sassy and sexy in an adolescent-fantasy sort of way), so it probably would have been a hit if it'd lived a little longer.

The good news is that the cast has been released to go on to do better things, which they're more than capable of. Here's hoping they get the chance.