THAT’S ALL YOU GOT…?

Really gotta kill the addiction to the idiot box. Seriously. I was hooked to two shows: “The Closer,” and “Southland.” Then I saw Kathy Bates’ performance in the pilot of “Harry’s Law.” The NBC mid-season replacement might have a life. Maybe. A 60-minute law drama, it details Harriet “Harry” Korn’s departure from a law firm where she made $600Gs as a copyright lawyer and decides to open up shop in a “bad” part of Cincinnati. Instead of lying and pissing off rich clients, she is talking straight shit to ‘hood clients. I dig this show, but I’m concerned…

With only a few episodes aired, NBC and David Kelley (creator) are giving me the feeling they plan to theoretically “take me out for coffee” twice in a row and maybe even again, if I allow it. But I ain’t having it. This week’s episode felt like a repeat of the first, only with a little twist in the plot and the addition of 5 (possibly recurring?) characters. Still, now that we have made all the “introductions,” “gotten to know each other better,” etc., I’m looking for something more before I commit.




First, I am sick of seeing the same type of black people: angry, poor, ignorant and “looking for help.” Yes, times are hard and people of ALL colors are hurting. I appreciate the spotlight because frankly, I don’t think mainstream America truly understands that when they bleed, the poor, disenfranchised people of color are hemorrhaging. Still, I want to know from Kelly, with regards to his characters of color on this show, “is that all you got?”

My concern is personified by one of the new additions, Anna Nicholson, played by Irma P. Hall. You know, Mother Joe, from Soul Food, and The Ladykillers. Yes, that Irma. Her portrayal of an impoverished woman who committed armed robbery “to eat,” was clearly beneath her skills; Hall a former language teacher, poet and an accomplished actress, plays a cranky, toothless senior citizen. While I truly understand that her character is supposed to be poor, I was disheartened at the sight of her. Her pretty white dentures were absent and in their place were a few teeth, huddling for shade every time Hall spoke. Her beautiful gray hair was pulled back into a seriously no-frills bun. Ms. Hall looked much like Minerva, the voo-doo priestess she played in Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil.

Nicholson barges into Harry’s law office verbally berating Bates’ character for moving in and “taking over the neighborhood.” Harry expeditiously dismisses Anna’s rants, going out of her way to show she is educated. As a person of color who happens to know what gentrification means, I find the response and use of the word to someone who clearly did not, a slap in the face. Furthermore, do people of color on television always have to be that ignorant? True, ignorant people exist in every shape, form and color. It just seems that the ones of color seem to get more air time, especially on the 6 o’clock news when they inarticulately relay, “what had happened was…”

Then there’s the magic tricks; two weeks straight, Harry pulls a rabbit out of a hat. In the pilot, the defendant was in fact guilty, yet the judge was so impressed with Harry’s antics, I mean argument he set aside the verdict and gives the kid probation (surprise, surprise…). This kid, who happens to be a college student with a “slight” cocaine addiction, now works as a paralegal at Harry’s Law (what a co-ink-e-dink…). This week, Harry wrangles a not guilty verdict for Anna. Harry, with her sly magic wand, moves Anna’s crime from focus and dwells on how unfair it is that Anna is left with no resources, even though she is a citizen—a senior citizen at that. How could the jury imprison an 80-year-old woman? So they didn’t. But that was luck. There are people out there committing less serious crimes, but who get time nonetheless; a few are even Anna’s age. And while Bates’ character does not make it look easy, she certainly does not break a sweat, either.

When Anna storms into Harry’s office, wrongly accusing one of the new, recurring characters of being the “manager,” she is spitting fire and venom. Once the record is set straight, she continues and it is all I can do to watch. True, African-Americans do have a lot to be angry about, despite having an African-American president in office. But do we always have to bust down doors, act nasty and make demands? I mean, damn, it’s not like we are still working the cotton fields—well work places are like plantations but that’s a whole other blog. We have reason to shout, but do not have to shout all the time and there is a place for it. This show ain’t it—at least not every week. I’ll accept that type of storyline maybe once every four weeks, but not every single episode. I’m looking for the creative plot lines from Picket Fences, Boston Public and L.A. Law.

Once Anna decides that she in fact wants Harry to defend her, she drops a rolled up dirty sock on her desk and advises there is $26.50 inside. “That’s all I got,” she adds. I hope that David Kelly is offering up more than coins in a rolled up dirty sock…