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The Boys are Back and Up to Their Usual Hijinks. Review: Franklin & Bash, S2 E1 – “Strange Brew”

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  • June 6, 2012

  • 8 mins to read

Review: Franklin & Bash, S2, E1 – “Strange Brew”

Air Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 10:00 pm ET/PT

Rating: ★★★★★

Peter "desperately" tries to get Jared out of the AquaCage in court

As “Strange Brew” opens, our fearless heroes, the fun-loving legal duo of Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), are in court using some very unusual, seemingly life-threatening tactics to win a case. Cut to the offices of Infeld Daniels where Stanton Infeld (Malcolm McDowell) announces to the partners that the firm’s experiment with Franklin & Bash (F&B) is over. This can’t possibly be true, can it? Of course not! What Stanton means is he wants to ask Jared and Peter to become full equity partners. While F&B’s initial response is comedic, they soon learn two-thirds of the partnership has to vote them in, and that might be a problem.

What’s the best way to win over the partners? Stanton’s advice is to land a big fish with deep pockets, or in legalese, “make a little rain.” Enter Lawrence J. Reynolds (Kevin Nealon), Chief Counsel to Pacific Shores Beverage, Inc. They “own or import half the spirits on the west coast,” according to Stanton. While “Larry” appears to ignore F&B’s initial pitch, he soon finds common ground with them, and all three take the corporate jet to Napa, where a commercial for Pacific Shores is being shot. If you know F&B at all, you know that where there’s wine, troubles ensue. Somehow, Larry gets arrested and Jared and Peter work to bail him out.

Robby Ambiano (guest star Eddie Jemison) needs F&B's help so he doesn't lose his job.

Watching Peter and Jared in the Man Cave the next morning trying to explain their hangovers and shabby appearance to Pindar, aka Pindy, Singh (Kumail Najiani) and Carmen Philips (Dana Davis), their paralegal/private investigator, is comical. Peter’s wearing eye makeup and has an international phone number written on his back; Jared is in a kilt; and a beautiful peacock named Douglas sits on an end table. Where the hell did they get that bird, anyway? While they’ve been off “at the best party ever,” Pindy and Carmen have been busy dealing with Robby Ambiano’s (Eddie Jemison) case. Who’s Robby, you ask? He’s their longtime buddy who needs F&B to get his recent arrest dropped. Jemison does a great job portraying his character as a bit quirky even though he’s a teacher. I bet his classes are fun, though, if Robby’s witty banter and choice of clothing are any indication! One thing leads to another and soon, F&B find themselves in court in front of Judge Perry (Ernie Hudson). Unfortunately, Peter’s attempt to discredit Officer Cowell (Kat Foster), the attractive arresting officer (Peter: “You’re too pretty to be a cop.”) doesn’t go as planned. The smirk on her face when she thinks she’s right is pretty funny. It’s one of those telling looks that says, “Hah hah, I beat you and I didn’t even have to do or say a thing.” I’m sorry, but I get my rocks off when a female character so easily one-ups a male character. But despite the obvious attraction between the two, Peter still needs to get Robby’s arrest wiped off the books. I have to say, the chemistry between Gosselaar and Foster is some of the best I’ve seen. The fire between them practically jumped out of my TV screen and I was surprised their two characters didn’t end up in a lip lock in court while Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” was playing in the background.

Officer Cowell (Kat Foster) refuses to drop the charges against Robby

I love Malcolm McDowell. He’s a wonderful character actor who knows his way around a set, be it for a dramatic role or a comedic one. The eccentricity he’s known for on Franklin & Bash easily shines through during his conversation with his nephew and Infeld Daniels lawyer, Damien Sharp (Reed Diamond), and attorney Hanna Linden (Garcel Beauvais) when he tries to convince them of F&B’s worth to the firm. But they’re not exactly an easy sell and Damien and Hanna aren’t interested in buying.

Using an underhanded tactic with Judge Warren Mosley (Tom Everett) gets Larry off with a warning. I love how Larry dismisses Damien so he can hire F&B on a trial basis to handle a cease and desist case involving the owner of a bar, Joan Harris (Melora Walters), that serves Kurt’s Amber, a beer Pacific Shores has the rights to.  If they succeed, they’ll be Pacific Shores’ new attorneys. Now, I knew without a doubt they’d be successful, but I never expected the unusual turn of events in court brought about by Joan’s uncle attorney (Jim Turner), or the road Larry wants F&B to take after their win.

Memorable lines:

Stanton to F&B: “Look, the partners here, they know you can cha cha with the best of them. Prove to them that you can waltz.”

***

Jared: “Are you wearing eyeliner?”

Peter: “No. Are you wearing lipstick?”

Jared: “No.”

***

Stanton to Damien about partnership for F&B: “Damien, you and they have a highly complex relationship but, the ancient bristlecone pine really does need the arctic finch.”

***

Damien to Stanton: “Look, there’s a potentially lucrative client cooling his heels in lockup. I’m betting he wants to talk to a full-size, grown-up lawyer.”

***

Judge Jill Sheehan (Mercedes Colon): “I think summary judgment is out. Davy, Goliath, we’re going to trial.”

***

Peter to Damien about his vote: “Follow your heart. I think it’s just under your nut sack.”

***

Pindy helping Jared win his case

I thoroughly enjoyed “Strange Brew.” As a season premiere, it does an excellent job of reminding us of what we loved so much about the first season of Franklin & Bash—the seeming ease and fun F&B have solving their cases. I laughed out loud a lot, loved seeing Peter in a gladiator costume in court, and am happy that Pindy may have a handle on his phobias. Speaking of which, I wonder if we’ll ever get to meet Mindy, the girl from college who seems to be at the root of his problems. There are two questions to be answered now. How will F&B handle things now that they’ve been made partners? And what does Hanna have up her sleeve now that she’s found a loophole in the partnership contract?

As with “Strange Brew,” Franklin & Bash has some interesting guest stars lined up for season two—Cybill Shepherd, Rick Fox (yum!) and Seth Green, to name just a few. I can’t wait to find out what their cases are and how F&B will win them.

Tune in to Franklin & Bash, Tuesdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT, only on TNT. Follow the show on Twitter @FrankandBashTNT, check it out on Facebook, and visit the show page to watch full episodes, play games and enter the summer associate sweepstakes to win a fabulous prize worth approximately $7,000! The sweepstakes ends at 11:59:59 ET on June 19 so you better hurry!

All photos © 2012 TNT Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!