Boston Legal Fodder

Boston Legal: Roe Vs. Wade: The Musical

The episode begins with Missy Tiggs - the beleaguered musical-obsessed ex-wife of Shirley's ex-lover Ivan Tiggs - wondering in with news both great and tragic for Shirley. The good news is she's pregnant with an African-American man's child (and overly excited it's an African-American). The bad news is she wasn't exactly transparent with her lover - even going so far to have his sperm artificially inseminated in order to achieve pregnancy. Her lover Terrance is now suing her - and enlists Alan Shore to aid him in getting a court-appointed abortion. The issue quickly divides the entire office - Carl disagrees with Shirley's defense of Missy's actions, and Lorraine disapproves with Alan's attempt to approve an abortion. But the tie-breaker comes straight from Katie Lloyd, who, with a few tips from Jerry, manages to counter every one of Alan's entire closer, until Alan succeeds only in alienating the judge. After the case, Terrance and Missy somewhat reconcile, with Terrance, unwilling to fall into the role of absentee father, agreeing to take an active role in raising the child. However, he refuses to have a relationship with Missy after her deception. Missy tries singing a song to make everything better, but her show-stopper is bittersweet, as she is left singing - alone.

Jerry, meanwhile, defends his ex-girlfriend Leigh, who has been fired from her teaching job for hugging a student. Though obviously conflicted, Jerry tries to give Leigh an impassioned defense, but the facts are entirely against her. Leigh's objectophillia is brought up early on in the case by the opposing counsel, and Leigh was warned numerous times not to hug the students despite the circumstances. Jerry furthers his bond with Katie by revealing he only twice received a hug from his mother - once being while she thought he was choking. Jerry funnels this into his emotional closing, and though he wins the judge's sympathy, his closing cannot counter the facts - leading to the dismissal of Leigh's case. Jerry is ambivalent about restarting a relationship with Leigh again, but does agree to give her a hug, which he does - awkwardly, and then completely.

The episode ends with Alan and Denny on the balcony as always. Alan is extremely impressed with Katie's lawyer skills, but turns to a more somber subject when he reveals a high school love once had an abortion, infuriating Alan, who wanted a say in the matter. Alan is conflicted about having a family, while Denny looks at the firm as his family. They do agree on one thing however - they have each other, and that's a great deal more than most people have.