Alphabet Meme - G - Gone Fishin'

Sep 21, 2008 01:12

So, you all remember that alphabet meme from ages ago? Well, misreall gave me Gone Fishin' for G since we were both still high on the Boston Legal finale back then, and the season 5 premiere of BL is on Monday, so I thought this was a good excuse to celebrate one of my favorite (if not absolute favorite) TV couples. Now, obviously they're not a couple in the traditional sense, but oddly enough, Alan/Denny is my most satisfying ship to date. They have the most beautiful friendship that I have ever seen, and I adore them like crazy. I mean, I'd have to love them A LOT to sit through the preachyness of Boston Legal, right? No, no, I love the show, the writing of the Alan and Denny characters and their relationship is absolutely AMAZING, along with the comedy and the other relationships that affect Alan and Denny, but the show is ridiculously heavy-handed when it comes to shoving their politics down my throat, but it's totally worth it just to watch Alan and Denny. &hearts

So, season 4 brought us much angst for Alan/Denny, a lot of tears, but also a lot of love admissions and extremely fluffy moments that melt my heart. And I do believe that Gone Fishin' embodied every one of these aspects. It should be noted that this episode was written before they knew if they'd be canceled after the strike or not, so it was intended as a series almost-finale. They really closed a lot of the storylines and solidified the Alan/Denny relationship, basically implying that they'd be together to the end, and that right there is why I loved this episode so much. So, I'm probably just going to focus on the Alan/Denny scenes, because that's just how I am. I tend to be blind to everyone else. Except for Jerry. I adore Jerry. Anyway, at this point Alan has confronted and shared his fears about Denny's Alzheimer's and how he doesn't really know how he's supposed to live without Denny, and Denny has realized that Alan is his greatest love and he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life with anyone but him (and, this is completely platonic, mind you, though the show does constantly push the boundaries there). So now I bring you...



So, we start out with Alan getting a letter from the US Coast Guard saying that he's been accepted. Somewhere in season 4 Alan and Denny had tried to sign up and were told that they were too old, so they put up a fuss like lawyers do when they are affronted, and they got to try out for the Coast Guard (in very revealing bathing suits). And, so, now we get this:



OMG OMG I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE COAST GUARDS! DENNY! DENNY! I'M A COAST GUARD!



Huh?



OMG OMG DID YOU GET A LETTER TOO?



Oh... OH! OMG, I don't know, did I? *flails as he looks for the letter*





OMG OMG OMG OMG WE'RE COAST GUARDS OMG!!!!!!!

Sadly, this conversation is almost exactly like this. They are complete fangirls. They even jump up and down screaming. They rock my world. *dreamy sigh*

And then we get the opening credits. Bow bow bowbebow bow be booow wow



Bow bow bowbebow bow be booow wow



Bow bow bowbebow bow be booow



Bow wooooow.



Bwah? OH YEAH! GUBER FROM BOSTON PUBLIC/NORMAL CREEPY GUY FROM SILENCE OF THE LAMBS WAS IN THIS EPISODE! I forgot. He plays the slightly creepy, strict, jerkoff-ish judge. Only this time he's hiring Alan instead of putting him in jail for contempt.



And Alan has to excitedly share his news about the coast guard, because he's a giant child, and also because he likes messing with Guber's head (he's just going to be called Guber, because I can't bother to remember his name in this show).



Guber is both horrified and turned on. Why is he turned on, you ask? Because he likes picturing Alan in the uniform, just like the rest of us do.



Oh, don't get cocky, mister. You have a godlike aura of sexiness that follows you around wherever you go. We know this. You know this. We know you know this.

So, anyway, why is Guber hiring Alan? Because Guber is from CONcord, MassaCHUsettssss, and CONcord MassaCHUsettessss wants to secede from the union.



My thoughts exactly, Alan, my thoughts exactly. I mean, is it really that hard to correctly pronounce Concord, Massachusetts? Sheesh.

Guber: blah blah a bunch of flaming liberal stuff blah blah blah CONcord, MassaCHUsettssss.
Alan: Did somebody say flaming liberal? I'M THERE, BABY!

So, Alan takes the case, because it's absurd and he loves absurdity since he's deathly afraid of being mundane, and also because it gives him a chance to once again get on his soapbox.

Now Alan has to convince Shirley and company to let him take the case.



Denny, who prides himself on being a purebred Republican and highly patriotic, is extremely unhappy and quite hurt by the fact that Alan wants to try the case.



And Alan picks up on this, because Denny is his man and he looks to him for approval all the time (even though, you know, they disagree on just about everything).



Denny says nothing, just walks out.



And Alan's distressed, because now he's having trouble with wifey and he can't stand it when Denny's mad at him. Especially when he doesn't understand why Denny's so angry.

So he tries to smooth things over.



He's being all gentle and hopeful, like the sensitive husband that he is.



And Denny ain't having none of that. "On the very day we get into the military." *shakes head in disappointment.



Now Alan is just plain confused and a little hurt. So he gets right down to it and asks him what's wrong.

Denny: I don't want you to take this case.
Alan: Well I already did.





Oh, Alan, you and your unwavering conviction. So, Denny tells him the real reason why he doesn't want Alan to take the case (something about patriotism and whatnot, it really was a lovely little speech) but it doesn't work. So Denny tries to pull rank on him, something that he's never done in their entire relationship.





And Alan being Alan, of course he doesn't back down. And Denny, knowing that Alan hates bureaucracy and that it will only encourage him further if he keeps throwing his higher status in Alan's face, takes a different route.



"This will affect our friendship Alan." Oooooooh, Denny. Ooooooh that was horrible. I can't believe you went there!



And neither can Alan. Their friendship is the one thing that Alan would never risk. It's the most important thing in his entire life. Denny is the only person that he's ever felt bonded to, and Denny brings the light into Alan's eyes, he makes him actually enjoy life, and it would kill him if he lost that. And Denny just coldly stares him down, ready to throw away their friendship just because of a case.



"But I have great... faith in our friendship. I trust it will survive my... [shakes head around] taking this case." Alan truly believes with all his soul that their friendship can survive anything, and he thinks it's insane that Denny believes otherwise.



"Get out, Alan."



Alan's just completely hurt by the dismissal, feeling lousy because he doesn't want to hurt Denny by taking the case but he can't back down from something that he believes in, and he's baffled by Denny's intensity over this case. His goofy, fun-loving, mad-cow-having Denny is all serious and cold. So he says it's not personal, and Denny more forcefully tells him to get out.





They have a bit of a staredown for about 15 seconds, and then Alan gets up and leaves in that beautifully graceful way that he does, and I can't believe that Denny just lets him go. *sigh* But this was basically Denny's version of "After all these years, you don't know me at all, do you?" And poor Alan is just so confused, and he can't believe that Denny pretty much dumped him. Through all their fights they've never, not once, have they even fathomed dissolving their friendship, and now Denny wants to end all that they have over this? It just doesn't make sense to Alan. And for Denny, it's more about Alan not understanding where he's coming from. Oh, how they broke my heart in this scene. :'(



Denny's looking a little lost without Alan. But then he finds Dan from Night Court and teams up with him.



FAKE CIGARETTE JERRY!!!!!!! *hugs*

Guess which judge got the case?

Come on, guess!



OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!



Oh great.





He elicits much hand gesticulating out of Alan. Hee. I always adore their interactions. He gets Alan so flustered. There is much comical banter between Alan and Judge Nansy Pansy (or was it namsey pamsey? Or nancy pants? Bah, can't remember), and even funnier stuff between Guber and Judge Nansy Pansy, and then they get to the part where the Common Wealth can't represent itself, and so guess who walks through the door?



DENNY AND DAN FROM NIGHT COURT! And Denny is looking all badass and classy.





And Alan is thinking, "Ooooof course," in a Ryan Howard voice.



And he seriously cannot take his eyes off of Denny. And he tries to tell him it's not a good idea to go up against each other (Alan is ridiculously ruthless in court) and Denny looks at him and says:



"It's nothing personal," with that cocky smile that I love.



And Alan is basically thinking, "Oh, dear lord. Why me? Why?" Hee. I love how Denny, if you look at this episode in classic TV terms, is basically the wife going against the husband, trying to beat him at his own game, and nobody expects her to even come close to being as great as the husband. Well, you know what?



This is Denny Crane. Denny Crane never loses.





Denny's looking at a fish that is now in his office. I have no clue where this came from. And neither does Alan. And he's almost jealous of the fish and the fondness with which Denny is looking at it. But then Denny mentions catching it and eating it. Yeeeeeah, he's going to fish for it in the tank. Where it's the only fish. And Alan says that takes the sport out of it and they're kind of back into their old banter, but then Denny looks up.





And he remembers that he's angry with Alan, and my heart sinks a little.



As does Alan's. Oh, he looks like a kicked puppy in so many shots of this episode. I just want to hug him. Anyway, he tells Denny that it's not a good idea to face off in court, that he doesn't want Denny to get hurt.



And Denny's all, "Excuse me? I'll beat your ass, you cocky son of a bitch." And he makes a wager.



At first Alan is like, "No, no, no. That's just silly. It would be like stealing candy from a baby." And Denny eggs him on, confident that Denny Crane will win. Why? Because he's Denny Crane.



And, well, you know, Alan can't pass up a challenge like that. Besides, now it'll be fun since there's money at stake, and he has an excuse to beat Denny and not feel guilty.







HANDS ESPINSON OMG OMG OMG! I LOVE YOU JERRY! Especially in this scene, because he puts the cigarette in his mouth and says something about the case, and then makes a quick remark to Katy about her dress and how she could stop traffic, and it's his regular, sweet voice, but said with vernacular that cigarette Jerry would use. And Katy is a mix of baffled and flattered, and just the simple fact that the show threw that in there gives me hope that they'll end up together. THEY BETTER! They are the only het ship on this show that I have ever cared about. The foundation of their relationship dynamic is set up a lot like Alan and Denny's, which is probably why I love them so much. I might be a little crushed if nothing ever happens between them. They kind of went there once, and Katy didn't completely turn him down, so...

Okay. The scene between Denny and Shirley.





He's wickedly happy to see her because he's in love with her. But then she tells him he's a sucky lawyer in his old age (in better terms than that, obviously, but she was still quite blunt).



The smile is gone. :( Then Alan walks by and hears his name, so naturally he listens. And it's right at the part where Shirley says that Alan's competitive ego will triumph over his need to not hurt Denny. That he'll do anything to win.



Alan's shocked that he's seen this way. Although he's kind of not, because Shirley has made her feelings known about his dark side before, and he has in the past put his job before his friends (remember that ep when he crushed Jerry?), so the realization of this kills him, and he can't stand the fact that people think he would actually destroy the love that he shares with Denny just to win a case. Alan would never attack Denny's greatest weaknesses. Never.



And I'm pretty sure that Denny knows that, and he's a little angry that Shirley would say that, and he's hurt that no one thinks he's any good anymore. And he knows that Alan is at the door without even looking.





Heeeee. Denny is so in tune with Alan that he can feel his presence, or maybe the scent of Alan's cologne drifted to Denny's nose, or... maybe he saw him out of the corner of his eye. I'm going with the cologne scenario, because it gives it a gay vibe, and this show is all about gay vibes.

The courtroom scene! Oooooh, how I love this courtroom scene. Alan starts out strong. He makes winning look easy, actually.



And then he sits down and Denny doesn't move, and everyone's worried he's going to look like a fool. And Alan plays with his tie, which for some reason drives me wild.





Denny totally pwns Guber's ass. And I learn a lot about the stuff that they never told us in history class, and for once the writers are presenting both sides pretty eloquently, and we see that the current administration has been doing the same stuff that all the others did (only, this one sucks at hiding it).



And Alan is so, so, SO very proud of Denny, and he's very happily admitting to himself that Denny is still the best.



Even Dan from Night Court is impressed.



And Alan's finally getting it. A little bit.

Okay, so, despite the tumultuous amount of Alan and Denny in this ep, I think my absolute favorite scene was the one between Alan and Jerry. Even though Denny was only mentioned once, for Alan, it was ALL about Denny.



Jerry and Alan are talking about how good Denny was, and Jerry, being his usual factual self, makes the grave mistake of saying, "Never would know he's dying of Alzheimer's, not with that little performance."



"He's not DYING!"



Jerry's slightly scared. Not sure what he did wrong, but he apologizes.



"Why would you say that?"



"Wellll... people with Alzheimer's... there's no cure."



"I know there's no cure! But people can live with it, Jerry. Sometimes for a very long time. That was a TERRIBLE thing to say!"



Jerry's about to cry, because he doesn't like getting shouted at. So he gets up, puts his hands on his legs, and high tails it out of there, completely crushed (Alan used to be his best friend, you know, before Alan ripped him apart in season 3. They've been tense around each other ever since. Now Katy is his best friend).



Alan watches him go, still angry.

I love that scene so very much. You really see how much Alan loves Denny, and how absolutely TERRIFIED he is of losing him. Just the mention of Denny and death makes him a little crazy. He knows the day is coming, but he doesn't want to face it.



Jerry escapes to his office, where he vents to Katy, because Katy is where he feels that he can be himself completely. &hearts He whips out the cigarette and starts shouting, then talks in Swiss German, and Katy just lets him get it out and doesn't judge his oddities. OMG I LOVE THEM!





And then Alan appears and Jerry retreats back into his scared shell. But then he apologizes.



And Jerry relaxes a little, seeing his old Alan.



And Alan admits to having been in a little bit of denial about Denny's Alzheimer's. He's gotten too used to calling it Mad Cow. Just... the idea of Denny deteriorating, the joy going away, the legend being gone, he can't handle it. :'(





Alan FINALLY notices that Jerry has been using his cigarette more than usual, and he asks Jerry if he's been having any problems lately, and Jerry very quickly says no, and Alan's a little disappointed that the intimacy they used to have is gone, and he blames himself, and he's afraid of this happening with Denny.



He mentions this observation to Jerry, almost apologizing for not thinking to contribute to their friendship, and Jerry tells him that they've both been busy with work, but you can tell that he's a little bitter about it, and just as he's about to get emotional, he throws the cigarette back in and says, "Hey! That's the beauty of being good friends, isn't it? Relationships with long shelf lifes, you can just stick 'em on the shelf, I tell ya."



"I have never ever considered myself... someone who puts work before friendships. It seems I do." :'( Oh god, James Spader, I love you so much. His delivery of this line was so beautiful.















"We all do, Alan. Friendships are a little bit like backyard gardens. We plan to tend to them, we just always seem to put it off till next week." Oh man, do I love that line. It's so poetic with its beautiful simplicity, and so very, very true. And Alan's look at the end there is all about Denny, while Jerry's is a sad, regretful look about his friendship with Alan. Oh, how that scene kills me. Have I mentioned that I adore Jerry with every fiber of my being? Because I do.

So, after this deep contemplation about friendships going dry, he makes up with Denny in their own Alan/Denny way.



Denny's fishing, by the way. Hee.





Alan tells him he wants to call off the bet because their relationship doesn't need that kind of competition and animosity, plus...



"You're losing."



"I'm not losing."





They banter a little bit and then Denny doubles the bet, and of course Alan can't say no. And he tells Denny not to wear the Minute Man costume to the trial, trying to get him to wear it.



But Denny's onto him. "Nice try."





&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts

They're back! My boys are back! And is that not the greatest exchange of "I love you" smiles ever?

Now they're back in court, and Denny rumples Alan's lawyer facade by blurting out "Democrat!" with disdain (he said he knew Alan's weaknesses) and they dissolve into their arguing banter in front of the whole courtroom, and Alan goes into a rant.





"Are we doing closings now?"
"Would you like to? I'm ready!"
"Would have worn the outfit!"



"Why don't you just SHUT up instead?" And then Alan realizes what Denny just did.





Hee. Alan has just been SERVED!





Alan apologizes for telling him to shut up. Oh, Alan. He still doesn't quite get what's bothering Denny. So Denny finally tells him.







"Something I thought you understood, but you clearly don't understand. For people of my generation, being an American is personal."
"I realize..."
"No, you don't. You don't."

He goes on to talk about WWII and fearing that America wouldn't always be there and this and that, and then he says, "You have no idea how OFFENDED I am by a town that wants to secede. You have no..."







"Which means... you don't know me Alan. Not really. Our friendship has all the depth of a jigger of scotch."



*sound of heart breaking into a thousand and one pieces*



"I really need to work on my closing right now."





ALAN!!!! He still loves you man, don't worry.

The closing:



He didn't wear his Minute Man costume! Heeeeee.



Alan is more in love with him than ever.



Denny makes a snippy comment about how he believes in short closings.



And Alan giggles, because Denny's uniform is just too much for him to handle. And... he makes REALLY long closings.

Anyway, Denny gives his closing, short and to the point. Because he's presenting the republican view.





Then Alan gives his really long, passionate closing in which he makes us all feel lousy for letting this or that happen, because... that's what he does. But James Spader always delivers the closings with such eloquence and conviction that I always get all tingly and he takes my breath away, despite the fact that I'm usually rolling my eyes at the heavy-handedness of the dialogue.



Denny's actually listening, instead of sleeping through the opposing closing like he usually does. Because it's Alan, and he'll always listen to his Alan. &hearts







And then, finally, Alan makes it personal. He has to prove to Denny that he understands. He's fighting for their friendship here instead of the case. But he lets him know that 9/11 made him think about America ending, that he knows the feeling, he knows what Denny went through, and the tenderness, and passion in this bit just gets me, and I love that it's getting through to Denny and he's near tears, and so is Alan.



And then the scene ends with this very palpable distance between them. They can't even look at each other, and that distance kind of kills me.

The judge sides with Denny. Because Denny never loses. And Alan is actually pretty happy despite the fact that he lost.



"Still undefeated."
"Was never in doubt."



"...How about our friendship?" (oooooh, he sounded like such a little kid here &hearts)



"Alan. A man is never so rich as he is with friendship."



"Except when he's got $50,000."



"I thought we doubled it."



"I gave ya half off, 'cause I like ya."



"Walk out with me?"



&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts



The way that scene was really supposed to end:

image Click to view



Then there's a lovely scene between Denny and Shirley where she tells him she was wrong, and he makes the most adorable joke ever about having a dream where they were making crazy love in a pool and the cops come by and say, "Aww, it's just Crane, Poole & Schmidt." And she gives him a small kiss, and he interprets this as "She's in love with me."



The boys are back on their lovely balcony smoking their lovely cigars.



Denny calls Alan pathetic for trying to get him to wear the minute man outfit.



"I actually did listen to your closing. For a second it almost made me cry."
"Really?"



"Yeah, 'cause I almost thought you'd win."



&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts Dang, Alan is emitting quite a few hearts at Denny in this episode. Denny's line was the Denny equivalent to "I'm proud of you," so the emitting of hearts was perfectly understandable.



Alan talks about his convo with Jerry and then says, "Why don't we take more vacations? We keep talking about going fishing again," and he rambles on a little more...





And Denny stops him and says that they can hang the "Gone fishin'" sing on the door and go. This... is basically the equivalent of a man whisking away his wife on a spontaneous trip after she complains that they never go anywhere. Oh, how I adore the fact that they're like an old married couple.



Alan: Same tent.
Denny: Separate sleeping bags. Come on, nature awaits.
Alan: Oh god, why did you have to bring up nature. You know I hate nature.
Denny: I'll hold your hand! What was that quote you said from Ralph Waldo Emerson?
Alan: He said quite a few things.
Denny: A friend may well be reckoned a masterpiece of nature.



&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts



Denny: I can't remember what I had for breakfast, but that I remember.
Alan: You constantly surprise me.
Denny: It keeps the love fresh.





"Alan, let's go fishing."
"Let's go fishing."

Awwwwwwwwww. I have no idea why, but I love that shot of the clinking glasses and the cheesy music that starts playing. It's like a kiss, Alan/Denny style.







They go off walking happily together in the moonlight, laughing, with the wistfully romantic music playing, giving us a very classic rom-com ending that completely solidifies their relationship and presents the idea that they are life partners, and then we get a shot of the empty office, the empty balcony and chairs, and the last thing we see is this:



And it's just the most adorable ending you could ever ask for.

I really adored this episode. So, so much. Now I'm totally psyched for the premiere on Monday. I'm sad that it's all going to end this season though. :'(

ship: alan/denny, show: boston legal, picspam, meme

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