1/30/05

Jack's in a pickle for taking the bribe to bail out JJ's gambling debts. A vote comes up that involves racial lines, and the reverend (Rocky Carroll) that helped Jack get elected is up for the spot, along with someone else who is white and more favorable to Rizzo (police chief, and up and coming mayoral prospect). Jack hates thinking that he's being owned for every vote after taking the bribe, and when the vote finally comes, Jack votes in favor of the reverend, and that becomes the difference in a 6-5 vote. Jack voted his conscience, but there will be repurcussions.

Rox hates Luke's facial hair, and the prom is coming up soon. Rox pays the janitor to play a priest who is susposed to be giving the okay to prom dates not currently enrolled in East Catholic. The scam is to convince Luke to shave his face for the prom, otherwise, he won't be allowed to attend. Luke uses that condition to not go to the prom with Rox. This leaves Rox flummoxed. Later, on prom night, Luke does shave and Rox is happy.

The prom committee lost their band, and Rox steps up to round up a band on short notice. Meg doesn't have a prom date and considers not going. Patty gets invited by a senior to attend the prom, but she blows him off. Later, she reconsiders, but the boy has already asked someone else. Patty doesn't tell Helen that she wasn't going to prom, and Helen then take Patty elsewhere (I forget what they ended up doing for prom night).

JJ wants to sell the car to pay for his debts, but Jacks wants him to keep the car. JJ goes looking for a second job, but nothing shows up. JJ finally tells Beth that they don't have the money for a new house because of his gambling debts. Beth is not amused by this development. She goes back to waitressing at the bar she had worked at before. They do settle their fight now that everything is out in the open and promise each other to not keept things from one another.

JJ takes Meg to prom. At prom, JJ talks with one of the priests, and JJ has an opportunity to coach sports at the high school. JJ and Meg get into her anti-war activities and her relationship with Chris. JJ is unsympathetic to Meg's crusade, and reduces her to a high school girl who doesn't know what's really going on over in Vietnam. Both leave one another, Meg goes to Beth's bar, and sees that Sam is there, so they talk about the night, and Sam offers Meg the dance she missed at her prom, and feelings that were 3 years in the making appear to finally be surfacing for the both of them as both are now single, and supportive of each other.

JJ drives back from the prom, and gets stopped by the police. The police bust out a tail light and a headlight, and then treat JJ like a pinata as a message to Jack for his vote for the reverend and going against Rizzo's will.

And then there's the dreaded February hiatus, as the show will return in March.

They confused me even more with how much JJ bet. Will it be $6000 next week?

I know this show is known for its montages, but that was just weird how they ended it: 3 seconds of Meg and Sam dancing, 3 seconds of JJ getting the crap kicked out of him, 3 seconds of dancing, 3 seconds of crap kicked...

I think he told Beth he bet $4,000 because he spent 3k on the bet and another 1k on the Vietnamese man, but obviously he wouldn't want to tell her about that, so he just said he bet all $4,000.

February hiatus=

I'm starting to think shows should just do like Alias and run for a "semester" rather than a full year with random breaks along the way.

I still don't understand why Jack needed to take the bribe in order to pay for JJ's gambling debt. Didn't JJ already have the money he gambled (savings and money Jack originally gave him, minus what he sent to Vietnamese family).

Or did JJ bet more than he had? I thought he only bet 3 grand, so hecould double his money. Or is when you lose you have to pay twice? I just don't get it.

I would have thought JJ just gambled the 3 grand he had for the house and that meant he couldn't buy a house. I don't see why Jack needed to give him any extra money since now he isn't buying the house anyway.

It makes sense to nobody.

I thought he gambled the 2 grand his dad gave him to double it (to 4 grand if he won) to pay the house down payment (4 grand). Then I figured he had 1 grand of his own to give to the Vietnamese dude.

I think they are withholding the show during sweeps... not sure why. Not popular enough?

Posted on another forum:

Because it gets lousy ratings. The only reason Dreams is still around is that Zucker loves the show. Expect to see some incarnation of L&O in that Sunday 8 pm slot for sweeps.

I thought Jack took the bribe to pay off the bookie for J.J. so he could keep the money he needed for the downpayment on a house. Now J.J. is holding off on buying a house for Beth because he wants to be able to buy a house that is good enough for her. At least he came clean w/ her w/ respect to the gambling - now when is she going to find out about the dead Vietnamese girl and the money he sent her father? (I am starting to reach for strings...)

Even though J.J. got his ass kicked (karma's a bitch), I like how Jack voted for his constituency. They paid for one vote and he gave them that vote. Now I would love to see Jack go to war w/ the police chief and his tools on the city council. There has got to be some mafioso in Jack's parish who would be glad to help him out.

It was good to see J.J. find another job. I wonder if him and Meg will see eye to eye before the end of the season.

Patty cracks me up - such a well-written character. And Rox getting Luke to finally shave his beard was pretty humorous.

And finally we see something between Meg and Sam.