Story of Love is the fifth episode of Season Two and the twenty-eighth episode of Ally McBeal.
Synopsis[]
Ally defends a woman who threw her best friend into a garbage canister after learning she had stolen away her boyfriend. An accident befalls Cage’s beloved frog.
Plot[]
As Ally walks along a Boston street, she encounters a distraught woman, Hannah, sitting on the sidewalk. Feeling sorry for the stranger, Ally offers her assistance. Hannah has a rude attitude and the two have a heated conversation. Ally finally gives up and Hannah responds by throwing her handbag, which knocks Ally off her feet and she retaliates with a kick. A police officer observes the exchange and places them both under arrest.
Meanwhile, Cage continues training his beloved pet frog, Stefan, for an upcoming competition. Nelle screams when she sees the creature and swats it with a file folder. She quickly apologizes for her action, explaining that she finds frogs repulsive.
Ally and Hannah end up sharing the same jail cell. Hannah laments that she is in the process of being sued for assault. She reveals that she threw her best friend into a garbage dumpster when she discovered that friend was having an affair with her own boyfriend. Shortly thereafter, the pair is released from jail and Ally offers to represent Hannah in court, in exchange for Hannah’s promise that she will not file a lawsuit against her and Hannah accepts the offer. In court, Judge Snipp informs Ally that Hannah fired three of her previous lawyers so she could win another continuance. Ally quickly makes a motion to be dismissed from the case. However, the judge insists she cannot withdraw.
George tells Elaine that he has decided to start up his own magazine. He requests that Ally be allowed to handle the legal paperwork. However, Elaine explains that Richard and Nelle are better suited to handle corporate work. Despite Elaine’s advice, George approaches Ally and requests her assistance with forming the corporation. Ally and George meet to discuss drafting paperwork for the corporation and George suddenly confesses that he invented a reason to be in a room alone with Ally and the revelation makes Ally uncomfortable. Though her attraction to George is obvious, she feels it would be improper for her to start a relationship with him because Elaine is dating him.
Stefan the frog unexpectedly gets lost inside the unisex bathroom. Billy, Fish and Georgia debate over who should catch the creature and Fish makes an attempt but the amphibian leaps into a toilet bowl. Suddenly, the toilet flushes and Cage enters the bathroom, the remote in his hand. Billy, Fish and Georgia rush away, dreading the thought of revealing the horrible truth. Fish eventually gathers the courage to tell Cage what happened and Cage is devastated by the news.
In court, Laura Payne describes how Hannah assaulted her and then dropped her inside a garbage canister. Shortly thereafter, Hannah states that she was acting out her own hurt when she tossed Laura into the trash. She also expresses her desire to forgive Laura for her actions. Suddenly, Oren Koolie, the ten-year-old genius, steps from beneath the plaintiff’s table. As the jury listens, Oren makes reference to a previous occasion when Ally kicked him.
Nelle apologizes to Cage for treating his frog so harshly. She explains that when she was a little girl, she had a hamster named Millie, whom she adored. But one day, her brother’s Argentine Horned frog entered the terrarium and consumed her beloved hamster and she never forgave the frog for its action. Cage decides to hold a memorial service for Stefan. In private, Fish worries that he and his colleagues will not be able to keep a straight face during the eulogy. Therefore, he and Elaine compose a mock service, hoping it will prepare everyone for the worst. But when the moment of truth comes, they find Cage’s sad eulogy hysterically funny and must fight their urge to laugh. Later, Nelle buys Cage a new pet frog and Cage takes an immediate liking to the little creature and decides to name it Millie.
When Laura’s attorney, Yvette Rose, delivers her closing statement, Ally cannot ignore the parallels between Hannah’s situation and her relationship to George and Elaine. She nonetheless, gives a convincing closing argument of her own, one that chastises Oren Koolie for his behavior in court and this causes Oren to cry. The jury rules in favor of the plaintiff and fines Hannah the sum of one dollar.
George approaches Ally and states that he is unwilling to just walk away. Elaine overhears the conversation and later asks Ally not to take away the man she loves. Later, George again approaches Ally in her office and he promises to leave if Ally states she does not feel a little of what he himself feels towards her. Ally replies that she does not share his feelings. With that, George exits the room.
Trivia[]
Eric Christmas' last TV appearance. Lucy Liu as Ling Woo did not appear in the episode and was uncredited.
Goof[]
At about the 22 minute mark, Ally consoles John about his pet frog. A wedding ring is clearly visible on John's finger, but he is not married on the show, and the ring is not visible on his hand when he's talking to Richard in the next room in the previous scene immediately prior to walking into Ally's room where he's consoled.
Script[]
Full transcript can be found here.
Songs[]
- When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along) | Vonda Shepard (cover, written by Harry Woods, signature song of Lillian Roth.)
- eorge performs his Wiggle Walk on the street.
- Nobody But Me | Vonda Shepard (cover, originally recorded by the Human Beinz.)
- George and his river walk.
- Amazing Grace | Peter MacNicol on the bagpipes.
- At the eulogy.
- What Becomes of the Brokenhearted | Vonda Shepard (cover, originally recorded by Jimmy Ruffin)
- John mourns the lost of Stefan.
- Take Me Home | Vonda Shepard (cover, written by Tom Waits.)
- At the End.
List of songs in the episode can be found here.
Cast[]
Starring
- Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal
- Courtney Thorne-Smith as Georgia Thomas
- Greg Germann as Richard Fish
- Lisa Nicole Carson as Renée Raddick
- Jane Krakowski as Elaine Vassal
- Vonda Shepard as Herself
- with Peter MacNicol as John Cage
- and Gil Bellows as Billy Thomas
Special Appearance By
Recurring Cast
Guest Starring
- Josh Evans as Oren Koolie
- LaTanya Richardson as Attorney Yvette Rose or LaTanya Richardson Jackson
- Kristin Dattilo as Laura Payne
- Eric Christmas as Judge Maynard Snipp
- Natasha Gregson Wagner as Hannah Puck
- Terry L. Rose as Guard #1
- Roderick Bascom as Guard #2
- Ken Colquitt as Police Officer
- Harvey J. Alperin as Foreman
Uncredited
- Anthony Jordan as Bar Patron or Fighter
- Lucy Liu as Ling Woo
- Jacob Witkin as Carl Williams (unsure)
Producers[]
- David E. Kelley - Executive Producer
- Jeffrey Kramer - Co-Executive Producer
- Jonathan Pontell - Co-Executive Producer
- Roseann M. Bonora-Keris- Associate Producer
- Kim Hamberg - Associate Producer
- Mike Listo - Producer
- Steve Robin - Producer
- Pamela J. Wisne - Producer
- Peter Burrell - Coordinating Producer
Music[]