Boston Public 2.15 FAQ
What’s it called?
“Chapter Thirty-Seven.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay credited to John J. Sakmar, Sean Whitesell, Kerry Lenhart & David E. Kelley
What does TV Guide say?
“Controversy swirls at Winslow over a reviled racial epithet, which becomes a heated subject of debate in a class taught by the provocative Danny Hanson (Michael Rapaport), who fans the flames by alleging a double standard. ‘Clearly,’ he tells his students, ‘people seem OK with Chris Rock using the word...But if Garry Shandling did...you'd all be sick.’ Word gets to Harper (Chi McBride), who calls upon Hanson to cease the discussion because ‘the word stirs up too much hate.’ But when the teacher persists, the principal trumps him. ‘Do you think you understand nr, Danny? Do you think you really get it?’”
What is TV Guide not telling us?
This is one of the sturdiest “Boston Public” installments of the season. (One of the benefits of introducing a powder keg is that the keg's handlers must pay it close attention.) It’s almost enough to distract one from tonight’s return of “Fear Factor”!
The big surprise?
The Michael Rapaport character manages to buy a hardcover copy of Randall Kennedy’s new book “Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word” for every kid in his sizeable classroom. The hardcover edition lists at $22 a pop! Did someone strike oil under the gymnasium?
What’s gotten into that Danny?
Hanson brings it up for “talk time” after he breaks up a fight. Two best friends – one black, the other white – use "nigger" (or "nigga" - I can never discern the difference) as a mutual term of affection as they wander into Hanson’s class. A third student, this one black, objects to a white boy using the term. Fisticuffs ensue.
Any subplots?
At least two. Amusingly, Lipshultz finds an unlikely ally in Guber when Harvey gives a student with character issues an unfavorable college recommendation. And Ronnie stirs a meddling bureaucracy when she discovers one of her students is homeless.
Any sign of Mandy Patinkin?
Ha! You wish!
What’s good?
The show’s willingness to enlist controversy in the service of interesting questions. African-American filmmaker Spike Lee routinely uses racial epithets in his dialogue, but posited a few years ago that Quentin Tarantino, a white man, didn’t have license to use the word “nigger” in “Reservoir Dogs” or “Pulp Fiction.” More recently, Jennifer Lopez, she of Puerto Rican ancestry, caught flack for using an n-word on her new CD. There’s said to be a lot of African ancestry floating about in Puerto Rican bloodlines, but is J.Lo (whose mother’s parents are both from Europe) not “black enough” to use the word? Is Rosie Perez? Lenny Kravitz? Vanessa L. Williams? Ice T? Rashida Jones? If Spike Lee is killed by lightning tomorrow, who tells us who’s allowed to use the word and who isn’t? I’ve no idea if any of the four writers of tonight’s “Boston Public” episode is black, but how many of the four writers need be of African descent for tonight’s episode to employ these controversial terms with immunity?
What’s not so good?
Could the Jessalyn Gilsig and Nikky Katt characters be any more marginalized this season? Since Jeri Ryan and Michael Rapaport joined the cast, Gilsig and Katt been given fewer and fewer interesting things to do. In this episode, they’re little more than extras.
How does it end, spoiler-boy?
Harper takes over Hanson’s class.
Herc’s rating for “Boston Public” 2.15?
***1/2
- ***** better than we deserve
- **** better than most motion pictures
- *** actually worth your valuable time
- ** as horrible as most stuff on TV
- * makes you quietly pray for bulletins
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
Smell this shoe!
