Episode Guide

Season 3

Episode 28- All Creatures Great...and Not So Great


The Case

Father McDonovan hires Blue Moon to find a woman. He's been hearing her confessions, he doesn't know who she is but is worried that she may be suicidal. By the way, he's also in love with her and wants to leave the priesthood to marry her. David doesn't want to take the case, but Maddie does anyway. They find the woman (Mrs Adamson) is married. They tell Fr McDonovan who seems to be willing to break up her marriage. It appears that she later commits suicide. Maddie figures out that she couldn't have done it and they go to her husband to tell him that they suspect that it was murder. There they find out some news of their own.

What's Really Going on Chris?

Maddie comes to the office to find David and "the guys" ogling women through a telescope. She is upset by his objectification of women and by his invasion of her privacy. She demands that he apologize. He does and turns over the telescope to Maddie. She leaves and he switches to binoculars. She returns and gets mad all over again. She demands that he apologize to the woman he is ogling. Maddie gets her phone number through the binoculars and dials the phone. David is forced to apologize, but Maddie hangs up the phone when she realizes the woman on the line seems interested in David. She calls him an animal, he agrees and says that it is normal male behavior. They agree to take a poll of the men in the office. David claims that the first man Maddie sees would agree with him. Maddie opens the door and finds a priest!
After they find out Mrs Adamson is married, David tries again to convince Maddie to drop the case. He finds it "repugnant" that they would help to lead a priest "into temptation" when they could "deliver him from evil." Maddie is convinced that when Fr McDonovan finds out she is married he will give up and it will be "business as usual." David tries to remind her that he is in love, and if he's willing to give up his life's calling for her that a wedding ring will not matter to him. Maddie decides to tell him over David's objections. She is surprised that "St. David" would suggest lying to a priest.
On the way over they get into a discussion about religion. Maddie doesn't believe that religion has made the world a better place. David calls her an 'infidel" and then a "heathen.' He argues that Christmas and confession (it becomes apparent that he is Catholic) prove that religion has made the world a better place. When Maddie admits that she has never been to confession, David suggests that she should go as she "could use a little introspection." Maddie tells him she prefers to talk to a trained professional about her thoughts and feelings. David is surprised to find out Maddie has been in therapy. Maddie tells him she doesn't go anymore because the therapist fell asleep during a session.
David is very upset that Fr McDonovan is contemplating breaking up the Adamson's marriage. He yells at Maddie when she claims she didn't know he would react this way. David tells he that he warned her, but she didn't listen to him and he doesn't think "she even knows how." He leaves her in the church and takes a cab back to the office. Maddie then wanders into the confessional and begins talking to the priest. She explains she doesn't understand David, they are 2 completely different people but there is something inside of him. She then concludes that they just have to stop beating each other up about it. She tells the priest that David was right, she does feel better after confessing. She leaves in a huff when she hears the priest snoring.
After Mrs Adamson's suicide David tells Maddie that she is the closest person to him in California as most of his friends and family are back east. He tells her that he has to count on her to make sure he's cremated when the time comes. She does not want to discuss such morbid subject. Back at the office, Agnes has become organized and efficient. She typed up a staffing report which suggests the elimination of 1 staff member (Bert) in retaliation for his rejection. Maddie and Dave reject her request. When Agnes offers to leave Dave and Maddie convince her to stay by telling her how much they need her. Agnes agrees, goes to her desk and finds a rose.
Later that night Maddie tells David that she went to confession, that he is the closest person to her and that he is the person she would turn to if "push came to shove, or even before then." David doesn't hear any of this because he is asleep. Maddie gets mad and leaves.

Chris's Obsessive Analysis

We begin to see that David actually has a moral center . Although he acts like he has no values and follows no rules, he does, and deep down he is actually very traditional in his beliefs about what is right and wrong. This is our first hint that all of David's talk might be a front. On the other hand we find out that Maddie has been in therapy. This confirms what we have known all along- there is something wrong with this woman!!! Just kidding. She obviously gets confused about her thoughts and feelings and has had the courage to seek professional help in the past. We also hear how much Maddie and Dave depend on each other and how they both feel closer to no one else. Too bad Dave doesn't hear it. Lastly this is another episode that shows us Maddie's lack of faith while showing us that despite his cynicism, David has some.

Memorable Moments

Links

Back to the Episode Guide main page
The next episode, "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
Brian's "All Creatures Great...and Not So Great" page
Aubrey's Blue Moon Banter page for this episode

This page is copyright © 2000 by Christine Graves