L.A. Law
Rhyme and Punishment
TV Flash files “Rhyme and Punishment” as hour 158 of 171 in the TV Flash guide — L.A. Law (1986–1994) on NBC, season 8, episode 9, aired 1993-12-16, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S08E09: listed hour 158 of 171 in the L.A. Law guide, hour 9 of 22 in season 8. It aired 1993-12-16 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Eli's Gumming” (S08E08). Next is “He Ain't Guilty, He's My Brother” (S08E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Mamie Van Doren is a guest at the firm's Christmas party; the son of an aging comic believes his father is being exploited by a mistress; Roxanne asks Mullaney to surrender parental rights.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Rhyme and Punishment sit in the L.A. Law guide?
S08E09 is listed hour 158 of 171 — hour 9 of 22 in season 8, season 8 episode 9.
When did L.A. Law S08E09 air?
Rhyme and Punishment aired 1993-12-16 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is it only courtroom scenes?
No. Firm politics and personal lives are central alongside standalone cases. The series is legal procedure as glamour — pairing, ethics problems, and partnership warfare included.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Peak Bochco-era network legal drama — glossy, talky, and addictive, with elevator-sex water-cooler lore and a rotating firm that stacked Drama Series Emmys. Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Jimmy Smits, Corbin Bernsen's oily Arnie: litigation as lifestyle brand. The template for every later firm-as-soap prestige hybrid. Objection sustained, hairstyle noted.
The firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak turned legal procedure into prime-time glam, and Thursday night dressed for it. NBC's *L.A. Law* (1986–1994), from Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, stacked multiple Drama Series Emmys on ensemble lawyering: Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Jimmy Smits, Corbin Bernsen's oily Arnie, Jill Eikenberry, a bench that rotated as the years went. Cases of the week met partnership politics. Elevator sex people actually discussed at work. **Bochco ensemble craft owned late-80s…
Filed against
- Harry Hamlin as Michael Kuzak
Harry Hamlin's Michael Kuzak walked L.A. Law as glossy 1980s litigation-as-lifestyle — Bochco-era network legal drama, elevator-sex water-cooler lore, a rotating firm that stacked Drama Series Emmys. Susan Dey, Jimmy Smits, Corbin…
- Susan Dey as Grace Van Owen
Susan Dey’s Laurie Partridge rode the Mondrian bus while David Cassidy became a teen-idol industry — family-band sitcom, lunchboxes, clean California longing — then argued L.A. Law as glossy Bochco litigation-as-lifestyle. Music-machine…
- Corbin Bernsen as Arnie Becker
Corbin Bernsen’s Arnie Becker made L.A. Law oily on purpose — 1980s catalog Bochco gloss, elevator-sex water-cooler lore, then Psych recasting the tan as a fake-psychic’s dad energy. TV Flash files him as the divorce lawyer who became…
- Jill Eikenberry as Ann Kelsey
Jill Eikenberry’s Ann Kelsey made L.A. Law look like litigation as a lifestyle brand — peak Bochco-era network gloss, elevator-sex water-cooler lore, a rotating firm stacking Drama Series hardware. Talky, addictive, 1980s legal drama as a…
- Jimmy Smits as Victor Sifuentes
Jimmy Smits’s Victor Sifuentes made L.A. Law a Latino lead in Bochco gloss — 1980s catalog elevator-sex water-cooler firm, then NYPD Blue stretching the steel into butts, badges, and Sipowicz weather. TV Flash files him as the associate…