Okay, before I begin, first let me tell you about my history with Ally McBeal. I've been watching this show since Day One! From the very first pilot episode in 1997 to this day, I've been a McBealer. Hmmm, is that even a term used for Ally McBeal fans? Anyway, Season One was fantastic. Season Two was a blast. Season Three? Well, while I still enjoyed the show tremendously, it did lack what made the first two seasons so special. I didn't dislike it as much as other fans did, but it certainly lacked the OOMPH! that made the show so great to begin with. Maybe it was Billy dying. Maybe it was one hallucination too many. Maybe it was Ally's curly hair. I don't know. What I do know is that when the show was all ready to kick off their 4th season, I was a little ho-hum about the occassion. But of course, I was still in front of my television Monday night for the Season Four opener, and..... oh.... my.... god......

I think you know what I'm getting at :) Yup, a character by the name of Larry Paul showed up and he had me at my first glimpse of him. Or to quote a line from Jerry Maguire... "You had me at hello." Or in this case.... "You had me at 'Can I help you?'" Oh whatever, he had me!! :) Now I've been a casual fan of Robert Downey, Jr. for a long time now. My earliest memory of seeing him in a film was in Chances Are. It had been shown on telelvision often and I remember adoring him in that film. I've always regarded him as probably the most talented actor of his generation. When it was announced last August that Robert would be joining Ally McBeal, my favorite show, it definitely got my interest and attention! Well, little did I know that I would fall head over heals for the character he was going to create!

Ally and Larry. Larry and Ally. Wow. It was so wonderful to finally get to see a guy give it to Ally just as good as she gave it. Larry pulled no punches with her and had her figured out in two seconds. The banter between them is just too good for words. After watching their very first scene together, a few thoughts came to mind:

(1) I never remembered Robert Downey, Jr. looking so HOT! And even more importantly, he really is a DAMN GOOD actor!!! His comic timing is terrific and he connected with Calista Flockhart right from the start.

(2) Finally, finally, finally!!! A man who seems like he'll be a good match for Ally! Ally's had MANY guys in her past and I didn't like most of them. Billy was great, but mostly for nostalgia's sake. That doctor, Greg Butters, was okay but I ended up concluding that he was a wuss. I kinda liked that bisexual coffee/judge guy, but not really. Finally.... Mr. Larry Paul enters the scene and all bets are off.

I absolutely loved their last scene in the Unisex bathroom where Larry reveals to Ally that he's really a lawyer, not a therapist like Ally (and I) thought. LOL. I didn't see that one coming, and neither did Ally. And he was so darn funny about it. I knew the minute Larry leaned over and kissed Ally on the cheek that this was the beginning of something really special. Little did I know that I would end up CRAZY about them!!