What I’m Watching: Franklin and Bash

Franklin and Bash: Season 2, Episode 3 “Jango and Rossi” (B+)

It’s no surprise that Franklin and Bash would have rivals with a similar dynamic and a similar tendency for the ridiculous in this episode with just as much guest star stuffing as last week. It was a lot of fun to see Eric Mabius, veteran of such shows as “Eyes” (in which Garcelle Beauvais also starred),“The O.C.,” “Ugly Betty,” and, most recently, “Outcasts,” and Seth Green as Jango and Rossi, who went up against Franklin and Bash in the case. I’m very glad that the judge didn’t allow the dog to be put on the stand, and I enjoyed Franklin’s quick reaction to hearing about being put in contempt when he wasn’t the one that had done something wrong. Attacking the prosecution’s height was highly amusing as well. Cybill Shepherd made for a fitting diva in the form of Evanthia. Rick Fox’s appearance as the dog’s rightful owner led to a sensational ending, and an unfortunate nightcap for an overly hopeful Infeld. The dog case, however, was not the best case this week, since that’s the one that involves a robbery with a gun made out of cheese. Karp swapping with the dynamic duo enabled him to do something strange but fun – working with Pinder – and allowed them to win the case by discovering the rather obvious reasons that the pizza place’s owners would have wanted the shop to be robbed. Karp asking for payment in cheese at the end of the episode was definitely the icing on a very cheesy cake.