Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Common Law: Megyn Price and Greg Giraldo

Common Law aired September until October 1996 on ABC.

Attorney John Alverez ( Greg Giraldo), was considered a bit out of place at the conservative, upscale Manhattan law firm where he worked. Although he had a Harvard law degree, he was a Hispanic raised in blue-collar Queens, wore his hair long, strummed a guitar, and liked to look out for the " the little guy." The firm was more interested in looking out for the big guys. John's unconventional attitude was just what attracted WASPy associate Nancy ( Megyn Price), so they moved in together, which had to be kept secret since the firm frowned on interoffice romances. Henry ( David Pasquest), was a stuffy, ambitious associate, Peter ( Carlos Jacott), the insecure yuppie son of one of the firm's partners, and Maria( Diana-Maria Riva), the chattering office manager. Back in the " hood" John kept in touch with his old fashioned Dad Luis ( Gregory Sierra), a barber, who disapproved of his son's " hippie" ways.

A Review from Variety

Common Law
(ABC, Sat. Sept. 28, 9 P.M.)
By JEREMY GERARD

Filmed in Hollywood by Witt/Thomas Prods. Executive producers, Rob LaZebnik, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, Gary S. Levine; created by LaZebnik; executive consultant, Nina Feinberg; written by LaZebnik; directed by Robby Benson; associate producer, Joe Catania.

Cast: Greg Giraldo, Megyn Price, Carlos Jacott, David Pasquesi, Diana-Maria Riva, Gregory Sierra, Steven Gilborn, John DiMaggio, Thom Barry, Murray Rubin, Tim DeKay, Charlie Hartsok.

"Common Law" is kind of a sitcom twofer: fish out of water meets unlikely lovers Mork and Mindy get it on. Stand-up comic Greg Giraldo plays John Alvarez, a Queens-bred, Harvard-educated associate in a fast-track midtown Manhattan lawfirm who has secretly set up housekeeping with Waspy associate Nancy Slaton (Megyn Price). Company policy frowns on interoffice romances, so John and Nancy arrive together, but take separate elevators to their offices.
John has a flamboyantly Hispanic secretary (Diana-Maria Riva), who attributes her organizational skills to Ricki Lake, and a conservative barber father (Gregory Sierra), who thinks his son looks like a gay pirate because he sports an earring and a beard. John also has an office decorated in late Filmore East, and is more often than not likely to haul out his guitar whenever things get sticky. Giraldo plays him dependably earnest, except when he's hot (or when duty to the old neighborhood calls).

Quirkily underplaying Nancy, Price may prove to be this year's Helen Hunt; she's a real find. In the premiere, John and Nancy are given the current make-or-break case, the one that's sure to tip whoever wins over the fence into a partnership. Nancy wants to work, work, work. John wants to strum a few tunes and bail out a friend in need.

And then there's the business of telling John's father that they've moved in together.

John fights Hispanic stereotype so well that one colleague judges him not Latino enough for a case in which the firm needs a token minority.

Actually, the type Giraldo plays in "Common Law" is more hippie dippy than Cheech and Chong. He's an alien in these environs not because he's Hispanic, but because the whole ethos of the office strikes him as foreign. Question is, so what's he doing here? Did someone force him into the firm? Given the opportunity of a lifetime at least on these premises John's response is so blase you want to punch him.

If "Common Law" is going to work, it's going to need to show a lot more respect for John Alvarez. Tagging him with a Harvard degree and a natural blond girlfriend won't make us love him. Giving him some smarts would really help.

A Review from The New York Times

A Sitcom, Upscale And Latin

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: September 28, 1996

ABC's ''Common Law'' is the kind of sitcom that you sense is disappearing even as you watch it. It's not bad. There's a giggle or two to be had. But it's tired. The concept, that is. And that's a shame, because the star, Greg Giraldo, a Dennis Miller look-alike, is a talented stand-up comedian. Furthermore, he's Hispanic, the kind of American who sorely needs more exposure on prime time.

In ''Common Law,'' Mr. Giraldo plays John Alvarez, a Harvard Law School graduate, born in Queens and now working for a high-powered Manhattan law firm. When not strumming his guitar, John is stoking an affair with his Upper East Side girlfriend, Nancy Slaton (Megyn Price), also a lawyer. In fact, they work together, and that's the core complication. The office frowns on workplace romances.

The regulars also include a sassy Latin receptionist, Maria (Diana-Maria Riva), whose withering sarcasm is matched only by the length of her fingernails which are painted with the nine planets and a likeness of Antonio Banderas; and John's crusty immigrant father (Gregory Sierra), a barber who doesn't want even his own son to know where he hides his money. There's also Francis (John Di Maggio), John's gorillalike friend from childhood, who has a tendency to sock in the face anyone who disagrees with his view of life.

The only touch of reality in this pilot comes at the closing moments, when a former boyfriend of Nancy's calls John an ''obnoxious grease ball.'' Nancy slugs the bigot. ''Common Law'' comes to real life for a moment.

An Article on Greg Giraldo from Entertainment Weekly

Hanging 'Tough'
Meet the comic who gave Ray Romano a run for his money. Greg Giraldo finally makes up for ''Common'' mistakes by Bruce Fretts

In 1996, two New York City stand-ups flew to L.A. to star in their own sitcoms. One was Ray Romano. The other was Greg Giraldo. ''We'd meet after tapings, and he thought his show wasn't going great, and I thought mine was going okay,'' recalls Giraldo. As it turned out, everybody loved ''Raymond,'' but Giraldo's ''Common Law'' was revoked by ABC after only four episodes. ''Now I actually do better than Ray financially,'' cracks Giraldo. ''But he's more famous.''

Giraldo is slowly starting to catch up in the fame department thanks to his semiregular appearances on Comedy Central's late-night current-events roundtable, ''Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn,'' where his incisive one-liners have quickly made him a fan favorite. (On Iran: ''The only reason we didn't invade them first is we're doing it alphabetically, and Bush can't spell.'') ''Greg's the real thing,'' says Quinn. ''He always brings an intelligent and different angle, and people f---in' love him.''

These days, Giraldo can look back on ''Common Law'' (loosely based on his brief stint as a Harvard-educated attorney) and laugh -- almost. ''My acting was an abomination,'' he confesses. ''I had absolutely no business having a sitcom. I want to go back in time and slap myself.''

He harbors similar feelings about his legal career, which ended after just one year at a Manhattan corporate firm. ''It was completely unbearable,'' says Giraldo, 37, who says he doesn't remember why he ever went to law school. ''I feel like it's my drug past: I was a kid, it seemed like everybody was doing it.'' Not surprisingly, he doesn't dwell on his degree in his act. Explains Quinn, ''I'm not sure it's a good thing for your likability factor to say, 'I'm a lawyer.'''

Giraldo has recently broken back into network TV -- albeit at 1:35 a.m. -- with a gig on NBC's ''Last Call With Carson Daly.'' He provides merciless pop-culture commentary, skewering such worthy targets as ''Gigli'' (''I haven't even seen it yet, and I already want my 10 bucks back'') and Melissa Joan Hart's wedding-themed reality show (''I'd watch that if my other choice was drinking pig urine''). His NBC gig may increase Giraldo's name recognition, but he's still likely to suffer the indignity of being confused with another basic-cable clown: Geraldo Rivera. ''If I were starting over, I'd change my name,'' he says. ''I'd probably just go with Charo.''

(Posted:09/12/03)

For more on Common Law go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Law_(television)

To go to Greg Giraldo's official website go to www.greggiraldo.com/