| "Ally" and Downey, Together Again by Bridget Byrne Feb 15, 2001, 1:25 PM PT There's one legal arena where Robert Downey Jr. is not down and out: the law offices of Cage and Fish Yes, Downey will be back February 26 on Ally McBeal in his Golden Globe-winning role as Larry, the legal lass' latest love. The deal, in the works for weeks and officially announced Wednesday, calls for him to appear in eight more episodes of the Fox series through the end of the season. "Working on Ally McBeal has been such a satisfying process that I am grateful to have been asked to continue on for the remainder of the season," Downey says in a network-released statement. Of course, before he can make good on his Ally commitment, Downey has a February 21 date in the Indio, California, court to hear what his fate will be for the Thanksgiving weekend drug bust. The Hollywood community in general (and the legal dramedy's producers in particular) has been consistently supportive of the popular and talented Downey, who was released from prison last August after serving almost a year for violating probation on previous drug arrests. "Robert is an incredible talent, and he and Calista [Flockhart] just push each other to new levels week after week," says the show's creator, David E. Kelley, in a Fox press release. Downey's presence also pushes ratings. Since his debut in October on this season's premiere, Ally has performed better than the previous season, with total viewership up by 3 percent, from 12 million to 12.4 million. According to Fox, on the February 26 episode "Ally misses Larry, who is in Detroit with his son, and is concerned that she is having hallucinations and dreams about their relationship. She goes to a new therapist (guest star Rhea Perlman), but that only makes things worse...until Larry suddenly reappears." Downey pleaded not guilty on the latest drug charges, stemming from his arrest at a Palm Springs hotel following an anonymous 911 phone tip. If found guilty he could face more than four years in prison. However, it is possible that a deal could still be reached between Downey's lawyers and the prosecutors under the California Expedited Drug Program, which would keep him free to woo Ally all the way. |