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In season one Maxine becomes the case worker for a 15 year old boy named Joaquin Acosta. He has a genius level IQ and runs away from every foster home he's placed with. On their first meeting, what name did he give Maxine as his own?

Manual Labor. The very handsome Erik Alexander Gavica played Joaquin in the episode "Presumed Innocent". Also in this episode, Amy has to decide whether or not Emily Noble suffered from Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) syndrome. A disorder in which a parent, or other caregiver, causes a person to become sick or injured in order to receive the attention that comes along with it. When it just involves self, it is known as simply Munchausen Syndrome. Emily is discovered to have this mental disorder and has been making her daughter Susie have seizures since she was a young child.

Gillian spends most of the first 10 episodes of season one obsessed about becoming pregnant. Which of these people causes her to snap out of it?

Vincent. Gillian decided to come and stay with Maxine for a few days, as Peter is driving her up a wall. While she's there, Vincent also comes to write an extra short story for his soon to be published book of short stories. This story ties in all of the characters from the other works and Gillian comes across the print out next to his computer. She reads about a character based on her and Peter's infertility issues and finally sees herself in other people's perspective. This makes her realize she has to calm down and not allow herself to be defined by infertility.

Amy sat as the judge on a case where a mother coached her young son to take the blame for the death of his 5 month old sister. This episode was entitled "Shaken, Not Stirred". What was the name of the baby killed by shaking?

Molly. The mother concocted a story to try and save herself. She believed if her 8 year old son said that he shook his sister, it would be dropped and no one would ever be the wiser. Amy found the boy's testimony too rehearsed when he was unable to answer direct and specific questions about the event. Amy decided to force a confession out of the mother by sentencing the boy to a state run facility until his 18th birthday. It worked and the mother revealed she shook Molly after hours of hearing her cry.

Which of these people failed to show up for Maxine's 60th birthday celebration?

Maxine. Maxine explicitly instructed everyone that there was to be no party! Amy did not listen to her and Maxine never showed up for her own party. By the time she did arrive back home after work, all her guests (sans family members) had gone home. All Maxine really wanted was for her children to sign her Living Will. Amy was the last to sign it, at 2 am the next morning.

Who is Rebecca Van Exel's mother?

Mia. Amy walks in on Bruce and Mia talking, while on the way into her chambers. Bruce later explains that she is Rebecca's mother and she wanted to make her own life before becoming a mother. Bruce raised Rebecca and Mia became a model. Former "Playboy" playmate Renee Tenison played Mia in the episode "Zero to Sixty".

Who is it that takes Lauren and has her ears pierced?

Leisha. I figured this one would be pretty easy. Amy had forbid Lauren to do this until she was at least 13 years old. She felt like a 6 year old couldn't make that sort of decision alone. Well, Aleisha (called Leisha by almost everyone) took Lauren anyway and used it as a way to bond with her. Amy invited Leisha to lunch and explained in no uncertain terms that major events (like "drilling holes") had to be cleared with Amy first. Leisha's tone quickly changed from an over friendly butt kissing style into a highly irritated and threatened style of speech. Jennifer Westfeldt played Leisha in season one and two of the show. In that time she made three appearances.

During the custody battle for Lauren, Amy experiences a lot of trouble sleeping due to bad dreams. During this time did Amy have a romantic dream about Bruce?

Y. Amy dreams that she cannot sleep, goes to the courthouse and into her chambers at 2 a.m., and finds Bruce in there studying for a test. He is startled, spills his drink on his shirt, and proceeds to take it off in order to place a clean one on in its place. Amy is transfixed by Bruce's extremely well built physique and suddenly they are in each other's arms kissing passionately. This goes on for about half a minute before Amy wakes up in her own bed, once again unable to sleep because of her dreams. This dream sequence, and one other involving her lawyer and two ex-lovers, occurs in the episode "The Wee Hours".

What do we find out about Bruce Van Exel in season one?

All of these (He has a daughter named Rebecca, He is studying to become a child psychologist, He believes in God). Bruce is a very complex man and intelligent man. Richard T. Jones, who plays Bruce, was born in Japan in 1972. I remember the first time I saw him in the 1993 movie "What's Love Got to Do with It", playing Ike and Tina's son Ike Jr. Though he made several more films, it wasn't until 1997 that I found him again in "Event Horizon" and "Kiss The Girls".

Maxine found Vincent's job as a reporter to be a noble profession.

F. She let him know that even if it once was, reporting was no longer a noble profession. She did not enjoy his article on the death of a local politician, as the man died wearing a pink dress. Later, she apologized to Vincent for being so harsh about his new job via a telephone message.

What was the name of the psychiatrist Maxine had arrested for violating the patient's trust by way of statutory rape?

Dr. Amanda Kubiak. Fifteen year old Joe Broussard was a former client of Maxine's. He'd lost his mother when she committed suicide five years earlier and then his father became a drunk. Joe spent years doing pretty well in foster care and in the episode "Drawing the Line" he'd been caught shoplifting. Upon investigating Maxine discovered that Amanda, as Joe called her, had violated her patient/doctor boundary and become sexually involved with young Joe. She was arrested, but Joe hated Maxine for having the doctor taken out of his life. Leslie Hope, who played the doctor, starred along side Kevin Costner in the 2002 movie "Dragonfly". Frederick Koehler played Joe in this episode. In the 1980s he also played Chip on "Kate and Allie". He was 25 when played the part of this 15 year old boy!

I am a basset hound and Maxine is my mom. Who am I?

Socrates. Maxine explains at times that he cannot be allowed outside alone, or he may wander off.

Jared and Maxine's relationship starts off a bit shaky. She has to pay for his meals twice, and on their first official date it is because his credit card is declined. Who is it that restores her faith that he is not a poor con-artist?

Peter. She meets him in the diner across from her job at DCF. At that meeting he has forgotten his wallet at work, so she offers to have his lunch placed on her tab. In return he invites her out to diner, as the are both widowed. She accepts, but after their meal his credit card is declined. He assures their waiter that the card has no limit, but the man acts as though Jared is beneath him. Maxine pulls out her card and pays, deciding right then and there that Jared is a con man. When Jared shows up at her front door (with no address given to him by Maxine) Peter is there to inform her that Jared is a "Fortune 500" millionaire!

In season one we learn that Bruce is Catholic. Which of these statements is false in regards to that information?

He was disciplined by nuns often as a child. We learn this information in the episode "The God Thing" when Greta returns to work after combating cancer. She and Amy were once diehard atheists and now Greta claims that God is the way to deal with all problems. Bruce and Amy discuss this issue of religion and faith as well, because Amy insinuated that no intelligent person could believe in God. He admitted all of the choices listed to her, but he was taught by Jesuits in Parochial school. Greta passes away at the end of the episode, heart failure possibly due to chemotherapy.

How long was Susie Nixon suspended for embezzlement before being allowed back into her position at DCF?

1 week. Maxine informed the police about Susie's theft. Susie attempted to justify her stealing by explaining how poor she was to Maxine. She spent a week out of the office, but was allowed back in while the investigation was pending. Maxine was outraged by this, especially when Susie allowed a woman to be murdered by her husband just to go against Maxine's recommendation. The only way to get Susie officially and completely demoted to a paper pusher was to agree to run the office herself.

Vincent and his girlfriend Lisa were brought together by a crime they experienced. He attempted to save her from a man attacking her in the parking lot of a grocery store. Why did Vincent eventually end their involvement?

She proved herself untrustworthy. She lied while under oath about the circumstances of the attack, just to make sure the man would be found guilty. She'd also started becoming too needy and carrying a gun, but it was the lying that finally got to Vincent. He knew if she'd lie under oath, she'd lie to him as well.