Pulling an Aaron Sorkin and duplicating an episode he did better on a previous show, David E. Kelley delivers an episode where Simon (Robin Williams) is pressured into preparing the funeral and eulogy for a former client who no one ever liked by the man's daughter (Missi Pyle) who just wants, for one day, her father to be loved and appreciated.
"Dead and Improved" is more than a little reminiscent of the B-story in Ally McBeal's First Season episode "Boy To The World" involving Richard Fish's (Greg Germann) struggles with his father's funeral and his insistence at honoring the man, warts and all, including his bigotry to short people. Sadly, "Dead and Improved" lacks the heart of Kelley's earlier writing, even if if does provide a nice father/daughter moment late in the episode.
The episode's B-story involves an out-of-control Charmin executive (Kurt Fuller) going through the motions following his separation from his wife leading to a diatribe about why Charmin is better than Kleenex and the man walking around the offices nude. Once again, the episode plays on the broad comedic moments without ever really dealing with the dramatic undertones of the situation.
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