Heads up, people-- the producers of Redmond Justice have added a pair of new episodes to the schedule prior to the big season finale. Evidently Judge Jackson's got a flair for sustaining suspense, because rather than issuing his final judgment this week as many had expected, he's decided to let both sides air a few more grievances first. The story so far: in recent weeks, we saw the government submit a remedy proposal, Microsoft submit a response to that proposal, and the government file a revised breakup plan-- its response to Microsoft's response. And most recently, in what was to be the final filing of the case, Microsoft cranked out a 42-page response to the response to the response. (Confused? You won't be, after this episode of Soap.)

After that fun little bout of Duelling Briefs, the case was to be pretty much over, bar the shouting. (And the judgment. And the inevitable appeal. And... well, okay, we've got a ways to go yet.) But the judgment is on hold, since neither side seems to want to let the other get the last word in. The government has understandably taken umbrage at Microsoft's description of the revised breakup plan as "defective," "vague," and "ambiguous," and is a mite alarmed at what appears to be Jackson's willingness to consider several of Microsoft's suggestions; for instance, Microsoft wants a whole year to come up with a formal breakup plan, as opposed to the government's four-month timeline. Therefore, Boies and company have asked the judge for the opportunity to file... yes, a response to Microsoft's response to the government's response to Microsoft's response to the government's original breakup proposal. According to a CNET article, the judge, never one to stand in the way of a sure ratings-getter, said okay. The government's got until Monday to file.

However, it's only fair to let the defendant, er, defend itself. And so, in his infinite wisdom, Jackson has also given Microsoft until Wednesday to file a response to the government's response to Microsoft's second response to the government's resp... Hang on, we lost count. Oh, forget it-- you catch our drift. The point is, we can all look forward to two more shows before Jackson swings the axe and "Redmond Justice" moves into the appeals phase after the summer hiatus. All we can say is, we hope Microsoft's next brief is at least as entertaining as its last one.