It’s difficult to judge a show after experiencing what came after it. Usually we grow with either the character (Frasier Crane), the story, or the creator (Aaron Sorkin). Yet I find myself on the opposite side of that experience, only now enjoying The Practice after loving Boston Legal for so long. I’m actually looking forward to the last season of The Practice, one that most fans bemoaned as Boston Legal season one. But so it goes sometimes.
Boston Legal came to us all of five years ago, but when it hit, it did so with gravitas. Legal dramedies generally strike our emotions hard from one side or another, be it the characters, or the law that they practice. David E. Kelley attempted both on The Practice, refining the strategy only once he’d introduced characters who could carry light law and light drama in an interesting and very watchable way. And oh, what characters….
I was surprised to discover that Alan Shore (James Spader) and Denny Crane (William Shatner) were the only characters to make it from beginning to end … sounds funny, right? But it appears to be gospel. Alan Shore rose to the heights of my favorite characters list, mainly for the counterintuitive approach to people and life he took that was so prominent in the early seasons of the series. Alan actually mellowed greatly as the years passed, yet never did he tower so high as when he defended a mentally challenged man set to be executed before the Supreme Court in the season four episode “The Court Supreme.”
Denny, on the other hand, got more kooky as time passed. The early episodes of the series probed his competency to practice law, and by the end he was swinging wildly at a future with Alzheimer’s (“Mad Cow”), but for much of the time in between he was shooting people, walking around in his boxers, and sleeping with a woman and her daughter. People say that this was at times demeaning for Shatner, but I hear the role of Denny Crane was a whole lot of him. And he was great.
Either way, I loved the friendship that Alan and Denny shared. Two people more incongruent might be hard to find, but it was the battles they fought, the shenanigans they jointly undertook, and the honest affection they always displayed for one another that made Boston Legal the show that it was. That, and the rest of the legal eagles.
Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) first appeared on the scene 11 episodes in, catching Alan by surprise in the men’s room. From that moment on she was never without something useful, and oftentimes surprising, to add to a situation. I’m not sure how much I ever bought her taking all of those different female attorneys under her wing, nor did I enjoy her romantic relationship with Carl Sack (John Larroquette), but Shirley made everyone, particularly Alan, better. And I did like Carl a lot, just not dating Shirley.
Another huge favorite of mine was Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois). I think it was mainly how well he and Denny clashed, with Alan butting in whenever he was around, but I also really enjoyed how Paul tried to steer the ship at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt. I hated that they wrote him off the show, and hated it even more that they did so after sticking him with Brad Chase (Mark Valley) for so long.
I don’t know, but something about Brad just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was that Brad was the one who got Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen) in the end instead of Daniel Post (Michael J. Fox), or maybe it was because he was mean to Alan and worked behind Denny’s back. But I did always enjoy Brad’s rows with Alan, and even more so his feud with Jeffrey Coho (Craig Bierko). Anyone remember the two Buzz Lightyears?
Denise left the show way too early. I wasn’t much impressed with her lawyering skills, but I did really like her, and Bowen is a fantastic actress who deserves to be showcased regularly. Instead of Denise we got a whirlwind of token female leads, finally culminating in Katie Lloyd (Tara Summers). Katie was sweet, and she made Jerry Espenson (Christian Clemenson) relevant, which was important for a solid character who was brought in to be Alan’s left-hand buddy to Denny on his right. But as for wearing Denise’s shoes? They were always too big for Katie.
Who else came and went through the years? Clarence (Gary Anthony Williams) was a clown, Claire Simms (Constance Zimmer) was awful, Lori Colson (Monica Potter) was a terrible person who Paul didn’t deserve to be saddled with, Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra) was fun but never did much of anything resembling the practice of law, and Lorraine Weller (Saffron Burrows) was just a continuation of the same. Then there were bit players like Garrett Wells (Justin Mentell), whose most memorable moment involved a priest and women’s underwear.
It was really the roles of people like Catherine Piper (Betty White), Melvin Palmer (Christopher Rich), and Bernard Ferrion (Leslie Jordan), minor characters who were so fully crafted that they lived and breathed lasting impressions onto the world of Boston Legal, that made the show one of the great playgrounds for creativity and art.
And, of course, the jurists did too. Clark Brown (Henry Gibson), Robert Sanders (Shelley Berman), Brian Hooper (Armin Shimerman), and many others … none ever had time for jibber-jabber, each was the last person our firm wanted to face, and all just kept on reappearing. It’s a signature that was still missing in The Practice’s day.
There were two other signatures that saw the show through from beginning to end. First was the cigar and a drink that Alan and Denny shared at the end of each episode. A lot of good TV took place out there. But how did those white seats not get ruined in the Boston climate? Second was a disregard for the fourth wall … the characters talked about bouncing around the primetime schedule and other lineup issues non-stop. I loved it.
Like I said earlier, it’s tough to work backwards, but it sure is nice to always have Boston Legal to go back to when I need to place a face, or remember an incident. ABC never gave it much leeway, but in the time it got, the show made a lasting impression on me.
Farewell, fond friends.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 30, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Great trip down memory lane, as this show was one of my favorites when it was on. Alan and Denny had probably the best bromance on TV, and the show managed to be outrageous while also making you think about the various issues brought up. It served as a very good medium for political debate with the often opposing sides of Alan and Denny.
Also, this was one of the few shows that had an older cast that I enjoyed. Because of this, I was able to talk about the show with my parents, and even grandparents.
*POST AUTHOR*
I never thought about that … and it makes a lot more sense that way, right? How many firms would be short on more senior senior partners? My parents loved it, too.
this show had a decent run – it might have gone a little longer, but by the end they were grasping for ideas. This is one of these shows that would have benefitted from a cable/European style schedule with 13 or so shows a season instead of 22-23.
Alan and Denny didn’t always have a chat at the end of the episode, there are 2-3 episodes that didn’t.
Katie and Jerry dating creeps me out, he is like twice her age. I’m not normally an age-ist, but it just felt creepy.
Betty White… TV is always better with Betty White.
BOSTON LEGAL is my favorite TV show EVER! The casting of James Spader and William Shatner was inspired. Usually on a TV show I can imagine someone else playing a role and doing a better job, but in this case I cannot begin to imagine anyone else playing the roles of Alan Shore and Denny Crane. David Kelley had to have tailored these roles specifically for these two wonderful actors because he focused in on what they both do best. Spader has always been the master of the smarmy, sexually deviant, but always charismatic character…no one is better. Shatner, in later life, has made a career out of poking fun at himself and Kelley exploited this gift of self deprecation to its fullest in the character of Denny Crane. The other great thing about these two performances was that both actors were willing to totally commit to these often loopy characters and yet never loose the pathos that was at the core of both attorneys. Great writing, great acting, and great casting at the top made this a show that I will continue to enjoy for the rest of my life…thank goodness for DVDs!!!