Guilty pleasure alert: Boston Legal
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I am happy to announce that one of my favorite shows on TV right now is finally back - ABC's Boston Legal returned last night (Tuesday at 10PM EDT), and I was immediately reminded of how much I love that show. If you're not familiar with Boston Legal, let me give you a bit of background.
Boston Legal is actually a bit of a spinoff from ABC's popular lawyer drama The Practice. Towards the end of The Practice's run, they brought in a new character - a quirky, ethically-challenged, hotshot lawyer named Alan Shore (deliciously played by James Spader). At the time that they brought in Alan, The Practice had been getting very stale. The Alan Shore character reinvigorated The Practice during its final season, and ABC and David E. Kelley (creator of both shows, and most popular lawyer dramas) decided to keep the Alan Shore character and a couple of others around and form a new show around them - Boston Legal. Alan's character and another character from The Practice, Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra) joined a prestigious Boston firm - Crane, Poole, and Schmidt. The founding member of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt is Denny Crane - a legal legend who is getting more and more senile (or is he?), and is wonderfully played by William Shatner.
The show is OWNED by the characters of Alan Shore and Denny Crane, and the chemistry between the two actors portraying them is electric. The show is definitely over-the-top - this is not the place to go to get realistic courtroom drama. Boston Legal is a sinful, guilty pleasure that I find is as addicting as the best chocolate. I was pissed when Boston Legal's season was cut short last year to make room for a new hit that ABC had on its hands, Grey's Anatomy. I like Grey's Anatomy too, but I love Boston Legal. They have brought back Boston Legal with a new season, plus the promise to play the episodes cut from last season to make room for Grey's Anatomy - so for this season I get the first year as reruns (which they are doing now, starting last night), plus this season with two extra episodes.
If you enjoy mindless guilty TV pleasures, then I highly recommend you check out Boston Legal.
Rock
**Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it.
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Comments
Posted by Chris Whisonant At 11:43:16 AM On 08/11/2005 | - Website - |
They aired the Practice/Boston Legal crossover episodes here in South Africa, and I have been BLOWN AWAY at Shatner's performance. He's the actor everyone loves to make fun of with OVERenunCIated DIaLOG THAT... just SEEMS to ramble ON and... ON with strange PAUSES that no one can... REALLY EXPLAIN.
And yet, as Denny Crane, he turns this into a brilliant aspect of the character.
Spader is... well... Spader. He's been one of the best actors on any size screen since Sex, Lies and Videotape.
Posted by Nathan T. Freeman At 05:03:58 AM On 08/11/2005 | - Website - |
I have to admit I was shocked that Shatner had this in him. This is the best role I have ever seen Shatner in (and I know that's not saying much, but still...
Oh, and I didn't mention this in my original post - the formidable Candace Bergen becomes a regular on the show as Shirley Schmidt, the hardassed third founding partner of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt. They are re-airing the episode where she comes back this week, and I can tell you that she only compliments the ensemble and heightens the show. She's awesome.
I hope you get the opportunity to see more of Boston Legal down there, Nathan - you'd love it.
Rock
Posted by Rock At 08:04:29 AM On 08/11/2005 | - Website - |
I like that show- I hardly watch anything on TV but reality shows and sports these days, but that one is admittedly hilarious. AND, there are some hot chicks too. That dark haired British babe being #1 on the list...
DENNY CRANE!!!
Posted by Tom At 02:24:31 PM On 08/10/2005 | - Website - |