Boston Legal is my dream come true - Comedy / Crime /Legal Courtroom Drama which is a perfect combination of all genres and is as funny as it is clever and gripping. The idea of "Boston Legal" had came to its creator, David E. Kelley during the last season of once very popular but sadly quietly dying legal drama "Practice". I was a big fan of the show and I stayed with it to the end. Bringing to "Young, Berluti, & Frutt" of "Practice" an ethically-challenged, arrogant, morally ambiguous but brilliant and somehow likable attorney Alan Shore (James Spader) was Kelley's great idea. The last season of Practice became one of best thanks to Spader who resurrected it by simply being there. When I heard that Spader would have a spin-off "Boston Legal", I could hardly wait for it and it has never disappointed me. Boston Legal is "Crane, Poole, and Schmidt", a famous and wealthy firm that specializes on civil cases. In the center of the show are Alan Shore and his older friend and mentor Denny Crane (William Shattner). To bring them together in one show and let them have a wonderful relationship that is based on their differences (comparing to Denny who is in love with the sound of his own name, Alan seems highly moral and stable model citizen) and is at the same time hilarious, sincere, and moving was a pure genius. Each episode would end with both Alan and Denny sitting on the balcony, smoking cigars, drinking scotch and having a friendly conversation and those are the best moments of the show.
Alan and Denny are the central characters in "Boston Legal" but every attorney in the "Crane, Poole, and Schmidt" is a unique individual. There is a former marine Brad, the veteran of Operation Desert Storm with the strong principles - the complete opposite to Alan. There is Clarence, a man with several personalities and Claire, the girl who loves him. Candice Bergen has joined the cast at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt, as Shirley Schmidt, sharp like a razor senior partner as brilliant, manipulative, and arrogant as both Denny and Alan are. There is also a dwarf Bethany "who comes and goes" with whom Denny has an on- and off- relationship. Jerry "Hands" Espenson with his Asperger syndrome has re-joined the firm and his return will certainly add to the practice (and the show) success. You may like them or not but they all have one thing in common - they are fantastic attorneys, always on the top of their game. All actors, the series regulars and the guests constantly give first-class performances, writing is superb in every episode, and "Boston Legal" has become one of if not the best comedy-drama on TV today.
In the conclusion, I'd like to share one of my favorite scenes in the show. Denny and Allan are on the balcony talking about Shirley. Denny and Shirley used to have a passionate affair way back and she is still the love of his life. Alan's lust for Shirley is so overwhelming that he showed up in the office party dressed up like her (and he managed to look better than she did) explaining that everyone had to dress up like a person he/she admires the most.
Denny (thoughtfully, remembering something very special to him) - "Shirley...One night while making love, she recited Proust."
Alan: "Did you understand it?"
Denny: "Not a single word. I thought she was possessed."
Alan and Denny are the central characters in "Boston Legal" but every attorney in the "Crane, Poole, and Schmidt" is a unique individual. There is a former marine Brad, the veteran of Operation Desert Storm with the strong principles - the complete opposite to Alan. There is Clarence, a man with several personalities and Claire, the girl who loves him. Candice Bergen has joined the cast at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt, as Shirley Schmidt, sharp like a razor senior partner as brilliant, manipulative, and arrogant as both Denny and Alan are. There is also a dwarf Bethany "who comes and goes" with whom Denny has an on- and off- relationship. Jerry "Hands" Espenson with his Asperger syndrome has re-joined the firm and his return will certainly add to the practice (and the show) success. You may like them or not but they all have one thing in common - they are fantastic attorneys, always on the top of their game. All actors, the series regulars and the guests constantly give first-class performances, writing is superb in every episode, and "Boston Legal" has become one of if not the best comedy-drama on TV today.
In the conclusion, I'd like to share one of my favorite scenes in the show. Denny and Allan are on the balcony talking about Shirley. Denny and Shirley used to have a passionate affair way back and she is still the love of his life. Alan's lust for Shirley is so overwhelming that he showed up in the office party dressed up like her (and he managed to look better than she did) explaining that everyone had to dress up like a person he/she admires the most.
Denny (thoughtfully, remembering something very special to him) - "Shirley...One night while making love, she recited Proust."
Alan: "Did you understand it?"
Denny: "Not a single word. I thought she was possessed."