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Boston Legal |
| Boston Legal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Format | Legal Drama Comedy |
| Created by | David E. Kelley |
| Starring | James Spader John Larroquette Christian Clemenson Tara Summers With Candice Bergen And William Shatner |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 98 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
David E. Kelley Bill D'Elia Mike Listo Lawrence Broch Janet Leahy (2.04-3.24) Scott Kaufer (1.01-2.03, 2.23) Jeff Rake (1.01-1.13) |
| Running time | approx. 42 min. |
| Production company(s) |
20th Century Fox Television Dick Clark Productions David E. Kelley Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV) |
| Original run | October 3, 2004 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Practice |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Boston Legal is an American legal drama-comedy created by David E. Kelley. The show premiered on ABC on October 3, 2004. A spin-off of the long-running series The Practice, Boston Legal follows the personal and professional exploits of a group of attorneys working at the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.
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Before the show's premiere, it had a working title of Fleet Street, an allusion to the real street in Boston where the fictitious Crane, Poole & Schmidt had its offices. The working title was later modified to The Practice: Fleet Street, but this title was dropped in favor of Boston Legal before the show premiered. Incidentally, the actual building shown on TV as the home of the law offices is located at 500 Boylston Street, 12 minutes away from Fleet Street.
Most of the final episodes of The Practice were focused on introducing the new characters from Crane, Poole & Schmidt in preparation for Boston Legal's launch. Thus, the story of Boston Legal can be said to begin with the episode of The Practice in which Eugene Young and Jimmy Berluti of Young, Frutt & Berluti decided to fire Alan Shore without consulting Ellenor Frutt, beginning a story arc of several episodes. They give Alan a severance package of only fifteen thousand dollars, even though Alan has brought in over six million dollars of revenue to the firm. Tara Wilson gets fired for her loyalty to Alan, and Alan goes to Crane, Poole & Schmidt to represent himself in the matter, thinking he has a claim under Massachusetts law to take over Young, Frutt & Berluti. Denny Crane, senior and founding partner of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, takes an interest in the case and even argues at the trial, cross-examining Young. During this period, Ellenor also has a run-in with Hannah Rose (Rebecca De Mornay), a partner at Crane Poole & Schmidt, whom Ellenor ends up seriously injuring when they get into a fight over Hannah's condescending remarks to Ellenor. The character of Hannah Rose was dropped prior to the Boston Legal pilot being filmed.
The jury awards Alan the millions of dollars of revenue he brought in to Young, Frutt & Berluti but does not order the firm to rehire him, so Denny hires Alan at his firm. After Young is appointed a judge, his first case (in the final episode of The Practice) happens to be with Alan for the defense, making Young wonder if Alan judge-shopped (this opens the door for Steve Harris to guest-star on Boston Legal as a judge, although to date, no starring Practice characters have made guest appearances on Boston Legal), though many actors and actresses who guest starred in The Practice have contributed to Boston Legal, taking on roles of a different character. Examples include Rene Auberjonois, John Larroquette and Christian Clemenson.
The pilot was originally produced with James Spader, Lake Bell, Mark Valley, Rhona Mitra and William Shatner playing the main characters, with an expanded storyline featuring Larry Miller as Edwin Poole, and with John Michael Higgins as senior partner Jerry Austin. Monica Potter was later cast as junior partner Lori Colson. After completing several episodes, the producers felt the show needed grounding, and Rene Auberjonois was cast as senior partner Paul Lewiston, effectively replacing John Michael Higgins. Despite this, Higgins's character still appeared in the first two episodes. The pilot premiered on ABC on October 3, 2004, following the series premiere of Desperate Housewives.
On November 30, 2004, it was announced that Candice Bergen would join the cast as senior partner Shirley Schmidt. 1 The producers had been looking to introduce the character since the fall. 2 Lake Bell and Executive Producer Jeff Rake subsequently left the series, while Rene Auberjonois was made a main cast member. 345
Boston Legal was renewed for a second season on April 5, 2005. The final five episodes of the first season were initially pre-empted until April 24, 2005 for several weeks to expose midseason series Grey's Anatomy to a larger audience behind Desperate Housewives. 6 Grey's Anatomy, however, was highly successful in the timeslot, and Boston Legal was pre-empted until the fall of 2005, where it would take over NYPD Blue's Tuesday timeslot for an extended season of twenty-seven episodes. 78 Both Rhona Mitra and Monica Potter departed the series over the hiatus, while Julie Bowen was cast as Denise Bauer. 9 Ryan Michelle Bathe and Justin Mentell were later cast as junior associates Sara Holt and Garrett Wells 10. A new writing staff headed by Janet Leahy took over as of episode four of the second season.
The second episode of Season 3 introduced Craig Bierko as Jeffrey Coho and Constance Zimmer as Claire Simms. In episode 3x11 Gary Anthony Williams was added to the main cast as Clarence Bell, a role he had played twice earlier in the season. Also introduced in this episode was Nia Long as Vanessa Walker, in a guest role that lasted 3 episodes. In the 15th episode of the third season, Craig Bierko left the show.
On June 4, 2007, TV Guide announced that Rene Auberjonois, Julie Bowen, Mark Valley, and Constance Zimmer would not return for the fourth season.11 On June 13, 2007, it was reported that actor John Larroquette would join the cast as a senior partner transferred from the New York offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt; and actress Tara Summers would be joining as a young associate. Also, Christian Clemenson, who appeared occasionally as Jerry Espenson, a brilliant but socially inept lawyer, would be upgraded to contract player.12 (Note that Larroquette previously appeared on BL forerunner The Practice as another character, a hyper-intelligent man on trial for killing his gay lover; this role earned Larroquette an Emmy Award.) The possibility was left open that Rene Auberjonois, Mark Valley, Julie Bowen, and Constance Zimmer could return in guest roles.13 On July 2, 2007, it was reported that both Rene Auberjonois and Mark Valley would return in recurring roles;14 furthermore, it was announced that Taraji P. Henson would join the cast later in the fourth season, with Saffron Burrows appearing in a recurring role. It was subsequently reported that Burrows would become a full-time cast member.15
On July 19, 2007, Boston Legal was nominated for six Emmy awards, including Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Spader), Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (William Shatner), and its first nomination for Best Drama Series in three years. On September 14, 2007, James Spader won the Emmy for his role as the lead character in the show, whilst nominations were lost for William Shatner and Christian Clemenson in their roles for Supporting and Guest Actors, respectively. Also, the show itself lost as Best Drama Series to The Sopranos.
On May 13, 2008 ABC announced that Boston Legal would return for a fifth (and final) season in the fall. 1617 Saffron Burrows did not return as a series regular, having joined the cast of My Own Worst Enemy. The final season will consist of 13 episodes to bring it over the "100" episode mark, setting it up for a successful syndication run. 18 There was speculation that Boston Legal might receive an additional episode-order if the show had another strong showing in the Emmy Awards and produced solid ratings in its new Fall time slot. 19 The season began airing on September 22, 2008.
On June 18 and June 20, 2008 it was reported 2021 that Gary Anthony Williams and Taraji P. Henson would not return for the fifth season as Clarence Bell and Whitney Rome, respectively.
On July 17, 2008, Boston Legal was nominated for a series-high seven Emmy nominations, including for Best Drama Series for a second year in a row. Spader, Bergen and Shatner were also nominated for their respective roles.
Boston Legal began airing in reruns on ION Television in September 2008. And in most markets, episodes began airing in off-network syndication (ironically in anticipation of the last episodes, to bring it to just over 100), on the weekend of September 28-29, 2008.
| Actor | Character | Status | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Spader | Alan Shore | 2004-2008 (The Practice 2003-2004) | 1-5 |
| John Larroquette | Carl Sack | 2007-2008 | 4-5 |
| Christian Clemenson | Jerry Espenson | 2005-2008 (recurring season 2-3) | 2-5 |
| Tara Summers | Katie Lloyd | 2007-2008 | 4-5 |
| Candice Bergen | Shirley Schmidt | 2005-2008 | 1-5 |
| William Shatner | Denny Crane | 2004-2008 (The Practice 2004) | 1-5 |
| Actor | Character | Duration | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rene Auberjonois | Paul Lewiston | 2004–2008 (recurring Season 4-5) | 1–3, 4-5 |
| Lake Bell | Sally Heep | 2004–2005 (The Practice 2004; recurring Season 3; 2007) | 1, 3 |
| Rhona Mitra | Tara Wilson | 2004–2005 (The Practice 2003–2004; recurring Season 2) | 1, 2 |
| Monica Potter | Lori Colson | 2004–2005 (recurring Season 2) | 1, 2 |
| Mark Valley | Brad Chase | 2004–2007 (recurring Season 4) | 1–3, 4 |
| Ryan Michelle Bathe | Sara Holt | 2005–2006 | 2 |
| Betty White | Catherine Piper | 2005-2006, 2008 (credited as "Also Starring") | 1-3, 5 |
| Julie Bowen | Denise Bauer | 2005–2007, 2008 (recurring Season 5) | 2–3, 5 |
| Justin Mentell | Garrett Wells | 2005–2006 | 2 |
| Constance Zimmer | Claire Simms | 2006–2007 | 3 |
| Craig Bierko | Jeffrey Coho | 2006–2007 | 3 |
| Gary Anthony Williams | Clarence Bell | 2006–2008 | 3–4 |
| Saffron Burrows | Lorraine Weller | 2007–2008 | 4 |
| Taraji P. Henson | Whitney Rome | 2007–2008 | 4 |
As in The Practice, a lot of stars from other David E. Kelley shows have guest starred on Boston Legal. These include Chi McBride reprising his role from Boston Public. Other guest stars include:
Though the show has never produced blockbuster ratings, it has maintained the majority of its audience over the past seasons and continues to be one of ABC's most influential shows because of the audience it draws. According to Nielsen Media Research, Boston Legal draws the richest viewing audience on television, based on the concentration of high income viewers in its young adult audience (Adult 18–49 index w/$100k+ annual income).22
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Boston Legal on ABC.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were in the Eastern and Pacific time zones.
| Season | Timeslot | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Season Rank |
Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sunday 10:00 pm | October 3, 2004 | March 20, 2005 | 2004–2005 | #2723 | 12.523 |
| 2nd | Tuesday 10:00 pm | September 27, 2005 | May 16, 2006 | 2005–2006 | #4624 | 10.324 |
| 3rd | September 19, 2006 | May 29, 2007 | 2006–2007 | #48 | 9.925 | |
| 4th | Tuesday 10:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 pm |
September 25, 2007 | May 21, 2008 | 2007–2008 | #51 | 9.826 |
| 5th | Monday 10:00 pm | September 22, 2008 | December 8, 2008 | 2008–2009 | TBD | TBD |
On February 9, 2006, tvshowsondvd.com announced that Fox Home Entertainment was releasing Boston Legal Season 1 on DVD on May 23, 2006.27 It is the first David E. Kelley show that FOX has released on DVD in the United States (though Ally McBeal has been released on DVD in other countries). The season one box set had five discs while the season two and three sets had seven discs.
Note: Some of the Season 1 DVDs, provided by select offline retailers, included a promotional DVD featuring the episodes from The Practice that introduced Alan Shore and the firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. This was only included in the very early sales of the DVD as a promotion.
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | May 23, 2006 | July 24, 2006 | August 9, 2006 |
| Season 2 | November 21, 2006 | March 5, 2007 | February 21, 2007 |
| Season 3 | September 18, 2007 | January 14, 2008 | October 10, 2007 |
| Season 4 | September 23, 2008 | October 13, 2008 | November 19, 2008 |
The Emmys won in 2004 were for The Practice, but for the same characters as they play on Boston Legal
The show frequently utilizes the device of breaking the fourth wall, but usually in a sly manner that can also be interpreted as the characters only jokingly pretending they're on a television show.28
This tendency has become more prevalent in the final season 29 with several references to the end of the series, including Jerry discussing a potential spinoff. In episode 5.06, Alan tells an actor with one line "You're not even supposed to talk, you're an extra." and later invites the audience to send in angry letters. In episode 5.08, Jerry begins dancing after assaulting a customer in a bakery and begins to sing the show's theme song and in episode 5.09, Denny tells Carl Sack "We need to bond. Hell man, this is our last season." In episode 5.10 Edwin Poole refers to the potential bankruptcy of the firm as "being cancelled," and at the end of the episode Alan remarks to Denny, "Hell, you'll probably outlive us all. We'll be dead and buried and you'll still be kicking, doing Priceline commericals." William Shatner, who plays Denny, plays himself in Priceline commercials. Likewise, in episode 5.11, Carl Sack is arguing before Judge Brown regarding the lack of programming on TV suitable for adults over 50 when he remarks, "The only show on TV with starring roles over 50 is Bo--." At that, Sack points at the cameras and says, "Well, I can't say the rest...it'll break that wall." At the end of the same episode Denny and Alan are on the balcony referring to their date with the Supreme Court the following week as a "Grand Finale" with a special 9 o'clock start time, talking about how their Supreme Court trial should be a TV show then complaining that the network wouldn't promote them anyways.
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Boston Legal |
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