Boston Legal - Season One

I had for a long time known there was this show out there, Boston Legal, and that it was supposed to be quirky and funny. But I hesitated because A) I never much liked the little bit of The Practice that I saw, just not my cup of tea, and B) I really was creeped out by William Shatner from the Priceline ads.Then I saw a sort of tribute to William Shatner's character, on a VH1 special, and it was funny, so I gave the show a whirl. ONE EPISODE (of Season 3) and I was absolutely floored. Shatner is unbelievable -- who would have thought he has this level of finesse in him? He is hilarious, at the same time over-the-top and yet subtle and sublime.James Spader is another one I never really *loved* before - always thought he was fine but nothing special. On Boston Legal? WOW. I can't remember a television character as complicated and well-fleshed-out as Alan Shore, nor one as well-acted.I wanted to write a review that would encourage people who missed the first seasons to get on board now - it's not too late. Also people who don't like courtroom shows - this show has way more to offer than just L.A. Law or The Practice or Law and Order.This is one of those shows that makes you think the best dramatic work these days is being done on TV rather than in the movies. And these guys put out every single week!I also heart Rene Auberjonois, who is the only character who seems wholly real and natural (not that the other characters are flawed, but they do have extreme characteristics) and HUGE thumbs up for Bergen, whom I not only didn't like in the past, but actually quite disliked on the basis of Murphy Brown. She is hilarious in this show with impeccable timing. Clearly a very bright woman to carry off this character with such aplomb.Start watching on TV now, and get the DVDs of seasons you missed too.

David E. Kelly the creator is a genius. His other legal show is The Practice which I loved and have watched a few times is excellent. Boston Legal is another gem - funny as heck. James Spader is brilliant as Alan Shore, William Shatner played Denny Crane masterfully. These two together were superb! They had me cracking up, especially William Shatner. The storylines were funny and way too silly sometimes. The whole cast was magnificent and overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. My least favorite season was four. The first three seasons were funny especially one and two.I don’t think we’ll have shows like this again.

Introduced during the final season of ABC's as Ellenor Frutt's maverick defense attorney pal Alan Shore, actor James Spader (along with fellow Emmy-winner William Shatner as Denny Crane, and insanely sexy Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson) was promptly spun-off into this brilliant series the following season. Whether this was always creator/executive producer David E. Kelley's original intent remains unseen, but it was a tactically shrewd and smart move, nonetheless. Sporting a great cast, sharp writing, relevant topical issues, laugh-out-loud humor and remarkable heart, Boston Legal (original working title "Fleet Street") continued to do what The Practice did for legal dramas, only in a much more humorous way.Props to Fox for packaging the show in a first-rate DVD season set which features immaculate picture and sound and cool extras. Most notably, the deleted scenes from the pilot which Kelley explains in the introduction as being too "Practice-like" i.e. serious. These aren't the usual abruptly short deleted scenes typical of TV DVDs but full "super-size" scenes that add more to the pilot episode they were cut from, not unlike the deleted scenes from NBC's .Boston Legal - Season One is a 5-disc (single-sided) set featuring all 17 episodes; Widescreen (1.78:1) video; Dolby Surround English audio; plus extras. Housed in slim cases, Disc One contains: Episodes 1-4; Disc Two: Episodes 5-8; Disc Three: Episodes 9-12; Disc Four: Episodes 13-16; Disc Five: Episode 17, plus Special Features: "Court is Now in Session - How Boston Legal Came To Be" featurette, "An Unlikely Pair - Alan Shore and Denny Crane" featurette, and Deleted Scenes from Pilot Episode.Boston Legal - Season One (along with The Practice - Volume One)Highly Recommended!

I was initially "turned on to" "Boston Legal" around season three or four, and immediately fell in love with it. I couldn't get enough of Alan Shore's (James Spader) biting sarcasm, borderline sexual harassment, and hilarious banter. Furthermore, the character of Denny Crane (William Shatner) always left me curious as to his fall from grace, as Alzheimer's slowly and gradually robs him of his legal genius, replacing it with hilarious eccentricities that never cease to amuse me. I had many questions about the show, "How did Alan come to work in Boston? How did Denny contract "Mad Cow" (as he claims)? How did the show start?" Season One didn't disappoint any of my expectations.Episode one immediately throws you into the story of "Crane, Poole, and Schmidt" and gives you very little exposition, focusing mainly on the stories of the cases and letting you figure out the character details on your own as the relationships play out through the caseloads of the lawyers. While this was initially frustrating, it nonetheless became highly entertaining.Even if you've never seen the show before, I would highly recommend it. "Boston Legal" is like many David E. Kelly shows in that it shows off lush parties with music, political agendas (mostly "leftist"), and witty, back-and-forth, dialogue that is reminiscent of a funnier Aaron Sorkin.In conclusion, I would highly recommend Season One as it is the genesis of one of the best shows on TV, has loads of great cameos (Freddie Prinze Jr., Elizabeth Mitchell (of "Lost" fame), and Larry Miller amongst others), and plenty of hilarious and poignant cases.

This quirky, funny, odd legal drama touched on many big issues in US law and politics: big pharma, teaching evolution versus creationism, sexual harassment, capital punishment and so on. It is very interesting to see where these issues were then compared with now. Many of the lines are very prescient.

Sono di parte, Boston Legal è arrivato in un momento importante della mia vita e ne conserva sapori e colori.E' innegabile però che David E. Kelley sceglie in questa serie attori di calibro altissimo (inaspettata la performance di William "J.T. Kirk" Shatner) per rappresentare vizi, virtù e drammi della società americana, da un punto di vista a volte imparziale ma molto più spesso piacevolmente progressista.La prima stagione è un capolavoro, come tutte quelle che la seguono fino alla quinta e ultima.Non posso non tornare su quanto siano puntuali e squisite le analisi politiche della realtà statunitense. I casi di puntata alle volte sembrano pretesti per poter parlare del quotidiano e le chiose finali, sulla terrazza dello studio quando i due protagonisti sorseggiano whiskey, sono sempre piccoli capolavori. Raccomandata al 100%.

ドラマの傑作、アメリカのテレビドラマはだいたい見てきたが、突出して素晴らしい。出演者も一流揃い。

Anwaltsserien sind normalerweise so gar nicht mein Fall. Aufgrund der vielen guten Kritiken für die Serie und im Besonderen für das Schauspiel James Spaders (spielt den egozentrischen, sich für unwiderstehlich haltenden, aber wirklich genialen Anwalt Alan Shore) und William Shatners (spielt den Anwalt Denny Crane, dessen Zenith eigentlich längst überschritten zu sein scheint, der aber trotzdem noch nicht zum alten Eisen gehört) wollte ich dann doch mal in "Boston Legal" reinschnuppern. Und war von Anfang an begeistert:Fantastisch geschriebene Drehbücher voller unerwarteter Wendungen und teils brisanter Themen (etwa das Verbot von rotem Fleisch, eine Klage gegen die US-Regierung wegen des Völkermords im Sudan oder die Forderung eines alternden Anwalts, sich einfrieren zu lassen, um in 100 Jahren wieder aufgetaut zu werden!), klasse aufgelegte Stars, denen man den Spaß beim Drehen förmlich ansieht und eine perfekte Balance zwischen Dramatik und herrlich schwarzem Humor machen die Serie zu einem herrlichen Genuss, der schnell süchtig macht (hatte die 17 Folgen in 3 Tagen durch!). Was die Serie unvergleichlich macht ist, dass einfach jeder Ton - ob nun tragisch oder komisch - perfekt getroffen wird und einfach jede Pointe sitzt. Neben den wirklich tollen, oft zum Brüllen komischen, teils auch berührenden Dialogen (etwa Alans und Taras Art, sich ihre Liebe zu gestehen ("You smell good!"), Denny Cranes unerschütterliche Beziehung zu seinem (Zieh-) Sohn Donny oder die in jeder Folge wiederkehrende Balkonszene mit Alan und Denny, die laut dem Ausführenden Produzenten Bill D'Elia "purer Zufall" war) ist dies vor allem ein Verdienst des phänomenalen Ensembles, das bis in die kleinste Nebenrolle perfekt besetzt ist (am meisten hab ich mich über das Wiedersehen mit "Golden Girl" Betty White als bissige neue Sekretärin von Alan Shore gefreut) und jeder Figur das gewisse Etwas verleiht.Da die Serie so ein Hammer ist, ist es auch verschmerzlich, dass das Bonusmaterial der DVD- zwei relativ kurze Features über die Entstehung der Serie ("Court is now in Session: How Boston Legal came to be", knapp 11 min.) und die ungleiche Freundschaft zwischen Alan Shore und Denny Crane ("An Unlikely Pair: Alan Shore & Denny Crane", knapp 5 min) sowie einige Geschnittene Szenen aus der Pilotfolge "Head Cases" (mit einleitendem Kommentar von Serienschöpfer David E. Kelley und dem Ausführenden Produzenten Bill D'Elia, ca 13 min.) - sehr überschaubar ausgefallen ist. Denn mal ehrlich: Wer braucht Tonnen von Bonusmaterial, wenn die Serie allein schon mehr als Gold wert ist?Alles in allem ist "Boston Legal" ein herrlicher Mikrokosmos voll teils skurriler, teils erschreckend normaler, aber immer sehr liebenswürdiger Charaktere, die lebensnahe Geschichten voll Situationskomik und Wortwitz, aber auch mit tagesaktuellem Geschehen und der nötigen Portion Tragik durchleben, und dem Zuschauer schnell ans Herz wachsen. Da die finale Episode der Staffel etliche Fragen offen lässt ("Wird Zeke wirklich hingerichtet?", "Legt sich Lori Colson tatsächlich mit Denny Crane an?", "Wie geht es mit dem unschuldig dreinblickenden, mehrfachen Mörder Bernie und Alans neuer, 82-jährigen Sekretärin Catherine Piper weiter?"), kann man es kaum mehr erwarten, wie es in der zweiten Serienstaffel wohl weitergeht. Ein wahres Serienjuwel, das Unterhaltung vom Feinsten bietet und im Handumdrehen süchtig macht. Also, kaufen, es sich auf der Couch bequem machen und "Denny Crane!" (im englischen Original) genießen! Viel Spaß ist jedenfalls garantiert!

David E. Kelly è forse più famoso come produttore e come marito di Michelle Pfeiffer, che come sceneggiatore; attività a cui si è dedicato dagli anni ’80 con serie TV per lo più “legal”, ma dal carattere ironico e arguto. Boston Legal è il suo capolavoro. Nata come spin-off di The Practice, suo precedente successo, in 5 stagioni e 101 episodi ha declinato il meglio del cinismo legale americano, con due insuperabili partner: Alan Shore (James Spader) e Danny Crane (William Shatner alias il Capitano Kirk di Star Trek, con qualche chilo e qualche anno in più). Dialoghi geniali. Da non perdere.