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Boston Legal

kirsten187

Napoleonic Power Monger
Admiral
Has anyone here watched Boston Legal? I initially got season 1 on DVD because I knew that Rene Auberjonois was in it and I wanted to see him in something other than DS9. I have now seen all 5 seasons and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. What do other people think of it?
 
I loved Boston Legal, despite all its flaws. But Alan Shore's closings were such a thing of beauty, and Alan & Denny's friendship was just so bizarrely adorable. Hubby and I both enjoyed the show very much.
 
It was quirky and not always that good, but imo somewhat under-rated.

Denny Crane was the Shat at his best. Really liked the relationship between Crane and Shore and the way that they'd end every episode with a friendly drink.
 
As was mentioned, the relationship between Alan and Denny made this show fantastic. I don't know how well it would have done without it, Kelly's bright and cheerful side seems to drift into too much whimsy for my taste 'Alley McBeal' being a case of that. 'The Practice' was my favorite of these three legal shows, its serious stuff in court and among the cast was much better than on Boston Legal. The strength of Shatner's and Spader's performances and the dominance their stories took as the series went on really made the rest of the cast rather pallid.
 
I think I liked Shirley best. Some of the judges were funny too. I've forgotten a lot of the funniest parts now. What was the name of the character who hit someone over the head with a frying pan and said something like "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there"?
 
No - have just had to check a photo online! Maybe I'm getting confused with the stories. Did Bernard hit his mother over the head? Is that where I'm getting the frying pan bit from?

I'm thinking of a younger guy who was in a couple of episodes....oh, he was the guy who took Shirley hostage.
 
No - have just had to check a photo online! Maybe I'm getting confused with the stories. Did Bernard hit his mother over the head? Is that where I'm getting the frying pan bit from?

I'm thinking of a younger guy who was in a couple of episodes....oh, he was the guy who took Shirley hostage.
It could be Betty White's character, Catherine Piper. She whacks Ferrion. They have several funny scenes together, one of my favorites being:
Catherine: All I'm saying is, if you killed two people... there couldn't be a better time to turn to Jesus Christ, your savior.
Bernard: Under normal circumstances I'd agree.
Catherine: But?
Bernard: I'm Jewish.
Catherine: Bernie, there has never been a Jewish serial killer.
Bernard: Son of Sam. David Berkowitz.
Catherine: He was adopted. Genetically, he's one of ours.
Bernard: Well, what are you saying?
Catherine: I'm saying that if you're out there murdering people on some level you must want to be Christian. Would you let me take you to church?
 
Bernard kill both his mother and a neighbor with a frying pan before being killed by Catherine herself in pre-self defense.

Jerry, the "Asperger's"-addled attorney took Shirley hostage after being denied partnership he was a secondary character for much of the series' run before become a full regular cast member in, I believe, the second to the last episode.

BL was a good, fun, show but mostly made that way between The Shat and Alan Shore. Alan Shore delivered some of the series' best moments and closing arguments. If there's one flaw this show had it was its revolving door of secondary cast members. Brad Chase and some pretty young blond woman whose name escapes me were there for much of the series' early run before disappearing, Candice Bergen and John Laroquette were made regular cast members at various points and they did very good jobs (the former latched on in the first season, the latter fairly late in the series) but there were a large numbers of secondary cast members.

There was Lake Bell's character, the young black woman, the dickish young white guy (both were recent graduate of law school and did mostly busy-body work without having any "cases" they took part in but were also open-credits featured cast members), the portly cross-dressing guy, the tight-assed blond woman, the gorgeous dark-haired woman who was a lover of Alan's early on, the skeletal, "pretty-ish" English woman who was another lover of Alan's, and others I know I'm forgetting.

There was a lot of cast on this show. I'd dare say the main cast is never the same from season-to-season. Aside form Alan Shore, Denny Crane, Shirley Schmidtt, and John Laroquette's characters people went in and off of this shore more than they did on ER.

It's really sort-of silly.

But a very fun show if for nothing else for The Shat and his relationship with Alan and many of Alan's closing arguments, although everyone else gets their fair share of them too.
 
I loved Boston Legal, if only really for Denny and Alan. The legal side was beyond stupid most of the time, especially since they always won. But the characters made the show worthwhile and Denny Crane is, for me, Shatner's greatest role since Kirk.
 
I'm such a huge fan of the show. If you are a fan of season 1 seasons 2 and 3 are even better, they are the peak in awesomeness and seriousness. Seasons 4 and 5 have worst characters, but still amazing.
 
Boston Legal is a favorite of mine too. It's too bad they ended it after 5 seasons, also a shame that it got moved around all the time for bad TV like Greys Anatomy.
 
Loved the show!
Too bad the final episode was done in such a half-assed way.


The final was perfectly fitting for what the show was and what the finale season was (cheap). I saw nothing wrong with it, the only complaints I ever really hear about the last few seasons is it got too liberal, which it always was.
 
My favourite show of all time :techman:

The ability to switch between priceless humor and some of the most intense drama on TV made the show. Alan's closing segments were nothing short of powerful hard hitting drama segments that TV just doesn't replicate enough tese days.

The Denny/Alan relationship was also a reason why the show lasted 5 seasons and 101 episodes and I personally found the finale especially the last scene to be very heart warming.

The standard acting in the show from the key members of the cast proves exactly why scripted shows are ALWAYS beter than the half ass reality crap were fed too much of these days, there is ZERO substitute for casting talented actors with powerful writing.
 
I didn't realize anyone disliked the finale--I thought it was a perfect send-off (along with the rest of the fifth season, which manages to say good-bye to most of the characters and the setting).
 
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