Everything about Boston Legal totally explained
Boston Legal is an
Emmy Award winning American
legal drama comedy created by
David E. Kelley that has aired since
October 3,
2004. It is a
spin-off of the long-running
legal drama The Practice and follows the professional and personal lives of attorneys at the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.
Production details
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's 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, who Ellenor ends up seriously injuring when they get into a fight due to Hannah's condescending remarks to Ellenor. However, Hannah Rose didn't make the transition to the new series and the character was dropped prior to the pilot being filmed.
The jury awards Alan the millions of dollars of revenue he brought in to Young, Frutt & Berluti but doesn't 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).
The pilot was originally produced with James Spader, Lake Bell, Mark Valley, Rhona Mitra and William Shatner as 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 role as Jerry Austin. Despite this, Higgins' 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
Candice Bergen would join the cast as senior partner
Shirley Schmidt. The producers had been looking to introduce the character since the fall. Lake Bell and Executive Producer Jeff Rake subsequently left the series, while Rene Auberjonois was made a main cast member.
The final five episodes of the first season were initially pre-empted for several weeks to expose midseason series
Grey's Anatomy to a larger audience behind Desperate Housewives. Grey's Anatomy however, was highly succesful 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. Both Rhona Mitra and Monica Potter departed the series over the hiatus.
Throughout the early episodes of the second season both Monica Potter and Rhona Mitra were written out of the show, replaced by the newly introduced
Julie Bowen as
Denise Bauer a tough, experienced senior associate determined to make partner,
Ryan Michelle Bathe as Sara Holt and
Justin Mentell as Garret Wells (both Holt and Wells were let go by the middle of the 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'd 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 wouldn't return for the fourth season. 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 Espensen, a brilliant but socially inept lawyer, would be upgraded to contract player. (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.) Rene Auberjonois, Mark Valley, Julie Bowen, and Constance Zimmer may return in guest roles. On
July 2,
2007, it was reported that both Rene Auberjonois and Mark Valley would return in recurring roles; 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.
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. Saffron Burrows won't 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. .
Cast
Current cast members
Former Main Cast Members
Recurring cast and notable guest stars
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:
- Scott Bakula as Jack Ross (4.13, "Glow in the Dark")
- Ed Begley, Jr. as Clifford Cabot (2 episodes in Season 2, 1 episode in Season 3)
- Ralph Bellamy as Denny's father (3.18, "Son of the Defender") (footage from 1957 episode of Studio One)
- Shelley Berman as Judge Robert Sanders (3 episodes in Season 2, 6 episodes in Season 3)
- Jill Brennan as Gracie Jane (a parody of Nancy Grace) (2 episodes in Season 2, 7 episodes in Season 3)
- David Dean Bottrell as Lincoln Meyer (8 episodes in Season 3)
- Jayne Brook as Rachel Lewiston (5 episodes in Season 2)
- Delta Burke as Bella Horowitz (5 episodes in Season 3)
- Marisa Coughlan as Melissa Hughes (9 episodes in Season 2, 3 episodes in Season 3)
- Wes Craven as himself (2.26, "Spring Fever")
- Adriana Demeo as Julie (3.03, "Desperately Seeking Shirley")
- Rupert Everett as Malcolm Holmes (2 episodes in Season 2)
- Michelle Forbes as Juliette Monroe (1 episode in Season 3)
- Michael J. Fox as Daniel Post (5 episodes in Season 2, 1 episode in Season 3)
- Currie Graham as ADA Frank Ginsberg (3 episodes in Season 2, 3 episodes in Season 3)
- Henry Gibson as Judge Clark Brown (3 episodes in Season 1, 3 episodes in Season 2, 3 episodes in Season 3)
- Meredith Eaton-Gilden as Bethany Horowitz (14 episodes in Season 3)
- Mary Gross as Leigh Swift (3 episodes in Season 4)
- John Michael Higgins as Jerry Austin (2 episodes in Season 1)
- Heather Locklear as Kelly Nolan (2 episodes in Season 2)
- Nia Long as Vanessa Walker (3 episodes in Season 3)
- Shelley Long as Miriam Watson (1.17, "Death Be Not Proud")
- Jane Lynch as Joanna Monroe (3 episodes in Season 3)
- Larry Miller as Edwin Poole (2 episodes in Season 1, 1 episode in Season 2)
- Megan Mullally as Renata Hill (3.17, The Bride Wore Blood)
- Gail O'Grady as Judge Gloria Weldon (4 episodes in Season 3, 2 episodes in Season 4)
- Ethan Phillips as Michael Schiller (3 episosdes in Season 3)
- Parker Posey as Marlene Stanger (3 episodes in Season 2, 1 episode in Season 3)
- Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Donny Crane (2 episodes in Season 1, 1 episode in Season 2)
- Carl Reiner as Milton Bombay (Episode 1.16, Let Sales Ring)
- William Russ as A.D.A. Christopher Palmer (1 episode in Season 2, 1 episode in Season 3)
- Jeri Ryan as Courtney Reese (2 hour finale of Season 2)
- Katey Sagal as Barbara Little (5 episodes in Season 3)
- Tom Selleck as Ivan Tiggs (3 episodes in Season 2, 1 episode in Season 3)
- Al Sharpton as Himself (2 episodes in Season 1)
- Armin Shimerman as Judge Brian Hooper (7 episodes in Season 3)
- Robert Wagner as Barry Goal (2 hour finale of Season 2)
- Kerry Washington as Chelina Hall (4 episodes in Season 1, 1 episode in Season 2)
- Jaleel White as Kevin Givens (1 episode in Season 3)
Episodes
Ratings and audience profile
Though the show has never produced blockbuster ratings, it 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). The fourth season of "Boston Legal" will move to Wednesdays at 10:00 pm on April 30, 2008.
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.
DVD releases
On
February 9,
2006, tvshowsondvd.com announced that
Fox Home Entertainment were releasing
Boston Legal Season 1 on
DVD on
May 23,
2006. 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.
Awards
Awards won
Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Spader (2007)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Christian Clemenson (as Jerry 'Hands' Espenson: 2006)
Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series Craig Hunter, Peter Kelsey, Clark King, William Butler (2006)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Spader (2005)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner (2005)
The Emmys won in 2004 were for The Practice, but for the same characters as they play on Boston Legal
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Spader (2004)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner (2004)
Golden Globe Awards:
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV William Shatner (2005)
Peabody Awards:
Boston Legal won a Peabody Award for its 2005 season.
PRISM Awards:
Performance in a Drama Series, Multi-Episode Storyline Rene Auberjonois, Jayne Brook for the season two episodes "Live Big", "Shock and Owww!", "Stick It", "Word Salad Days", "Squid Pro Quo" and "Spring Fever" (2007)
Satellite Awards:
Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical James Spader (2006)
Awards nominated
Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Drama Series (2007)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Spader (2007)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner (2007)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Christian Clemenson (2007)
Outstanding Director for a Drama Series Bill D'Elia; Son of the Defender (2007)
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour); Lincoln (2007)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner (2006)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Candice Bergen (2006)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Michael J. Fox (2006)
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Nikki Valko, Ken Miller (2006)
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series Phil Neel (2006)
Golden Globe Awards:
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television William Shatner (2007)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Candice Bergen (2006)
Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Drama James Spader (2005)
Screen Actors Guild:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series James Spader (2007)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2007)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Comedy Series (2006)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series James Spader (2006)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series William Shatner (2006)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Candice Bergen (2006)
Satellite Awards:
Outstanding TV Series - Comedy (2005)
Outstanding Actor in a TV series - Comedy James Spader (2005)
Outstanding Actress in a TV series - Comedy Candice Bergen (2005)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV William Shatner (2005)
Outstanding TV Series - Drama (2004)
Outstanding Actor in a TV series - Drama James Spader (2004)
Meta-references
The show has increasingly adopted the devices of breaking the fourth wall and meta-reference, but usually in a sly manner that can also be interpreted as the characters only jokingly pretending they're on a television show.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Boston Legal'.
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