A spin-off to the terrific courtroom drama The Practice, Boston Legal was also the brainchild of David E. Kelly. Lasting a total of 5 seasons, this series too revolved around a law-firm and its member lawyers, but the similarity ended there. While the former was somber, grim and serious, the latter was humorous, irreverent and brazen in its political incorrectness. Further, where moral vis-à-vis ethical dilemma was one of the core themes of the former, here the focus was more on macro-issues like the Iraq War, politics, unemployment, racism, etc. And the unlikely mouthpiece for these issues was Alan Shore, an anti-establishmentarian, and not to mention, brilliant lawyer, who firmly believes in the Machiavellian adage ‘end justifies the means’; yet, in his own way, he has a strong moral character and a deep sense of right and wrong. Giving him company is Denny Crane, one of the founders of Crane, Poole and Schmidt, the huge law firm Shore works for. Crane was once a great trial lawyer, but owning to an early stage of Alzheimer’s, he is now no more than a bumbling and vainglorious person who is in love with his own name. One of the most unforgettable aspects of the series is the fascinating friendship between these two incredible, larger-than-life characters – every episode ends with them discussing about life, love and friendship in Crane’s office balcony, over cigars and scotch. The wacky and at times bittersweet series is filled with a number of interesting characters, but the friendship of Shore and Crane, wonderfully and passionately played by James Spader and William Shatner, respectively, along with a host of memorable out-of-the-box trials, were the facets that made this series such an enjoyable watch.
Creator: David E. Kelly
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Legal Drama/TV Series
Language: English
Country: US
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