Category Archives: Boston Legal

Boston Legal S2 E1, E2, E3, E4, E5

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“The Black Widow”

“Schadenfreude”

“Finding Nemmo”

“A Whiff and a Prayer”

“Men to Boys”

The start of season two was a strange one. At the end of season one, they gave a preview for the next episode which dealt with Lori’s sexual harassment and an discomfort in the workplace. Then, in episode one there was no sign of these scenes and we do not see Lori again until a brief moment in episode four.

The scenes showed up in episode five, which was the end of Lori’s run on the show.

You could tell that Boston Legal had gone in a different direction. We had new characters such as Denise Bauer played by Julie Bowen, Sara Holt, played by Ryan Michelle Bathe, and Garrett Wells, played by Justin Mentell.

This season had one of my favorite episodes of the whole series, which was when Denny took Alan to Nemmo Bay in Canada to fly fish. Their interactions in the room after the day of fishing was hilarious. It had one of my favorite low-brow jokes of all time when Denny and Alan are going to sleep in their room and Denny says, “Don’t take this personal” and then lets out a fart. I am not a fart joke fan, but that was unbelievably funny.

We also have the storyline of Bernard come to a close at the end of a skillet by the hand of Betty White’s Katherine Piper. Katherine was afraid that Bernard, who had killed his mother and a neighbor at the end of the first season, was going to kill again. He had been talking about leaving clues for the police like the BTK Killer. She wound up hitting him with the skillet that he had used to kill his victims. In an allusion to Picket Fences (also a David E. Kelly show), she put the body of Bernard in a icebox.

Alan was able to get a “not guilty” verdict for Katherine, though she wound up getting “Schmidt-canned” because of the whole thing.

The Denny-Alan relationship was explored more in these first five episodes of season 2. They build the relationship more than they have last season and this central relationship is vital to the show. And we learn that Alan find the pig noises Denny makes when sleeping to be soothing.

Tara broke up with Alan and she left the firm, being one more of the changes to the cast.

This first five episodes were excellent and are going to build on a long season of 27 episodes.

Boston Legal S1 E13, E14, E15, E16, E17

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I wrapped up season one of Boston Legal on Hulu this afternoon with some great episodes.

These episodes included:

  • “It Girls and Beyond”
  • “‘Til We Meet Again”
  • “Tortured Souls”
  • “Let Sales Ring”
  • “Death Be Not Proud”

Some amazing guest stars started to show up, as a couple of the regulars from the first half of the season were starting to be phased out. Some guest stars included Betty White, Carl Reiner, Courtney B. Vance, Chi McBride, Shelley Long, Kerry Washington, and Freddie Prinze Jr (resuming his role as Donny Crane).

“Death Be Not Proud” sent Alan to Texas to try and prevent an execution of a man with an IQ of 80, whose confession may have been coerced, and might be innocent. It was a powerful episode with an end sequence that was very difficult to watch. I think that was clearly the intention of the scene, even though we mostly focused on Alan and Kerry Washington’s character Chelina.

Bernard Ferrion returned from earlier in the season and Katherine (Betty White) took him under her wing, especially after Alan rejected him once again. I know this is leading to a big story in season two.

One of the funniest running gags in any episode was how uncomfortable Brad was with the word “lesbian,” and how the others around the Crane, Poole and Schmidt offices wouldn’t let him off the hook.

The idea of Denny Crane having Mad Cow Disease happened in these episodes. It would be Denny’s fall back stance against the potential Alzheimer’s that he had.

Alan continued to have terrible behavior in a lot of instances, while trying to do what he thought was right. Even though the others at Crane, Poole and Schmidt had troubles with Alan, it seemed as if they still took advantage of Alan and what he would be willing to do to get things done. Shirley actually went to Alan to co-chair a case where she did not want to do the closing because she did not want to go to the level she thought she would need to go. She knew Alan could do so, despite it being a case of police brutality/torture that Alan did not want to be a part of. There is a lot of hypocrisy when dealing with Alan.

Lori, who in these episodes had really seen her screen time diminish, had reached the end of the road with Denny’s constant sexual harassment. She told Shirley that she wanted to formally charge Denny with it.

I do believe that there is an episode that is missing from the season one list. I am not sure what is going on, but I am going to go investigate what has happened.

Boston Legal S1 E10, E11, E12

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“Hired Guns”

“Schmidt Happens”

“From Whence We Came”

One of my favorite quotes from Boston Legal happened in episode 11. It is a thought have many times in the restroom…

“I keep an extremely clean penis“

Alan Shore is in response to a woman who had entered the men’s restroom and had introduced herself, while Alan was at the urinal. He extended a hand to shake and she said that he is going to wash that.

Hence, the clean penis comment from Alan.

That woman was Shirley Schmidt, named partner in Crane, Poole & Schmidt, played brilliantly by Candice Bergen. Shirley Schmidt becomes one of my absolute favorite characters on this show over the next four and a half years. This was her first appearance and Candice Bergen immediately was placed as a powerhouse, keeping Denny Crane off balance.

In “Head Games,” Alan winds up getting held at gunpoint by a disgruntled father who had recently lost his children because of Alan. Yes, the father would take his children without permission to Peru over Christmas. The mother asked for help from Alan. I mean… it is kidnapping.

This whole situation led to another classic moment of the series. Denny Crane using his rifle to shoot the father. Denny had the gun in his desk and had Tara open the door when he yelled “Pull!” As Denny said, he was a Marine, “trained as a sniper… or was it a pilot?”

We also get the debut in episode 11 of Bernard Ferrion, a small man who killed his mother by hitting her on the head with a skillet. Alan was able to free Bernard on a technicality, and then gave him a kindly speech about being good. Then next episode, Bernard is back after killing his neighbor with a skillet as well. Alan was disappointed, and sent Bernard to Tara.

Bernard is a surprisingly complex character for the short arc that he appeared. You could tell how lonely he was, and how he had a kind heart, despite being, as Alan called him, evil.

Betty White arrived as Alan’s new assistant, Catherine Piper. White had played this role on The Practice and had come in contact with Alan then. Seeing her resume this role was an awesome thing.

The arrival of Shirley put a charge into this show and gave the show a foil to Denny that was every bit as formidable as he was. Certainly, she was more capable of standing up to Denny than Paul was. All Shirley had to do was whisper those two little words… “Denny Crane” and Denny would shiver.

Boston Legal S1 E7, E8, E9

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“Questionable Characters”

“Loose Lips”

“A Greater Good”

I watched episodes 7, 8, & 9 of Boston Legal tonight. They fell around the Christmas holiday as there were some background mentions of Christmas, including a crossdressing mall Santa that had been fired.

There were several questionable lawyering tactics used by the lawyers at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. And it was not just Alan Shore. In fact, it seemed that most of the lawyers on the show were influenced by Alan’s iffy choices. Some examples:

  • Lori pretended to be a therapist to meet with a client who verbally made threats to murder his wife to his therapist.
  • Denny went ahead and outed a whistleblower on the stand after Paul Lewiston specifically told Alan not to do it.
  • Tara approached another attorney on a case and pretended to be a flight attendant to get info on the case.
  • Brad, very jealous of Alan, made a wager on a case with Alan and then tried to manipulate the outcome by getting a unfavorable judge assigned to it.
  • Even Paul Lewiston turned a blind eye on Lori’s trouble which led to the wife, fearful for her life, shoot and kill her husband, who used the therapist to get out the bad thoughts only and had no intention of ever following through with it.

Meanwhile, Alan is just trying to do the right things for his clients, albeit by some methods that should not be done. Paul actually recommended a couple of times for other lawyers to approach Alan because he knew of ways to get things done.

Jon Bernthal appeared as a friend of Lori’s who wound up getting shot in the shoulder when he tried to hold up a convenience store. They were able to convince a judge that Bernthal had the right to not allow the doctors to take the bullet out. The bullet was the only evidence they had against him. Tara got info from Alan about a doctor (working as a vet) who could take out the bullet without giving it over to the police.

These three episodes were all good, but maybe not as awesome as some of the others. Next episode looked like a banger.

Boston Legal S1 E3, E4, E5, E6

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“Catch and Release”

“Change of Course”

“An Eye for an Eye”

“Truth Be Told”

I do love this show. It is so well written and acted.

William Shatner may be most well known forever as James T. Kirk, but his best career performances come as Denny Crane. The buffoon-like behavior hiding a deep seeded concern over his health. Arrogant and sarcastic, Shatner’s eyes revealing the truth.

James Spader brings such a complexity to Alan Shore. He is willing to do anything, even step over the lines or morality, to get things done. Many times, his motives are pure. His methods, on the other hand, are anything but. Simplicity, Tara described Alan as split into three people: the Good Alan, the bad Alan and the Naughty Alan. Though it may be too simple for this character, the description does work.

It was sad the way Alan took advantage of Sally, which seemed to be a way for Alan to get Sally to leave him. There is a deep neurosis to Alan and his relationships pay the price. Yet, he is completely loyal to former lovers and women that he respected. He is a contradiction in terms for Alan. It is why I was so happy that, at the end of episode 6, when it appeared that he was going to go and have sex with Dana Delany’s character, a woman he always had desires for, but he turned up in a motel room with Tara instead. Had Alan slept with Delany, the betrayal would have been tough to swallow, especially after he dealt with Delany’s husband’s infidelity. I don’t want Alan to be a hypocrite even if he had many otehr bad traits.

Episodes 3-6 again do not focus as closely on Alan and Denny’s relationship as they could, but there are moments. When Alan came to share their whiskey in Denny’s jail cell after he was charged with contempt of court, they exchanged a wonderful scene where Denny worried about his mental capacities. The whole possible Alzheimer’s Disease arc and how it could destroy the image and legend of “Denny Crane” follows Denny through the entire series.

Alan and Denny are together when Denny lets it slip that Donnie Crane was not his son after all, only for Donny to hear. Freddie Prinze Jr. appeared as the supposed son of Denny Crane, and his devastation in this scene made it all the better.

There are several fun moments of Fourth Wall breaking during the show. In this crop of episodes, my favorite was when Alan Shore said he wanted to be on cable because that was where all the best work was happening. Of course, Boston Legal aired on ABC.

Episode five featured one of Alan’s top line closing arguments. We have not seen too many of those yet in the season, but there will be plenty more to come. This one was just right on the nose for his case that you can tell how the case will go.

Lori is involved more the last few episodes, and they are still teasing a potential relationship between Alan and Lori. Probably one that would be highly toxic.

Boston Legal S1 E1, E2

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“Head Cases”

“Still Crazy After All These Years”

I have been seeing a ton of clips of Boston Legal on TikTok recently, and it influenced my decision to start a rewatch of Boston Legal. I found it on Hulu and I discovered that there were only five seasons. I really thought there were seven of them. Episodes varied per season as season one only had 17 whereas season 2 had 27 of them.

Watching these first to episodes of the series, it struck me how this cast changed over the years. Some of the characters of the first season were flashes from my memory, such as Lori Colson, Tara Wilson and Sally Heep. These women were replaced as the years moved on. No Shirley Schmidt, though I do think she comes soon in season one.

The appearance of the black Little Orphan Annie was a classic case that I did not think was in the premiere episode. It featured a cameo from the Reverend Al Sharpton as Denny’s “Rabbit out of a hat.”

It showed how questionable Alan and Denny’s tactics were at times when they were doing things that were for the “greater good.” I loved how these characters were shades of grey. They are complex and written so amazingly.

Alan Shore debuted on The Practice, as did Denny Crane. Their relationship was not as prevalent in these first two episodes as it would become. The chemistry between James Spader and William Shatner was off the charts. They were better than most couples on TV at the time. These first two episodes did not feature it as much.

Denny’s ongoing inner doubt about his lost of his abilities was highlighted early here and would be a major plot point through to the end of the series.

It was fun to see Elizabeth Mitchell, who I got to know as Juliet from LOST, make an appearance in episode two here. She played one of Alan’s ex-girlfriends who was committed after she tried to kill Alan. Alan helped defend her when she was trying to be released from the asylum. This story extends into episode three.

This David E. Kelley project joined several other Kelley shows that I loved (including Picket Fences, and The Practice).

I am looking forward to watching this 100 episodes moving forward.