David E. Kelly has been living in a land of 'Not quite right" for many years now. He is the brain behind Ally McBeal,
which was a benchmark for TV Dramedy back in 1998 thanks to it's quirky
take on the neurotic law world. Then of course came the inevitable
spin-off The Practice which aimed at a less quirky audience.
Both
were phenomenal success' in their first few seasons, and both were
given a rather unfriendly boot by then end of their four or five season
runs. So in his hour of need, Kelly decided there was only one way of
keeping the spirit of these two extremely different (although very much
similar) programs alive - and that was to create the mutated beast that
is Boston Legal. Taking the quirkier elements of Ally and mixed with the underlying courtroom morals of The Practice, Boston Legal
is pretty much perfect. It has the three aforementioned comeback kids
in the utterly brilliant James Spader (that creepy guy from Sex, Lies & Video Tape), the highly underrated former Star Trek-kian William Shatner and Murphy Brown herself, Candice Bergen. Series two of Boston Legal
hits the ground running, losing the dead weight of the first season,
making way for a program more firmly focused on Alan Shore and the
increasingly insane Denny Crane (who insists he has Mad Cow Disease).
It is the relationship between Shore and Crane which really makes BL
a joy to watch. It's humour, insecurity, loneliness and innocence
wrapped in a shell of bravado, women and power - with Spader and
Shatner absolutely flawless in their performances. In fact, it is without doubt, the performances throughout the entire cast which is BL's
greatest strength. The chemistry and layered performance of the
Spader/Shatner relationship is astounding, while Bergen is more than
often superb in her monotonal delivery. The supporting cast are also
astounding. From the endearing beauty of Julie Bowen (Yes, I still have
a crush on her from her days as Carol Vessy on Ed!),
Michael J. Fox's brilliantly touching turn as a charming and powerful
cancer victim, to Christian Clemenson's (many may recognise him from
the Oscar nominated United 93) perfectly flawed depiction of "Hands" Espenson - the lawyer who is only diagnosed with autism at the age of 40. Another strength to BL is the writing. While there is a good dose of the quirkiness which eventually brought the un-doing of McBeal, there
is also some brilliant writing which confronts numerous issues head on
and without sugar coating. From environmentalism, to murder, corruption
and bias of TV Networks, everything seems to be touched on from time to
time - all behind a wry, cocky smirk from Spader. With over 20 episodes included in this box set - all running well over 40 minutes - this is a long hall. Unlike the gripping PrisonBreak or 24,
more than a few episodes at a time can get a little difficult to
handle. The upside of the 'stand-alone' episode style of the show is
that you can chuck on an ep at anytime and always get the gist of
what's going on - plus most episodes can be viewed on more than one
occasion (unlike PrisonBreak and 24 which lose their spark once you know what's coming). Whether
the series can hold up for longer than it's long lost David E. Kelly
cousins is irrelevant - as on DVD, the quality of Series 2 will remain
forever. It's as good a television dramedy series you are likely to
come across. DVD
Extras With over 20 episodes in
this rather nifty looking box set (I'm a sucker for good packaging!)
there seems to be little space for extras. But well worth investing in. Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: N/A 
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