- L.A. Law
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L.A. Law 
The L.A. Law opening titleFormat Legal drama Created by Steven Bochco[1]
Terry Louise FisherStarring (See entire cast list below) Country of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 8[2] No. of episodes 172 (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Steven Bochco Running time 60 minutes Production company(s) Steven Bocho Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television Broadcast Original channel NBC[3] Picture format 35 mm film (4:3) Original run September 15, 1986 – May 19, 1994 Chronology Followed by L.A. Law: The Movie (2002) Related shows Civil Wars L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence.[4][5][6] The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features, including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off the wall humor.[7]
In 1997, the episode "Good to the Last Drop" was ranked #91 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[8]
Contents
Location
The series is set in and around the fictitious Los Angeles-based law firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, and featured attorneys at the firm and various members of the support staff. The exteriors for the law firm were shot at the Citigroup Center in downtown Los Angeles, which was known as the 444 Flower Building at the time.
Story
See also: List of L.A. Law episodesThe show often combined humor and drama in the same episode. For example, in the opening of the first episode of the series, only the back and hand of partner Chaney gripping the pages of a tax manual while seated at a desk is seen before he drops dead of a heart attack. Later in that episode, in front of his partners, friends and his wife, a man appears to speak at Chaney's eulogy, to announce how he first met him at a gay bar, revealing Chaney had been in the closet as either bisexual or a gay man while still married.
A running gag throughout the series was the overtly promiscuous lifestyle of divorce lawyer Arnie Becker, and his chronic and constant liaisons with women, up to and including bedding some of his own clients. This would end up causing problems when a client would use him to set up her (estranged) husband to be murdered. Series producer Steven Bochco used a similar incident in Hill Street Blues when a woman bedded one of the police officers in the squad and tricked him into shooting her ex-husband when he (apparently) broke into her house.
To some extent, the sexual peccadilloes of almost the entire cast would become fodder for episodes of the series.
After Grace Van Owen makes a comment that Michael Kuzak would have to be a monkey before she'd be interested in him, he woos her on the courthouse steps in a monkey suit. Douglas Brackman becomes involved with a sex therapist. Benny Stulwitz, a mentally retarded clerk at the office, has sex with the mentally retarded daughter of a client of the firm. Leland McKenzie and Rosalind Shays, antagonists, secretly become lovers.
The show tied itself into the events of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which were prompted by the acquittal of four white police officers who were put on trial for the videotaped beating of African American motorist Rodney King.[9] In a scene reminiscent of the Reginald Denny incident, tax attorney Stuart Markowitz is struck on the head by a rioter, and ends up having serious head injuries, causing a number of problems for him and his wife for several episodes as a result.[10]
In one scene later in the series, the writers enacted an inside joke: "The easiest way to get rid of a soap opera character is to just have them fall down an elevator shaft." In her final scene, the character of Rosalind Shays steps into the empty shaft (expecting an elevator car when the doors open) and falls to her death.
The show did not shy away from controversy, with a scene in the episode "He's a Crowd" where one of the female lawyers, Abby Perkins, has an on-screen romantic kiss with C.J. Lamb, another female lawyer who is openly bisexual.
Series history
L.A. Law took over NBC's prized Thursday 10PM (9PM Central) time slot from another Bochco-produced show, Hill Street Blues, and was itself eventually replaced by another hit ensemble drama, ER. Bochco had been fired from Hill Street Blues in 1985. L.A. Law's original time period was Friday 10PM following Miami Vice but after struggling there, NBC moved it to Thursdays as Hill Street Blues was winding down. The original two-hour movie aired on Monday, September 15, 1986. The series was a critical favorite before it had premiered. An encore of the movie aired in place of Saturday Night Live on September 27, being a rare scripted rerun in that late-night slot.
The car with the California "L A LAW" rear license plate was originally a Jaguar XJ6, but was replaced with a Bentley in the final seasons; its registration sticker was updated at the start of every new season. One episode's cold-open scene depicts an angry circus performer withdrawing knives from a trunk and throwing them at divorce attorney Arnold Becker, who shouts to his secretary, "Roxanne, close the trunk! Close the trunk!" The credits immediately begin with their signature closing of the car's "trunk." Two different openings for the show's theme were used: a saxophone riff, for episodes that were lighter in tone; and an ominous synthesizer chord, for more serious storylines.
Co-creator Terry Louise Fisher was fired from the series in season 2 and filed a well-publicized lawsuit with Bochco and the studio. Bochco and Fisher had also co-created the 1987 John Ritter series Hooperman for ABC.
The scene where Leland McKenzie (Richard Dysart) was shown in bed with his enemy Rosalind Shays (Diana Muldaur) was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television (the list originally appeared in an issue of EGG Magazine). Rosalind's demise—falling into an open elevator shaft—has also been a famous scene from the series and was referenced in The Star Trek Encyclopedia (Muldaur also played Dr. Katherine Pulaski during season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation; Pulaski's biography says "There is no truth to the rumor that an ancestor of Dr. Pulaski was killed falling down the elevator shaft at a prestigious Los Angeles law firm.").
After co-writing the feature film, From the Hip, Boston attorney David E. Kelley was hired by Bochco during the first season of L.A. Law.[11] Kelley went on to critical and commercial success as show-runner of the series before leaving to create Picket Fences. While on L.A. Law, Kelley and Bochco co-created Doogie Howser, M.D. as the first Steven Bochco Productions series for a major, ten-series deal with ABC. Shortly after, Bochco was offered the job as President of ABC Entertainment but turned it down.
At the height of the show's popularity in the late-1980s, attention was focused upon a fictitious sexual technique named the "Venus Butterfly". The only clue describing the technique was a vague reference to "ordering room service". Fans and interested persons flooded the show's producers with letters asking for more details about this mysterious technique.[citation needed]
During the seventh season, the executive producers John Tinker and John Masius were fired midseason, and while the show went on hiatus, William Finkelstein was brought in to fix it. Bochco and Kelley each returned to pen episodes until Finkelstein took over. Tinker and Masius had brought a whimsical, soapy tone to the series which they were known for on St. Elsewhere. Dan Castellaneta (who does the voice of Homer Simpson) appeared in a Homer costume and hired the attorneys in the seventh-season premiere. That episode also reflected on the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Finkelstein reined in the series, returning to the serious legal cases that made the series famous.
In the eighth and final season, the characters of Denise Ianello (Debi Mazar) and Eli Levinson (Alan Rosenberg) were transplanted from the canceled Bochco legal series Civil Wars, which had run on ABC from 1991–93. Eli Levinson was revealed to be Stuart Markowitz's cousin. During the final season, the series was rested in January 1994 to launch the second season of Homicide: Life on the Street. When that series succeeded wildly with a guest appearance by Robin Williams, it was expected that L.A. Law would conclude that May and Homicide: Life on the Street would succeed it on Thursdays in the fall. However, ER tested so well that Warner Bros. executives campaigned network president Warren Littlefield to give that series the prized Thursday slot.
The series ended in 1994, though a one-off reunion show, L.A. Law: The Movie, aired in 2002, and featured most of the main cast from the series (except Smits, Underwood, Donohoe and Spencer).
On May 24, 2007, the AmericanLife TV Network announced that it would begin rebroadcasting L.A. Law starting June 3, 2007, Sundays at 10 pm.[1] From 2000 until 2004, A&E had been rebroadcasting the show. [2] Lifetime Television also reran the show until the late 1990s. The series also ran for a short time on the AmericanLife TV Network.
The Series is being released on DVD in the UK through Revelation Films in 2012.
Nielsen ratings
- Season 1 (1986–87): #21 (15.2 million viewers)
- Season 2 (1987–88): #13 (16.2 million viewers)
- Season 3 (1988–89): #13 (15.9 million viewers)
- Season 4 (1989–90): #16 (16.0 million viewers)
- Season 5 (1990–91): #23 (13.7 million viewers)
- Season 6 (1991–92): #19 (13.7 million viewers)
- Season 7 (1992–93): #33 (12.3 million viewers)
- Season 8 (1993–94): #35 (12.0 million viewers)
Cast and characters
The show's original ensemble cast:
- Harry Hamlin as Michael Kuzak (1986–91; seasons 1–5)
- Susan Dey as Grace Van Owen (1986–92; seasons 1–6; not including the pilot)[12]
- Corbin Bernsen as Arnie Becker (1986–94; seasons 1–8)[13]
- Jimmy Smits as Victor Sifuentes (1986–91; seasons 1–5)
- Jill Eikenberry as Ann Kelsey (1986–94; seasons 1–8)
- Alan Rachins as Douglas Brackman, Jr. (1986–94; seasons 1–8)
- Michele Greene as Abigail "Abby" Perkins (1986–91; seasons 1–5)
- Michael Tucker as Stuart Markowitz (1986–94; seasons 1–8)
- Susan Ruttan as Roxanne Melman (1986–93; seasons 1–7)
- Richard A. Dysart as Leland McKenzie (1986–94; seasons 1–8)
Over the run of the show, additional cast members included:
- Larry Drake as Benny Stulwitz (1987–94; seasons 2–8)[14]
- Blair Underwood as Jonathan Rollins (1987–94; seasons 2–8)
- Dana Sparks as Jennifer Kepler (1988–89; season 3; recurring)
- Dann Florek as Dave Meyer (1988–90; seasons 3–4; recurring)
- Diana Muldaur as Rosalind Shays (1989–91; seasons 4–5; recurring)
- John Spencer as Tommy Mullaney (1990–94; seasons 5–8)
- Amanda Donohoe as Cara Jean "C.J." Lamb (1990–92; seasons 5–6)
- Cecil Hoffman as Zoey Clemmons (1991–92; seasons 5–6)
- Sheila Kelley as Gwen Taylor (1990–93; seasons 5–7)
- Conchata Ferrell as Susan Bloom (1991–92; season 6)[15]
- Michael Cumpsty as Frank Kittridge (1991–92; season 6)
- A Martinez as Daniel Morales (1992–94; seasons 7–8)
- Lisa Zane as Melina Paros (1992–93; season 7)
- Evan R. Press as Dr. Samuel Voorhees (1992–93; season 7)
- Alexandra Powers as Jane Halliday (1993–94; season 8)
- Alan Rosenberg as Eli Levinson (1993–94; season 8)
- Debi Mazar as Denise Ianello (1993–94; season 8)
Awards
The show won numerous awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991.[16][17][18] Some of the actors, such as Larry Drake and Jimmy Smits, also received Emmys for their performances. The series shares the Emmy Award record for most acting nominations by regular cast members (excluding the guest performer category) for a single series in one year with Hill Street Blues and The West Wing.
For the 1988–1989 season, nine cast members were nominated for Emmys. Larry Drake was the only one to win (for Supporting Actor). The others nominated were Michael Tucker (Lead Actor), Jill Eikenberry and Susan Dey (for Lead Actress), Richard Dysart and Jimmy Smits (Supporting Actor), Amanda Plummer, Susan Ruttan and Michele Greene (for Supporting Actress).
LA Law won a Latino Image Award.[19]
It was listed as #42 on Entertainment Weekly's list of The New Classics in the July 4, 2008 issue.[20]
Influence
The show is credited as encouraging a surge of applications for lawyers.[21][22]
References
- ^ Carter, Bill (1992-01-30). "'L.A. Law,' to Halt Slide, Reaches Back to Bochco". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/30/news/la-law-to-halt-slide-reaches-back-to-bochco.html?scp=9&sq=la%20law&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve (1990-08-12). "Saying So Long to Billable Hours : Television: 'L.A. Law's' finale will complete filming today, but the characters' stories won't be tied up in a neat package.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-12/entertainment/ca-1095_1_boston-real-estate-lawyer. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve (1994-05-09). "He's the Final Authority on 'L.A. Law' : Four years ago, David E. Kelley was a Boston real estate lawyer; today he's the head of one of TV's most-acclaimed series". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-05-09/entertainment/ca-55696_1_final-conference. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve (1991-03-21). "L.A. Law Eyes Fear of Police : Television: An upcoming episode on the public's loss of trust includes camouflaged references to the beating of Rodney G. King.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-03-21/entertainment/ca-797_1_police-brutality. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard (1986-09-15). "Nbc's New 'L.a. Law': The Verdict Is Great". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1986-09-15/entertainment/ca-11948_1_l-a-law. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard (1993-10-18). "TV Turns the Other Cheek Again : Television is a victim of the You Can't Win Syndrome. Once, its violence was criticized as unrealistic; now, 'L.A. Law's' Christian character is under fire.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-18/entertainment/ca-47167_1_christian-character. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Steven Bochco on the Case : 'L.A. Law' Co-Creator Returns to Fine-Tune Troubled Series". The Los Angeles Times. 1992-04-02. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-04-02/entertainment/ca-374_1_steven-bochco. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28-July 4). 1997.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve (1991-03-21). "L.A. Law Eyes Fear of Police : Television: An upcoming episode on the public's loss of trust includes camouflaged references to the beating of Rodney G. King.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-03-21/entertainment/ca-797_1_police-brutality. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. (1993-04-11). "TELEVISION VIEW; Order in the Court: 'L.A. Law' Is Shaping Up". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/11/arts/television-view-order-in-the-court-la-law-is-shaping-up.html?scp=1&sq=la%20law&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Haithman, Diane (1989-09-14). "Bochco on His Own : . . . And at 'L.A. Law,' a New Production Team Takes Over". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-14/entertainment/ca-441_1_executive-producer. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Turk, Rose-Marie (1988-08-19). "Strong, Feminine Case for 'Law' Blouse". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-19/news/vw-764_1_wrap-blouses. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Weinstein, Steve (1993-10-07). "Fundamentalist Change to 'L.A. Law' : Television: A producer says the Christian lawyer joining the show, returning tonight, will be complex. Religious leaders are skeptical.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-07/entertainment/ca-43265_1_christian-character. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Haithman, Diane (1988-11-03). "'L.A. Law's' Larry Drake Goes Mainstream". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1988-11-03/entertainment/ca-949_1_larry-drake. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ McDougal, Dennis (1991-12-05). "Jury's Out on Susan Bloom : Does New Lawyer on 'L.A. Law' Come Too Close to the Truth?". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-05/entertainment/ca-1046_1_susan-bloom. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ Margulies, Lee (1987-09-21). "L.A. Law' Wins Emmy as Best Drama Series". LA Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1987-09-21/news/mn-5978_1_drama-series. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ "'L.A. Law' and 'Golden Girls' Win Series Emmys". New York Times. 1987-09-21. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/21/arts/la-law-and-golden-girls-win-series-emmys.html?scp=6&sq=golden%20girls&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ "'L.A. Law' Series Gains 20 Emmy Nominations". New York Times. 1987-07-31. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/31/arts/la-law-series-gains-20-emmy-nominations.html?scp=10&sq=la%20law&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ "'L.A. Law' Again Receives Latino Image Award". The Los Angeles Times. 1991-06-22. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-22/entertainment/ca-886_1_image-award. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "The New Classics: TV". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207339,00.html. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- ^ Margolick, David (1990-05-06). "TELEVISION; Ignorance of 'L.A. Law' Is No Excuse for Lawyers". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/06/arts/television-ignorance-of-la-law-is-no-excuse-for-lawyers.html?scp=2&sq=la%20law&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ^ Oliver, Myrna (1987-08-31). "JUDGING THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF 'L.A. LAW' : Acting Attorney Faces the Real Bar Association". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-31/entertainment/ca-3287_1_law-schools. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
External links
- L.A. Law at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Steven Bochco from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Currently this video may not be available in some countries outside the U.S.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series (1976–2000) Police Story (1976) · Upstairs, Downstairs (1977) · The Rockford Files (1978) · Lou Grant (1979) · Lou Grant (1980) · Hill Street Blues (1981) · Hill Street Blues (1982) · Hill Street Blues (1983) · Hill Street Blues (1984) · Cagney & Lacey (1985) · Cagney & Lacey (1986) · L.A. Law (1987) · Thirtysomething (1988) · L.A. Law (1989) · L.A. Law (1990) · L.A. Law (1991) · Northern Exposure (1992) · Picket Fences (1993) · Picket Fences (1994) · NYPD Blue (1995) · ER (1996) · Law & Order (1997) · The Practice (1998) · The Practice (1999) · The West Wing (2000)
Complete List · (1951–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025) Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama (1969–1989) Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) · Medical Center (1970) · Mannix (1971) · Columbo (1972) · The Waltons (1973) · Upstairs, Downstairs (1974) · Kojak (1975) · Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) · Roots (1977) · 60 Minutes (1978) · Lou Grant (1979) · Shōgun (1980) · Hill Street Blues (1981) · Hill Street Blues (1982) · Dynasty (1983) · Murder, She Wrote (1984) · Murder, She Wrote (1985) · L.A. Law (1986) · L.A. Law (1987) · thirtysomething (1988) · China Beach (1989)
Complete List · (1969–1989) · (1990–2009) · (2010–2029) TV series created or produced by David E. Kelley 1980s L.A. Law (1986–1994) • Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993)1990s Picket Fences (1992–1996) • Chicago Hope (1994–2000) • The Practice (1997–2004) • Ally McBeal (1997–2002) • Ally (1999) • Snoops (1999–2000)2000s Boston Public (2000–2004) • Girls club (2002) • The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire (2003) • Boston Legal (2004–2008) • The Law Firm (2005) • The Wedding Bells (2007)2010s Legally Mad (2010) • Harry's Law (2011–present)Categories:- 1980s American television series
- 1986 television series debuts
- 1990s American television series
- 1994 American television series endings
- Best Drama Series Golden Globe winners
- Emmy Award winning programs
- English-language television series
- Legal television series
- NBC network shows
- Peabody Award winning television programs
- Television series by Fox Television Studios
- Television shows set in Los Angeles, California
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