Boston Legal

Boston Legal
The Boston Legal title card
Format	Legal Dramedy
Created by	David E. Kelley
Starring	James Spader William Shatner Candice Bergen Rene Auberjonois John Larroquette
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	101 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	David E. Kelley Bill D'Elia Mike Listo Lawrence Broch Janet Leahy (2.04–3.24) Scott Kaufer (1.01–2.03, 2.23) Jeff Rake (1.01–1.13)
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	20th Century Fox Television David E. Kelley Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Picture format	480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV)
Original run	October 3, 2004 (2004-10-03) – December 8, 2008 (2008-12-08)
Chronology
Preceded by	The Practice

Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to December 8, 2008.

Boston Legal is a spinoff of long-running Kelley series The Practice, following the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore (James Spader) at the legal firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.

The series won five Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award.

Production details

Prior to 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.^[1] The real building shown as the law office is located at 500 Boylston Street, 1.4 miles away from Fleet Street.

The American producers of the series also hired British writer Sir John Mortimer (creator of the UK legal series Rumpole of the Bailey) as a consultant for Boston Legal.^[2]

The pilot was originally produced with former The Practice stars James Spader, Rhona Mitra and William Shatner, with support actors Lake Bell, Mark Valley and an expanded storyline featuring Larry Miller as Edwin Poole and John Michael Higgins as senior partner Jerry Austin. Monica Potter was later cast as junior partner Lori Colson and Rene Auberjonois as senior partner Paul Lewiston, replacing John Michael Higgins. The pilot premiered on ABC on October 3, 2004.^[3]

On November 30, 2004, it was announced that Candice Bergen would join the cast as senior partner Shirley Schmidt,^[4] a character the producers had planned to introduce for several months.^[5] Lake Bell left the series mid-season, and Rene Auberjonois was promoted to main cast member.^[6][7][8]Anthony Heald and Betty White also made regular guest appearances, having both appeared as the same characters on The Practice.

On April 5, 2005, the series was renewed for a second season, although ABC chose not to screen the final five episodes of the first season until April 24, 2005 to allow greater exposure of mid-season series Grey's Anatomy to a larger audience.^[9] The success of Grey's Anatomy placed Boston Legal on hold until autumn 2005, when it returned for an extended season of twenty-seven episodes.^[10][11] Both Rhona Mitra and Monica Potter left the series during the hiatus, while Julie Bowen was cast as Denise Bauer.^[12] Ryan Michelle Bathe and Justin Mentell were later cast as junior associates Sara Holt and Garrett Wells.^[13] The second episode of Season 3 introduced Craig Bierko as Jeffrey Coho and Constance Zimmer as Claire Simms. In episode eleven guest star Gary Anthony Williams joined the cast, with Craig Bierko leaving in episode fifteen.

On June 4, 2007, TV Guide announced that Rene Auberjonois, Julie Bowen, Mark Valley, and Constance Zimmer would not return for the fourth season.^[14] On June 13, 2007, it was announced that actor John Larroquette (former The Practice guest star) would join the cast as a senior partner transferred from the New York offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, with actress Tara Summers joining as a young associate. Christian Clemenson, who had guest-starred occasionally as Jerry Espenson (a brilliant but socially inept lawyer) – was promoted to main cast.^[15] Production also stated that Rene Auberjonois, Mark Valley, Julie Bowen, and Constance Zimmer may return in guest roles.^[16] On July 2, 2007, it was reported that both Rene Auberjonois and Mark Valley would return in recurring roles;^[17] It was also announced that Taraji P. Henson would join the cast in the fourth season, with Saffron Burrows appearing in a recurring role. Burrows later became a full-time cast member.^[18]

On May 13, 2008, ABC announced that Boston Legal would return for a fifth (and final) season in the fall.^[19][20] Saffron Burrows did not return as a series regular, having joined the cast of My Own Worst Enemy. The final season consisted of 13 episodes to reach the "100" episode mark, which facilitated successful syndication.^[21] There was speculation that Boston Legal might receive an additional episode-order if the show had another strong showing in the Emmy Awards and produced solid ratings in its new fall time slot.^[22] The season began airing on September 22, 2008.

On June 18 and June 20, 2008, it was reported that Gary Anthony Williams and Taraji P. Henson would not return for the fifth season as Clarence Bell and Whitney Rome respectively.^[23][24] On July 17, 2008, Boston Legal was nominated for a series-high seven Emmy nominations, including for Best Drama Series for the second concurrent year. Spader, Bergen, and Shatner were each nominated for their respective roles.

Boston Legal's two-hour-long series finale aired on Monday, December 8, 2008, at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central. David E. Kelley stated in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on December 7, 2008 that it was ABC's decision to end Boston Legal, and that he "had to fight to bring it back for a short season of 13 episodes".^[25]

The series also featured a trademark routine whereby characters would occasionally break the fourth wall and make comments implying they are aware that they are characters in a television show.^[26]

Cast

Main article: List of Boston Legal characters

Episodes

Main article: List of Boston Legal episodes

Ratings and audience profile

According to Nielsen Media Research, Boston Legal drew 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).^[27]

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.

Season	Timeslot	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Season Rank	Viewers (in millions)
1st	Sunday 10:00 pm	October 3, 2004	March 20, 2005	2004–2005	#28[28]	12.5[29]
2nd	Tuesday 10:00 pm	September 27, 2005	May 16, 2006	2005–2006	#47[30]	10.3[31]
3rd		September 19, 2006	May 29, 2007	2006–2007	#62[32]	9.6[33]
4th	Tuesday 10:00 pm Wednesday 10:00 pm	September 25, 2007	May 21, 2008	2007–2008	#51[34]	9.6[34]
5th	Monday 10:00 pm	September 22, 2008	December 8, 2008	2008–2009	#47[35]	9.6[35]

DVD releases

DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season 1	May 23, 2006	July 24, 2006	August 9, 2006
Season 2	November 21, 2006	March 5, 2007	February 21, 2007
Season 3	September 18, 2007	January 14, 2008	October 10, 2007
Season 4	September 23, 2008	October 13, 2008	December 3, 2008
Season 5	May 5, 2009	May 11, 2009	August 5, 2009
The Complete Series	TBA	May 11, 2009	November 18, 2009[36]

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards:

• 2005 Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Spader)
• 2005 Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (William Shatner)
• 2007 Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Spader)

Golden Globe Awards:

• 2004 Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie (William Shatner)

References

1. ^ Pergament, Alan (July 19, 2004). "Marketing, Legal Factors Influence TV'S Name Game". The Buffalo News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=103F981A0C6BE0BA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved December 10, 2008. 
2. ^ In appreciation of John Mortimer – csmonitor
3. ^ Levin, Gary (2004-10-04). "'Housewives' lifts ABC's spirits — and ratings". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-10-04-desperate-wives-abc-comeback_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
4. ^ ABC press release (November 30, 2004). "Candice Bergen Joins the Cast of ABC's 'Boston Legal'". The Futon Critic. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20041130abc01. Retrieved December 10, 2008. 
5. ^ Rice, Lynette. [1] "Legal Aid"]. "Entertainment Weekly" online, January 10, 2005.
6. ^ Breaking News – Development Update: November 29–30 | TheFutonCritic.com
7. ^ Breaking News – Development Update: November 15–18 | TheFutonCritic.com
8. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20041115abc01
9. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20050216abc01
10. ^ Breaking News – BUILDING ON A SLATE OF RETURNING SERIES THAT PRODUCED THE LARGEST SEASON-TO-SEASON ADULT 18–49 AUDIENCE GROWTH FOR ANY MAJOR NETWORK IN AT LEAST 25 YEARS, ABC ...
11. ^ Breaking News – GREY'S ANATOMY TO CONTINUE AIRING SUNDAYS AT 10:00 P.M. ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK | TheFutonCritic.com
12. ^ Breaking News – Development Update Special: Who's In and Who's Out | TheFutonCritic.com
13. ^ Breaking News – THREE NEW CAST MEMBERS JOIN ABC'S "BOSTON LEGAL" | TheFutonCritic.com
14. ^ Ausiello, Michael. "Boston Legal Cleans House, Drops Four Actors!". TV Guide online, June 13, 2007.
15. ^ Ausiello Report at TV Guide
16. ^ "Larroquette added to 'Boston Legal' bill". Reuters, June 14, 2007.
17. ^ "More cast changes at 'Boston Legal'". Reuters, July 2, 2007
18. ^ "Actress Burrows makes it 'Legal'". July 25, 2007.
19. ^ Boston Legal on ABC – Boston Legal Spoilers, Episode Guides, Message Board | TVGuide.com
20. ^ Schneider, Michael (May 11, 2008). "'Boston Legal' set for fifth season". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985459.html?categoryid=14&cs=1. 
21. ^ 'Boston Legal' Bowing Out – ABC series will finish after five seasons – Zap2it
22. ^ Ed Martin: Why Boston Legal is One of Broadcast's Best
23. ^ Welcome to AccessAtlanta! | AccessAtlanta
24. ^ BET.com – What The Flick » Working Girl
25. ^ Owen, Rob (December 7, 2008). "'Boston Legal's' Kelley delivers parting shots". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08342/932829-67.stm. Retrieved December 23, 2008. 
26. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (February 14, 2006). "THE TV WATCH; Beneath the Quirks, There's Always a Message for the Masses". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1DA123EF937A25751C0A9609C8B63. 
27. ^ "ABC Renews BOSTON LEGAL, MEN IN TREES, BROTHERS, UGLY, HOUSEWIVES, GREY'S, LOST, 7 More For Next Season!!", Ain'tItCoolNews.com.
28. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070310210208/http://www.abcmedianet.com/pressrel/dispDNR.html?id=060105_05
29. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070310210208/http://www.abcmedianet.com/pressrel/dispDNR.html?id=060105_05
30. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070310210300/http://www.abcmedianet.com/pressrel/dispDNR.html?id=053106_05
31. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20070310210300/http://www.abcmedianet.com/pressrel/dispDNR.html?id=053106_05
32. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=060507_05
33. ^ http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=060507_05
34. ^ ^{a b} "Season Program Rankings from 09/24/07 through 05/25/08". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052808_06. Retrieved 02-12-2010. 
35. ^ ^{a b} "Season Program Rankings from 09/22/08 through 05/17/09". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=051909_05. Retrieved 02-12-2010. 
36. ^ http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/808336 Complete Series DVD

External links

• Boston Legal at the Internet Movie Database
• Boston Legal at TV.com