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The Movie: Producer David E. Kelly's spin-off follow-up to "The Practice", "Boston Legal" focuses in on the high-powered Boston law firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt. As with the other shows from Kelly, the show follows the personal and professional lives of the lawyers as the deal with cases and, in-between, deal with each other. I've always watched Kelly's shows occasionally in the past, but never became a full-time follower. Well, that continues with "Boston Legal", but I have to say that this is easily my favorite of the producer's shows. The show's appeal starts with the fact that it's brilliantly cast. Anyone who has seen William Shatner in interviews in recent years knows that he seems like such an amusing character. He works perfectly here as Denny Crane, a successful, egotistical and eccentric senior partner at the firm. Just as much fun is James Spader as egotistical lawyer Alan Shore. The series finally gives Spader a chance to use the full extent of his snarky, cynical side (and Spader enjoyably plays it as if he's damn proud of being this way), and it's terrific fun to watch. The supporting performances (Monica Potter, "Lost" star Julie Bowen, Lake Bell and former "Keen Eddie" star Mark Valley as the rival of the Spader character) are all absolutely stellar, as well. Things perk up even further when Candance Bergen is thrown into the mix (starting in second half of the first season) as senior partner Sally Schmidt, returning to the firm (in "Schmidt Happens") to clean up matters (when asked if she's back for good, Bergen deadpans, "Just for bad.") Bergen does an incredible job going up against the Shatner/Spader pairing and the strong conflict adds another welcome layer to the already snappy office politics. It's evident from watching episodes on the first and second season sets that not only does the cast of the series have wonderful chemistry with each other (Spader and Shatner especially bounce dialogue off each other in classic fashion), but that they click almost immediately. Aside from the fantastic performances, Kelly's latest effort also has quite a few other elements worth mentioning. The dialogue is consistently fantastic, with rapid-fire delivery and a lot of sharp, witty laughs. The episodes are briskly paced and keep moving between subplots, but the series still manages to develop each plot and give the actors their moments to shine. The main plots are a mixture of different tones, but whether dramatic of comedic, "Legal" manages to move between them with ease. The second season of the series generally continues to proceed along the same enjoyable path, making improvements where possible. The dialogue and edgy, occasionally outrageous/twisted humor is still as fresh, the stories continue to offer great surprises and the character relationships (the Shore/Crane characters even get a fishing trip to Canada early in the season) are more dynamic and punchy this time around. "Boston Legal"'s first season was a marvelous surprise that convinced me to start watching the series, but as convincing an opening argument to become a fan as the first season was, the second season presents overwhelming evidence in the show's favor. Season 2: 18. 2- 1 27 Sep 05 The Black Widow 19. 2- 2 4 Oct 05 Schadenfreude 20. 2- 3 11 Oct 05 Finding Nimmo 21. 2- 4 18 Oct 05 A Whiff and a Prayer 22. 2- 5 25 Oct 05 Men to Boys 23. 2- 6 1 Nov 05 Witches of Mass Destruction 24. 2- 7 8 Nov 05 Truly, Madly, Deeply 25. 2- 8 15 Nov 05 The Ass Fat Jungle 26. 2- 9 6 Dec 05 Gone 27. 2-10 13 Dec 05 Legal Deficits 28. 2-11 10 Jan 06 The Cancer Man Can 29. 2-12 17 Jan 06 Helping Hands 30. 2-13 24 Jan 06 Too Much Information 31. 2-14 7 Feb 06 Breast in Show 32. 2-15 14 Feb 06 Smile 33. 2-16 21 Feb 06 Live Big 34. 2-17 28 Feb 06 ...There's Fire! 35. 2-18 7 Mar 06 Shock and Owww! 36. 2-19 14 Mar 06 Stick It 37. 2-20 21 Mar 06 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 38. 2-21 28 Mar 06 Word Salad Days 39. 2-22 18 Apr 06 Ivan the Incorrigible 40. 2-23 25 Apr 06 Race Ipsa 41. 2-24 2 May 06 Deep End of the Poole 42. 2-25 9 May 06 Squid Pro Quo 43. 2-26 16 May 06 Spring Fever 44. 2-27 16 May 06 BL: Los Angeles The DVD VIDEO: "Boston Legal" is presented by Fox in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality isn't without a few minor concerns, but it's pretty marvelous overall. Sharpness and detail are consistently quite good, as the picture appeared crisp and well-defined throughout. Some minor artifacting is spotted briefly on a few occasions here-and-there, but the picture otherwise looked crisp and clean, with no edge enhancement or other issues. Colors looked rich and warm, with nice saturation and no smearing or other concerns. SOUND: The show's 2.0 audio is perfectly satisfactory for the material. Dialogue remains crisp and clear throughout, with no distortion or other issues. EXTRAS: "Legal Pad" is a 5-minute look at the writing process on the show, as the show's exec producers discuss the changeover in the writing staff on the second season and the development of a story idea. "The Look of Boston Public" is a 9-minute look at the production design, cinematography and costume design of the show, with interviews with the production designer, the cinematographer and costume designer offered. These two featurettes are good, if certainly quite brief. Hopefully, Spader and Shatner will be brought together for a commentary for a future set. Final Thoughts: "Boston Legal" is great fun again in the second season, as the show is briskly paced and energetic, with snappy writing and a wonderful ensemble cast. The DVD set goes light on the extras, but provides fine audio/video quality. Highly recommended. |