Plus, there’s the cast: James Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen, Rene Auberjonois, Mark Valley, and the underrated Julie Bowen (among others). Not only are they all extremely talented, but it’s clear from every episode that they are legitimately having fun doing it, and that’s make a huge difference.
The central member of the cast, James Spader, is the glue that holds everything together. He plays Alan Shore, a semi-despicable man that is softening with age, despite his best efforts. Shore is a lawyer who will resort to the lowest, most outlandish, tactics he can think of to win a case, as long as he truly believes in the client. He regrets his actions on a regular basis, but is learning to live with who he is.
So, good cast, good characters, good stories. That’s why the show is so good. I do however have the sense that five or ten years from now the show is going to seem highly dated. It’s funny, it’s fast, and it has a heart, but it also seems to be cashing in on a particular look, sensibility, and feel that is going to cause it to not live on as well in repeats. Partially it’s that so many of the cases and references are influenced by present day news and politics. The characters echo sentiments from newspapers, popular culture, and public opinion to such a degree that in ten years, in a society with incredibly short-term memory, that the logic behind Boston Legal may be indecipherable for many people.
That however, should not stop you from watching it now. There are still a couple of episodes left this season, check one out, you won’t regret it.
Article comments
1 - TV and Film Guy
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.