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Boston Legal

Phoenix219

Phoenix219

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
I've been watching it for the first time, and it is amazing. Some of Shatner's finest work, and allows him to shine as both a dramatic and comedic actor. Its amazing. I just watched the Season 4 episode where Denny defends an old friend of murdering her husband, and he is just amazing throughout. They often note the friendship between Alan Shore and Shatner, and it got me thinking.

Which friendship is deeper? Kirk/Spock or Denny/Alan? What would a Shatner/Spader combo have been like on Trek? Commander Alan Shore? Spock as an Attorney? (Or rather, Nimoy in the role?) So many interesting thoughts and combinations to process. Its also gotten me thinking of Shatner in the 80s, and the all-star cast of Boston Legal..... how amazing it would have been to watch them all in their own alternate universe version of LA Law, Boston Law, the prequel to what I'm watching now. OK, yes, I'm overthinking.... lol.
 
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I should have never made this thread. I'm watching for the first time. I stated which episode I am in. Thanks for the spoiler.

The topics I raised have not been addressed. This was pointless, actually, detrimental. Sigh.
 
I love BL. Spader has never been better and Kelley’s scripts served him so well. Shatner and he worked so well together, possibly because like Spock, Alan Shore had a slightly alien quality to him. It touched on all sorts of issues thoughtfully but humorously. The supporting cast, while fluctuating, were invariably great too.
 
I loved Alan's little speeches, especially the one about scientology. :guffaw:
SPOILER ALERT, if you haven't seen it.
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And when Alan went darkside--like when some thug had been conning elderly people out of their homes, Alan showed how scary he could really be.

Alan and Denny were such goofball characters; it really didn't matter what the plot was. It was just fun.
@Phoenix219 : I can't really answer that question because the shows are in two totally different universes, with two totally different purposes. Boston Legal is mostly a comedy, with some political and social satire. Star Trek was a more action-packed show, with a little philosophy thrown in. eta: but I can say that because neither Alan or Denny are Vulcan, they share their feelings rather freely and perhaps that makes for a deeper relationship.

If you want a good laugh with some intelligent dialogue, watch Boston Legal and enjoy.
 
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Without question the friendship between Alan and Denny is stronger... because they're not nearly as restrained as military officers. In fact, they get in trouble so much from being too free with their feelings and desires.

That said... Shatner did remarkable work in this series. He leveraged his pompous tendencies with gusto, but also accompanied it with terrific comic timing. My respect for Shatner soared up with Boston Legal. The role of Denny Crane offered him so many fascinating nuances to play with... and play he did.

James Spader really shined in this one too. He showed some terrific talent prior, but Alan Shore's character gave him an enormous opportunity to explore his skills of clever wit and snark. From there Spader stored away so much of this characteristic he employed it with deft skill in The Blacklist.

I went through a 2nd watching of Boston Legal that ended last year. It'll probably be a few years until I go again (and probably at a slow pace this time, no binging). It's truly remarkable how applicable the issues outlined in BL are still very relevant today. It's also saddening... to think of all this time, we've really not made as much progress as we should have, given so many advantages of this nation.
 
Like all David E Kelley legal dramas it started strong and then fell apart under its own Flandersization.
 
I loved the show at first but lost interest as the years went by and eventually dropped it. Also wasn't a fan of the nonstop cast changes.
 
I really enjoyed this show and watched through to the end even though the cast changes were frustrating. One of the things that amazed me at the time was how quickly the writers were able to include contemporary news and pop culture events into the stories making the satire even more relevant.

I wonder, considering you are watching it now, if the show has aged like the 60s Batman series and a lot of the episodes have now lost their relevancy to the real world events happening at the time?
 
theenglish said:
I really enjoyed this show and watched through to the end even though the cast changes were frustrating. One of the things that amazed me at the time was how quickly the writers were able to include contemporary news and pop culture events into the stories making the satire even more relevant.

I wonder, considering you are watching it now, if the show has aged like the 60s Batman series and a lot of the episodes have now lost their relevancy to the real world events happening at the time?
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That's a comment I've never heard about 60s Batman before. Yeah, there are some subtle topical references in there (ex: Mayor Linseed) but the show is overall pretty timeless in its camp sensibility.

Your comment about cast changes is spot on, btw, and IMO an ongoing problem with a lot of DEK shows, especially "Ally McBeal," which seemed to gain and lose new law firm associates every other week.
 
the G-man said:
That's a comment I've never heard about 60s Batman before. Yeah, there are some subtle topical references in there (ex: Mayor Linseed) but the show is overall pretty timeless in its camp sensibility.
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I agree that it is still fun to watch; however, there are references and jokes that refer to specific things happening at the time--which I never got until reading up on the series a decade or so ago.
 
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