Boston Legal – Season One
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B
Courtroom
dramas have been practically a TV genre since Perry Mason was one of the medium’s early megahits, Mystery angle
notwithstanding. From The Defenders to pre-reality TV shows
like The People’s Court, there has
always been an interest in how our legal system works and the hope that there
is more than two-tiered justice, as in justice for the rich and little for the
poor and defenseless. Lawyers can get
bashed because of this, but some shows have tried to go further about making
lawyers three-dimensional and Boston
Legal is the best such series since the early years of L.A. Law to do so.
William
Shatner is great as legendary lawyer Denny Crane, one of the founding members
and star lawyer of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.
He is respected, feared and now considered more unstable than ever, to
the dismay of the other partners, including Rene Auberjonois as the most
no-nonsense of the bunch. Even more
radical and loose may be an off-the-cuff hotshot (James Spader in perfect
casting) while Denny eventually has to deal with arrival of another partner
(Candice Bergen) of whom he has a relationship that is long-running, rough and
old.
That is
just the background for a show that has the occasional Ally McBeal surreal moment, less melodrama than The Practice and a general sense of
energy and wit we used to see all the time on TV. Season
One offers 17 hour-long episodes and they are all very entertaining. Creator David E. Kelley knows how to cast for
chemistry and this time, he may have outdone himself. If anyone can survive the TV grind, it is he,
but only time will tell if the show can continue to be as impressive as this
first round. We’ll just have to stay
tuned.
The 1.78
X 1 image is good, consistent and a bit soft, but watchable and this is one of
the few shows with some kind of look instead of the usual flat, tired TV look
we have had to suffer through in recent years.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is supposed to have Pro Logic surrounds,
but they are not very pronounced. Still,
they are good, clean and clear recent recordings, so that works. Extras include deleted scenes from the pilot
and two featurettes on the show. One is
about the creators, the other on the way the show came together. Let’s hope the show holds up and stays this
good for seasons to come.
- Nicholas Sheffo
