[TV Saturday] Boston Legal

Not a lot of TV-related news this week (aside from a god-awful teaser for the third season of Heroes with which I won't bother), so I thought this was a good opportunity to post a Boston Legal video.

Boston Legal, a spin-off of The Practice, is a dramedy that premiered in 2004 and follows the lives of Alan Shore, Denny Crane and their co-workers at the law firm Crane, Poole and Schmidt, most of which are characters that first appeared in The Practice. The series emphasizes both on the court action, with several wacky cases in a lot of episodes, as well as the personal lives of the lawyers from Crane, Poole and Schmidt, and their interaction with each other.

I only started watching this show about three months ago, and I haven't even finished the second season yet, but so far I really like it. It has several rather obvious flaws, for example the supporting cast is largely forgettable and they don't tend to stick around for too long, the resolution of several cases is highly improbable, and several of the characters are very inconsistent as far as their morality is concerned. Even for lawyers. Hurr, hurr.

The heart of the show, however, is its two male protagonists, Alan Shore and Denny Crane, portrayed by James Spader and William "Cpt. Kirk" Shatner respectively. It's the relationship of these two remarkable yet also incredibly quirky men that makes the show so interesting to watch. From Crane scolding Shore for being a Democrat, to Shore bailing Crane from yet another of his fuck-ups, the bond between the two is really strong, and most importantly, it feels real. I'd go as far as to say that it's one of the best portrayals of male friendship I've seen in several years in a TV show.

It's not always as serious as the above paragraph may have you thinking, however. In fact, I'd say that the show is first and foremost a comedy, despite the fact that there are several "serious" moments in every episode.

Not to mention that I never thought I'd end up respecting, and even liking, William Shatner as an actor. He might be impersonating, well, himself (I wouldn't know, but that's my best guess) but he really does an astonishing job at bringing the character of Denny Crane to life. Surprisingly, he's at his best whenever Denny stops acting like an (adorable) asshat, and instead reflects on his life and what he has become. I really wasn't expecting such a performance from Shatner, but life is full of surprises, I guess.

Instead of an epilogue, I'll end this post with a video (now this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone). Sadly, I couldn't find a better Alan/Denny video, as this one is a bit tacky. But I guess it's not bad either.



TL;DR version:

"Denny Crane."