michaelthompson-98713
Dear David E. Kelley,Why oh why did you write this superb television series, and then ditch the formula and half the regular cast from season 8 ???????????The Practice easily knocks spots of anything shown today that comes from your country, America.Watching The Practice took me back to the days of Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, L.A Law, NYPD Blue. American Drama Television writing at its best.But The Practice beat the lot hands down.However, James Spader's introduction threw The Practice into second gear , and without the full regular cast the heart went out of the programme as far as I was concerned.At the tail end of the series, Steve Harris who played Eugene Young to the hilt, made it to the bar and became a Judge. Might I suggest with your excellent writing skills, you develop a new series here around his success as a Judge. ?In general The Practice, series 1 to 7 only, has been an excellent American Drama, the best ever.. Characters you warmed to, and cared about. Series 8 was cold. James Spader was totally miscast. Well done David E. Kelley and all concerned in the series.
policy134
David E. Kelley was of course a major asset for L.A. Law because of his experience as a lawyer. Therefore, he had an insider's knowledge and his scripts were also considered the show's best. Here we get basically the same premise but instead of focusing on wealthy lawyers from the West, we get blue collar lawyers (if such a thing exists) from the east. The sunny atmosphere of L.A. Law has been darkened considerably and I think that every single character has some kind of depressive side to them. That makes it hard to even think of them as the good guys, also because of the questionable clients they represent.The Bobby Donnell character, played by Dylan McDermott, is nowhere near as sleazy as his fellow lawyers think he is but McDermott plays him like an angry loner and that does not spell mega appeal to many. So why did this show survive so many seasons? I think it mainly has to do with the oddball guest stars, like John Larroquette as a totally despicable and narcissistic killer or the self-serving female judge who uses sexual blackmail and then abuses her power when her advances are not reciprocated. There seems to have been a combined effort of everybody to make everything as bleak as possible in sharp contrast to the sister show, Ally McBeal but that could only be counted as a blessing since that show tried too hard to be quirky. Like so many other shows featuring lawyers it got a little melodramatic at times but for the most part the courtroom action was exciting and the few times the case at hand wasn't that interesting the next episode featured a case that was totally worth the wait.Anybody that has seen just a few episodes will probably not like it at once because it takes a little time to get totally into it. If you can be addicted to seeing human misery, the name of the drug is called "The Practice".
miriammatzeder
There is no question in my mind that "The Practice" was the best thing available on television for a long, long time. It is the only show for which I can recall a sense of mourning at show's end. My favorite character was Eugene. I admit to have had a feeling of panic to think the familiarity of the show would be broken up by a "movie star," but James Spader injected a lot of the thrill that David E. Kelley initially devoted to the show. The only bad thing I can say about the show is that I believe it began to sink when too much was invested in the unsubstantial relationship between Bobby and What's-her-name. The strength of the show was the characters' relationships with one another as LAWYERS, not LOVERS. The case details and the rotation of unusual plaintiffs and defendants were the attractions. The only other shows I bother viewing are the CSI programs, but I'm always going to miss "The Practice." Especially the character, Eugene, who bopped that child molester in his head right there in the courtroom. That single scene deserved an Emmy. I very much look forward to "Boston Legal." I just hope the thrill of James Spader and Denny...Denny Crane won't blot out the case-specific details, characters and truth and justice issues we so loved about "The Practice."
bentley3461
I was an avid watcher of THE PRACTICE when ABC was still spitting out new episodes, especially from seasons five through seven, though I have seen episodes from all the seasons and I watched a lot at the end of season eight. THE PRACTICE, first off, is a first-rate, thoughtful, intelligent, witty show. It is a shining star in the smog-filled sky that is TV today. The stars were made on that show, a good reflection of how great the show is. I love the way there would often, but not always, by that third or fourth act be an AH HA! moment, just enough to make one start to nod in unison with the characters.Bobby Donnell as the lead character, until the last season, was so smart at times, making a really good path in life and as an attorney. And at times he was so self-destructive and stupid one wonders if he had been cloned or had an identical but dumb twin. Bobby also let his cases get too personal some, but not all of the time. Lindsay Dole was somebody who you could always root for. But, she was definitely flawed. She was stubborn to the point of ridiculous behavior sometimes. She looked at her relationship with Bobby through all stages as one where she always had to do something about that big lug, due to his clearly compromised sense of what was appropriate in any given situation. She truly and sincerely thought that she was ALWAYS right. She didn't know she was being unfair, rude, and arrogant and walking all over Bobby. At least I'm pretty sure of all that. Otherwise she was just a callous, cruel person.I found Eugene and Eleanor's treatment of Rebecca strange at the end of the seventh season. Eugene seemed to structure decisions without regard to how they would impact Rebecca or maybe he hoped to alienate her and force her to quit and take her talents elsewhere. Now I must stress, I'm not trying to say what she did or did not do, but that's what Eugene seemed to want, regardless of what Bec did after learning of an authoritarian directive.I think the differences between David E. Kelly's L.A. LAW and David E. Kelley's THE PRACTICE have to be made clear. L.A. LAW was fantastic and excellent most, if not all, of the time. THE PRACTICE was great most, if not all, of the time. Both shows feature high-quality character development, but that takes something of a back seat on THE PRACTICE to bizarre murders. Both series explore the impact of one's actions on more than the just the obvious players. On THE PRACTICE that is less subtle and more integral to the show. But most keenly is the difference in the fair, just outcome vs. the actual outcome of the trials. On L.A. LAW one comes away saying, 'It may have been harsh' or 'It may have been too lenient in some ways' but either way (USUALLY) 'That verdict was fair and just'. On THE PRACTICE, one usually comes away saying 'That was HARSH' or 'I can't believe that person just got put back on the streets' but either way saying 'That jury must be insane or decided to intentionally give the wrong verdict just to complement the defendant's impeccable grooming habits and fine manners'. I don't think, given how the setting is the U.S.A. in the present day, that the outcome is almost ever realistic. TV viewers want some escapism, but not LAW AND ORDER: ANIMAL HOUSE-STYLE. The bizarre murders highlighted repeatedly probably result from the number of juries that don't believe in convicting people or are anarchists.Overall, THE PRACTICE is a series one must decide to watch to enjoy the first fifty-five minutes, and not for the sake of enjoying the last five (when the verdict is read).