"Boston Legal" Head Cases (2004)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Bill D'Elia

Writers:

David E. Kelley (creator) and
Scott Kaufer (writer)

TV Series:

"Boston Legal" (2004)

Original Air Date:

3 October 2004 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Senior partner Edwin Poole has a nervous breakdown in front of everybody. Denny Crane has now to face the loss of a friend in the office...

Plot Keywords:

Asperger's Syndrome | Eccentric | Civil Law | Boston Massachusetts | Law Firm

Cast

James Spader	...	Alan Shore
Monica Potter	...	Lori Colson
Rhona Mitra	...	Tara Wilson
Lake Bell	...	Sally Heep
Mark Valley	...	Brad Chase
Rene Auberjonois	...	Paul Lewiston
William Shatner	...	Denny Crane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steven Anderson	...	Walter Seymore
Anne Betancourt	...	Judge Isabel Hernandez
Kevin Cooney	...	Atty. Smith
Helen Eigenberg	...	Atty. Tompkins
Anita Finlay	...	Helen Poole
Philip Baker Hall	...	Ernie Dell
Melora Hardin	...	Sharon Brant
John Michael Higgins	...	Jerry Austin
Aisha Hinds	...	Beah Toomy
Lisa Kaseman	...	Calder's receptionist
Sharon Lawrence	...	Judge Rita Sharpley
Rebecca Lin	...	CPS Receptionist
Don McManus	...	John Lennox
Larry Miller	...	Edwin Poole
Tom Ormeny	...	New York Attorney
Kevin Owers	...	London Guy Nigel
Eric Payne	...	Sam Halpern (as Eric A. Payne)
Jadzia Pittman	...	Sarah
Simon Rhee	...	Tokyo Guy
John F. Schaffer	...	Chicago Attorney
Al Sharpton	...	Himself
Todd Stashwick	...	Matthew Calder

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

David E. Kelley Productions

Quotes:

Denny Crane: Don't waste your time trying to get into my head. There's nothing there.

Love You Tomorrow

This pilot episode of Boston Legal gets off to a fast start. It introduces us to the characters kind of on the run and interestingly as this series starts there are more younger women (eye candy) in this and the early episodes than there are later on in the season. Coming from the same producer as Ally McBeal, it is not surprising that music gets a piece of the action in this episode as it did often in that David E Kelley series as well.

I just got the DVD's of this and the deleted scenes on it for this pilot are not anything major though some of the story line skipped for those scenes are used in later episodes. It was great to see William Shatner back in a new TV series when this show comes on. He really does comedy well here because he can do the funniest material while pretty much keeping a straight face.

Denny Crane and Alan Shore are what this series is about and the characters get together in this first episode somewhat. Crane(Shatner) is the great name lawyer who is slipping due to age factors. Shore (James Spader) is the best and youngest lawyer in the firm. Part of the appeal to this series is started here which is Shore using Crane as a mentor and a friend. The way these actors play the roles make this very believable.

This episode features a great cameo by Rev. Al Sharpton who comes into court to surprise and aid Shore in the case of trying to get a settlement for a little girl who get turned down for playing orphan Annie on Broadway. There are other story lines which start as well as the Annie one is pretty much finished in this show.

Part of the strength of David E Kelley series are that the comedy is funny, the cast does very well, and the story lines and characters are woven into multiple episodes. This pilot is no exception. It is a very good introduction to this series.