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ALLY McBEAL
IS SHOWING IMPROVEMENTBy Mike Thompson
"The Fox that Rocks" may be catchy slogan for 88.1-WMCR, the Marist College radio station, but it probably does not apply to the current state of affairs over at the FOX television network. FOX has had a fairly tough time of it this year. Every new show it introduced has either struggled in the ratings (Time of Your Life, Action) or been cancelled outright (Ryan Caulfield: Year One, Harsh Realm). The network’s attempt to counter-program against NBC’s Thursday night "Must-See" slate of comedies was, in a word, disastrous. The network has had a few bright spots. That 70s Show is showing incredible potential. Also comforting to FOX executives is the fact that the comedy-drama Ally McBeal is regularly delivering its highest ratings to date, despite some tough competition in its Monday night at 9 timeslot.
Ally McBeal debuted on FOX in 1997, and was an instant ratings success. The title character (Calista Flockhart) works at a Boston law firm, which is headed by Richard Fish (Greg Germann). Coincidentally, one of the attorneys at the firm is Ally’s former boyfriend, Billy Thomas (Gil Bellows). Billy’s wife, Georgia (Courtney Thorne-Smith) also works at the firm. The secretary at the firm is Elaine Vassal (Jane Krakowski). Ally’s roommate is Renee Radick (Lisa Nicole Carson). Joining the cast mid-way through the first season was Peter MacNicol, as attorney John Cage. At the start of the show’s second season (1998-99), two new people joined the cast: Lucy Liu, as Ling Woo, and Portia de Rossi as attorney Nelle Porter. The new additions to the cast did nothing to deter Ally McBeal’s ratings success, and the show continued its status as one of FOX’s biggest hits. The show was so successful that, in 1999, FOX added a show called Ally to its Tuesday night lineup. In Ally, old episodes (and some unused footage) of the hour-long Ally McBeal are recycled and compressed down into a half-hour sitcom-type show. In short, Ally is nothing but a cheapened repeat of the original series. That FOX is actually airing this concoction (and, even worse, calling it a "new series"), shows huge contempt for viewers. Of course, Ally is not really Ally McBeal, and the original full-length Ally McBeal is currently undergoing a small renaissance.
In late 1997, I began watching Ally McBeal. It was a nice little show, and I watched it when I would have the time. By the time the fall of 1998 rolled around, I had grown fairly tired of the show, as the oddball qualities of it were beginning to grate on me. Nevertheless, I tried watching some episodes from the 1998-99 season. I discovered that I just could no longer sit through a full episode of Ally McBeal. The show had just gotten too goofy. The characters were becoming cartoons, and the show was not very enjoyable. Now, that is just my opinion. Obviously, it was not shared by a lot of other people, since this past September Ally McBeal won the prestigious Emmy award for Best Comedy Series (though the show is technically still a comedy-drama). Also this September, I discovered that, in the house I’m living in this year, Ally McBeal is a Monday-night staple (here on campus, it is seen Monday nights at 9 PM on Channel 5). I tried avoiding the show the first few weeks of the new season, but I finally gave in around late October and decided to give it a try again. I told myself, "Okay, I’ll watch it, but I’ll probably hate myself in the morning." Well, here’s the news. I watched it, but I didn’t hate myself in the morning.
The stories on Ally McBeal are no longer as goofy as they were during the 1998-99 season. Billy is currently going through some semblance of a mid-life crisis (even though he’s still fairly young), and creator David E. Kelley (who writes every episode of Ally McBeal, just as he does with The Practice) has handled the subject surprisingly well. The storyline could easily have become goofy and stupid, but, with some minor exceptions, Kelley has avoided this. The result is that Billy’s crisis, and his deteriorating marriage with Georgia, is quite effective. Also, John Cage, who was quickly becoming the most cartoonish character on the show last season, is being handled with a surprising amount of compassion. One of the best things about the current episodes of Ally McBeal, though, has, strangely enough, been the decrease of screen time for the show’s title character. With a few exceptions (such as the recent episode involving Ally and her parents), the storylines that focus on Ally have been relentlessly goofy, and in fact provide growing evidence that Ally is just not a particularly likable character. Perhaps if her stories were changed a little, Ally would no longer be among the weaker elements of her own show.
Though Ally McBeal is improving, it still has a ways to go. There are still some moments of the show which remain a little too goofy. Ally McBeal is best when it is a pure comedy-drama. One can hope the show can stay on its current track, but I get the feeling that some old Ally McBeal goofiness may be just around the corner. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m right, at least we can all watch The Practice, which, despite Ally McBeal’s recent renaissance, remains David E. Kelley’s best work.
