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THE PRACTICE MAKES FOR NEAR-PERFECT TELEVISION
By Mike Thompson
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed NBC's long-running hit Law & Order. In case anyone missed it, the show is equal parts cop show and courtroom drama. While I didn't say so in my column, I thought that Law & Order probably represented the best of both genres. There was no better cop show, or courtroom drama, on television today. Well, I am pleased to say that Law & Order has some competition for the title of "Best Courtroom Drama" in The Practice.
For the uninitiated, here's a quick low-down on The Practice. The show, created by David E. Kelley (whose current shows include Ally McBeal and Chicago Hope) starts Dylan McDermott as Bobby Donnell, the head of a struggling Boston law firm. The junior attorneys at the firm include Jimmy Berluti (Michael Badalucco), Eugene Young (Steve Harris) Ellenor Frutt (Camryn Manheim), Lindsay Dole (Kelli Williams), and Rebecca Washington (Lisa Gay Hamilton), who was the firm's receptionist before she eventually graduated to full-time lawyer status. Lara Flynn Boyle joined the cast in the show's second season as Helen Gamble, the Assistant District Attorney and, hence, one of Bobby Donnell's main rivals. Marla Sokoloff joined the cast in the fall of 1998 as Lucy Hatcher, the firm's new receptionist. Each week, one of the attorneys from the firm fights a case in court. There is also usually a sub-plot dealing with the personal lives of one or more of the firm's attorneys. Unlike Law & Order, where the details of the characters' personal lives are rarely delved into, on The Practice it is common to see the characters outside of the workplace. Believe me, the personal lives of these characters are sometimes just as interesting as the cases they handle in court. For example, the most recent sub-plots have dealt with Bobby and Lindsay's engagement. Of course, this is not to say that the courtroom scenes are not spectacular. They are often intense, always intelligent, and frequently end with an unexpected twist.
The Practice debuted in the spring of 1997 on ABC, and for a long time it struggled in the ratings. Its first season consisted of six episodes (not uncommon for a mid-season replacement show), and these episodes were shown Tuesday nights at 10, in NYPD Blue's timeslot, to give the show a try-out. The critics immediately loved the show, and it performed passably in the ratings. ABC renewed the show for the 1997-98 season, and scheduled it for Saturday nights. Since Saturday night is considered the worst night to schedule a show, and since the producers were looking to beef up the ratings anyway, the sexy but too skinny Boyle was added to the cast, as a love interest for Bobby. The Practice continued to struggle in the ratings, but the critics also continued to praise the show. TV Guide, in fact, labeled The Practice "the best show you're not watching" in a January 1998 issue. ABC recognized the potential of the show, and when Monday Night Football ended its season in January 1998, The Practice was relocated to Monday nights at 10. Now that it was airing Mondays, it followed Ally McBeal, which aired Monday nights at 9 on FOX. By the time The Practice was shifted to Mondays, Ally McBeal was already an established hit. David E. Kelley decided to capitalize on Ally McBeal's hit status, as well as on the fact that he wrote most of the episodes for both series, by penning an Ally McBeal-The Practice crossover event, which aired April 27, 1998. A controversial murder trial began on an episode of Ally McBeal (which, like The Practice, is a courtroom show set in Boston) and concluded on that night's episode of The Practice. The crossover event delivered the desired boost to The Practice's ratings, and most of the viewers who discovered the show that night decided they liked it. It had taken a while, but The Practice was beginning to catch on in the ratings.
In the fall of 1998, The Practice was moved to its fourth timeslot since its spring 1997 debut. This time, it was moved to Sundays at 10. It continued to be a critical darling, and its ratings continued to get better. It became an established hit, and in September 1999 won a well-deserved Emmy award for Best Drama Series (Ally McBeal won an Emmy for Best Comedy Series, thereby making Kelley a very happy man). This season, The Practice is retaining its hit status and, from what I've seen, is churning out some great drama. I had caught The Practice occasionally in the past, and while I recognized its greatness, I just didn't have time to watch the show. Well, I've decided that I will make time to watch it. It is that good. I missed the season premiere, which guest-starred Henry Winkler, and I kicked myself for missing it, as I am a self-confessed Happy Days fan. However, I tuned in this past Sunday (November 7), and I loved what I saw. The episode dealt with a woman on trial for killing her mother. The sub-plot dealt with Bobby and Lindsay's aforementioned engagement. For those of you who didn't see it, but who are planning on catching the episode when it is rerun, I won't spoil anything, but I will say the episode had an unsettling (but nonetheless well done) twist at the end. It was a very good episode.
After all this praise I've lavished upon The Practice, you might be wondering why, in the headline for this column, I wrote that the show was only "near-perfect." Well, I'll tell you. Some parts of The Practice seem to have the potential to grow into exaggerated annoying excesses in the manner of Ally McBeal. As I mentioned, David E. Kelley created and writes most episodes of both The Practice and Ally McBeal. In Ally McBeal, Kelley seems to take out many of his boyish whims and indulgences, and consequently Ally McBeal frequently comes off as excessive and self-indulgent; it's all a bit too strange for me. Luckily, Kelley seems to save his best stuff for The Practice, but that doesn't mean The Practice doesn't have occasional Ally McBeal-esque moments. One can only hope that Kelley can keep these moments to a minimum, because, as it stands now, The Practice is a wonderful show. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. The Practice airs Sunday nights at 10, locally on WTEN-Channel 10, which is conveniently located at Channel 10 on the Marist College television dial. Give it a look.
