I've only seen boston legal(1-4) but i hear alot of good things about the practice.
Now me not really knowing the practice and loving boston legal heres my question
do practice fans like boston legal?
It divided fans I think. "The Practice" was more serious and didnt have the whacky storylines (okay theres a few that were a bit mad) that "Boston Legal" had. But if you like powerful courtroom dramas, you'll love "The Practice". Also "Boston Legal" and "The Practice" mix together in the last/8th season of the Practice.
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I came into BL quite late - in fact after I had seen most of TP.
But, seem to love BL more than TP. Very good chemistry between Alan Shore and Denny Crane kept the show going.
Absolutely not. I think "the practice" was a brilliant piece of work. Boston Legal was like the comic to the straight man. It was buffoonery at its best. Alan Shore and Denny Crane made watching BL impossible.
shareThe Practice appeals to my serious, intellectual side, while Boston Legal appeals to my humorous, sarcastic, intellectual side. Kelley used both shows to make social commentary, though in radically different ways. I adore both shows, though I thought the supporting cast of BL was weaker (especially the female characters, aside from Shirley) than the ensemble cast of TP. I always thought TP and BL represented the split personalities of Kelley's earlier masterpiece, Picket Fences, which beautifully combines the bizarre and the serious.
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I am a big fan of the Practice, and probably watched up to Season 4 on TV. Years later, I was able to watch the other seasons online.
I tried to like Boston Legal, but it came off as a lame retread of Ally McBeal, which mostly involved dumb cases and more office drama than courtroom drama. I liked Ally McBeal, but it doesn't hold up on repeat viewings, while the Practice's bleak atmosphere, tough cases and excellent cast are still tremendously effective. I was more moved by the death row documentary episode "Spirit of America" when I saw it earlier this year, compared to when I first saw it in 2001.
An early ep of Boston Legal involved a mother suing the producers of Annie for not casting her black daughter in the main role. On paper, it's an interesting case involving elements of creative freedom/integrity vs. discrimination against a clearly skilled young actress. instead of focusing on these aspects in an interesting/humorous fashion, BL's writers decided to write in a walk-on role and stump speech by Jesse Jackson (or that other publicity whore, blanking on his name), which would NEVER be allowed in a court of law. It could be argued that BL is not as serious as the Practice, and believe me, after seeing the weird Practice/BL crossover episodes that dominated the last half of Season 7, I know it's lighthearted. But introducing stupid stunts like the one i mentioned meant that I couldn't take the show seriously as a legal drama/comedy.
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Well I watched a lot of The Practice, and some of Boston Legal, but from what I saw yes I do like Boston Legal.
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i personally love them both.
i watched the preactice first, and at first it was hard to switch to the "cooccoon head" boston legal.
they are both very different. the practice is dark and serious, takes itself very seriously. while boston legal is as easy going and ammusing as ally mckbeal.
I like both shows a lot, though it took me a while to warm up to Boston Legal. It's kind of odd that Kelley would choose to spin off from such a serious show and make such a silly one. His word, "silly" by the way.
But Boston Legal did deal with serious issues. And the Practice did have some humor and a bit of absurdity. So maybe they're not that far apart.
Both shows had great actors. The ones in the Practice were just younger.
A couple people have mentioned Ally McBeal, which I loved! Ally McBeal introduced me to the writing of David E. Kelley (actually, LA Law did, but I didn't know it at the time). I've loved him ever since. Whether it's the taut drama of The Practice, the hilarious creativity of Ally McBeal, the sly wit of Boston Legal, or the quirky loveableness of Picket Fences, I'm crazy about all of it.
Kelley is certainly one of the best, if not the best, television writers of all time.
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Not at all! I loved TP (it is one of my favorite shows), but I hated BL (couldn't watch more than a few episodes).
BTW, I liked Ally McBeal & Picket Fences, but Boston Legal just annoyed me immensely.
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Okay, if you like Douglas Wambaugh (and judging by my signature you can tell I really do) you would absolutely love Richard Fish. He has the same kind of attitude toward law, he lacks the same mental filter that Wambaugh lacked, but there was much more vulnerability in Fish.
If you get the chance, I highly suggest checking out the first two seasons of Ally McBeal for no other reason than to laugh at Richard Fish. He had me in stitches much more frequently than did Wambaugh.
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Boston Legal was for the "mass audiences" of the United States. People who care more about silly antics (low common denominator) rather than smart themes, thought provoking script, and depth of character.
So: NO. The Practice was in a class of its own. In its league are programs like Silk (UK) or Garrow's Law.