Suspension of disbelief.
There is one man who has bedded Rhona Mitra, Saffron Burrows, Lake Bell, Gail O’Grady and Parker Posey. And I’m sure I’m leaving out others.
And this man is…not George Clooney.
But this guy.
Boston Legal is one of the most well-acted, well-written shows on television right now. It might not have the genius of THE WIRE, which I keep hearing is the best show ever created. (I heard Orson Welles came from the dead to direct an episode for the final season. It’s THAT good.)
But what BL has is are plot devices that are, shall we say, very, very unbelievable. First, you have Denny Crane, who somehow has kept his name on the Crane, Poole and Schmidt law firm, despite having several Dick Cheney-style accidents with his firearms, while he continues to deal with his “mad cow.”
The firm also employs one lawyer who courageously deals with Asperger’s Syndrome, and another who comes to work as Clarence and has been known to turn into alter-ego “Clarice” in his off hours. He’s been struggling to be himself, literally, on a full-time basis.
The fact that this fictitous firm houses all these unique personalities is pretty unbelievable. But not as unbelievable as Alan Shore (played by James Spader in the picture above), being able to get with some of the hottest women on television.
Even Tim Riggins, who is the apple of many a female’s eye on Friday Night Lights, is impressed.
It was Henry Kissinger who said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” And in Shore’s case, that must certainly be true. He is the best lawyer at CPS, has a great wit (except when he deals with a bit of “word salad”), and, since he is a high-powered attorney, he must have a lot of money.
Since BL has been on, there were a lot of male lawyers who passed through the halls of Crane, Poole and Schmidt who appeared to be more of a catch than Shore, which included Brad Chase, played by Mark Valley. He couldn’t pay a woman to go out with him, but he did finally hook up with Julie Bowen, which isn’t bad. I don’t feel too sorry for him.
Last night was the final new episode of Boston Legal for a while. It may return later this spring with a few new episodes, or it will come back next fall. I’m sure Shore will be continue to get women who are way out of his league. And if not, he can always have Denny over for a sleepover.
