Ally McBeal
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| Ally McBeal | |
|---|---|
| Image:Ally mcbeal.jpg Season two cast poster </small> | |
| Genre | Comedy-drama |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Creator(s) | David E. Kelley |
| Starring | Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Greg Germann, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jane Krakowski, Portia de Rossi, Lucy Liu, Regina Hall, Josh Hopkins, James LeGros, James Marsden, Julianne Nicholson, Hayden Panettiere, Vonda Shepard with Gil Bellows, Robert Downey, Jr, and Peter MacNicol |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | September 8, 1997–May 20, 2002 |
| No. of episodes | 112 |
Ally McBeal was a television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002, and was one of the best-known comedy-drama television series of the 1990s.
Created by David E. Kelley, starring Calista Flockhart in the title role as a young lawyer working in a fictional Boston law firm (named Cage, Fish and Associates) filled with other young lawyers whose lives and loves were highly melodramatic.
Contents |
[edit] Nature of the show
Despite its legal environment, the show paid minimal attention to the actual practice of law. Instead it focused on the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, though sometimes using legal proceedings as plot devices to contrast or reinforce a character's drama. For example, bitter divorce litigation of a client might provide a backdrop for Ally's decision to break up with a boyfriend.
Notably, the show frequently used vivid, dramatic fantasy sequences for a character's wishful thinking. The show also featured regular visits to a local bar where singer and cast member Vonda Shepard regularly performed (though occasionally handing over the microphone to the characters). Each episode generally concluded on an upbeat, hopeful note, with energetic music.
Ally McBeal was hugely successful, but received much criticism from TV critics and feminists who found the title character annoying and demeaning to women because of her excessive flightiness, lack of demonstrated legal knowledge, and extreme emotional instability. Flockhart's visible loss of weight by the second season also caused much media speculation.
However, Ally's search for true love struck a chord with young female audiences, and the eccentric characters around her were developed further, giving the show firm footing.
In the fourth season, Robert Downey Jr. joined the regular cast as Ally's boyfriend Larry Paul, resurrecting the ratings of a show that had lost its novelty and thus much of its audience. However, when Downey got into legal troubles over his real-life drug addiction, he was forced to leave the show. Shortly thereafter other central cast members also left, and various characters disappeared from the show without an explanation (such as Renee, Mark, Jackson and Jane Wilco), which caused the ratings to sink again. Guest appearances from Matthew Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, and Christina Ricci in season five were not enough to save the show.
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Ally the sitcom
In 1999, at the height of the show's popularity, a half-hour version entitled Ally[1] began airing in parallel to the main program. This innovative version, designed in a sitcom format, used re-edited scenes from the main program, as well as previously unaired footage. The intention was to further develop the plots in the comedy-drama in a sitcom style. It also focussed only on Ally's personal life, cutting all the courtroom plots. 13 episodes of Ally were shot, but only 10 were aired.
[edit] Main cast
The major cast members of the show included:
- Calista Flockhart - Ally McBeal
- Greg Germann - Richard Fish
- Peter MacNicol - John Cage
- Jane Krakowski - Elaine Vassal
- Lisa Nicole Carson - Renee Raddick (Season 1 - 4) recurring afterwards
- Portia de Rossi - Nelle Porter (Season 2 - 5)
- Lucy Liu - Ling Woo (Season 2 - 5)
- Gil Bellows - Billy Alan Thomas (Season 1 - 3) recurring afterwards
- Courtney Thorne-Smith - Georgia Thomas (Season 1 - 3) recurring afterwards
- Hayden Panettiere - Maddie Harrington (Season 5)
- Vonda Shepard - Vonda Shepard
- Robert Downey Jr. - Larry Paul (Season 4)
- James LeGros - Mark Albert (Season 4) recurring previously
- Regina Hall - Corretta Lipp (Season 5) recurring previously
- Julianne Nicholson - Jenny Shaw (Season 5)
- Josh Hopkins - Raymond Millbury (Season 5)
- James Marsden - Glenn Foy (Season 5)
[edit] Guest stars
The singers who would perform at the bar (most often of course Vonda Shepard) were accompanied by a trio of back-up singers often referred to as the 'Ikettes'. The singers/actresses who portrayed the Ikettes were:
Whenever Goldsberry, Smith or King were unavailable, they would be replaced by:
The show also featured lots of guest stars, some of whom would return for an extensive number of episodes. This last category included:
- Albert Hall - Judge Seymore Walsh: A stern judge with little sense of humor and a general dislike of the Cage & Fish law firm
- Tracey Ullman - Dr. Tracey Clark (Season 1 - 2 / 5 Ep.): Ally's unusual therapist; Recommended to her by John Cage
- Dyan Cannon - Judge Jennifer 'Whipper' Cone (Season 1 - 3 / 17 Ep.): Judge who had a relationship with Richard Fish for a while. She later started her own law firm together with Renee Raddick
- Phil Leeds - Judge Dennis 'Happy' Boyle (Season 1 - 2 / 5 Ep.): A very old judge who was obsessed with dental hygiene
- Jesse L. Martin - Dr. Greg Butters (Season 1 - 2 / 11 Ep.): A doctor whom Ally dated for quite a while
- Gina Philips - Sandy Hingle (Season 3 / 13 Ep.): Billy Thomas' secretary whom he briefly dated after his divorce
- Lisa Edelstein - Cindy McCauliff (Season 4 / 5 Ep.): a transsexual whom Mark Albert dated for a while
- Anne Heche - Melanie West (Season 4 / 7 Ep.): A school teacher who had Tourette syndrome. She dated John Cage for a while
- Taye Diggs - Jackson Duper (Season 4 / 10 Ep.): a lawyer who worked at Cage & Fish for a while and was a love interest for Ling Woo
- Jennifer Holliday - Lisa Knowles (Season 1 - 4 / 6 Ep.): Lead choir singer at the local church who had a history with the reverend
- Harrison Page - Reverend Mark Newman (Season 1 - 4 / 6 Ep.): The reverend at the local church, who had a history with lead choir singer Lisa Knowles
- John Michael Higgins - Steven Milter (Season 4 - 5 / 13 Ep.): An attorney who was also Ally's therapist for a while
- Barry Humphries (credited as Dame Edna Everage) - Claire Otoms (Season 5 / 12 Ep.): A client of Cage & Fish who later started working at the firm as a secretary
- Jon Bon Jovi - Victor Morrison (Season 5 / 10 Ep.): A plumber who was Ally's boyfriend for a short period of time
- Christina Ricci - Debbie 'Liza' Bump (Season 5 / 7 Ep.): a lawyer who worked at Cage & Fish and married Richard Fish in the last episode
Apart from these frequently recurring actors the show also saw a lot of cameo appearances by singers (as themselves), along with numerous other one-off celebrity guest stars.
[edit] Trivia
- Several actors who would later gain fame as cast members on Desperate Housewives (which debuted in the fall of 2004) have guest starred on Ally McBeal: Steven Culp, Marcia Cross, Jamie Denton, Dakin Matthews, Kathryn Joosten, Brenda Strong, Mark Moses, Bob Gunton, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Christine Estabrook.
- Barry White's music was frequently showcased on the show as a sexual stimulant; when one of the characters mentally "heard" the music, other characters would be attracted. This action was often accompanied by dancing and took place in the unisex bathroom.
- The show is also noted by many for introducing the "dancing baby" computer-generated image (CGI) to mainstream American pop culture.
- Known for controversial topics, the show was well-known for the infamous "Cro-Magnon" episode, whereby a well-endowed male model becomes the focus of Ally's attentions. Some critics have claimed that this penis size obsessed view of female sexuality is distorted and reflects more of a male point of view, as the show was written by David E. Kelley. Others have charged that the ridiculing of modestly endowed men is sexist and harmful, contributing to body issues for men similar to that of young women over their weight. On that note as well, the show has been criticized for the "anorexic" main character as being a bad role model for girls.
- In the Family Guy episode "And the Weiner Is..." Chris attempts to ward off an attacking bear by repeating verbatim which he had heard on the FOX network, including the filler "Stay tuned for an all-new Ally McBeal!" The bear immediately retreats.
- The show has also been mentioned on British soap Coronation Street.
- Four years after the series cancellation, Calista Flockhart now co-stars with Sally Field in the ABC hit drama, Brothers & Sisters. The series also features Josh Hopkins as Flockhart's love interest and co-host.
- Anarcho-Punk band Chumbawamba listed Ally McBeal in their song "Passenger List for Doomed Flight 1721" as one of the passengers on a doomed flight. The song is about people who Chumbawamba want to "Put on a plane and never see... again". It is fairly obvious from this inclusion that the disdain the band have for the character is quite large, as she is the only fictional character to make the list.
[edit] Broadcasters
[edit] DVD
[edit] DVD Releases
Due to music rights issues, Ally McBeal has not been made available on DVD in the United States, though it has been available in Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, the UK, Australia and Brazil. In The Netherlands it is not possible to purchase a single season, all the 5 seasons are available in a 'shoebox-set', and are not sold individually.
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ally McBeal The Complete First Season | N/A | February 21 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Second Season | N/A | February 21 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Third Season | N/A | February 21 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Fourth Season | N/A | May 9 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Fifth Season | N/A | May 9 2005 |
[edit] DVD Box Art
The Complete First Season |
The Complete Second Season |
The Complete Third Season |
The Complete Fourth Season |
The Complete Fifth Season |
- Note: All artwork shown is for Region 2 DVD
[edit] Awards & nominations
[edit] Awards Won
- Outstanding Comedy Series (1999)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (2001)
- Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1998-1999)
- Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical Calista Flockhart (1998)
- Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999)
- Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
[edit] Awards nominated
- Outstanding Comedy Series (1998)
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1998-1999, 2001)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (1999-2000)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Lucy Liu (1999)
- Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series Bernadette Peters (2001)
- Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (2000-2002)
- Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical Calista Flockhart
- Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series Jane Krakowski (1999)
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998, 2000-2001)
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Calista Flockhart (1998-2001)
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Lucy Liu (2000)
- Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (1999-2001)
[edit] External links
de:Ally McBeal et:Ally McBeal es:Ally McBeal fr:Ally McBeal gd:Alli Nic a' Bheoil it:Ally McBeal he:אלי מקביל nl:Ally McBeal ja:アリーmyラブ pl:Ally McBeal pt:Ally McBeal sk:Ally McBealová fi:Ally McBeal sv:Ally McBeal
