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The only one I'll miss is Auberjonois, who gave a sense of class and old-school law firm dignity to a show that's sorely in need of both. I am glad to see Larroquette join--he'll fit right in with all the other crazies. I say all this with affection, since I'm a regular viewer, although I appreciate the great courtroom performances more than the silly antics.

And Christian Clemenson's Jerry got on my nerves for a while, but after watching him bop along to (and through) the opening credits a few weeks ago, I've come around to liking his character. I wish they'd stop calling him "Hands", though--like anyone else given a derogatory nickname, once you come to see the person as a real human being with feelings, the nickname just becomes cruel.

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I have to agree with Scott, Auberjonois will be missed. he had crap to do this season, but when he was there he really stood out in already stand-out cast. I agree with you, Richard, Valley's chagracter got to be really annoying this season (when he was around). The whole baby plot just seemed forced and probably was considering Bowen's real-life pregnancy. I will also be sad to see Bowen go. For a show that features a strong woman in Candace Bergen's Shirley Schmidt, why can't this show keep other strong, female characters/actresses? This series really is the Spader/Shantern show, but it was always nice to have a great cast around them.

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I'll add that I've been a huge fan of Julie Bowen, who will always be "Carol Vessey" to me, but her character on this show was a real twit, and not particularly likeable.

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Mark Valley was the only reason I'd watch the show.

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I am Sad Rene Auberjonois will be leaving he adds balance , I think John Larroquette is over rated.
This is Jumping the shark. They may as well change the name to Crazy, Crazy and Crazy

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Honestly I don't really care, when I first read it I was worried but none of those charaters ever do anything. Julie Bowen and Mark Valley storyline ended. Rene Auberjonois really did nothing on the show, and same with the other one.

I hope they just write them out of the series, BL has a way of just ignoring storylines and things. Julie Bowen and Mark Valley charaters should go off and take care of the baby. Rene Auberjonois should go and take care of his daughter and grand daughter. And Constance Zimmer just doesn't like Boston and can't be around her ex. Problems solved. Now they most likely will just pretend they were never on the show through.

And what does this firing every year of charaters on the show mean? To me it means ABC wants something different, I just hope ABC doesn't randomly cancel it and that there can be closure.

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Sad to see Rene Auberjonois. But his role as the foil to Denny Crane gets a little old. Okay, Denny is crazy and not necessarily an asset anymore. So there was not much left for Rene to do.

Constance Zimmer. Big loss. She was great on Entourage and I was really hoping that she would break out on BL. Who can ever forget her introducton on S03E02? with Denny Crane grabbing her ass.

John Larroquette will be a great addition, I am sure. And I don't have any problem with Christian Clemenson becoming a cast member. He really grew that role and made it into something beyond just a quirky guy.

Can't wait for season 4. I am cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

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So. L&O dodged the Whitford bullet, but BL has hit the Larroquette landmine. I'm bummed, but there will be an open slot on my DVR.

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the one thing i find so very annoying about some tv shows is this "revolving door". "law and order" is a master of it. I eventually turned away from the original show about 10 years ago because of it.

now, the one show i look forward to watching is getting just about as bad doing the same thing.

having watched television since i was 18 months-2 years old {1956-57}, i almost have no patience for "disposable talented performers". i started watching "boston legal" for one reason. that has evolved and i came to care for the entire package-all of the performers. i supposed i should have seen this coming when they let go of my second favorite performer, lake bell{sally}.

i have no patience for revolving doors or those who are on a "power trip".

disappointed!!!!!!!!

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Well this year's new players stunk. Clarence, his girlfriend, the other guy who left I'm forgetting his name, the one who had the hots for Shirley and almost was Bowen's baby's daddy. They all stunk. Renee was a great foil to the absolute crazyness that is Denny and Alan. But perhaps Schmidt now is that foil alone. How can someone not like Jerry? That singing intro had me rolling.

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I like Clarence, he / she is the only good new person. The woman and the guy that already left were useless. Same with season 2. The two lower level people were useless to the show. The only one I'm mad about leaving was season 1/2 the british woman, she was different.

None of these charaters are important, that said I hope they keep these new people around. I like shows that have 4-5 main charaters and several side charaters but it seems Boston Legal has 15 main charaters and then just phase them in and out.

Write these charaters good ending Mr. Kelly, hopefully they will be shown.

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Adding John Larroquette: Big win!
Letting Bowen and Valley go: Big win!

Making Espinsen a regular: Big mistake!

Letting Rene Auberjonois go: Big mistake and a big loss to the show! Time to reconsider, Boston Legal.

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You can just about count life as a lawyer on BL episode by episode, unless of course you're 1 of the 4 - I mean 3 main characters.

Sally, Lori & Tara within the early series I liked. Yet their roles were short and sweet, while Brad (The 'Zepo' within a firm of Marx Bros) just seemed to hang on in there series after series. He was long overdue and just didn't seem to fit in.

Paul was great as the 'straight' senior partner. He was a reminder that there was a serious side to the business. Not always going to be effective, but never the less an important character role for BL. He will be missed.

Denise I liked, although I liked Constance more. It's a shame that Constance's role will never really get a real chance to get off the ground. She had great potential.

Jerry's an interesting character, who has grown with statue. I like the battle of wits between him and Alan. John Larroquette? I don't know - I have a job trying to think of him as being serious.

As for the writers - please don't start off series 4 like you did with the end/beginning of series 1 & 2. There were more holes between those 2 episodes than in my vegetable strainer. I couldn't help but feel cheated. Don't let history repeat. Let the stories flow.

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This Season was the worst for the show ever, worst ratings as well. People watch supporting cast members as well as the main characters. Losing Julie Bowen is a HUGE mistake. Its not her fault they didnt write anything good for ther this year. Rene's character is also essential to the show. John L - big deal. Not an addtion to the show. Sorry. Season 4 will likely be the last and the ratings and stories will prove it. The sad thing is that it didnt have to be this way- leave the characters on the show. Give it something to build on, like season 1 & 2. There has been a significant, progressive veiwer loss since season one. I can garantee that allot of it had to do with Tara leaving and the revolving cast door. How can you build a show if you keep tearing it down? Get new writers, not dismiss capable cast members. Ive been on several boards and there is overwhelming support for these characters to stay.

Are you listening, ABC?

Desperate housewives is in a decline, Greys anatomy is in a decline (you will lose allot of viewers over Washingtons leaving). I think things should be fresh but dont mess with a good thing when you have it. Its sad when the highest rated shows have CSI:name your city; you know why? They DONT jack around with their cast every year and they keep veiwers intrigued with their creativity, originality and familiarity -even when you know everyone knows the plot. Hey, hire me id write some good stuff for the show and help bring it back to the forefront of must watch TV.

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First of all, Boston Legal's ratings were on par with season two. Their viewership was more or less the same. The show has a loyal following and does well with the wealthy.

It is still the best written and funniest show on television. The Clarence character is the only one I wanted to see gone.

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The writing on this show is like a wonderful stew recipe. The characters are the ingredients and the spices. If one character is too strong, the whole stew is spoiled. They need to be equally strong and used carefully, not overused. The same with the plots. Most memorable moments from this past season include Jerry's return with a wooden cigarette clenched in his teeth. and his fabulous singing opening. Then there's Denny remembering himself as a young lawyer practicing with his father (Ralph Belemy) ~ BRILLIANT! This show has maintained a precarious balance between nonsense and topical issues. What DO we do about illegal immigrants? The task of keeping all the characters fresh and on their toes, presenting the public with a little something to "chew" on and providing a little comic relief cannot be as easy as David E. Kelley and his team of writers make it look. We are always entertained and enlightened and we can always forgive them an ocassional "lax" moment - too much Denny, not enough Brad. Too serious Shirley, too trivial Denise. Whatever we may find is not to our liking, we find so much more to be appealing.
We are sad to see characters dismissed (for whatever reason), because the writers and the actors' portrayals of them endear them to us. We see them as believable and, heaven help us, even though they're lawyers, we like them! :) So, we wish the departing characters a well written send off, some closure, and we look forward to the next season!
Thank you, David E. Kelley!
Chris & Sue

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Need to define 'on par' with the other seasons. Heres the numbers:
season 1: rank#27 with 12.5million viewers
season 2: rank#46 with 10.3million viewers
season 3: rank#48 with 9.5million viewers

So what direction is it going in, again? down and down.
LOST 2 MILLION veiwers from season 1-2. Then nearly another 1million...the trend isnt looking real good here.
Historically, ABC doesnt like numbers like this. If season 4 doesnt turn around, its over. What a shame b/c like what i said and what was reiterated, people are interested in these characters. The 'revolving cast door' is going to find yet another show losing populatiry and getting the plug pulled. Dont forget that TV is still a business

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Rene's character really needs to be kept. "Paul" seems to be the one to keep everyone else in line to try to keep the firm credible. I agree with Rogphi, he does add much needed balance.

Zimmer's character needs to be kept too. She has good strength and fits in well.

Bad move to let these two go.

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I watch the show for Alan and Denny. They show the absurdity of things in our current society. Thumbing their noses (or whatever) at the standard rules of society. And why not? Our society is currently so off track - hijacked by crazy people who present themselves as normal. I find BL or at least A&D, acts as a fine mirror of current reality.

I dont care who plays the others, they're just filler between Alan and Dennys scenes for me.

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