Let's face it; Boston Legal has always been a silly show. A show that dealt with serious issues and spun out some seriously stern sermons on the status of the human condition in 21st century America, but always in front of a backdrop of chaos at Crane, Poole and Schmidt. From cases that even Don Quixote would think were lost causes to the inappropriate behavior of Alan Shore, Denny Crane, and others, to the not-so-subtle references that these lawyers know they're on a TV show, Boston Legal was always was one moment away from drowning in its own silliness.
But last night's series finale descended into more silliness than I think even the show's most ardent fans could handle. There were sincere moments, but most of them barely had time to breathe and linger on people's consciousness before we got even more silliness.
Let's rattle off all we saw in this finale:
- Denny and Alan finally made their bromance legal by getting married; this way, Alan could take care of Denny in his declining years, and Denny can transfer his wealth to Alan without legal or tax implications.
- Both couples -- Alan and Denny and Shirley and Carl -- get married by a fishing-vest clad Antonin Scalia, right before the justice leaves for a fishing trip with Dick Cheney.
- This is after Shirley's priest and Carl's rabbi start giving each other lectures about religion, Israel and the Holocaust during the couple's rehearsal.
- For the second time, Alan completely insults the Supreme Court during an argument, going way off-topic like an overheated blog commenter while trying to get Denny the right to try an experimental Alzheimer's treatment. However, despite his antics and the impassioned plea by the opposing counsel, Alan still wins.
- The firm is bought by a Chinese corporation, and after Denny shoots the investors with paintball guns and Shirley tries to get an injunction to stop the deal, the whole litigation department is fired. However, in yet another hysterical speech, he manages to convince the new owners to hire them all back. But the firm's name is changed to Chang, Poole and Schmidt.
What it didn't make me forget was why I didn't watch the show with any kind of consistency. It was just exhausting at times, and the finale was no different. As much as people love BL, it was time for it to go. Hopefully, David E. Kelley's next show will be more straightforward, less preachy, and not think it's so clever. That kind of stuff only goes so far, and he might not be so lucky to get five seasons the next time around.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-09-2008 @ 1:41PM
0megapart!cle said...
I can't believe this show was still on. I'm curious what references the show made to the characters having knowledge they were on a TV show.
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12-09-2008 @ 3:49PM
Aaron said...
When Alan and Denny were talking about getting married, he said, "This would make a great television show on another netowrk!".
12-09-2008 @ 1:48PM
Terry said...
Well i for one loved bl....It was different and i have never laughed so much while watching a legal drama !!! I do think some of the stories last nite were sorta out there but it was a finale....And denny mentioned something about jumping the shark~~~ LOL I laughed when denny and alan said something about 2 married gay guys would make a good tv show but on a network that cares!!!! LOL That was hilarious!!!!! LONG LIVE BOSTON LEGAL if only in reruns!!!!!
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12-09-2008 @ 2:30PM
Nacho said...
Boston Legal used to be one of my most favorite shows. It was superbly written and the characters were interesting and had an emotional depth that is very hard to find in television these days. So it really pained me to watch these last few weeks of this show. Phrases like "jump the shark" are so overused these days, but simply saying that doesn't even begin to describe how poorly this show fell off. Watching these last 4-5 episodes was like watching a dear friend die a slow and painful death. We shared a lot of good times, and overall I'm sad to see it go, but in the end, death is a far better fate than being forced to watch the last moments.
This show, the many great characters, and most importantly us fans deserved better. In the end all we got was 60 minute episodes dedicated to bashing particular presidential candidates, gloating over their victory, and giant soap box rants on how there needs to be more old people on tv. I hoped the worst had passed and the dear old friend could pass away without too much pain, but the last episode brought the worst. A complete dismantling of the already sad remains of the firm, a dismal look at the perceived inevitable downfall of the American economy at the hands of the Chinese, and to top it all off, a complete mockery of gay marriage by the two pillars of the show? To extend my "death of a friend" analogy a bit further, watching the last episode of boston legal was like watching that friend on their death bed get attacked, torn into pieces and then raped until no life remained. It was cruel and unusual punishment for this show and its fans and we deserved much better.
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12-09-2008 @ 3:06PM
Argus said...
Why does it have to be a Mockery of "Gay Marriage"? I think its more an affirmation of Agape/brotherly love.
12-09-2008 @ 2:46PM
Chip Ramsey said...
The fact that it is silly made it a great show. David E. Kelley is a genius at taking something important and making it so absurd that you have to notice it. That's the whole point.
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12-09-2008 @ 2:46PM
Harold Love said...
Kudos to David Kelly and company for having the heart, brains and soul to bite the hand that's fed them and fight the good fight while so many others rolled over played dead. He knows that TV is silly and fluff and the other stuff is what counts.
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12-09-2008 @ 3:18PM
Jake said...
This ardent fan loved this last season. They even acknowledged that they jumped the shark by saying the bromance marriage was jumping the shark on the air. If you have read any of the recent interviews with David E Kelly, you'd know the whole point of the absurdity of the last few episodes was to stick it to ABC. And I have no problem with it since they weren't taking themselves seriously.
The characters started referring to the 4th wall (acknowledging that they are on a TV show) several seasons ago.
Nacho, you're taking this too seriously. It's a TV show' one that never took itself seriously to begin with.
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12-09-2008 @ 3:30PM
Jake said...
@ Joel: sorry you didn't like the finale, but it seems from your post that you didn't much care for the show anyways. It comes across as a disingenuous b*tchfest. Somehow I doubt you really cared for the show if you only watched it occasionally. So why post about it now? Other than filling a quota, what makes you think fans of the show care that you are upset about how absurd the show got? Talk about misreading the temperature.
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12-09-2008 @ 3:46PM
Joel Keller said...
Jake, it's a long-running show that was ending. And it's one that I've been a fan of on and off... I watched much of this past season.
I don't get this new-fangled expectation, though, that internet TV and movie critics have to be "fans" of whatever they're watching in order to give effective criticism, and I especially don't get how a negative review leads people to think the reviewer "hates" or "doesn't get" a show. I can still like a show and not like an episode, or not like its finale. "Seinfeld" is one of my favorite shows of all-time, but it had one of the all-time worst finales, for instance.
12-09-2008 @ 3:53PM
Ric Kaysen said...
The silliness of this show is exactly why I never missed an episode. I'm not nearly as liberal as the writers and their preaching would have grated on me if it weren't for the cleverness of the scripts. I for one have always loved shows that break the fourth wall. I find myself laughing out loud when that happens because it's so unexpected on television. I will miss Boston Legal.
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12-09-2008 @ 4:27PM
Ellie Kligman said...
I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The humor and satire were there, and it required some discipline to pay attention to the show and enjoy it. The show was definitely for the masses as the show required some "intellect" to appreciate all of its nuances. I will truly miss this show and pray that David Kelly has another show on the horizon.
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12-09-2008 @ 4:42PM
gwenshack said...
Silly? Of course. But that's what made this show great. They never took themselves too seriously, never forgot it was just a tv show, never forgot to stand for something - anything - even the most idiotic stance, and never stopped making me laugh.
I thought Denny and Alan getting married was absurd - stupid even - but it's just a tv show - and legalizing their love and commitment was just about as far over the top as they could go. So why not go out with a bang? In the end, it was touching, as you never have to question how far those two would go for each other.
Nobody would ever get away with talking to the Supreme Court like that - and Scalia certainly never would have married those fools - my only wish was that they'd skipped that idea and gotten the older judge who can't stand them (the "namsy pamsy" judge) to marry them. That would have been icing on the cake.
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12-09-2008 @ 4:49PM
Harold Love said...
Henry Gibson from Laugh In.
12-09-2008 @ 6:03PM
Karen said...
I'm one that loved this show off and on. I didn't even mind the over the top preachy episodes when they were clever. But there is a difference between clever and silly. Silly for silly sake isn't always funny, and that is what happened last night. I was sad.
I wanted a truly great finale and this was just...eh.
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12-09-2008 @ 7:03PM
Doug Nelson said...
I'll miss it, one of the best comedies on tv for years. (so decrying it as less-than-serious is just silly)
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12-09-2008 @ 7:14PM
Vera Badertscher said...
I never missed the show, although I got furious sometimes at the preachy uber liberal rants. I laughed so hard at the self-referential comments! Refreshing.
I also loved William Shatner's character, and was amazed at what a really good actor he proved himself to be in this show.
I'll be sorry that it is not on my list of shows to record every week.
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12-09-2008 @ 11:35PM
Snoodle said...
I thought the finale was perfectly befitting of the characters and the show and would not have left it any other way :)
Five years of fervent loyalty definitely rewarded.
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12-10-2008 @ 11:59AM
AJ said...
You clearly didn't watch the show that much because it was silly, yes, but no more than any other episode. Denny shooting the Chinese? Been there done that. Religion war? Seems perfectly fine for the show. Alan's ridiculous speech to the chinese and insulting the supreme court? Perfectly normal. The only thing that was too far fetched for the show was alan and denny getting married. However it was "almost as fun as jumping a shark" so it's all good.
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12-10-2008 @ 1:11PM
SN said...
David E. Kelly is one of the best author of today, always bringing up issues that should matter to us, both that most people disregard because they are to busy buying stuff. He is sarcastic..., funny, a genious if I can say so myself!!!
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