TVSquad

After more than twenty years at 20th Century Fox TV, Emmy-winning writer-producer David E. Kelley is packing his bags.

One of the longest and most succesful collaborations in television history is coming to an end as Kelley announced that he is entering into a three-year partnership with Warner Bros. TV.

(S04E20) "Shirley, it was good that we oppose." - Carl Sack leaving himself wide open.

Shatner and Spader's celebratory dance upon learning they were accepted into the Coast Guard may have been the best acting I have seen out of the two of them all season.

When I read the synopsis of the season finale I really didn't know what to think. At first glance, of course, the idea of one city seceding from the United States seems ridiculous. However, this being Boston Legal I knew there had to be more to it.

Last week, it was Men in Trees. Now the end has officially come for another ABC drama series. ABC has confirmed that October Road is over. The long and winding road is no more, so to speak. ABC has no room in the fall lineup, apparently, and a plan to move October Road and Men in Trees to Lifetime never panned out. So all the die-hard fans who've been writing the network and crafting petitions can give it up. No amount of peanuts or blood drives -- oh, wait, that was Jericho and Moonlight. The Roadies had a different tack; buy the DVD, donate it to a library to get more people watching and writing to ABC. Despite the sincere efforts, the network still chose to end the road and move on to a newer, different show.

I don't know if this is good news or bad... David E. Kelley may be checking out of Life on Mars, the ABC pilot based on the hit BBC crime/time travel drama. According to Variety, the prolific Mr. Kelley -- Boston Legal, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally MacBeal, The Practice, Chicago Hope, etc. -- is unhappy with the financial arrangements and if things aren't worked out, he's going to move on.

Life on Mars was a terrific show. The UK version has played on BBC America, starring John Simm and Philip Glenister. Following the British model, the series lasted just two years -- 16 episodes total. In the ABC pilot, which Thomas Schlamme directed, Jason O'Mara (Men in Trees) is playing Simm's role, Sam; Colm Meaney (Star Trek: The Next Generation) is Gene. Kelley wrote the American variation on the story of Sam Tyler, a police detective in present day who awakens from a car crash to find he's living in 1973. Has he really gone back in time or is it all in his head?

American Idol appears to be the "show-that-can't-be-stopped." At last week's Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, executives referred to it as the "Death Star" because it consistently destroys the competiton. And few expected that Amercan Idol, now in its six season, would not only maintain its monstrous ratings -- but continue to grow.

It's no wonder then that Fox executives are planning on scheduling at least 45 hours of Idol -- and possibly more -- to take full advantage of their ratings powerhouse.

It doesn't get the best ratings on television, but it's a good show and has buzz, so ABC is giving Boston Legal a third season. Creator and writer David E. Kelley has another show coming up on ABC too, next year, titled Life On Mars.

You know, I've never seen one episode of Boston Legal, even though I watched a few eps of The Practice (until it got a little silly), I'm from the Boston area, and I'm a big fan of both James Spader and William Shatner. Weird.

I'm not the biggest fan of David E. Kelley, but I'm sure he's too busy counting his stacks of money and making love to Michelle Pfeiffer to care about my opinion, so I'll just mention to any of his fans that might be reading this that he has a new show in the very early planning stages. All we know so far is that it's a comedy/drama that takes place behind the scenes of a morning show. This comes in the wake of his latest show, The Law Firm, being shifted from NBC to Bravo. 

Have you watched this show? NBC is moving the remaining six episodes over to Bravo. The article below says that they haven't found a time slot for it yet, but Bravo's site has a schedule here.