Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) is a very sharp and passionate criminal defense lawyer who runs a small firm with other dedicated lawyers, and his old friend/assistant Rebecca (Lisa Gay Hamilton). The lawyers are Ellenor (Camryn Manheim), Eugene (Steve Harris) and Lindsay (Kelli Williams), with Lindsay being the youngest and newest member.
The firm struggles to survive as the gang takes on more and more criminal clients who can hardly pay the fees. But as Bobby puts out, they occasionally get to defend the innocent, or people who don’t deserve to be in jail. Bobby doesn’t always play by the rules, and his tactics aren’t always welcomed by his colleagues, but Bobby almost always wins his cases.
A couple of episodes later, Bobby’s friend Jimmy (Michael Badalucco) gets fired for loaning money he wasn’t supposed to, and he comes to work with the gang, although at first Bobby makes sure he stays in the trenches and help out with the research.
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The Practice was created by David E. Kelly, the creator of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal. But unlike these two lighter and funnier lawyer shows, The Practice is darker, more intense and intentionally, not very funny. It’s not to say The Practice doesn’t have its highly entertaining moments or one-liners, but the main goal is never to make the audience laugh. It is meant to drive you in, care for the characters and their cases, wonder about how each trial will result and go over the mental dilemmas the characters currently face.
After all The Practice lawyers aren’t that happy about defending murderers, drug-dealers, hookers or other criminals, but it is how they pay the bills. But after a while, more high-profiled cases start coming in, and things get even more complicated.
The Practice is not perfect, but it is pretty solid. But of course you should know that I am big on courtroom dramas/thrillers. I love John Grisham books, and not only I watched the Practice, I also watched almost all the episodes of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.
If you are big on the romantic aspects, don’t worry- even though Bobby Donnell isn’t a player who sleeps with a different girl every night, he gets his share of his complicated relationships. Especially since both the beautiful D.A. Helen (played by Lara Flynn Boyle, who joins the cast in the second season), and Bobby’s associate Lindsay have a thing for Bobby. To make matters worse, Helen and Lindsey are friends from law school and Lindsay isn’t that open about her feelings.
The Practice went on for 8 (1997-2004) seasons and is currently rated at 7.7 on IMDB.com. The show won 3 Golden Globes in 1999: Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Drama for Dylan McDermott, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture for Camryn Manheim & for Best TV Series (Drama).
Fun notes:
– Ally McBeal’s Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) makes a guest appearance in this sister show of David E. Kelley’s, and Dylan McDermott’s Bobby makes a guest appearance on Ally McBeal.
– Boston Legal’s main character Alan Shore (James Spader) appears on this show Alan Shore, and his character leads to having a show called Boston Legal.
– Dylan McDermott’s then wife Shiva Rose guest-stars in an episode as the plaintiff on one of Jimmy’s cases.
Also on Dylan McDermott