And then there is (James Spader, a whisper in a room full of shouts). Hired in the pilot as the firm’s ethical ambulance, Alan is a shark in a three-piece suit, but a shark who reads Proust and cries at dog food commercials. He will defame a dead woman, blackmail a nun, and manipulate a jury with the silky precision of a concert pianist—all to protect the helpless. He is a broken moralist, a man who loves the law but despises what it often protects. His opening statements are symphonies of logic and poetry; his closing arguments are spiritual gut-punches.
It begins with a cello playing a mournful, elegant note. Then, a record scratches. Because Alan Shore is about to moon a client. Of Boston Legal Season 1
Season 1 is the forging of an unholy brotherhood. Denny, facing the early fog of Alzheimer’s, finds in Alan the one person who sees the man behind the myth. Alan, adrift in a sea of corporate greed, finds in Denny an anchor of absurd, unwavering loyalty. Their ritual—scotch on the balcony, cigars lit against the Boston skyline—is the show’s sacred heart. They are not just friends. They are a mutual defense pact against loneliness and sanity. And then there is (James Spader, a whisper
It is the sound of a gavel smashing a martini glass. It is a closing argument delivered from a barstool. It is the moment television decided that being smart could also be completely, gloriously, unapologetically nuts. He is a broken moralist, a man who
Season 1 of Boston Legal is not a legal drama. It is a three-ring circus where the rings are on fire, the lions are filing motions, and the ringmaster has just been cited for contempt. It is the glorious, unpredictable, and deeply cynical birth of a modern classic.