It’s no mystery that Boston Legal is one of my favorite shows. It mixes a very romanticized version of the legal field, with some cold hard realities of our times. Of course, the thing that cements this show as something to love for me, are the characters of Alan Shore, played brilliantly by James Spader, and Denny Crane, also brilliantly portrayed by William Shatner.
Character Analysis. (Avoiding Spoilers) Grew up… in Dedham, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. Living… at an unnamed hotel, in room 416. Alan used to live in a huge house with a “grotesque” swimming pool, but now likes the idea of not having a home. He finds the idea that he could “check out” at any time to be very comforting.
Jul 11, 2019 · James Spader's character Alan Shore first made his debut on the long-running David E. Kelley series The Practice, and then took the lead for five seasons of Boston Legal. Throughout the series, Alan Shore proves himself as both an attorney and a person, enduring many personal changes as his friendship with Denny Crane evolves.
Sep 15, 2013 · 4. On Working Late. “I always feel slightly sick to my stomach when I work alone in the office late at night”. “I thought you liked being alone”. “Oh, I love being alone. I just prefer to be alone where there’s other people around”. 5. Eat Donuts. “I suppose coming to a lawyer’s office can’t be much fun”.
Alan Shore | |
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Spouse(s): | Unnamed wife (deceased) |
Domestic partner(s): | Denny Crane |
During Season One of Boston Legal, Alan was again analyzed by Sally Heep. He had seemingly used her for purposes of blackmailing a witness, but Sally thought it was the reverse at the end of the show. Instead of Alan using her, Sally felt that he was using the witness like a tool of sorts to show how despicable and utterly unethical he was.
Played by James Spader, Alan Shore is everything about lawyers we don’t like. He is witty, smarmy, egotistical, charming, rude, successful, pompous, vulnerable, and rich, dresses impeccably, treats women like possessions, and always wins. However, regardless of those characteristics that most of us would find utterly loathsome in any other human ...
Alan views himself as the office’s resident playboy and clearly views this territory as his own.
He was also married once, but his wife died. At one point in his life, Alan had to seek the help of a sexual surrogate to help him deal with perhaps his most shocking paraphilia – an attraction of sorts to his mother, and the way she touched him (non-sexually) as a child.
During The Practice, Ellenor Frutt, a close friend of Alan’s, described him as a “self-loathing person, who breeds contempt from other people through his actions.”. During Season One of Boston Legal, Alan was again analyzed by Sally Heep.
Tara also stated that Alan has three sides: the good side, the bad, and the naughty side. The good side is his honorable intentions during court defending innocent people, but the bad side of him could not bear that burden of being the good. So, in an attempt to get to Alan, Tara tried appealing to his naughty side.
Alan once had an unlicensed doctor remove a bullet from one of Lori Colson’s clients after the client refused to have it extracted in a hospital due to the fact it might convict him; Alan helped him out because the bullet might have had a life-threatening impact on the man.
Of course, the thing that cements this show as something to love for me, are the characters of Alan Shore, played brilliantly by James Spader , and Denny Crane, also brilliantly portrayed by William Shatner. The dialogues between these two characters are nothing short of awe-inspiringly funny, clever, sometimes sad, and other times incredibly heart-warming. But Alan Shore is the character who stole the show, for me, anyway.
Of course, the thing that cements this show as something to love for me, are the characters of Alan Shore, played brilliantly by James Spader , and Denny Crane, also brilliantly portrayed by William Shatner.
One of the reasons he likes talking to Denny is that he said that it is often like he isn’t in the room, so Shore is talking to himself.
One point of interest is that while Shore has little to no scruples, he has a very strict code of justice that he adheres to. He refuses to represent evil people. He will represent those whose actions are morally gray, but straight-up evil is where he takes a hard line against.
The first is that he is a very hardcore womanizer. He has an insatiable sexual appetite, which he will us anybody he deems visually pleasing enough to fill.
Ever since then, he has claimed that he is “missing a love gene.”. Perhaps the biggest fault that Shore has is his grandiose view of himself . He suffers from severe narcissism.
Once he considers somebody to be a friend, he won’t, under any circumstances, cross them. He defends Denny repeatedly from the growing amount of legal problems that he has, and will not cross his best friend in any way.
A spin-off of the long-running Kelley series The Practice, Boston Legal follows the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore at the blue chip law firm Crane, Poole & Schmidt, where he is best friends with founding partner Denny Crane and is arguably their best lawyer. Crane, Poole & Schmidt is shown to be a very large and respected law firm with offices across the United States as well as international locations. It is said there are some 50 senior partners besides the named ones, several of whom have appeared on the show.
On April 5, 2005, the series was renewed for a second season, although ABC put the show on hiatus in favor of Grey's Anatomy The success of Grey's Anatomy placed Boston Legal on hold until autumn 2005, when it returned for an extended season of 27 episodes.
As Judge Clark Brown, Gibson remained a constant presence on Boston Legal even when the main cast departed their roles. He appeared in 24 episodes of the series and stayed until the series ended in 2008. Unfortunately, it was one of his last roles and he passed away in 2009, a week before his 74th birthday.
Famous for his role as the eccentric and kind-hearted Jerry Espenson on Boston Legal, for which he received the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2006, Christian Clemenson was not new to the industry.
Gibson also frequently lent his voice to animated roles, including Charlotte's Web, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and King of the Hill. As Judge Clark Brown, Gibson remained a constant presence on Boston Legal even when the main cast departed their roles. He appeared in 24 episodes of the series and stayed until the series ended in 2008.
Julie Bowen was active in the industry before her appearance as junior attorney Denise Bauer on Boston Legal, but you probably know more about her career after the show ended. After her first prominent role on television in the series Ed, her three years on Boston Legal was only a precursor for her most famous role as Claire Dunphy on Modern Family.