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'''Ally McBeal''' is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002 and was one of the best-known comedy-drama television series of the 1990s winning several awards.
Created by David E. Kelley, the series starred Calista Flockhart in the title role as a young lawyer working in a fictional Boston law firm (named Cage, Fish and Associates) filled with other young lawyers whose lives and loves were highly melodramatic.
| Contents |
| Overview |
| Episode list |
| ''Ally'' the sitcom |
| Main cast |
| Guest stars |
| Broadcasters |
| DVD |
| DVD releases |
| Awards and nominations |
| Awards won |
| Awards nominated |
| External links |
Overview
Despite its legal environment, the show paid minimal attention to the actual practice of law. Instead it focused on the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, though sometimes using legal proceedings as plot devices to contrast or reinforce a character's drama. For example, bitter divorce litigation of a client might provide a backdrop for Ally's decision to break up with a boyfriend.
Notably, the show frequently used vivid, dramatic fantasy sequences for a character's wishful thinking. The show also featured regular visits to a local bar where singer and cast member Vonda Shepard regularly performed (though occasionally handing over the microphone to the characters). Each episode generally concluded on an upbeat, hopeful note, with energetic music.
Despite its success, ''Ally McBeal'' received much criticism from TV critics and feminists who found the title character annoying and demeaning to women because of her perceived flightiness, lack of demonstrated legal knowledge, and extreme emotional instability . Flockhart's visible loss of weight by the second season also caused much media speculation. However, Ally's Quirkyalone search for true love struck a chord with young female audiences, and the eccentric characters around her were developed further, giving the show firm footing.
In the fourth season, Robert Downey Jr. joined the regular cast as Ally's boyfriend Larry Paul, temporarily resurrecting the ratings of a show that had lost its novelty appeal and thus much of its audience. However, when Downey got into legal troubles over his real-life drug addiction, he was forced to leave the show. Shortly thereafter other central cast members also left, and various characters disappeared from the show without an explanation (such as Renee, Mark, Jackson and Jane Wilco), which caused the ratings to sink again. Guest appearances from Matthew Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Ricci, and Dame Edna Everage in season five were not enough to save the show.
Episode list
Main articles: List of Ally McBeal episodes
''Ally'' the sitcom
In 1999, at the height of the show's popularity, a half-hour version entitled ''Ally''[1] began airing in parallel to the main program. This innovative version, designed in a sitcom format, used re-edited scenes from the main program, as well as previously unaired footage. The intention was to further develop the plots in the comedy-drama in a sitcom style. It also focused only on Ally's personal life, cutting all the courtroom plots. 13 episodes of ''Ally'' were shot, but only 10 were aired.
Main cast
''Time'' magazine, June 29, 1998. This cover depicts pioneering women Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan, and Gloria Steinem juxtaposed with McBeal and asks "Is Feminism Dead?" It is an example of the debate which revolved around the show and how it depicted women's roles in American society in the 1990s.
The major cast members of the show included:
★ Calista Flockhart - Ally McBeal
★ Peter MacNicol - John Cage (episode 12-103; ''recurring otherwise'')
★ Greg Germann - Richard Fish
★ Jane Krakowski - Elaine Vassall
★ Lisa Nicole Carson - Renee Raddick (seasons 1-4; one guest appearance in series finale)
★ Portia de Rossi - Nelle Porter (episodes 34-112; ''recurring previously'')
★ Lucy Liu - Ling Woo (episodes 34-96; 103; ''recurring otherwise'')
★ Gil Bellows - Billy Alan Thomas (episodes 1-62; ''recurring afterwards'')
★ Courtney Thorne-Smith - Georgia Thomas (seasons 1-3; ''recurring afterwards'')
★ Hayden Panettiere - Maddie Harrington (episodes 102-112)
★ Vonda Shepard - herself (seasons 2-5; ''recurring previously'')
★ Robert Downey Jr. - Larry Paul (season 4; ''uncredited appearances afterwards'')
★ James LeGros - Mark Albert (season 4; ''recurring previously'')
★ Regina Hall - Corretta Lipp (season 5; ''recurring previously'')
★ Julianne Nicholson - Jenny Shaw (episodes 91-103)
★ Josh Hopkins - Raymond Millbury (season 5)
★ James Marsden - Glenn Foy (episodes 91-103)
Guest stars
The singers who would perform at the bar (most often Vonda Shepard) were accompanied by a trio of back-up singers often referred to as the Ikettes. The singers/actresses who portrayed the Ikettes were:
★ 'Renee Goldsberry'
★ 'Vatrena King'
★ 'Sy Smith'
Whenever Goldsberry, Smith or King were unavailable, they would be replaced by:
★ 'Cynthia Calhoun'
★ 'Melanie Taylor'
The show also featured many guest stars, some of whom would return for an extensive number of episodes. Guest stars included:
★ 'Albert Hall - Judge Seymore Walsh': A stern judge with little sense of humor and a general dislike of the Cage & Fish law firm
★ 'Tracey Ullman - Dr. Tracey Clark' (Season 1 - 3 / 6 Ep.): Ally's unusual therapist; Recommended to her by John Cage
★ 'Dyan Cannon - Judge Jennifer 'Whipper' Cone' (Season 1 - 3 / 17 Ep.): Judge who had a relationship with Richard Fish for a while. She later started her own law firm together with Renee Raddick
★ 'Phil Leeds - Judge Dennis 'Happy' Boyle' (Season 1 - 2 / 5 Ep.): A very old judge who was obsessed with dental hygiene
★ 'Jesse L. Martin - Dr. Greg Butters' (Season 1 - 2 / 11 Ep.): A doctor whom Ally dated for quite a while
★ 'Bruce Willis - Dr. Nickle' (Season 2 / 1 Ep.): Filling in for Ally's therapist, Dr. Tracey Clarck
★ 'Gina Philips - Sandy Hingle' (Season 3 / 13 Ep.): Billy Thomas' secretary whom he briefly dated after his divorce
★ 'Lisa Edelstein - Cindy McCauliff' (Season 4 / 5 Ep.): a transsexual whom Mark Albert dated for a while
★ 'Anne Heche - Melanie West' (Season 4 / 7 Ep.): A school teacher who had Tourette syndrome. She dated John Cage for a while
★ 'Taye Diggs - Jackson Duper' (Season 4 / 10 Ep.): a lawyer who worked at Cage & Fish for a while and was a love interest for Ling Woo
★ 'Jennifer Holliday - Lisa Knowles' (Season 1 - 4 / 6 Ep.): Lead choir singer at the local church who had a history with the reverend
★ 'Harrison Page - Reverend Mark Newman' (Season 1 - 4 / 6 Ep.): The reverend at the local church, who had a history with lead choir singer Lisa Knowles
★ 'Josh Groban - Malcolm Wyatt' (Season 4 - 5 / 2 Ep.): A teenager who hires Ally and ends up taking her to his High School Prom; gets help from Ally with the loss of his mother. (also sings "You're Still You" and "To Where You Are")
★ 'John Michael Higgins - Steven Milter' (Season 4 - 5 / 13 Ep.): An attorney who was also Ally's therapist for a while
★ 'Barry Humphries (credited as Dame Edna Everage) - Claire Otoms' (Season 5 / 12 Ep.): A client of Cage & Fish who later started working at the firm as a secretary
★ 'Jon Bon Jovi - Victor Morrison' (Season 5 / 10 Ep.): A plumber who was Ally's boyfriend for a short period of time
★ 'Christina Ricci - Debbie 'Liza' Bump' (Season 5 / 7 Ep.): a lawyer who worked at Cage & Fish and married Richard Fish in the last episode
★ 'Matthew Perry - Attorney Todd Merrick' (Season 5 / 2 Ep.)
Apart from these frequently recurring actors the show also saw a lot of cameo appearances by singers (as themselves), along with numerous other one-off celebrity guest stars:
★ 'Barry White': Appeared for one of John Cage's birthday party
★ 'Al Green': Ally saw him in her hallucinations
★ 'Tina Turner': Ally won a contest to appear as backup singer for her
★ 'Gloria Gaynor': Appears at the bar and in Ally's hallucinations after the death of Billy
★ 'Chubby Checker': Appears at a twist contest
★ 'Anastacia': Appears in a club when Richard and John go to Los Angeles
★ 'Sting': Takes Larry as his lawyer for being sued by man accusing him to break up his marriage
★ 'Elton John': Sung one night at the bar. Ling did not know him.
★ 'Barry Manilow': Appears as a hallucination to Ally when Larry goes to Detroit to visit his son. Also sings at the bar later that night and Ally tries to punch him thinking him to be her hallucination.
★ 'Mariah Carey': Appears as a woman in a trial against a company claiming to find the perfect match for everybody
Broadcasters
DVD
DVD releases
Due to music rights issues, the first complete season of Ally McBeal has not been made available on DVD in the United States (only 6 random episodes can be found on the R1 edition), though it has been available in Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan, France, Germany, the UK, Mexico, Australia and Brazil. In the Netherlands it is not possible to purchase a single season, all the 5 seasons are available in a 'shoebox-set', and are not sold individually. The Brazilian edition doesn't have the "Pilot" episode.
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ally McBeal The Complete First Season | N/A | February 21, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Second Season | N/A | February 21, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Third Season | N/A | February 21, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Fourth Season | N/A | May 9, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Fifth Season | N/A | May 9, 2005 |
Awards and nominations
Awards won
'Emmy Awards:'
★ Outstanding Comedy Series (1999)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (2001)
'Golden Globe Awards:'
★ Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1998-1999)
★ Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical Calista Flockhart (1998)
★ Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
'Screen Actors Guild:'
★ Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999)
★ Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
Awards nominated
'Emmy Awards:'
★ Outstanding Comedy Series (1998)
★ Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1998-1999, 2001)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (1999-2000)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Lucy Liu (1999)
★ Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series Bernadette Peters (2001)
'Golden Globe Awards:'
★ Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (2000-2002)
★ Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical Calista Flockhart
★ Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series Jane Krakowski (1999)
'Screen Actors Guild:'
★ Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998, 2000-2001)
★ Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Calista Flockhart (1998-2001)
★ Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Lucy Liu (2000)
★ Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (1999-2001)
External links
★ Ally McBeal: Woman of the '90s or Retro Airhead
★ Ally McBeal on Paramount Comedy
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