The Practice: Difference between revisions

The Practice
File:Practice Cast.jpg The main cast of The Practice.
Created by	David E. Kelley
Starring	Dylan McDermott Steve Harris Camryn Manheim Michael Badalucco Lisa Gay Hamilton Kelli Williams Lara Flynn Boyle Marla Sokoloff James Spader
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	168
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 4, 1997 – May 16, 2004

The Practice (March 4 1997 - May 16 2004) was an ABC legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston, Massachusetts law firm. The show won the Emmy in 1997 and 1998 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the spin-off series Boston Legal, which began airing in the fall of 2004 and deals with similar subject matter, though often taking a lighter, more character-oriented approach.

The first seven seasons of the show aired in Britain on the ITV3 channel.

The Practice originally focused on the law firm of Donnell and Associates (which eventually became Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt, and finally Young, Frutt and Berluti), featuring the firm's involvement in a number of high-profile criminal and civil cases that often mirrored events unfolding in the real world. There were a number of crossovers with other David E. Kelley shows, including Boston Public, Ally McBeal and the short-lived medical drama Gideon's Crossing, but The Practice is overall one of David E. Kelley's more serious shows, lacking the comedic elements of McBeal, Legal and others.

Template:Spoiler By the end of the seventh season, faced with sagging ratings, ABC conditioned the show's renewal on a drastic budget reduction. As a result, six cast members were fired: Dylan McDermott, Kelli Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Chyler Leigh, Marla Sokoloff, and Lisa Gay Hamilton. The addition of James Spader and Rhona Mitra to the cast for the eighth season helped to revive the ratings somewhat. In fact, Spader went on to win an Emmy for his one season on the show. However, on March 11, 2004, ABC announced that it would not renew the series for a ninth season, but that Kelley would instead create the new spin-off series Boston Legal, starring Spader, Mitra and William Shatner. [1]

History of the Firm

Template:Spoiler At the start of the series, Bobby Donnell's only employees are associate attorneys Ellenor Frutt, Eugene Young (with whom Bobby started the practice some years earlier) and Lindsay Dole and receptionist Rebecca Washington, although within only a few episodes, Jimmy Berluti is added to the staff. Jimmy was a loan officer at a bank and an old friend of Bobby's. He falsified loan documents for Bobby and lost his job at the bank. Jimmy had worked as an attorney before, and Bobby hires him.

Bobby had opened the practice with idealistic dreams of protecting the innocent, but during the firm’s early days of financial struggle, Bobby quickly learned that drug dealers and other undeniably guilty clients tended to be the ones who provided enough business to keep the firm afloat.

Bobby maintained sole control over the firm until an ultimatum by Lindsay (and, to a lesser extent, Ellenor) motivated Bobby to name Ellenor, Eugene, Lindsay, and Rebecca (who by that time had earned her law degree) as junior partners. To maintain control over the firm, Bobby wrote into the charter that each of them would get one vote in partnership meetings, while Bobby would get two, giving him limited veto power. While this decision prevented Lindsay’s power play from getting ugly, it temporarily caused some tension between Bobby and Jimmy, who, despite the fact that he had been with the firm for only a year and was still promised partnership after only one more year, felt insulted that he was the only one on staff who had not been named partner.

Bobby and his associates all shared a friendship with A.D.A. Helen Gamble, who even shared a brief romance with Bobby – all highly unusual, considering how often Helen’s job placed her in opposition to the firm.

A recurring strategy used by the practice – especially by Eugene – was informally and internally known as the “this is America” defense, or the “United States of America” defense, an appeal to patriotism which would emphasize the rights of their client as Constitutional priorities that must be upheld by the jury. However, the firm was more notorious for using a strategy they internally referred to “Plan B,” which involved causing a jury to doubt their client’s guilt by accusing someone else of the crime. While the strategy was often effective, it would occasionally backfire once the D.A.’s office became familiar with the plan; it also invariably caused a great deal of emotional stress for the attorney employing the plan when they knew that the person they were accusing was most likely innocent, and in such cases, Plan B would be used only as a last resort. Despite the firm’s friendship with Helen Gamble, the practice’s use of Plan B, combined with the firm’s favorable win/loss ratio, attracted ire and scrutiny from the D.A.’s office, particularly in the case of senior A.D.A. Kenneth Walsh.

During the final year of the firm’s existence, the primary line-up consisted of partners Ellenor, Eugene, and Jimmy, as well as a new addition, an old friend of Ellenor’s named Alan Shore. Alan’s addition to the firm was a mixed blessing; he attracted more than enough business and revenue to make up for Bobby’s retirement and the departures of Lindsay and Rebecca, but his unorthodox and often unethical methods created controversy and often clashed with the more by-the-book Eugene, who was now senior partner. This conflict eventually culminated in Alan’s termination. Alan’s successful wrongful termination suit, in which he was represented by the legendary megafirm Crane, Poole, & Schmidt, played a key role in the demise of Young, Frutt, & Berluti; although Alan eventually offered to forfeit some or all of his winnings, by that time, all three partners had become distracted by other interests.

Main cast

• Dylan McDermott as Bobby Donnell (1997-2003), senior partner of the firm. A deeply sensitive and compassionate man, Bobby often struggled with his conscience as he was forced to walk the line between his personal moral principles, and his ethical obligations to his clients. He left the firm at the end of the 2003 season, subsequently returning as a guest star for the series' final two episodes.
• Michael Badalucco as Jimmy Berluti, an associate and, later, a partner at the firm. An Italian American from a working-class background, Jimmy often struggled with his own conscience, as well as having problems with gambling addiction. Jimmy, like Bobby, was raised as a Catholic, and his upbringing often played a part in his various ethical dilemmas.
• Lisa Gay Hamilton as Rebecca Washington (1997-2003). At the beginning of the series, Rebecca was the firm's receptionist and occasional paralegal. She passed the bar exam after attending law school at night for several years without the knowledge of anyone at the firm. She has worked for Bobby since he opened his first practice as a solo practitioner, and the two were very close.
• Steve Harris as Eugene Young, the second highest-ranking partner at the firm (and senior partner for the show's final season). Eugene also struggled with his conscience, but was more strongly devoted to the letter of the law than Bobby or Jimmy, largely due to the influence of his older brother, who died in prison after a coerced confession led to his being convicted of a crime he didn't commit.
• Camryn Manheim as Ellenor Frutt, another partner at the firm. Ellenor, a single mother, had a child via artificial insemination, and often struggled with issues related to her weight and appearance.
• Kelli Williams as Lindsay Dole (1997-2003), a partner at the firm, Bobby's ex-girlfriend and eventually his wife. Lindsay was stalked and terrorized by no less than three mentally unbalanced clients over the course of the show's run, the last of whom she was convicted of murdering after he began began following her, and then showed up unexpectedly at her home in the middle of the night, forcing her to shoot him in what she claimed was self-defense (the verdict was later reversed on a technicality). She and Bobby have a child together, but eventually divorced after Bobby had an affair with a former colleague. Lindsay then left to start her own legal practice.
• Lara Flynn Boyle as Helen Gamble (1997-2003), an Assistant District Attorney who often prosecuted cases in which the firm was involved. Helen, a personal friend of many of the firm's partners, is nevertheless relentless in her attempts to prosecute those who do wrong, sometimes even crossing the line of legal ethics.
• Marla Sokoloff as Lucy Hatcher (1998-2003), the firm's wise-cracking receptionist. Lucy was hired after Rebecca passed the bar exam and became an associate. Lucy is also a counselor for rape victims.
• Jason Kravits as Richard Bay (1999-2001), a hard-nosed Assistant District Attorney. A frequent nemesis of the firm, Richard was gunned down by associates of a man he successfully prosecuted. He was close friends with Helen Gamble, and in fact on several occasions tried to initiate a romantic relationship with her.
• Ron Livingston as Alan Lowe (2001-2002), who replaced Richard Bay as the firm's recurring adversary for a while.
• Jessica Capshaw as Jamie Stringer (2002-2004), a high-strung Harvard Law School graduate and associate at the firm. Jamie joined the practice after Lindsay was convicted of murder, and eventually became involved in a short-lived romantic relationship with Eugene.
• Chyler Leigh as Claire Wyatt (2003), Lindsay's associate at her new practice.
• James Spader as Alan Shore (2003-2004), a highly unethical friend of Ellenor's who was hired by the firm at the beginning of the show's final season. He is now the lead character of the series Boston Legal.
• Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson (2003-2004), another associate. She was fired after revealing privileged information to Alan Shore.

Recurring cast

• Bill Smitrovich as Kenneth Walsh, Helen Gamble's mentor and an experienced Assistant District Attorney. Walsh hates criminal defense attorneys. He once coerced a man charged with murder in order to obtain a confession. Bobby Donnell, who was still young and inexperienced at the time, believed his client was guilty and didn't try to reverse the sentence. 15 years later, a DNA test requested by the innocence program revealed the identity of the real murderer, a man who had confessed to the crime years earlier. Moved by remorse, Donnell represented the innocent man in a lawsuit seeking compensation for his 15-year incarceration. Walsh is also the D.A. who convicted Lindsay Dole. It was eventually discovered that he had concealed evidence which might have supported a self-defense plea, and this was the technicality which allowed Lindsay's conviction to be overturned. He once told Helen Gamble there was a time when he could have befriended criminal defense attorneys, but that time had long since passed.
• Holland Taylor as Judge Roberta Kittleson.
• Linda Hunt as Judge Zoey Hiller.
• Ray Abruzzo as Detective Mike McGuire.
• Kate Burton as A.D.A. Susan Alexander. She played this role in the pilot episode as well as the series finale.

Notable guest stars

The series hold the Emmy Award record for most wins by guest actor/actress for a single series. Emmys went to John Larroquette, Edward Herrmann, James Whitmore, Beah Richards, Michael Emerson, Charles S. Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Sharon Stone and William Shatner. In addition, Tony Danza, Paul Dooley, Henry Winkler, Marlee Matlin, Rene Auberjonois and Betty White were nominated but did not win. Larroquette, who won for his guest appearance during the second season, was nominated again for an episode from the sixth season, but did not win again.

• Rene Auberjonois
• Dylan Baker
• Gil Bellows as Billy Alan Thomas ("Axe Murderer", Season 2 - crossover with Ally McBeal)
• Andre Braugher as Dr. Ben Gideon ("Gideon's Crossover", Season 5 - crossover with Gideon's Crossing)
• Tony Danza as Tommy Silva (three episode story arc, Season 3)
• Bruce Davison
• Rebecca De Mornay as Hannah Rose (final four episodes of Season 8)
• Paul Dooley
• David Dukes
• Charles Durning as Stephen Donnell ("Passing Go", Season 3; and "Death Penalties", Season 4)
• Charles S. Dutton as Leonard Marshall ("Killing Time", Season 6)
• John Finn
• Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal ("Axe Murderer", Season 2 - crossover with Ally McBeal)
• Anthony Heald
• John Larroquette as Joey Heric (six episodes of Seasons 2, 3 and 6)
• Virginia Madsen
• Marlee Matlin as Sally Berg ("Life Sentence", Season 4)
• Chi McBride as Steven Harper ("The Day After", Season 5 - crossover with Boston Public)
• Michael Monks
• Chris O'Donnell as Brad Stanfield (four episode story arc, Season 8)
• Vincent Pastore as Lenny Pescatore (final three episodes of Season 8)
• C.C.H. Pounder as Helene Washington ("The Day After" and "Awakenings", Season 5)
• Robert Prosky
• Kim Raver as Victoria Keenan ("Reasonable Doubts", Season 2)
• Beah Richards
• Emmy Rossum
• William Shatner as Denny Crane (five of the final six episodes of Season 8)
• Sharon Stone as Sheila Carlisle (three episode story arc, Season 8)
• Betty White
• James Whitmore as Raymond Oz
• Henry Winkler
• D.B. Woodside as Aaron Wilton ("The Means", Season 2)

Trivia

• The firm's original name was Robert G. Donnell and Associates. Upon the creation of a partnership, it became Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt. With the departure of Bobby, Lindsay and Rebecca, it was renamed Young, Frutt & Berluti.
• Every member of the main cast, except Dylan McDermott and Lara Flynn Boyle, had a guest starring role on Law & Order before starring on The Practice.
• The only two actors who were members of the principal cast for the series' entire run (from pilot episode to series finale) are Steve Harris and Camryn Manheim.
• Steve Harris is the older brother of actor Wood Harris, best known for his role as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO series The Wire.
• Michael Badalucco is the brother of actor Joseph Badalucco Jr., who has had recurring roles on Third Watch and The Sopranos.
• Jessica Capshaw is the daughter of actress Kate Capshaw, and the stepdaughter of film director Steven Spielberg.
• Repeats of the series' episodes air in the U.S. on FX.
• The Practice can be seen on LaSexta in Spain.
• The Practice can be seen on Channel 7 and W in Australia.
• The show's eighth and final season has never aired in the UK.
• The show's can be seen on the french CBC television network (Radio-Canada) in Canada
• In Sweden, the show has become popular and has many fans. The show is aired on TV4.

U.S. television ratings

Viewer numbers per season of The Practice on ABC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season	Timeslot (Eastern & Pacific Time)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Viewers (in millions)	Viewer Rank	Household Rank
2nd	Saturday 10:00PM (September 20, 1997 to January 3, 1998) Monday 10:00PM (from January 5, 1998)	September 20, 1997	May 11, 1998	1997-1998	10.2		#88
3rd	Sunday 10:00PM	September 27, 1998	May 9, 1999	1998-1999	12.7		#35
4th		September 26, 1999	May 21, 2000	1999-2000	16.4		#10
5th		October 8, 2000	May 13, 2001	2000-2001	18.3	#9	#10
6th		September 23, 2001	May 19, 2002	2001-2002	12.9	#26	#27
7th	Sunday 10:00PM (September 29, 2002 to December 15, 2002) Monday 9:00PM (January 27, 2003 to May 5, 2003)	September 29, 2002	May 5, 2003	2002-2003	10.0	#55	#52
8th	Sunday 10:00PM	September 28, 2003	May 16, 2004	2003-2004	9.1	#63

The first season was a 6-episode run on Tuesdays 10:00pm (Eastern & Pacific Time) from March 4, 1997 to April 8, 1997. No ratings information were found for this episode run.

The exposure from its January 30, 2000 post-Super Bowl episode (attracting 23.8 million viewers) plus their weekly lead-in from early 2000 to mid-2001, the then mega-hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, helped the series reach its ratings peak from 1999-2001.

See also

• Boston Legal

External links

• The Practice at IMDb
• ABC site for The Practice
• TVshow.com listings and episode guide
• "The Practice Blog"