Film: David E. Kelley ("Ally McBeal") has given two of the best characters from the final season of his series "The Practice", Alan Shore (James Spader) and Denny Crane (William Shatner), a new home in "Boston Legal", adding another superhit to his repertoire. Like most of his previous series, "Boston Legal" mixes humor and drama, though here that mix is honed with very quirky moments and the wonderful interplay between the two eccentric lead characters.
The first season lays with the wonderful humor the foundation for the cult to which the series has now advanced in Germany. The verbal exchange between Alan and Denny on the one hand and towards the end of season 1 between the men and Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen), which is always spiced with sexual undertones of the boldest kind, provides amusing moments again and again, to which political statements and dramatic moments provide a pleasant counterbalance.
Season 1 can also boast several guest stars in addition to the wonderful stories. Besides "Golden Girl" Betty White, Freddie Prinze Jr, Carl Reiner, Kerry Washington ("Fantastic Four", "The Last King of Scotland") and Shelley Long ("Cheers") drop in on Crane, Poole and Schmidt, among others. In addition, there is a reunion with Chi McBride as Steven Harper, the principal from David E. Kelley's high school drama "Boston Public". While Season 2 boasts far more and bigger guests, even the familiar faces in the first season are quite respectable
The biggest advantage of the DVD box set is that viewers with a good command of English can finally enjoy the far superior original version. Not only the sayings themselves, but alone the ductus, in which William Shatner gives his "Denny Crane" of himself, works in English just so much better than in the German dubbing. So if you're looking for perfect television entertainment with lots of wit, excellent actors and brains, "Boston Legal" is for you!
Picture and Sound: For a TV series of this genre, picture and sound love on a decent level. The picture is clean and free of glitches, the punchy colours stand out positively and the contrasts are perfectly fine even in the darker scenes. Only in terms of sharpness are there a few points deducted here and there, with minimal double contours visible from time to time. The sound is richly unspectacular, film music and dialogues are however mixed to the fullest satisfaction.
Extras: Much has season 1 here not to offer. Besides some cut scenes from the pilot episode, there are still two short featurettes to watch, which not only have a strong promotional character, but also too often simply use clips from the individual episodes instead of really providing in-depth information. This is especially true for the second featurette, which deals with the characters Denny Crane and Alan Shore and their very special friendship. Somewhat more interesting, but unfortunately also far too superficial, is the short documentary "The Court Sits - The Making of Boston Legal". In 11 far too short minutes, the basic idea behind the series and its development is traced here by means of interviews and clips. Overall, truly not much that fans are offered here, but at least it's better than nothing!
Conclusion: Although there are far better TV DVD boxes, but even if the equipment of the first season of "Boston Legal" disappoints, the series offers such good entertainment in terms of content that this weak point can be safely overlooked. In addition, the DVD box has a very big advantage over the TV broadcast: the better original version can be viewed! Therefore applies: "Boston Legal" season 1 belongs in every well-stocked household!
Original Title: Boston Legal - Season 1
Directed by: Various
Number of Discs: 5
Languages: English, German (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles:German, English
Image Format:16:9 (1.78:1)
Extras: 2 featurettes, cut scenes from the pilot
FSK: Ages 16+
Length: approx. 810 min.
Regional Code: 2
Ein Artikel von Frankfurt-Tipp
