L.A. Law

The previous post was less than favorable to this incredible show ("great actors, flawed writing"), so I just had to weigh in. For a moment, forget that "L.A. Law" presented some of the most compelling and unusual legal cases as drama (some of them so unusual, in fact, showrunner David E. Kelley would revisit them in his own "Picket Fences," "The Practice," and even "Ally McBeal").

"L.A. Law" brought black comedy back to television and presented sexuality and sensuality that actually advanced its storylines. The latter were core character traits of Corbin Bernsen's Arnold Becker and Jill Eikenberry's and Michael Tucker's Ann Kelsey and Stuart Markowicz, respectively. You can argue the tastefulness of these scenes and others, but you couldn't make a case for their gratuity.

The writing, of course, enabled the other collaborators on this show to perform at the peaks of their abilities. The show explored some of the more difficult issues of its time through our legal adversarial process. Whether surgeons should be obligated to operate on AIDS patients, the right for the terminally ill to die, the lives of the mentally challenged, sexual dysfunctions, the pressures and responsibilities of the police -- these and other episodes paved the way for the shows we're watching today. "L.A. Law" stood on the shoulders of giants, yes, but it became a giant in its own right.

Arguably the show created by Stephen Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher suffered with the departure of David. E. Kelley in its fifth season. The guys who used to run "St. Elsewhere" had a brief stint as showrunners, and viewers began tuning out when the show became less about L.A. lawyers and more about various medical maladies.

That fifth season was especially dramatic, too, as several cast members also were leaving, which freed the writers from some of the constraints of series television -- namely, that characters could not change significantly from week to week.

To dismiss "L.A. Law" as a show about yuppie lawyers is to misjudge a deep, poignant, and important book by its slick, glossy cover. Check it out.

I have begun bingeing it on Prime Video after a couple of decades and found it both enjoyable and cringe-worthy - those 1980s clothes and hair! LOL The first five seasons had the best cast, but after Hamlin, Smits, and Greene (then Dey after season 6) left it began a downhill slide. The remaining characters weren't all that interesting and except for John Spencer as Tommy Mullaney the new additions were forgettable at best. The 7th season was terrible with the extended arc of Stuart getting harmed in the Rodney King riots and descending into buffoonery before he made something of a mild comeback. That was a terrible plot device and what has kept me from revisiting the rest of season 7 and season 8. At least we had 5 decent seasons to enjoy.

Very excited to start binging LA Law. I watched it when it aired originally back when I was around 9 and 10. I always stayed up late to watch these dramas back then because my dad would watch them and he didn't mind me staying up. I was also a big St. Elsewhere fan as well. My favorite part of this show is the conference room meetings. Often funny, well written and well acted. Reminds me of Hill Street Blues roll call segments. So far, I find myself still chuckling at the comedic scenes so I guess they hold up better than the hairstyles. I don't know if this was the heyday of television, but it is to me. The nostalgic feeling it gives me, mid to late 80s tv like this, just brings me back to a much simpler time. And I sure had a boyhood crush on Michelle Green, too.

L.A.Law was a standout drama from '86-'94. At the end, as many drama's have happen, it became somewhat stale and may cause many to forget the gripping storylines Bochco, Kelley etc. created. The acting was superlative from the mainstays Dysart, Rachins, Tucker, Eikenberry, Ruttan, Bernsen, Hamlin etc. As the show expanded Law brought forth additional characters played by Dey, Smits, Greene, Underwood, Donohoe, Spencer, Drake, Muldaur etc. These actors made their roles and characters as unforgettable as the originals made there's.

Probably the best thing that can be said about this show is that no one player was the focal point. No one character had to be the "lightning rod" for the show to be great. In an interview for the 100th show Richard Dysart, who played Leland McKenzie, the paternal "glue" of McKenzie, Brackman, Cheney, Kuzack, and Becker, told Jane Pauley that the actors weren't the genius of the show...the writers were. Awful high praise from an actor at a very candid moment.

Catch it in syndication on A&E each Monday thru Friday. You'll love it the second time around.

This was a seminal show -- probably the first "lawyer show" that wasn't really a detective program in disguise. L.A. Law introduced us to many of the particulars of a law firm: The staff meeting, administrative hearings, appellate court argument, as well as almost all aspects of criminal and CIVIL litigation. It was an amazing program that, when it focused on the intriguing cases that came to the firm, was arguably the best show on television in the late 80s and early 90s. If I recall correctly only Hill Street Blues, The West Wing, and L.A. Law won 4 Emmys for best drama (now maybe Mad Men?). There's a reason this show ranks in the upper echelon of television dramas.

To be fair to its critics, however, I can't remember ANY program that was this good that, almost abruptly, became so bad! Although I continued to watch it until the end, it was hit-and-miss at best, and sometimes just plain terrible after the fifth season.