The Practice

I don't watch medical thrillers. I don't watch courtroom dramas.

Until now.

Fine acting, dialogue, and interesting legal situations--not to mention a slight sense of humor, perfectly blended with intense conflict--has hooked me into watching The Practice. I can't get enough of it. I never would have thought I'd get into a series about law.

It doesn't matter how you feel about courtroom dramas. This show is good television. I find myself glued to the TV on a daily basis, brought to tears on occasion. There is a humanity that runs through The Practice.

Since I'm not a law show buff, I can't say whether this one is better or worse than others. I'm simply a layman who finds himself tuning into FX every morning at 9:00 a.m.

If you're not watching "The Practice",you're missing out! Don't sleep on it. One of the best series ever devised for television and it shows. This is one of the most riveting shows around today and for good reason. The actors are first rate,the writing is astounding,and the production is brilliant. What other show can topped it? None. Riveting courtroom drama at its very best. Not since "Perry Mason" has a show held its audience captive and keeps them in suspense until the last minute. This series ranks up there with David E. Kelley's "Boston Public",Dick Wolf's "Law and Order",and John Wells' medical drama "ER",and the paramedic drama "Third Watch". Kudos to all!!! Catch it Sundays on ABC-TV,and weeknights on FX.

"The Practice" is the best television series of all time, hands down! It has brilliant writing, excellent directing, fantastic filming, and most of all: the best acting ensemble ever in a television series. Let's start by reviewing the actors one by one:

First and foremost, Dylan McDermott is Bobby Donnell, a young, ambitious, complex lawyer and senior partner in the firm Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt. McDermott portrays this part with pure excellence, and nothing can contradict this.

Steve Harris portrays Eugene Young, the ruthless, yet sensitive lawyer in the firm. He puts his clients before his believes of right and wrong. He has an 11'year old son, Kendil and an ex-wife Sharon (Aunjanue Ellis). Harris is absolutely incredible in his role and is the best performance ever by an actor in a television series.

Lindsey Dole is portrayed by the beautiful Kelli Williams, who gives everything she can to insure that only the best comes from her acting skills. Lindsey is a fighter, an expert at constitutional law. She isn't easily distracted by anything other than the love of her life, Bobby.

Camryn Manheim is brilliant. And not only that, she also makes an excellent statement for bigger women. Her performance deserved an Emmy, without a doubt. Her character, Ellenor, is a sensitive, yet strong person who will help her clients no matter what.

Lisa Gay Hamilton portrays Rebecca Washington, and does it very good indeed. "Beck" is a simple person, who fails to begin a social life because she is too caught up with her work. Rebecca enjoys her work, but pests wacko judges. She is a valuble addition to Donnell, Young, Dole And Frutt, and is the kind of lawyer you would like to have on your side if the need arose.

D.A. Helen Gamble is played beautifully by the excellent actress Lara Flynn Boyle. She is a lawyer who believes in doing what's right. Because of this she despises greatly of defense attorneys and the people they sometimes have to defend. Boyle perfectly portrays the heartless, and somewhat hate-filled person Helen is.

Michael Baddalucco is fantastic as Jimmy Berluti, the sweet, father-like lawyer of the firm. Berluti has no special knowledge of the law system, but his strength lies in the fact that he can come through to juries as a normal, regular guy. Baddalucco won an well deserved Emmy in his respect for his portrayal.

And last but not least, Marla Sokoloff plays Lucy Hatcher. She is the secretary of the firm, and is a quirky, fun person who can't keep her opinion to herself. This has created the firm some problems in the past, and will quite possibly continue to do so in the forseeable future. Sokoloff, although not yet a Hollywood veteran, handles the part as if she's played it for a long time.

The Practices' creator, David E. Kelley has once again created a masterpiece, and shows that he will make a success of whatever he does. None of his former productions can live up to this series. "Ally McBeal" is totally overshadowed by this exquisite television triumph. Guest appearances are top class, especially John Larroquette's excellent portrayal of Joey Heric. You will never, ever, in your entire life find another show like this one.

Along with "X-Files" and "E.R.", this is one of the very few TV series that has consistently been able to keep my attention for more than a couple of episodes. The combination of good acting, nice storylines and intriguing court cases makes this series very interesting to watch.

Basically, "The Practice" is a drama about an unlikely group of lawyers that run a small law firm. Most remarkable is that these lawyers aren't all played by the usual super-handsome actors, but by people that might actually pass for lawyers in real life. This group of lawyers undergoes the usual array of romances, personal setbacks, and quarrels like in any drama serie. Nothing special, but certainly entertaining, and more importantly, almost always believable (as opposed to soap opera's where the most implausible things happen to the most implausible people all the time)

The real meat of the series, however, are the court cases, of which there are usually two to three in one episode. These are almost always creative, believable (nothing like the nonsensical cases in "Ally McBeal") and intriguing and often really make me think: "what would I do if I were the lawyer, judge, or juror?". Any series or movie that makes me actually think about ethical dilemma's (or anything else, for that matter) scores bonus points in my book. OK, so maybe the small law firm wins a little too many cases, and maybe they take the "moral high ground" a bit too often, but this doesn't really detract from the enjoyment.

"The Practice" combines enjoyable drama elements with some well thought-out and intriguing court cases into a formula that doesn't get old fast. Splendid !

The Practice is a magnificent triumph created by one the most ingenious masterminds of the nineties, David E. Kelley. The Practice features the most incredible cast that a law series could hope for. My first impression was: "There is no way that these people aren't real lawyers, I mean, it's just not possible!" Dylan McDermott is fantastic as Bobby Donnell, Steve Harris riveting as Eugene Young, The beautiful Kelli Williams is exquisite as Lindsey Dole, and the rest of the cast (leading and guest) doesn't fall far behind.

Overall, The Practice has not only created brilliant entertainment for every television-owning family in the world, it has also inspired me to become a criminal defense attorney.

If you're not watching the Practice yet, wake up!

Thank you, Mr. Kelley, you make Monday nights in South Africa a pleasure!