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《BL》结束了，一部我看得最多也最欣赏的美剧。最近也没有时间好好写个东西，转篇文章以表怀念。

《10 Reasons We'll Miss 'Boston Legal'》

As the series signs off, we run down its many merits  By Dave Lake    MSN TV

After five seasons and 101 episodes, one of television's most-beloved legal series will conclude. The partners and lawyers of Crane, Poole and Schmidt will leave the airwaves (and potentially their high-rise offices if the firm goes bankrupt in the finale), but not before leaving an indelible imprint on audiences thanks to its quirky characters, smart writing and memorable performances. Though the series never took home the Emmy for Best Drama (it was nominated twice), its actors have taken home several awards, including multiple victories for James Spader and William Shatner, who won Emmys not just for their work on "Boston Legal" but also on "The Practice," the show from which their characters were spun-off.David E. Kelley, a former Boston lawyer, created the series and is one of the few writer-producers in Hollywood to have had more successes than failures. His creations include "Doogie Howser, M.D.," "Chicago Hope," "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice," the serious legal drama that begat the decidedly wackier "Boston Legal." As that show's lawyers make their final closing arguments, we thought we'd do the same, cross-examining the multitude of reasons we'll miss the series. And yes, an appeal is pending.

The Denny-Alan Balcony Scenes
No series on television offered up more satisfying final minutes than the recurring balcony conversations between Alan Shore (Spader) and Denny Crane (Shatner) as they drank tumblers of scotch and puffed cigars. They're the part of the show you most look forward to, like guessing how "South Park" might kill Kenny or how each death would begin "Six Feet Under." Ruminating on life, love and their relationship, the sometimes profound, frequently foolish discussions between these colleagues/confidants were the great big beating heart of the series, and as likely to make you smile as cry.  Theirs was a bromance of epic proportions and their friendship will be remembered as one of the great prime-time partnerships. All we need now is one of those smartly edited YouTube tributes, an extended homoerotic mash-up of all their best moments, available for on-demand viewing whenever we get nostalgic for some of that Denny-Alan magic.

The Stellar Cast
Though James Spader, William Shatner and Rene Auberjonois are the only actors to have stayed on the show for its entire run, there's a string of equally great actors who have passed through the firm's halls for at least a season, namely Candice Bergen, who managed to land another plum role after a decade-long run on "Murphy Brown." Other notable cast members through its five seasons include John Larroquette, Rhona Mitra, Mark Valley, Julie Bowen and Betty White. One wonders whether it was this very detail that was partially responsible for the show's demise: It's expensive. Or at least its actors are.

The Guest Stars
Perhaps only "30 Rock" makes better use of their guest actors, but looking at a list of  guest stars on "Boston Legal" through the years reads like a who's who of TV greats: Michael J. Fox, Heather Locklear, Carl Reiner, Tom Selleck and on and on. Sometimes appearing as judges (Bernadette Peters), lawyers (Scott Bakula), clients (Valerie Bertinelli) and even murderous former flames (Megan Mullally), the show kept viewers guessing as it mixed and matched its guest-starring roles from the campy to the courageous.

The Self-Referential Wit
Part of what makes "Boston Legal" so fun and not just another dull legal drama is that the show is so self-referential. It is constantly winking at the audience, never afraid to break that proverbial fourth wall to let viewers know it's in on the joke. Sometimes the references are overt, such as when Alan remarks to Denny: "Hell, you'll probably outlive us all. We'll be dead and buried and you'll still be kicking, doing Priceline commercials," referencing the real-life series of spots Shatner has done for the company. Or more subtly, when Catherine Piper's (Betty White) cell phone ring was revealed to be the theme to "The Practice" (we only discovered this little nugget while watching the show with the captions turned on).

The Music
The show may not have been a showcase for hip young artists the way "The Hills" or "Gossip Girl" are, but its music supervision is varied and classy. The show doesn't overuse music, which means when it does insert the occasional piece of nonscored music, be it Etta James or Blink-182, it's quite effective. Which isn't to sound disparaging about its scored music either. Composed by Danny Lux, who, along with jazz singer Billy Valentine, performs most of the music for the series, the show's music is funky and a bit sophisticated. Kind of like its plotlines.

The Liberal Agenda of David E. Kelley
From political correctness to abortion to torture, "Boston Legal" has debated a smorgasbord of issues in and out of the courtroom during its five seasons, and the show has no doubt become a vehicle for its creator to explore topics both timely and titillating. Things got particularly heated this season with story lines about the presidential election, including a recent episode involving a woman who believed she was fired from her job for voting for McCain. But that's part of the fun of "Boston Legal": You can educate yourself listening to the impassioned closing arguments of the firm's many legal eagles.

The Singular Vision
Kudos to Kelley for not just wearing the creator and executive producer titles for vanity. His name appears as writer or co-writer of nearly every single episode of the series, and like Aaron Sorkin or David Milch, Kelley has a viewpoint you can hear from the mouths of the characters he created.

The Lovable Wackos
Through the years, the series has had a Harvard-educated lawyer with Asperger's syndrome, another with Alzheimer's (aka "mad cow") and a penchant for firearms, a cross-dressing secretary and an elderly two-time murderer as the office sandwich lady. And those are just the regulars. Yet somehow we aren't fazed by any of them. In the world of "Boston Legal," these folks fit right in. They may be wacky, but unlike the characters on shows of lesser quality, the inhabitants of this universe are not cartoonish or one-dimensional; they are fully realized, albeit often very silly, personalities. You may not know anybody like Jerry Espenson, who pops and putters and plants his hands firmly on his thighs when he walks, but you believe he could exist.

The Guns
There are plenty of guns on "Law & Order," another hour-long legal drama, but let's not forget that that show also features cops, unlike "Boston Legal," which has an equal amount of weekly gunplay. In fairness, most of that armament comes from one man, Denny Crane, who, on the recommendation of friend Tom DeLay, always has an assortment of pistols at his disposal. Whether fired for comic relief in the courtroom, in self-defense while being mugged or shooting paintball pellets at a homeless man, Denny is a modern-day cowboy, only he rides high on a mad cow, not a stallion.

The Cool Older Actors
John Larroquette is 61 years old. Candice Bergen is 62. And William Shatner is 77 (77!). Even young buck James Spader is just a few years shy of 50. Not since "The Golden Girls" (speaking of which, did we mention co-star Betty White is 86?) has a prime-time series had a principal cast with such a high median age (I could insert a joke here about Metamucil on the craft service table, but I'll resist). To boot, the show's primary sex symbol is Candace Bergen's Shirley Schmidt, whom nearly every lawyer in the firm is hot for -- and why not? She's a babe. Though the show may not attract the most members of the 18 to 49 demographic, that coveted group of TV watchers that advertisers pay the highest rates to reach, "Boston Legal" can at least claim it has the richest members of that demo -- boasting more six-figure earners than any other show in prime time.