This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2010) |
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.
L.A. Law | |
---|---|
File:LA Law.jpg | |
Created by | Steven Bochco Terry Louise Fisher |
Starring | (See entire cast list below) |
Theme music composer | Mike Post |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 8 |
No. of episodes | 171 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Steven Bochco (seasons 1–3, 6) David E. Kelley (seasons 4–5) Rick Wallace (seasons 5–7) Patricia Green (season 6) John Tinker (season 7) John Masius (season 7) William M. Finkelstein (seasons 7-8) |
Running time | 60 minutes (inc. commercials) |
Production companies | 20th Century Fox Television (1986–1992) 20th Television (1992–1994) |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Picture format | 35 mm film (4:3) |
Original release | September 15, 1986 May 19, 1994 | –
Related | |
Civil Wars |
Lua error in Module:Television_infoboxes_disambiguation_check at line 246: attempt to call local 'match' (a nil value).
L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994.[1]
Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher,[2] it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including an ensemble cast, large number of parallel storylines, social drama, and off-the-wall humor.[3] It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as capital punishment, abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence.[4][5][6] The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff.
In addition to its main cast, L.A. Law was also well known for featuring then relatively unknown actors and actresses in guest starring roles, who later went on to greater success in film and television including: Don Cheadle, Jeffrey Tambor, Kathy Bates, David Schwimmer, Jay O. Sanders, James Avery, Gates McFadden, Bryan Cranston, C.C.H. Pounder, Kevin Spacey, Richard Schiff, Carrie-Anne Moss, William H. Macy, Stephen Root, Christian Slater, and Lucy Liu. Several episodes of the show also included celebrities such as Vanna White, Buddy Hackett and Mamie Van Doren appearing as themselves in cameo roles.
The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.
Location[]
The series was set in and around the fictitious Los Angeles-based law firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, and featured attorneys at the firm and various members of the support staff. The exteriors for the law firm were shot at the Citigroup Center in downtown Los Angeles, which was known as the 444 Flower Building at the time.
Synopsis[]
The show often combined humor and drama in the same episode. For example, in the opening of the first episode of the series, only the back and hand of partner Chaney, gripping the pages of a tax manual while seated at a desk, are seen after he has dropped dead of a heart attack. One of Chaney's final acts was to hire a new secretary, who begins work on the morning Chaney's body is discovered. Later in that episode, in front of his partners, friends and his wife, the secretary at Chaney's eulogy reveals that she is transsexual, and details how she first met the gay Chaney at a gay bar. Chaney had been financially supporting her gender transition, and hired her as part of her real life test. She is then promptly fired from her job by Douglas Brackman, in an act of transphobia.
A running gag throughout the series was the overtly promiscuous lifestyle of divorce lawyer Arnie Becker, and his chronic and constant liaisons with women, up to and including bedding some of his own clients. This once caused problems when a client used him to set up her (estranged) husband to be murdered. Series producer Steven Bochco used a similar incident in Hill Street Blues when a woman bedded one of the police officers in the squad and tricked him into shooting her ex-husband when he (apparently) broke into her house.
A running gag during Harry Hamlin's tenure was to have his character, Michael Kuzak, always shown picking, scrutinizing, and eating pastries or fruit at the morning staff meetings. He was the only one who ate from the mountains of food provided.
To some extent, the sexual peccadilloes of almost the entire cast would become fodder for episodes of the series.
After Grace van Owen makes a comment that Michael Kuzak would have to be a monkey before she'd be interested in him, he woos her on the courthouse steps (where she is about to get married) in a gorilla suit. Douglas Brackman becomes involved with a sex therapist. Benny Stulwicz, an intellectually disabled clerk at the office, has sex with the intellectually disabled daughter of a client of the firm. Leland McKenzie and Rosalind Shays, antagonists, secretly become lovers.
The show tied itself into the events of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which were prompted by the acquittal of four white police officers who were put on trial for the videotaped beating of African American motorist Rodney King.[4] In a scene reminiscent of the Reginald Denny incident, tax attorney Stuart Markowitz is struck on the head by a rioter, and ends up having serious head injuries, causing a number of problems for him and his wife for several episodes as a result.[7] Douglas Brackman, their boss, is also arrested in the mayhem of the riots as he is on his way to get remarried.
In one scene later in the series, the writers enacted an inside joke: "The easiest way to get rid of a soap opera character is to just have them fall down an elevator shaft." In her final scene, the character of Rosalind Shays steps into the empty shaft (expecting an elevator car when the doors open) and falls to her death.
The show did not shy away from controversy, with a scene in the episode "He's a Crowd" where one of the female lawyers, Abby Perkins, has an on-screen romantic kiss with C.J. Lamb, another female lawyer who is openly bisexual.
The name Chaney remains in the name of the law firm, despite numerous changes in personnel and the death of Chaney in episode 1. When Michael Kuzak leaves, it is announced that new stationery will arrive without Kuzak's name on the letterhead. In a line heard off-screen and in the background, Arnold Becker states: "I think we should drop Chaney's name."
Series history[]
Template:Refimprove section
L.A. Law took over NBC's prized Thursday 10PM (9PM Central) time slot from another Bochco-produced show, Hill Street Blues, and was itself eventually replaced by another hit ensemble drama, ER. Bochco had been fired from Hill Street Blues in 1985. L.A. Law's original time period was Friday 10PM following Miami Vice, but after struggling there, NBC moved it to Thursdays as Hill Street Blues was winding down. The original two-hour pilot movie aired on Monday, September 15, 1986. The series was a critical favorite even before it had premiered. An encore of the movie aired in place of Saturday Night Live on September 27, 1986, being a rare scripted rerun in that late-night slot.
The opening credits sequence of every episode began with a close-up of a car trunk being slammed shut, displaying a California "LA LAW" license plate. The car was originally a Jaguar XJ6, but was replaced with a Bentley in the final season; its registration sticker was updated at the start of every new season. One episode's cold open scene depicts an angry circus performer withdrawing knives from a trunk and throwing them at divorce attorney Arnold Becker, who shouts to his secretary: "Roxanne, close the trunk! Close the trunk!" The credits immediately begin with their signature closing of the car trunk lid. Another one off trunk closing occurs when Becker pulls up next to a lady at a traffic light. While Becker is flirting with the lady, Becker's car is rear ended by a delivery truck. The trunk closing has a loud squeak, the trunk slamming closed with a bent "LA LAW" licence plate swinging by one screw, and the area around the licence plate dented and scratched. Two different musical openings for the show's theme were used: a saxophone riff (as performed by David Sanborn), for episodes that were lighter in tone; and an ominous synthesizer chord, for more serious storylines. There was also another downbeat synthesizer tone in Season 5 Ep. 18 (As God Is My Co-Defendant), the one where Kuzak brings four of his own security guards to try to enter his office after he was expelled from the firm. There was a sort of melancholy tone in Season 4, Ep. 9 (Noah's Bark), where Arnie and Roxanne are taking their stuff out in boxes after Arnie decided to leave the firm and join with another lawyer.
Co-creator Terry Louise Fisher was fired from the series in season 2 and filed a well-publicized lawsuit with Bochco and the studio. Bochco and Fisher had also co-created the 1987 John Ritter series Hooperman for ABC.
The scene in season 5 where Leland McKenzie (Richard Dysart) was shown in bed with his enemy Rosalind Shays (Diana Muldaur) was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television (the list originally appeared in an issue of EGG Magazine). The episode "Good To The Last Drop" in which Rosalind met her demise—falling into an open elevator shaft—was ranked #91 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[8] It was referenced in The Star Trek Encyclopedia (prior to L.A. Law, Muldaur had played Dr. Katherine Pulaski during season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation) in which Pulaski's biography says: "There is no truth to the rumor that an ancestor of Dr. Pulaski was killed falling down the elevator shaft at a prestigious Los Angeles law firm."
After co-writing the feature film, From the Hip, Boston attorney David E. Kelley was hired by Bochco during the first season of L.A. Law.[9] Kelley went on to critical and commercial success as show-runner of the series before leaving to create Picket Fences. While on L.A. Law, Kelley and Bochco co-created Doogie Howser, M.D. as the first Steven Bochco Productions series for a major, ten-series deal with ABC. Shortly thereafter, Bochco was offered the job as President of ABC Entertainment, but he turned it down.
At the height of the show's popularity in the late-1980s, attention was focused upon a fictitious sexual technique named the "Venus Butterfly" in season 1. The only clue describing the technique was a vague reference to "ordering room service". Fans and interested persons flooded the show's producers with letters asking for more details about this mysterious technique.[citation needed]
After the fifth season, Kelley left the show. Patricia Green and Rick Wallace were his replacements as executive producer. Green was the main creative force. Her character additions amid cast turnover were met with mixed reaction. She left the show in January 1992. Kelley and Bochco returned to write episodes and Bochco moved back to executive producer from consultant while Kelley stayed consultant. Bochco left the executive producer position after the sixth season and John Tinker and John Masius were brought in to run the seventh season. Kelley exited as consultant. Amid plummeting ratings during the seventh season, co-executive producers John Tinker & John Masius were fired midseason, and while the show went on hiatus, William M. Finkelstein was brought in to fix it. Tinker and Masius had brought a whimsical, soap-operatic tone to the series for which they had been known on St. Elsewhere. Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer Simpson) appeared in a Homer costume and hired the attorneys in the seventh-season premiere. That episode also reflected on the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Finkelstein reined in the series, returning to the serious legal cases that made the series famous.
In the eighth and final season, the characters of Eli Levinson (Alan Rosenberg) and Denise Iannello (Debi Mazar) were transplanted from the canceled Bochco legal series Civil Wars, which had run on ABC from 1991–1993. Eli Levinson was revealed to be Stuart Markowitz's cousin. During the final season, the series went on hiatus in January 1994 to launch the second season of Homicide: Life on the Street. When that series succeeded wildly with a guest appearance by Robin Williams, it was expected that L.A. Law would conclude that May and Homicide: Life on the Street would succeed it on Thursdays in the fall. However, ER tested so well that Warner Bros. executives campaigned network president Warren Littlefield to give that series the prized Thursday slot.
The series ended in 1994, although a one-off reunion show, L.A. Law: The Movie, aired in 2002, and featured most of the main cast from the series (except Smits, Underwood, Donohoe, and Spencer). Reruns were shown on Lifetime and later A&E during the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2017 there have been talks for a reboot of LA Law.
Reception[]
Template:Rquote
Because of its popularity, L.A. Law had great influence on how Americans viewed the law and lawyers. The New York Times described it as "television's most serious attempt to date to portray American law and the people who practice it ... L.A. Law, perhaps more than any other force, has come to shape public perceptions about lawyers and the legal system". Attorneys reported that the show had affected how they dressed and spoke to juries (and, possibly, how those juries decided cases), and clients came to expect that cases could be tried and decided within a week. The number of applicants to law school rose because of how it glamorized the profession (including, as one law school dean stated, "the infinite possibilities for sex"), professors used L.A. Law as a teaching aid to discuss with their students legal issues episodes raised, and law journal articles analyzed the meaning of its plotlines. The show reportedly taught future lawyers things law school did not, such as time management and how to negotiate,[10][11] and an attorney stated that the show accurately depicted life at a small law firm.[12]
One law professor wrote in the Yale Law Journal that L.A. Law "has conveyed more 'bytes' of information (truthful or not), more images about lawyers, than all the Legal Studies programs, all the op-ed pieces, all the PBS shows put together." The show was "a massive distortion of reality ... the lawyers of L.A. Law are caricatures", he stated, but "caricatures are always caricatures of something, and that has to be real".[13] Another wrote in the issue that the show "subtracts eighty to ninety-nine percent of lawyers' real work lives" and overemphasized the glamor of the rest. Unlike other works of legal fiction such as Perry Mason and Presumed Innocent, however, which are essentially mysteries that lawyers solve, L.A. Law's plots taught its tens of millions of viewers torts, ethics, and other basic legal ideas and dilemmas that comprise the first year of a legal education.[14]
Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings[]
Season | Time slot (ET) | Rank | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
1986–87 | Friday at 10:00 pm (October 3 – November 21, 1986) Thursday at 10:00 pm (December 4, 1986 – April 9, 1987) |
21 | 17.4 (Tied with My Sister Sam) |
1987–88 | Thursday at 10:00 pm | 12 | 18.3 (Tied with Moonlighting) |
1988–89 | 13 | 17.6 (Tied with Growing Pains) | |
1989–90 | 16 | 17.4 | |
1990–91 | 23 | 14.8 | |
1991–92 | 28 | 13.3 | |
1992–93 | N/A | ||
1993–94 |
DVD releases[]
Revelation Films has released all eight seasons of LA Law on DVD in the UK (Region 2). This is the first time the show has been released on DVD anywhere in the world.[15][16][17][18][19]
On April 18, 2016, Revelation Films released L.A. Law – The Complete Collection on DVD in the UK. The 46-disc box set features all 171 episodes of the series in special collectors packaging.[20]
In Region 1, Shout! Factory has released the first three seasons on DVD.[21][22][23]
DVD name | Ep# | Release dates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
Season One | 22 | February 25, 2014 | January 23, 2012 | N/A |
Season Two | 20 | May 20, 2014 | June 4, 2012 | N/A |
Season Three | 19 | September 23, 2014 | September 17, 2012 | N/A |
Season Four | 22 | N/A | February 11, 2013 | N/A |
Season Five | 22 | N/A | August 19, 2013 | N/A |
Season Six | 22 | N/A | November 25, 2013 | N/A |
Season Seven | 22 | N/A | March 21, 2016 | N/A |
Season Eight | 22 | N/A | March 21, 2016 | N/A |
Complete Series | 171 | N/A | April 18, 2016 | N/A |
Cast and characters[]
The show's original ensemble cast:
Character | Portrayed by | Occupation | Seasons | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Film | |||
Leland McKenzie | Richard Dysart | Senior Partner | colspan="9" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Douglas Brackman, Jr. | Alan Rachins | Managing Partner | colspan="9" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Arnie Becker | Corbin Bernsen | Partner | colspan="9" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Ann Kelsey | Jill Eikenberry | Partner | colspan="9" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Stuart Markowitz | Michael Tucker | Partner | colspan="9" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Roxanne Melman | Susan Ruttan | Secretary | colspan="7" Template:CMain | Template:CGuest | Template:CMain | ||||||
Michael Kuzak | Harry Hamlin | Partner | colspan="5" Template:CMain | Template:CMain | |||||||
Grace Van Owen | Susan Dey | Assistant District Attorney/Superior Court Judge/Partner | colspan="6" Template:CMain | Template:CMain | |||||||
Victor Sifuentes | Jimmy Smits | Associate | colspan="5" Template:CMain | Template:CGuest | |||||||
Abby Perkins | Michele Greene | Associate | colspan="5" Template:CMain | Template:CMain | |||||||
Jonathan Rollins | Blair Underwood | Associate | colspan = "7" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Benny Stulwicz | Larry Drake | Office Messenger | Template:CRecurring | colspan = "7" Template:CMain | |||||||
Gwen Taylor | Sheila Kelly | Secretary/Law Intern | colspan = "2" Template:CRecurring | colspan = "2" Template:CMain | |||||||
Tommy Mullaney | John Spencer | Associate/Assistant District Attorney | colspan = "4" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Zoey Clemmons | Cecil Hoffman | Assistant District Attorney | colspan = "3" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Cara Jean "C.J." Lamb | Amanda Donohoe | Associate | colspan = "2" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Frank Kittredge | Michael Cumpsty | Associate | colspan = "1" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Susan Bloom | Conchata Ferrell | Partner | colspan = "1" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Daniel Morales | A Martinez | Partner | colspan = "2" Template:CMain | ||||||||
Melina Paros | Lisa Zane | Associate | Template:CMain | ||||||||
Eli Levinson | Alan Rosenberg | Partner | Template:CMain | Template:CGuest | |||||||
Denise Iannello | Debi Mazar | Secretary | Template:CMain | ||||||||
Jane Halliday | Alexandra Powers | Associate | Template:CMain |
- Harry Hamlin as Michael Kuzak (1986–91; seasons 1–5 plus Reunion film)
- Susan Dey as Grace van Owen (1986–92; seasons 1–6 not including the pilot, plus Reunion film)[24]
- Corbin Bernsen as Arnie Becker (1986–94; seasons 1–8 plus Reunion film)[25]
- Jill Eikenberry as Ann Kelsey (1986–94; seasons 1–8 plus Reunion film)
- Alan Rachins as Douglas Brackman, Jr. (1986–94; seasons 1–8 plus Reunion film)
- Michele Greene as Abby Perkins (1986–91; seasons 1–5 plus Reunion film)
- Jimmy Smits as Victor Sifuentes (1986–91, 1992; seasons 1–5, guest appearances season 6)
- Michael Tucker as Stuart Markowitz (1986–94; seasons 1–8 plus Reunion film)
- Susan Ruttan as Roxanne Melman (1986–93; seasons 1–7; special guest appearance season 8 plus Reunion film)
- Richard Dysart as Leland McKenzie (1986–94; seasons 1–8 plus Reunion film)
- Blair Underwood as Jonathan Rollins (1987–94; seasons 2–8)
- Larry Drake as Benny Stulwicz (1987–94; recurring season 2, regular seasons 3–8 plus Reunion film)[26]
- Sheila Kelley as Gwen Taylor (1990–93; recurring seasons 4–5, regular seasons 6–7)
- Amanda Donohoe as Cara Jean "C.J." Lamb (1990–92; seasons 5–6)
- John Spencer as Tommy Mullaney (1990–94; seasons 5–8)
- Cecil Hoffman as Zoey Clemmons (1991–92; seasons 5–7)
- Michael Cumpsty as Frank Kittredge (1991–92; season 6)
- Conchata Ferrell as Susan Bloom (1991–92; season 6)[27]
- A Martinez as Daniel Morales (1992–94; seasons 7–8)
- Lisa Zane as Melina Paros (1992–93; season 7)
- Alan Rosenberg as Eli Levinson (1993–94; season 8 plus Reunion film (uncredited))
- Debi Mazar as Denise Iannello (1993–94; season 8)
- Alexandra Powers as Jane Halliday (1993–94; season 8)
Over the run of the show, guest cast members included:
- Patricia Huston as Hilda Brunschwager, Brackman's secretary (1986–88; seasons 1–2; recurring)
- Bernie Hern as Judge Sidney Schroeder (1986-87; seasons 1-2; 1991; season 5; recurring)
- John Hancock as Judge Richard Armand (1986–87; season 1; 1989–1991; seasons 4–6; recurring)
- Anne Haney as Judge Marilyn Travelini (1986–94; seasons 1–8; recurring)
- Cynthia Harris as Iris Hubband, McKenzie's secretary and law intern (1986–87; season 1; recurring)
- George Coe as Judge Wallace R. Vance (1986–91; seasons 1–6; recurring)
- Jerry Hardin as D.A. Malcolm Gold (1986–92; seasons 1–6; recurring)
- Carmen Argenziano as Neil Robertson, a lawyer (1986–92; seasons 1–6; recurring)
- Michael Fairman as Judge Douglas McGrath (1986–94; seasons 1–8; recurring)
- Bruce Kirby as D.A. Bruce Rogoff (1986–91; seasons 1&5; recurring)
- Michael Holden as D.A. George Handeman (1987; 1992; seasons 1 & 6; recurring)
- Joanna Frank as Sheila Brackman, Douglas Brackman's wife (1987–88; seasons 1–3; 1992–94; seasons 6–8; recurring)
- Annie Abbott as Judge Janice L. Neiman (1987–94; seasons 2–8; recurring)
- Diane Delano as Rhonda Vasek (1987; season 2; recurring)
- Ellen Blake as Elizabeth Brand, Kuzak's secretary (1987–90; seasons 2–4; recurring)
- Jeff Silverman as Erroll Farrell (1987–88; season 2; recurring)
- Daniel Benzali as Judge Donald Phillips (1988; 1991-1993; season 2; seasons 5-7; recurring)
- Paul Regina as Felix Echeverria, a lawyer (1988–92; seasons 2–6; recurring)
- Don Sparks as Russell Spitzer, a lawyer (1988–93; seasons 2–7; recurring)
- Earl Boen as Judge Walter L. Swanson (1988–93; seasons 2-8; recurring)
- Leonard Stone as Judge Paul Hansen (1988; 1991–94; season 2; seasons 5–8; recurring)
- James Avery as Judge Michael Conover (1988–92; seasons 2–6 recurring)
- Raye Birk as Judge Steven Lang (1988–93; seasons 2–7; recurring)
- Dann Florek as Dave Meyer, a direct-mail businessman and Roxanne's husband (1988–93; seasons 2–8; recurring plus Reunion film)
- Nancy Vawter as Dorothy Wyler, an associate (1988–89; season 3; recurring)
- Gerald Anthony as Ross Burnett (1988–89; season 3; recurring)
- Joyce Hyser as Allison Gottlieb, a filmmaker and Sifuentes' girlfriend (1989–90; seasons 3–4; recurring)
- Stan Kamber as Judge Harlan Shubow (1989–91; seasons 3-6; recurring)
- Renée Jones as Diana Moses, a law intern and Rollins' girlfriend (1989–90; seasons 3–5; recurring)
- Bruce Fairbairn as Sheldon Ganz, a lawyer (1989–92; seasons 3-7; recurring)
- Amanda Plummer as Alice Hackett, Benny Stulwicz' girlfriend (1989–90; seasons 3–4; recurring)
- Wayne Tippit as Leo Hackett, Alice's father (1989–90; seasons 3–4; recurring)
- Keith Mills as Judge Walter Green (1989–93; seasons 3–8; recurring)
- Jennifer Hetrick as Corrinne Hammond, Becker's wife (1989–91; seasons 4–5; recurring)
- Carl Lumbly as Earl Williams, a murder trial suspect and Kuzak's client (1989–90; season 4; recurring)
- Lorinne Vozoff as Judge Roberta Harbin (1989–92; seasons 4 & 6; recurring)
- Vonetta McGee as Jackie Williams, Earl's wife (1989–90; season 4; recurring)
- Veronica Cartwright as Margaret Flanagan, the assistant district attorney who prosecutes Earl Williams (1989–92; seasons 4 & 6; recurring)
- Diana Muldaur as Rosalind Shays, a ruthless, greedy and manipulative associate and the series main antagonist (1989–91; seasons 4–5; recurring)
- Lillian Lehman as Judge Mary Harcourt (1989–94; seasons 4-8; recurring)
- Courtney Thorne-Smith as Kimberly Dugan, a cheerleader who Kuzak dates (1990; season 4; recurring)
- Lawrence Dobkin as Judge Saul Edelstein (1990–94; seasons 4–8; recurring)
- Jordan Baker as D.A. Marcia Fusco (1990; seasons 4–5; recurring)
- Concetta Tomei as Susan Hauber, a lawyer (1990–93; seasons 4–8; recurring)
- Vincent Gardenia as Murray Melman, Roxanne's estranged father (1990; seasons 4–5; recurring)
- Stanley Grover as Judge Richard Lobel (1990–94; seasons 4-8; recurring)
- Denis Arndt as Jack Sollers, a lawyer (1990–91; season 5; recurring)
- Tom Verica as Bill Castroverde, an associate (1991; seasons 5–6; recurring)
- Brad Sherwood as Ned Barron (1991–92; season 6; recurring)
- Lauren Lane as Julie Rayburn (1991–92; season 6; recurring)
- Lynne Thigpen as D.A. Ruby Thomas (1991–92; seasons 6–7 recurring)
- Anthony DeSando as Alex DePalma, an associate (1992; season 6; recurring)
- Alison Tucker as Sarah Alder, Stuart Markowitz's illegitimate daughter (1992; season 6; recurring)
- David Schwimmer as Dana Romney, a troublesome city attorney and minor antagonist (1992–93; season 7; recurring)
- Shelley Berman as Ben Flicker, a film studio mogul whom Becker does business with (1992–93; season 7; recurring)
- Anne Twomey as Linda Salerno, Gwen's homicidal stalker (1993; season 7; recurring)
- Joe Grifasi as Dominic Nuzzi, a gambler friend of Benny's (1993–94; seasons 7–8; recurring)
- Kathleen Wilhoite as Rosalie Hendrickson Stulwicz, a woman whom Benny dates and later marries (1993–94; seasons 7–8; recurring)
- Steven Eckholdt as Patrick Flanagan, a charismatic, but unethical and manipulative associate and a minor antagonist for the final episodes (1994; season 8; recurring)
Accolades[]
The show won numerous awards, including 15 Emmy Awards. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991.[28][29][30] It was also nominated for the award in 1988 and 1992. Some of the actors, such as Larry Drake and Jimmy Smits, also received Emmys for their performances. The series shares the Emmy Award record for most acting nominations by regular cast members (excluding the guest performer category) for a single series in one year with Hill Street Blues and The West Wing.
For the 1988–1989 season, nine cast members were nominated for Emmys. Larry Drake, Jimmy Smits, and Richard Dysart were the only one to win (for Supporting Actor). The others nominated were: Michael Tucker (for Lead Actor); Jill Eikenberry and Susan Dey (both for Lead Actress); and Amanda Donohoe, Susan Ruttan, Michele Greene, and Conchata Ferrell (all for Supporting Actress).
L.A. Law won a Latino Image Award.[31]
It was listed as #42 on Entertainment Weekly's list of The New Classics in the July 4, 2008 issue.[32]
Primetime Emmy Awards[]
Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Episode(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Outstanding Drama Series | Won | ||
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Gregory Hoblit | "Pilot" | Won | |
Donald Petrie | "The Venus Butterfly" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Steven Bochco & Terry Louise Fisher | "The Venus Butterfly" | Won | |
William M. Finkelstein | "Sidney, the Dead-Nosed Reindeer" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Corbin Bernsen | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Dey | Nominated | ||
Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Jimmy Smits | Nominated | ||
Michael Tucker | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Ruttan | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series | Alfre Woodard | "Pilot" | Won | |
Jeanne Cooper | "The Venus Butterfly" | Nominated | ||
1988 | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Gregory Hoblit | "The Wizard of Odds" | Nominated | |
Kim Friedman | "Hand Roll Express" | Nominated | ||
Win Phelps | "Full Marital Jacket" | Nominated | ||
Sam Weisman | "Beauty and Obese" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Terry Louise Fisher & David E. Kelley | "Beauty and Obese" | Nominated | |
Terry Louise Fisher, David E. Kelley & Steven Bochco | "Full Marital Jacket" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Corbin Bernsen | Nominated | ||
Michael Tucker | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Dey | Nominated | ||
Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Larry Drake | "Full Marital Jacket" | Won | |
Jimmy Smits | Nominated | |||
Alan Rachins | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Ruttan | "Leaping Lizards" | Nominated | |
1989 | Outstanding Drama Series | Won | ||
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Eric Laneuville | "I'm In The Nude For Love" | Nominated | |
John Pasquin | "To Live And Diet In L.A." | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley, William M. Finkelstein & Michele Gallery | "His Suit Is Hirsute" | Nominated | |
David E. Kelley | "I'm In The Nude For Love" | Nominated | ||
David E. Kelley, William M. Finkelstein, Michele Gallery & Judith Parker | "Urine Trouble Now" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Michael Tucker | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Dey | Nominated | ||
Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Larry Drake | "America the Beautiful" | Won | |
Jimmy Smits | Nominated | |||
Richard Dysart | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Ruttan | "Romancing The Drone" | Nominated | |
Amanda Plummer | "Urine Trouble Now" | Nominated | ||
Michele Greene | "America The Beautiful" | Nominated | ||
1990 | Outstanding Drama Series | Won | ||
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Win Phelps | "Noah's Bark" | Nominated | |
Rick Wallace | "The Last Gasp" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | David E. Kelley | "Blood, Sweat & Fears" | Won | |
David E. Kelley & William M. Finkelstein | "Bang... Zoom... Zap" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Jimmy Smits | "Blood, Sweat and Fears" | Won | |
Larry Drake | Nominated | |||
Richard Dysart | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Susan Ruttan | "The Good Human Bar" | Nominated | |
Diana Muldaur | "Whatever Happened to Hannah?" | Nominated | ||
1991 | Outstanding Drama Series | Won | ||
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Tom Moore | "God Rest Ye Murray Gentleman" | Nominated | |
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | David E. Kelley | "On The Toad Again" | Won | |
Judith Feldman & Sarah Woodside Gallagher | "Lie Harder" | Nominated | ||
David E. Kelley, Patricia Green & Alan Brennert | "Mutinies On The Banzai" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Jimmy Smits | "God Rest Ye Murray Gentleman" | Nominated | |
Richard Dysart | "The Beverly Hills Hangers" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Diana Muldaur | "He's a Crowd" | Nominated | |
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | John Glover | "God Rest Ye Murray Gentleman" | Nominated | |
1992 | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Rick Wallace | "Say Goodnight Gracie" | Nominated | |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Richard Dysart | "Monkey on My Back Lot" | Won | |
Jimmy Smits | "Say Goodnight Gracie" | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Conchata Ferrell | "P.S. Your Shrink Is Dead" | Nominated | |
1994 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Jill Eikenberry | "Safe Sex" | Nominated |
Golden Globe Awards[]
Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Best Television Series – Drama | Won | |
1988 | Best Television Series – Drama | Won | |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama | Harry Hamlin | Nominated | |
Michael Tucker | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Susan Dey | Won | |
Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Alan Rachins | Nominated | |
1989 | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama | Harry Hamlin | Nominated | |
Corbin Bernsen | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Susan Dey | Nominated | |
Jill Eikenberry | Won | ||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Larry Drake | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Susan Ruttan | Nominated | |
1990 | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama | Harry Hamlin | Nominated | |
Corbin Bernsen | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Susan Dey | Nominated | |
Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Larry Drake | Nominated | |
Michael Tucker | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Susan Ruttan | Nominated | |
1991 | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Susan Dey | Nominated | |
Jill Eikenberry | Nominated | ||
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Jimmy Smits | Nominated | |
Blair Underwood | Nominated | ||
1992 | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Susan Dey | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Larry Drake | Nominated | |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Amanda Donohoe | Won |
References[]
- ↑ Weinstein, Steve (1990-08-12). "Saying So Long to Billable Hours : Television: 'L.A. Law's' finale will complete filming today, but the characters' stories won't be tied up in a neat package". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Carter, Bill (1992-01-30). "'L.A. Law,' to Halt Slide, Reaches Back to Bochco". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ↑ "Steven Bochco on the Case : 'L.A. Law' Co-Creator Returns to Fine-Tune Troubled Series". The Los Angeles Times. 1992-04-02. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Weinstein, Steve (1991-03-21). "L.A. Law Eyes Fear of Police : Television: An upcoming episode on the public's loss of trust includes camouflaged references to the beating of Rodney G. King". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Howard (1986-09-15). "Nbc's New 'L.A. Law': The Verdict Is Great". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Howard (1993-10-18). "TV Turns the Other Cheek Again : Television is a victim of the You Can't Win Syndrome. Once, its violence was criticized as unrealistic; now, 'L.A. Law's' Christian character is under fire". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ O'Connor, John J. (1993-04-11). "TELEVISION VIEW; Order in the Court: 'L.A. Law' Is Shaping Up". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ↑ "Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28 – July 4). 1997.
- ↑ Haithman, Diane (1989-09-14). "Bochco on His Own : . . . And at 'L.A. Law,' a New Production Team Takes Over". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Margolick, David (1990-05-06). "Ignorance of 'L.A. Law' Is No Excuse for Lawyers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
- ↑ Oliver, Myrna (1987-08-31). "JUDGING THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF 'L.A. LAW' : Acting Attorney Faces the Real Bar Association". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Goldfarb, Ronald (June 2004). "Lawyers on Television". Washington Lawyer. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
- ↑ Friedman, Lawrence M. (1989). "Law, Lawyers, and Popular Culture". The Yale Law Journal. 98 (8): 1579–1606. doi:10.2307/796606. JSTOR 796606.
- ↑ Gillers, Stephen (1989). "Taking L. A. Law More Seriously". The Yale Law Journal. 98 (8): 1607–1623. doi:10.2307/796607. JSTOR 796607.
- ↑ "LA Law – Season 2 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Harry Hamlin, Corbin Bernsen, Jill Eikenberry, Alan Rachins, Michele Greene, Jimmy Smits, Michael Tucker, Susan Rattan, Richard Dysart, Susan Dey: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "LA Law – Season 3 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Harry Hamlin, Corbin Bernsen, Susan Dey, Jimmy Smits, Jill Eikenberry, Alan Rachins, Blair Underwood, Larry Drake, Susan Ruttan, Michael Tucker: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "Buy DVD Online | Rakuten.co.uk Shopping DVD". Play.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "LA Law – Season 5 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Harry Hamlin, Jill Eikenberry, Michele Greene, Alan Rachins, Jimmy Smits, Michael Tucker, Richard Dysart, Corbin Bernsen, Susan Dey, Susan Ruttan, Blair Underwood, Larry Drake, Amanda Donohoe, John Specer, Cecil Hoffman, Sheila Kelley: DVD & Blu-ray". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "Buy DVD Online | Rakuten.co.uk Shopping DVD". Play.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ LA Law – The Complete Collection
- ↑ "L.A. Law DVD news: Announcement for L.A. Law – Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "L.A. Law DVD news: Box Art for L.A. Law – Season 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "L.A. Law DVD news: Announcement for L.A. Law – Season 3". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ Turk, Rose-Marie (1988-08-19). "Strong, Feminine Case for 'Law' Blouse". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Weinstein, Steve (1993-10-07). "Fundamentalist Change to 'L.A. Law' : Television: A producer says the Christian lawyer joining the show, returning tonight, will be complex. Religious leaders are skeptical". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Haithman, Diane (1988-11-03). "'L.A. Law's' Larry Drake Goes Mainstream". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ McDougal, Dennis (1991-12-05). "Jury's Out on Susan Bloom : Does New Lawyer on 'L.A. Law' Come Too Close to the Truth?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Margulies, Lee (1987-09-21). "L.A. Law' Wins Emmy as Best Drama Series". LA Times. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ↑ "'L.A. Law' and 'Golden Girls' Win Series Emmys". New York Times. 1987-09-21. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ↑ "'L.A. Law' Series Gains 20 Emmy Nominations". New York Times. 1987-07-31. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ↑ "'L.A. Law' Again Receives Latino Image Award". The Los Angeles Times. 1991-06-22. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ "The New Classics: TV". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
Template:Http://www.tvguide.com/news/la-law-reboot-details/
Template:Http://deadline.com/2017/01/la-law-reboot-next-season-steve-bochco-1201883673/
External links[]
Lua error: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').
- L.A. Law on IMDb
- L.A. Law at TV.com
- L.A. Law at TV Tropes
- Interview with Steven Bochco from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Currently this video may not be available in some countries outside the U.S.
Template:Must See TV Thursday
Template:Steven Bochco