Close to Home (CBS, 9/2005-present)
Cast: Jennifer Finnegan, John Carroll Lynch, Kimberley Elise,
Christian Kane
Summary: An aggressive prosecutor (Finnigan) with a perfect
conviction rate understands that suburbia's quiet and peaceful streets
sometimes hide the darkest horrors and the most troubling offenses. It's
up to this working and somewhat hormonal new mother to investigate those
offenses and bring the malefactors to justice. Fortunately, she can
balance her demanding boss (Elise) with her perfect husband (Kane).
Clueless (ABC,
9/96-2/97; UPN, 9/97-5/99)
Cast: Rachel Blanchard, Stacey Dash, Elisa Donovan, Sean Holland,
Doug Sheehan
Summary: The life and trials of the very cool are chronicled
as teenager Cher Horowitz (Blanchard) advises her friends in a wealthy
Beverly Hills neighborhood. She lives with her lawyer father Mel
(Sheehan) who does his best, as far as she is concerned, to complicate
her life. Based on the movie of the same title, which was based on
Jane Austen's novel Emma.
The Colbys (ABC, 11/85-3/87)
Cast: Charlton Heston, Stephanie Beecham, Katherine Ross,
Barbara Stanwyck, John James, Emma Sams, Tracy Scoggins, Maxwell Caulfield,
Claire Yarlett, Vince Bagetta
Summary: This spin-off from Dynasty offered the
usual Machiavellian familial scheming. Patriarch Jason Colby (Heston)
headed a multinational conglomerate, lived in Beverly Hills and was married
to the scheming Sable (Beacham) whose sister Francesca (Ross) was the rival
for her husband's affections. Her daughter, entertainment lawyer
Monica (Scoggins), was involved with a married man and son Miles (Caulfield)
was accused of murder by the D.A. (Bagetta), while she and Jason were embroiled
in a messy divorce at the first season's end. At the beginning of
the second season, Jason's plan to marry Francesca unraveled when her long-lost
husband (Jason's brother) showed up, Monica was having an affair with a
married Senator, and Jason's daughter-in-law was taken aloft by an alien
spaceship.
The Commish (ABC, 9/91-5/95)
Cast: Michael Chiklis, Theresa Saldana, Kaj-Erik Eriksen
Summary: Tony "Commish" Scali (Chiklis) is chief
of the suburban N.Y. Eastbridge Police Department and hard on criminals
but a softie at heart. He is married to Rachel (Saldana), has a son
David (Eriksen), and a law degree from Fordham University. He's been a
beat cop for ten years and dreams of becoming NYC's police commissioner.
The character was based loosely on Tony Schembri, police chief of Rye,
New York.
Common Law (ABC, 9/96-10/96)
Cast: Greg Giraldo, Megyn Price, Gregory Sierra, Diana
Marie Riva
Summary: John Alvarez (Giraldo) is an offbeat Harvard
grad who has worked his way from poverty to being the only Hispanic
associate at a swank Manhattan law firm. His live-in girlfriend (Price)
is gorgeous, wealthy and, unfortunately, an associate at the same firm.
Not only does the firm disapprove of intra-firm dating, his father (Sierra)
disapproves of both her ethnicity and the fact that they are "living in
sin." The lead actor is an actual Harvard law grad and the show was
based partly on his own stint at a large New York law firm.
Conviction (NBC, 3/06-present)
Cast: Jordan Bridges, Eric Balfour, Milena Govich, Stephanie March,
Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholson, J. August Richards
Summary: They're young, in over their heads, and wouldn't have it any other way.
Five young assistant district attorneys, eager for trial experience, work in a
busy office led by Bureau Chief Alexandra Cabot (March) and Deputy District
Attorney James Steele (Mount). They are Nick Potter (Bridges), who
left a white shoe firm, Jessica Rossi (Govich) who could have been either a
lawyer or a career criminal as some of her family members are, Christina Finn
(Nicholson) who is still optimistic in spite of her two years on the job,
tough guy Brian Peluso (Balfour), and the never-defeated Billy Desmond, with 15
convictions under his belt in three years. But the show goes beyond the action and
ethics of the office and details the characters' personal lives, romantic
entanglements, family backgrounds, eccentricities and even their addictions.
Cosby (CBS, 9/96-4/00)
Cast: Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Doug E. Doug, T'Keyah
'Crystal' Keymáh, Madeline Kahn
Summary: Hilton (Cosby) and Ruth (Rashad) Lucas' lives
are dramatically altered when he is laid off from the airline industry.
It was nearly time for him to retire but no plans had been made and not
only is their income down, but Hilton's time on his own is way up.
Ruth works at a flower shop with her best friend (Kahn). Their daughter
Erica (Keymah) graduated from law school, was a successful lawyer, then
decided to go to cooking school, practicing law only intermittently as
the family needed her advice. She returns home thanks to her reduced income,
as does her longtime roommate Griffin (Doug) who rents the Lucas' attic
since he bought the house next door but plans to rent it to a pre-school.
Erica changes careers once again, getting her teaching certificate and
finally settling down with a flight attendant.
The Cosby Show (NBC, 9/84-9/92)
Cast: Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet, Sabrina
LeBeauf, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempest Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam,
Geoffrey Owens
Summary: Cliff (Cosby)and Claire (Rashad) Huxtable are
a happily married, upper middle class black family living in Brooklyn.
Cliff is an ob/gyn who sees patients at his home and pratices at two hospitals.
His wife is a lawyer with the firm Greentree, Bradley and Dextet.
Their oldest daughter Sondra (LeBeauf) attended Princeton and was in law
school when she met and married med student Elvin Tibideaux (Owens).
After the birth of twins and a series of business mishaps, Elvin finally
finishes his degree, Sondra returns to law school, and all four return
to live with her parents while they search for a new home. The remaining
children make their way through school, love affairs, and careers.
The Court (ABC, 3/26/02-4/9/02)
Cast: Sally Field, Craig Bierko, Diahann Carroll, Miguel
Sandoval, Pat Hingle, Chris Sarandon
Summary: Former Ohio Gov. Kate Nolan (Field), married
to a world-famous adventurer, is the newest appointment to the U.S. Supreme
Court. She hasn't practiced law in 11 years but now she's the pragmatic
swing vote on a court equally divided between liberal and conservative
judges. In contrast to the action on the bench, Harlan Brandt (Bierko)
is a former lawyer and ex-student of Nolan's, but now an investigative
journalist who specializes in legal reporting and works for a local news
program. His focus now is to put a face on the clients behind the
Court's cases and explain the theory or controversy behind the justices'
actions. His character was basically the only difference between
this series - moderate Roman Catholic newly appointed to an ideologically
split Supreme Court - and First Monday,
another midseason replacement which ran briefly at the same time.
Court Martial (ABC, 4/66-9/66)
Cast: Bradford Dillman, Peter Graves, Kenneth Warren,
Diane Clare, Angela Browne
Summary: During World War II this crack team from the
Judge Advocate General's office investigates crime all over Europe and
then proceeds to the court-martial itself. It won the 1966 BAFTA
award for best dramatic series.
Courthouse (CBS, 9/95-11/95)
Cast: Patricia Wettig, Annabeth Gish, Robin Givens, Bob
Gunton, Brad Johnson, Michael Lerner, Jennifer Lewis
Summary: The legal and sex lives of the judges of Clark
County are the focus of this melodramatic series, described as at least
the worst show of the season, if not one of the worst of all time.
"See what happens when the judges take off their robes" says promotional
material from the network. The pilot opened with the murder of a
judge during a murderer's sentencing and went directly to a quickie between
the prosecution investigator (Givens) and her assistant D.A. boyfriend.
The judges are ridiculous: Judge Myron Winkelman (Lerner), whose
main concern is the parking space of the dead judge; Judge Rosetta Reide
(Lewis) of the family court, is a closeted lesbian living with a younger
woman; and Montana hunk Wyatt Earp Jackson (Johnson) is the new judge who
comes to his first day at court with his dog named Thurgood. This madhouse
of fun is run, more or less, by Presiding Judge Justine Parkes (Wettig),
who attempts to be the heavy but winds up falling in lust with Jackson.
Courting Alex (CBS, 1/23/06-present)
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner
Dabney Coleman, Hugh Bonneville, Josh Randall, Jillian Bach and Josh Stamberg
Summary: Alex (Elfman) works alongside her father, Bill (Coleman),
at his law firm, and while he is very proud of her, it pains him that his
daughter is not married yet. If Bill had his way, Alex would settle down
with her colleague, Stephen (Stamberg), a star lawyer at their firm who
is obviously smitten with Alex. Julian (Bonneville), Alex's charming British
neighbor, who makes his living as an artist, and Molly (Bach), her loyal
and brutally honest assistant, are the two people she chooses to lean on
for advice. But no amount of advice could prepare her for the unexpected
feelings she's having for Scott (Randall), an impulsive, renaissance man
she recently met while trying to negotiate a deal involving his tavern.
If Alex can put down her cell phone for long enough, her successes in love
just might catch up to an already successful career. (from the official
website at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/courting_alex/about.shtml)
Crazy Like a Fox (CBS, 12/84-9/86)
Cast: Jack Warden, John Rubenstein, Penny Peyser, Robby
Kiger
Summary: Private investigator Harry Fox, Sr. (Warden)
solves crimes in San Francisco with the not-so-willing assistance of his
straight-arrow lawyer son Harrison Fox, Jr. (Rubenstein). There was
a made-for-tv movie featuring the sleuthing duo in 1987. "Harrison,
I need your help.-- Dad, you keep forgetting, I'm a lawyer, you're the
detective. -- Oh, come on son, All I need is a ride. What could possibly
happen?"
Criminal Minds (CBS, 9/05-present)
Cast: Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson, Lola Glaudini, Shemar Moore,
Matthew Gray Gubler, AJ Cook, Kirsten Vangsness
Summary: Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the
country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before
they strike again. Special Agent Jason Gideon (Patinkin) is the FBI's
top behavioral analyst and he joins the Behavioral Analysis Unit led by Special
Agent Aaron Hotchner (Gibson), a lawyer who is able to gain
people's trust and unlock their secrets. Also on the team are Elle Greenaway
(Glaudini), an agent with a background in sexual offenses; Special Agent
Derek Morgan (Moore), an expert on obsessional crimes; Special Agent
Dr. Spencer Reid (Gubler), a classically misunderstood genius
whose social IQ is as low as his intellectual IQ is high; and Jennifer "JJ"
Jareau, (Cook), a confident young agent who acts as the unit liaison for
the team. Their top-notch computer geek Garcia (Vangsness)
pulls together vital background information for them. Each member brings his or her own area of expertise to the table as
they pinpoint predators' motivations and identify their emotional triggers
in the attempt to stop them. (from the official site at
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/about.shtml#)
Crisis Center (NBC, 3/97-4/97)
Cast: Tina Lifford, Dana Ashbrook, Clifton Gonzales, Kellie
Martin, Nia Peeples, Matt Roth
Summary: The series was set in the San Francisco Assistance
Center, a counseling clinic which assists a wide range of the mentally
ill and the emotionally unstable. The staff consisted of a psychology
student intern (Martin), psychiatrist Rick Buckley (Roth), social worker
Lily Gannon (Peeples), lawyer Tess Robinson (Lifford), youth counselor
Nando Taylor (Gonzalez), and beat cop Gary McDermott (Ashbrook). The pilot
included a hostage situation, a suicide and a woman giving birth in their
office. Apparently the writers couldn't keep up the pace.
Crossroads (ABC, 9/92-10/92)
Cast: Robert Urich, Dalton James
Summary: Johnny Hawkins (Urich) is a recovering alcoholic
and Manhattan prosecutor who is in line to be the next D.A.
But those plans are put on hold when he is contacted by an old friend,
the Seattle D.A. who has just arrested his son. Dylan (James) has been
living with Hawkins' parents while he gets his life in order but now responsibility
for the teenager must go back to the father. He decides that the
boy needs to see life and the world and the two of them take off on his
old Harley.
The D. A. (NBC, 9/71-1/72)
Cast: Robert Conrad, Harry Morgan, Ned Romero, Julie Cobb
Summary: Falling chronologically between Arrest
and Trial and Law and Order,
the half hour show was also comprised of two segments: a criminal investigation
followed by a trial. In this series, the investigation was led by
assistant D.A. Paul Ryan (Conrad) and his investigator Bob Ramirez (Romero).
He also prosecuted, usually against public defender Katherine Benson (Cobb).
The whole process was overseen by District Attorney H. M. "Staff" Stafford
(Morgan). The trial segment was done in a semi-documentary style
with Conrad doing a voice-over explaining the legal terms and procedures
to the television audience. The series was produced by Jack Webb,
reuniting him with his old Dragnet friend Morgan.
The D. A. (ABC, 3/19/04-4/9/04)
Cast: Steven Weber, Bruno Campos, Michaela Conlin, J.K. Simmons,
Sarah Paulson
Summary: The D.A. is set in the Los Angeles District Attorney's
office, where D.A. David Franks (Weber) oversees a vast, sprawling jurisdiction,
leading a group of remarkable professionals - and deeply flawed personalities
- in the pursuit of justice. David's relentless, no-holds-barred Deputy
District Attorney, Mark Camacho (Campos), is an idealist who lives for
the law and won't stop short of the truth. David and Mark are colleagues
one minute and opponents the next. The two men have a rocky relationship
in which mutual respect balances their conflicting means to a common end.
The crimes they investigate and the suspects they break are headline-making
career-builders. But self-interest, grudges, private vendettas and illicit
affairs simmer just below the polished public face of this District Attorney's
office. Conflict and argument are the daily fare of Deputy District
Attorney Joe Carter (Simmons) and Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Patterson
(Paulson). The politicization of the office is depicted as Franks begins
to run for re-election and his campaign manager (Colin) tries to make him
use his cases as stepping stones. Former Los Angeles District Attorney
Gil Garcetti serves as a consulting producer on the show. (from the official
website at http://abc.go.com/primetime/theda/show.html
The D.A.'s Man (NBC, 1/59-8/59)
Cast: John Compton, Ralph Manza, Herbert Ellis
Summary: Ex-P.I. Shannon (Compton) has joined forces with
New York Assistant D. A. Al Bonacorsi (Manza) as he infiltrates the mob
and reports their doings. Another Jack Webb production, the series
was based on the autobiographical reminiscences of Harold "Dan" Danforth,
who, for 16 years, was an investigator, first for the New York City Special
Rackets Prosecutor, then with the Manhattan DA's Office.
Daddio (NBC, 3/00-4/00, 10/00)
Cast: Michael Chiklis, Anita Barone, Cristina Kernan,
Martin Spanjers, Mitch Holleman, Cassidy and Savannah Clark
Summary: Chris Woods (Chiklis) takes on a new role when
his wife (Barone) graduates from law school and lands a high-paying job.
They have four kids (Kernan, Spanjers, Holleman, Cassidy's) ranging from
toddler to teenager and someone needs to stay home with them. He
quits his job in restaurant supplies sales and takes to mommy-hood, trying
to get the local Mothers Club and his prying neighbors to accept him as
the family caretaker.
Dark Justice, (5/91-4/94)
Cast: Ramy Zada, Bruce Abbott, Clayton Prince, Begonia
Plaza, Dick O'Neill
Summary: Judge Nicholas Marshall (Zada in season 1, Abbott
in season 2-3) is a man tired of seeing guilty men slip through the cracks
of the judicial system. Although he presides over his court within the
strictest letter of the law, he keeps coming up against technicalities
and backroom deals that make it possible for criminals to go free. To a
man like Nick Marshall, it's a totally unacceptable situation. Nick grew
up in the inner city ghetto. When he was 15 years old, his father was shot
down by a hoodlum working for a local racketeer. But no one was ever arrested
— the crook had connections. Driven by a compulsion to get the "bad guys,"
Nick joined the police force. After years of law school at night, he moved
up to district attorney, then won a seat on the bench. To find himself
handcuffed by the system he has sworn to preserve is a bitter realization.
So the judge conceives a plan to create his own justice. Backing him in
his secret quest are three loyal friends: Jericho "Gibs" Gibson (Prince),
a special effects genius who works on the team's disguises; the beautiful
Catalana "Cat" Duran (Plaza) who is trying to live down a shadowy past;
and Arnold "Moon" Willis (O'Neill), a gruff gambler and longtime friend
of Nick's who looks upon him as a son. Together they are the Night
Watchmen. When Nick brings the cases from court — acts of violence or greed
that go unpunished — he and his "friends" get to work. They set a
trap for their prey. They follow the unsuspecting criminal, befriend him,
work their way into his life....until one day the trap slams shut, and
justice is served. (from the TNT website: http://tnt.turner.com/series/darkjustice/)
Marshall's vigilantism was sparked by a car bombing meant for him, but
killing his wife and daughter; the murderers were found innocent in court.
So at night, he takes off his judge's robe, dons a black leather jacket,
and gets on his motorcycle to set traps for the guilty. "As a cop
I lost my collars to legal loopholes. But I believed in the system. As
a D.A. I lost my cases to crooked lawyers. But I believed in the system.
As a judge my hands were bound by the letter of the law. But I believed
in the system....until it took my life away. And then I stopped believing
in the system and started believing in justice."
The Days (ABC, 7/18/04-8/22/04)
Cast: David Newsom, Marguerite MacIntyre, Laura Ramsey,
Evan Peters, Zach Maurer
Summary: Teenager and short story writer Cooper Day (Peters)
recounts his family's travails in a daily journal. His mother Abby
(MacIntyre) is an advertising executive who loves her job but learns that
at 40-something she is pregnant. His father Jack (Newsom) is a successful
and scheming lawyer, but hates himself enough to suffer a nervous breakdown
and leave his job. His sister Natalie (Ramsey) is a star in high school
but has been throwing up lately and the youngest, Nathan (Maurer), is a
brain who has panic attacks. The show had an intentional brief run. It
was jointly produced by MindShare, a media investment-management firm,
ABC and Tollin/Robbins Productions as summer filler with an eye to future
episodes only if it brought in sponsors who were willing to front it in
advance..
The Defenders (CBS, 9/61-9/65)
Cast: E. G. Marshall, Robert Reed
Summary: Father and son lawyer-team Lawrence (Marshall)
and Kenneth (Reed) Preston was created by the highly respected Reginald
Rose, author of the teleplay and screenplay 12 Angry Men.
It first appeared as an episode of Studio One as "The Defender"
and Rose agreed to expand it to a series. He said that the show was
about law itself not crime- or mystery-solving. It allowed him to
create good dramatic plots, always the story of a moral struggle, and the
first episode jumped right into it with the arrest and trial of a doctor
for an infant's mercy-killing. This was the first lawyer series to
focus extensively on issues of social justice and was the inspiration for
many series, as well as many law school admissions, in later years.
It covered civil rights protests, economic inequalities, the first amendment,
the Hollywood blacklist, conscientious objectors, obscenity, mercy-killing,
and the most controversial plot of all, an argument for legalizing abortion.
Its regular sponsors pulled their advertising but another stepped in at
the last minute. Surveys showed a 90% positive reception by viewers. The
show won the 1963 Golden Globe for best tv show, Emmies in 1962 for best
drama, actor (Marshall), directing, and writing; in 1963 for best actor
(Marshall), directing and writing; in 1964 for best drama, guest
actor (Jack Klugman in "Blacklist"), and writing; and in 1965 for best
directing and writing. Marshall had worked with Rose earlier; he played
Juror #4 in the movie version of "12 Angry Men." Hal Schaffel, production
manager of the series, worked first as a lawyer before turning to radio
and then television production.
Dharma and Greg (ABC, 9/97-6/02)
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Thomas Gibson, Susan Sullivan,
Alan Rachins, Mimi Kennedy, Mitchell Ryan, Shae D'lyn, Joel Murray
Summary: In this romantic comedy, Dharma Freedom Finkelstein
Montgomery (Elfman) is a free-spirited yoga teacher, and Gregory Clifford
Montgomery (Gibson) is an open-minded, albeit socially conservative, Harvard-educated
U.S. attorney. The couple fell in love at first sight and married on their
first date. Raised by bohemian parents (Rachins and Kennedy), Dharma was
taught to shun convention and trust her instincts, while Greg was instilled
with a more conventional blue-blood philosophy by his parents (Ryan and
Sullivan). With truly opposite approaches to life, Dharma and Greg depend
on the power of true love to overcome their own personal challenges as
well as the crazy world around them. Later in the series Greg left
the U.S. Attorney's office, tried to find his own place in the world, and
set up a private practice with his long-time friend and co-worker Pete
(Murray).
Dundee and The Culhane (CBS, 9/67-12/67)
Cast: John Mills, Sean Garrison
Summary: An English barrister (Mills) is transplanted
to the old west and assisted in his cases by his apprentice The Culhane
(Garrison). Dundee saw himself as a role model and an educator, attempting
to pass on to his more gun-happy student the subtleties of law.
Episodes were always named briefs, as in "The Murderer Stallion Brief'"
in which they defended a horse accused of trampling the son of the town
bully, or "The Death of a Warrior Brief" which had an Indian judge presiding
over a trial where Dundee prosecuted and Culhane defended a white man accused
of the murder of a tribe member.
Ed (NBC, 9/00-2/04)
Cast: Thomas Cavanagh, Molly Boone, Julie Bowen, Jana
Marie Hupp, Joseph Randall
Summary: The show revolves around Ed Stevens (Cavanagh),
a New York City lawyer who, in a single day, loses his job (over a misplaced
comma in a contract) and finds his wife in bed with the mailman. Ed deals
with his failure and rejection by regressing into his past - he spends
a beer-soaked evening with his high school yearbook, and takes a trip back
to his Ohio hometown of Stuckeyville. Once there, he works up the nerve
to ask out the most popular girl in his high school class, Carol Vessey
(Bowen), who has been dating Ed's favorite English teacher for seven years.
He also resumes acquaintances with old friends Mike (Randall) and Nancy
(Hupp), who are now married and coping with work and parenting in the new
millennium. On his final night in Stuckeyville, Ed has a date with Carol,
and they share a short kiss in the park. He is so overjoyed that he buys
the local bowling alley, if only as an excuse to stay in town and be close
to her. In his haste, he does not initially realize that he has inherited
a bowling alley that is only active on league nights, as well as a staff
of goofballs. Eventually, he moves in with Mike and Nancy, and sets up
his own law practice in the Stuckeybowl pro shop. He increases traffic
by giving out free law advice to anyone who bowls three games. But Ed insists
that he is no "bowling alley lawyer" - in his own words, "I own a bowling
alley, and I'm a lawyer - two separate things." (from http://www.virtualstuckeyville.com/)
As the series ended Ed and Carol finally tie the knot, but not before he
has defended a former dentist whose father wants to collect the tuition
he paid, defends his own brother in a pyramid scheme, represents two talk
show hosts who want to split up their partnership but are being sued by
listeners, helps one of his old teachers draw up a prenuptial agreement,
defends Carol when she writes a scathing restaurant review, takes on a
homicide case, and is sued for breaking a man's thumb when he pulls him
from a burning car.
The Eddie Capra Mysteries (NBC, 9/78-1/79,
reran summer 1990)
Cast: Vincent Bagetta, Wendy Phillips, Michael Horton,
Ken Swofford, Seven Ann McDonald
Summary: Eddie Capra (Bagetta) went to NYU School of Law,
then jointed the prestigious firm of Devlin, Linkman and O'Brien.
Following in the footsteps of Perry Mason, he takes on the criminal cases
that come to the firm, and will go to any length to prove his clients'
innocence, even if it means breaking the rules. Senior partner J.J.
Devlin (Swofford) does not take kindly to this. The firm's receptionist
(Phillips) is his love interest and its sole clerk, Harvey Mitchell (Horton),
is his investigative aide - Harvey also goes to law school part-time.
Eddie Dodd (ABC, 3/91-6/91)
Cast: Treat Williams, Corey Parker, Sydney Walsh, Anabelle
Gurwitch, Mary Cadorette
Summary: The TV adaptation of the movie True Believer
follows the hardluck cases taken by the flamboyant crusader Eddie Dodd
(Williams). He started on this path by breaking a case involving government
corruption in a nuclear power plant. He's a tough guy, honed by Columbia
Law School, but now has a dumpy office above a pharmacy in New York City.
He has a young associate (Parker), a secretary (Gurwitch), a female investigator
(Walsh), and a prosecutor girlfriend (Cadorette). Although the name
was taken from the film, it has little to do with James Woods' character.
As represented by Williams, Eddie Dodd was not meant to be burnt-out, but
still in the prime of his enthusiasm. He certainly is that but he tends
to take emotion into court, not preparation, and depends on a deus ex machina
to protect his clients. Reviewers were not kind. Although the rundates
indicate otherwise, the series was canceled after two episodes and only
a total of 6 were ever shown.
Edge of Night (CBS, 4/56-11/75; ABC,
12/75-12/84)
Cast: John Larkin, Laurence Hugo, Forrest Compton,
Donald May, Tony Craig, Mariann Alda, Ernie Townsend, Dixie Carter,
Patrick Horgan
Summary: Criminal trials have always been a staple of
daytime television, and none were more important than those presented on
"The Edge of Night." As a thinly veiled remake of "Perry Mason," dramatic
trials were a logical, integral extension of the crime/mystery format.
Generally, at least one major criminal trial was presented each year on
"The Edge of Night." Occasionally two trials would be featured; however,
this usually occurred when one extended from the end of the year to the
beginning of the next, and then another trial would be presented later
in the year. During Henry Slesar's tenure as headwriter, the practice of
yearly trials was discontinued. Slesar wanted to move the show's format
away from its Perry Mason trappings to include other crime genres. As a
result, some years did not contain any criminal proceedings at all. No
trials were featured during the following years: 1956, 1969, 1971, 1972,
1976, 1981, 1982, and 1983. Although the majority of trials on "The Edge
of Night" involved murder, other types of criminal cases were presented,
too. A notable exception to homicide-oriented court proceedings included
the trial of Beth Moon for the attempted murder of Vera Simms (1963), while
two custody trials were also televised: Serena Faraday vs. Mark Faraday
(1975) and Logan Swift vs. Raven Alexander (1980). Criminal trials on "The
Edge of Night" usually followed a strict formula: an innocent person would
be falsely accused of murder and tried for the crime, then the real killer
would be tricked into making an "eleventh hour" confession either before
or shortly after a verdict was rendered. One obvious departure from this
formula occurred in May 1979 when Winter Austen received a "not guilty"
verdict in the murder of Wade Meecham. Trials on the series generally lasted
approximately 2-3 months of airtime. The shortest trial in Edge
history was The State vs. Draper Scott (1980), which began and ended in
a three-week period. Several trials lasted longer than three months, two
notable instances being The State vs. Julie Jamison (1968) and The State
vs. Adam Drake (1973), both of which ran for four months of airtime. It
should also be noted that during Irving Vendig's association with "The
Edge of Night," viewers always knew the killer's identity. The first actual
murder mystery occurred in 1966 when Roy Cameron was found dead, having
been pushed out of Phil Capice's office window. Beginning with Henry Slesar's
long tenure as headwriter, all of the criminal trials presented were associated
with mysteries, the real killer's identity being withheld from the audience.
(from The Edge of Night home page, http://lavender.fortunecity.com/casino/403/)
The lawyers: Mike Karr (Larkin, Hugo, Compton) was an assistant
D.A. 1956-57, in private practice 1958-81, and D.A. 1981-84. He had
15 trials as a defense lawyer, was prosecuted for murder once, and prosecuted
2 murder trials. He was the only character who lasted the entire
series, appearing in the premier and final episodes. Adam Drake (May)
was a criminal defense lawyer with Karr 1967-77, defending in four trials
and once prosecuted for murder. Over time he was in a car crash,
stabbed, in a yacht explosion, poisoned, shot, shot and killed. Draper
Scott (Craig) was assistant D.A. 1975-76, partner with Mike Karr 1976-81,
partner with his father Ansel Scott in London in 1981. He tried two cases,
and defended three, one of which was his partner Karr, and was falsely
convicted for the murder of his mother-in-law in 1980. Cliff Nelson (Townsend),
assistant DA who prosecuted only two cases and then went into private practice
with Mike Karr and Draper Scott and finally with Didi Bannister. Didi Bannister
(Alda) came to the series in 1981 as a partner with Cliff Nelson. Her brother
Troy was tried for the murder of corrupt cop Ted Loomis and she was hospitalized
for paranoia, held at knifepoint by a client and pursued by a hitman.
Brandy Henderson (Carter) was briefly an assistant D.A. 1974-76. She prosecuted
two trials, had affairs with Drake and Scott, and was a suspect in the
attempted hit-and-run of her fiance Adam Drake's returned-from-supposed-death-wife.
Ansel Scott (Horgan)) appeared only for a year in 1976-77 as a wealthy
criminal defense lawyer who had an affair with his step-daughter.
Eisenhower & Lutz, (CBS, 3/88-6/88)
Cast: Scott Bakula, Henderson Forsythe, Leo Geter, DeLane
Matthews, Rose Portillo, Patricia Richardson
Summary: Barnett "Bud" Lutz Jr. opens his solo practice
in a Palm Springs mini-mall; there is no partner but Bud thinks "Eisenhower"
will be a nice touch in the former president's vacation spot. He
learned how to get clients at the East Las Vegas School of Law and Acupuncture,
and fortunately the corner where his office is located is prone to accidents
- this makes it easy for him or his secretary to pass out his business
card. He has a sign-painter father (Forsythe) who refuses to follow
spelling rules, a cocktail waitress girlfriend (Matthews), a secretary
who resents not getting paid (Portillo), an ex-girlfriend (Richardson)
who is now a successful lawyer, and a clerk (Geter) who is working his
way through law school as a sushi-deliveryman.
Entourage (HBO, 7/04-present )
Cast: Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry
Ferrara, Jeremy Piven
Summary: Vince Chase is a sexy young actor whose career
is on the rise. To share the fun of the ride and keep him grounded, Vince
looks to his half-brother Drama (Dillon) and his childhood buddies from
Queens. Together, they'll navigate the highs and lows of Hollywood's fast
lane, where the stakes are higher, and the money and temptations greater,
than ever before. Eric (Connolly), Vince's closest confidant, is learning
the rules of the business as he tries to help Vince make the right choices
and keep his trajectory aimed high. Ari Gold (Piven) is his aggressive,
high-powered agent, who clashes with Eric over his client's decisions.
We learn in an early episode that Ari has an undergraduate degree
from Harvard and jd/mba from Michigan (there really is such a program)
and is not to be taken lightly. His character bears strong similarities to
real-life agent Ari Emanuel.
Equal Justice (ABC, 3/90-7/91)
Cast: Vanessa Bell Calloway, George DiCenzo, Debrah Farentino,
Jane Kaczmarek, Kathleen Lloyd, Barry Miller, Joe Morton, Sarah
Jessica Parker, Cotter Smith, Jon Tenney, James Wilder
Summary: Says the creator of this urban, prosecutor-focused
show, Thomas Carter: "I didn't want to do a show where the lawyer
won all the time. I didn't want to feel forced to go into the trial
phase every time, because most cases are plea-bargained. I wanted
to show how most cases are disposed of: in the hallways, in the bathrooms."
He based the show on the experience of a female friend who worked in the
Harris County (Tx.) district attorney's office, noting that most prosecutors
are just out of law school, trying to get criminal experience before they
go into private practice as defense attorneys. He also took a different
tack from the usual tv and film glamorization of women attorneys' dress
styles, specifically clothing the actors in conservative suits. The series
followed the loves and lives of a group of Pittsburgh D.A. staff, focusing
on Arnold Bach (DiCenzo), the honest, but politically-correct, by-the-book
district attorney; Gene Rogan (Smith), the deputy D.A. and Chief of the
Felony Bureau who wanted Bach's job; Gene's supportive wife Jesse (Lloyd);
Linda Bauer (Kaczmarek), the head of the Sex Crimes Unit; Linda's younger
brother, Peter Bauer (Tenney), a local public defender; Michael James (Morton),
the department's top prosecutor, as well as the eager young new attorneys,
JoAnn (Parker), Briggs (Miller), Julie (Farentino), and Christopher (Wilder),
determined to make a name for themselves.
Even Stevens (Disney, 6/00-present)
Cast: Shia La Beouf, Christy Carlson Romano, Nick Spano
Donna Pescow, Tom Virtue
Summary: Another comedic family series, this time presented
from the kids' point of view. The Stevens brood, Louis, Ren and Donnie
(LaBeouf, Romano, Spano) are constantly getting on each others nerves while
dad Steve (Virtue) and mom Eileen (Pescow) keep things on an even keel.
Louis is the main character, a geeky slacker who is constantly foiled in
his attempts to get out of work, but who is surrounded by a family of overachievers.
Older sister Ren is the brain, Donnie is a jock who excels at any sport
he tries, Dad has a thriving law practice, and Mom is first a state senator,
then wins the state attorney general spot, before getting a seat in the
U.S. Senate.
Evening Shade (CBS, 9/90-7/94)
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Jacob Parker, Michael
Jeter, Ossie Davis, Elizabeth Ashley, Hal Holbrook, Charles Durning, Charlie
Dell
Summary: Wood Newton (Reynolds) is a former star pro quarterback
who has returned to his hometown of Evening Shade, Arkansas, where he now
coaches the non-winning high school football team. He is married to Ava
(Henner), the town's first female D.A. They have a son (Parker) who
plays on the team but wants to be a movie star and a daughter who is a
grown-up in disguise. Ava's father Evan (Holbrook) runs the local paper
and claims Wood ruined his life when he married Ava when she was only 18.
The town doctor (Durning) is also the wealthiest man in Evening Shade.
Herman Stiles (Jeter) is the math teacher and assistant coach. They
gather every day to gossip at the restaurant owned by Ponder Blue (Davis).
Jeter won the 1992 Emmy for supporting actor in a comedy series; Renolds
won the 1992 Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy and the 1991 Emmy
for best lead actor in a comedy.
Family (ABC, 3/76-6/80)
Cast: James Broderick, Sada Thompson, Meredith Baxter
Birney, Kristy McNichol, Gary Frank, Quinn Cummings
Summary: The series follows the lives of the Lawrences,
a middle-class family of six who had more than their share of crises.
Doug (Broderick) is a solo practitioner, his wife Kate (Thompson) has always
been a stay-at-home mom, their daughter Nancy goes to law school, younger
daughter Buddy (McNichol) and adopted daughter Annie (Cummings) are in
high school and son Willie (Frank) works for a tv show and wants to be
a writer. But before all of that, Nancy divorced her husband after finding
him in flagrante, then had multiple affairs of her own and was sexually
harassed at the law firm where she worked, Kate had breast cancer, Doug
went temporarily blind after a car accident, Willie's first love was an
unwed mother and his wife had a terminal illness, Buddy ran away from home,
Annie hated everyone, and their grandmother died.
Family Law (CBS, 9/99-5/02)
Cast: Kathleen Quinlan, Dixie Carter, Julie Warner, Christopher
McDonald, Tony Danza
Summary: Lynn Holt (Quinlan), a successful and tenacious family
law attorney, got the shock of her life when her husband/law partner unexpectedly
announced one night that he wanted a divorce and was leaving her for another
woman, who happened to be one of her peers. However, she got an even bigger
shock when she discovered he hijacked the practice they built together
by taking all the clients, the furniture and staff, while leaving her with
an expensive, newly signed lease and no money to pay the rent. With the
help of Danni Lipton (Warner), her clear-headed, ambitious junior associate,
Lynn realized she had to pull herself together and resurrect her life and
career. She resorted to unusual maneuvers by sub-leasing her office space
to two other attorneys - Randi King (Carter), a tough-talking defense lawyer
who spent a stint of time in state prison for murdering her husband, and
the money-hungry charmer, Rex Weller (McDonald), who is convinced that
image is everything in the business of family law. After creating a partnership,
they add Joe Celano (Danza), whose methods of fighting for justice have
often left him in hot water with the judicial system. (from the official
website at http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/familylaw/index_net.html/)
Father of the Bride (CBS, 9/61-9/62)
Cast: Leon Ames, Ruth Warrick, Myrna Fahey, Rockie Soren
Sorenson, Burt Metcalfe
Summary: A domestic sitcom based on the film and novel (by Edward
Streeter) of the same name, focused on the family of lawyer Stanley Banks
(Ames) and wife Ellie (Warrick) whose daughter Kay (Fahey) has just become
engaged and plans to marry.
Fay (NBC, 9/75-10/75)
Cast: Lee Grant, Bill Gerber, Joe Silver, Norman Alden,
Audra Lindley
Summary: Fay Stewart is a middle-aged divorcee who works
as a legal secretary for the firm of Messina (Gerber) and Cassidy (Alden).
Originally intended as an adult comedy it was unfortunately scheduled in
the middle of family-oriented programming and failed to get an audience.
The Feather and Father Gang (3/77-8/77)
Cast: Stefanie Powers, Harold Gould, Joan Shawlee, Lewis
Charles, Frank Delfino, Monte Landis
Summary: Toni "Feather" Danton (Powers) is a high-powered
criminal defense attorney in a big firm. She often turns to her unrepentant
con man father (Gould) for help in solving cases, and he, in turn, is aided
by his former compatriots (Shawlee, et al) in setting up stings on the
real criminals.
Feds (3/5/97-4/9/97)
Cast: Blair Brown, Adrian Pasdar, John Slattery, Dylan
Baker, Regina Taylor, Grace Phillips, Kevin Hopkins
Summary: The series dramatizes life inside the world of
the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office, where U.S. attorney Erica Stanton
(Brown) oversees a group of dedicated, tough-minded assistant U.S. attorneys.
Michael Mancini (Slattery) is determined to bring to justice a mob boss
who he believes murdered his family in a mob hit targeted at him. C. Oliver
Resor (Pasdar) is prosecuting a pilot who was allegedly intoxicated when
his plane crashed, killing 45 people. In the midst of that case, he is
trying to organize a federal prosecution of tobacco companies. Sandra Broome
(Taylor) draws criticism for defending a skinhead who was beaten by a black
policeman after using racial epithets to taunt him. Assisting with his
investigative prowess is federal agent Jack Gaffney (Baker). According
to the producer, "The FBI has been done, but the federal judicial system
has never been done before. So it's a very, very rich area of the law,
especially since it's the major leagues of prosecution. We're dealing with
crimes that local jurisdictions just don't get to deal with, everything
from kidnapping to terrorism to the mob to taking on a major tobacco company
for criminal violations."
First Monday (CBS, 1/02-5/02)
Cast: James Garner, Joe Mantegna, Charles Durning, Camille
Saviola, James McEachin, Hedy Burgess, Randy Vasquez, Christopher Wiehl,
Linda Purl
Summary: Associate Justice Joe Novelli (Mantegna)
is the newest addition to the United States Supreme Court and he will have
a pivotal role in an evenly split court of four conservatives and four
liberals. He is up against the long-time Chief Justice, the conservative
Thomas Brankin (Garner) and his old friend, Justice Henry Hoskins (Durning)
who have been able to hold onto a majority for many years. Novelli's
clerks are the liberal Ellie Pearson (Burgess), conservative Miguel Mora
(Vasquez), and very inexperienced Jerry Klein (Wiehl). They earnestly argue
their point of view to their boss, in language so stilted they sound like
a parody of first year moot court. Each episode usually dealt with two
cases, which on the face of it, seem reasonable: ADA, Megan's law, asylum,
3-strikes laws. However, although it may be true that bad cases make
good law, it was not necessary for the facts to be: a dwarf whose law firm
built a mini-office for him, a sex offender living in one of the justice's
neighborhoods, a transvestite who claims that he is persecuted in Mexico
and whose lawyer is a transsexual pursued by one of the clerks, and a man
sent to prison for life for a misdemeanor. In spite of its good cast, the
series suffered from terrible writing, poor representation of court procedure
(the justices actually question said transvestite), and awkward acting
on the part of the non-stars. It was a miracle that it survived more
than a month.
First Years (NBC, 3/19/01-4/9/01)
Cast: Samantha Mathis, Mackenzie Astin, Sydney Poitier,
James Roday, Ken Marino, Eric Schaeffer
Summary: This comedy-drama is a one-hour series loosely
based on the hit British series 'This Life,' which takes a humorous, intimate
look at the lives of five first-year law graduates as they struggle to
get their careers off the ground in San Francisco. They get shoved all
the grunt work and receive none of the glory, which is why you’ll never
see them in a courtroom. To help pay off their student loans, four of them
save money by sharing a fixer-upper house together in the Haight-Ashbury
district. Despite the long hours and the grind, these people don’t take
themselves too seriously. The characters include Anna Weller (Mathis),
a fearless, straight-forward career woman who lives on her own; Warren
Harrison (Astin), the most stable of the group, but a bit of an outsider;
Riley Kessler (Poitier), someone who is simply normal and loves her longtime
boyfriend, Edgar 'Egg' Ross (Roday), who has disgraced his Peace Corps
family by becoming a lawyer; and Egg’s best friend, Miles Lawton (Marino),
a charming smart guy who rejects his wealthy family background; and the
associates’ colorful mentor, Sam O’Donnell (Schaeffer). (from the official
website at http://home.nbci.com/LMOID/bb/fd/0,946,-0-5163,00.html?tag=e-nt.pro4.s-2757.e-nt.0)
Needless to say, what you see these first year associates doing is nothing
like the real world and the brevity of its life span is a good indication
of its quality.
Flesh 'n Blood, (NBC, 9/91-11/91)
Cast: Lisa Darr, David Keith, Meghan Andrews, Chris Stacy,
Perri Anzilotti, Peri Gilpin
Summary: Baltimore Assistant D.A. Rachel Brennan (Darr)
is on the career fast track and looking for the family she lost years ago
when she was adopted. She finds her brother (Keith), who turns out
to be a con-artist redneck widower with two strange kids and more ex-girl
friends and stings than he can run from. But he can recognize a good thing
when he sees it and decides to move in with his newly found sister, providing
her with an instant family.
Foley Square, (CBS, 12/85-7/86)
Cast: Margaret Colin, Hector Elizondo, Sanford Jensen,
Jon Lovitz, Cathy Silvers
Summary: Alex Harrigan (Colin) is an earnest young Manhattan
D.A. mentored by her well-seasoned boss Jesse Steinberg (Elizondo).
Officemates include a dressed-for-success new law grad Molly Dobbs (Silver),
the ambitious god's gift-to women Carter DeVries (Jensen), and the office
investigator Mole (Lovitz). Foley Square is the location of the Manhattan
District Attorney's offices. The series mixed its treatment of criminal
cases with attention to Alex's up and down personal life.
For the People, (CBS, 1/65-5/65)
Cast: William Shatner, Howard DaSilva, JessicaWalter, Lonny
Chapman
Summary: Dramatic series featuring New York City Assistant
D.A. David Koster (Shatner) and his passionate search for justice, the
boss (DaSilva) who ties to keep him in line, the wife (Walter) whose career
in a string quartet and life priorities conflict with his, and the police
detective (Chapman) who investigates the cases he tries. Shatner was already
well-established by the time he starred in this series, having had at least
70 television appearances, including several parts in The Defenders,
as both criminal and lawyer, as well as in a 1955 televised version of
Billy
Budd. Fortunately for Trekkies, this series did not get renewed, and
the following year Shatner began his long career as commander of the
U.S.S.
Enterprise.
For the People (Lifetime, 7/02-3/03
)
Cast: Lea Thompson, Debbi Morgan, A. Martinez, Cecilia
Suarez
Summary: Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney Camille
Paris' (Lea Thompson) professional life is profoundly shaken when conservative
District Attorney
Lora Gibson (Debbi Morgan) is elected and becomes her new boss. Lora's
ideology — and the officials she appoints — clash with Camille's liberal
views. Set in Los Angeles, "For the People" takes a look at the chaotic
professional and personal lives of strong, passionate women on opposite
ends of the political spectrum who share the same goal: justice. (from
the official website http://www.lifetimetv.com/shows/ftpeople/)
For Your Love (NBC, 3/98-5/98; WB 9/98-8/02)
Cast: James Lesure, Holly Peete, Tamala Jones, Edafe Blackmon,
DeDee Pfeiffer, D. W. Moffet
Summary: Three couples struggle with their relationships
in the Chicago suburbs in this interracial sit-com. Newlywed black
professionals lawyer Mel (Lesure) and psychiatrist Malena (Peete) Ellis,
live next-door to their long-time white friends Sheri (Pfeiffer) and Dean
(Moffett) Winston. Mel and Malena are trying to transition from a single
life to a married one while the Winston's are trying to keep the fire going
in their five-year marriage. Meanwhile Mel's brother, the committment-phobic
Reggie (Blackmon) has started to date divorcee Bobbi (Jones). In
spite of efforts to run in a new direction with a multi-racial cast, the
program fell into the same old gender cliches as many sit-coms - wives
are thrilled to see their husbands put their dirty socks in the hamper,
guys like huge tv's, men don't like to hold their wive's purses.
The Forsyte Saga (PBS-BBC, l0/69-3/70)
Cast: Kenneth More, Eric Porter, Susan Hampshire, Nyree
Porter, John Welsh, Joseph O'Conor, Fay Compton
Summary: The BBC series that sparked Boston's WGBH creation
of "Masterpiece Theater" was based on six novels by John Galsworthy, and
related the history of an upwardly mobile English family at the turn
of the 20th century. It centered on solicitor Soames Forsyte (Porter),
the "man of property," and his family relationships. Eric Porter
won the 1968 BAFTA TV award for best actor and Susan Hampshire won the
1970 for best actress in a series. Galsworthy won the Nobel Prize
for literature in 1932.
The Four Seasons (CBS, 1/84-8/84)
Cast: Alan Arbus, Barbara Babcock, Marcia Rod, Jack Weston,
Joanna Kerns, Tony Roberts, Alan Alda
Summary: A continuation of Alan Alda's 1981 film about
a group of friends, the series followed dentist Danny (Weston) and Claudia
(Rodd) Zimmer to Southern California. Their friends are Boris Elliott
(Arbus), who has abandoned his law practice to open a bike shop, his wife
orthopedist Lorraine (Babcock), real estate agent Ted Callan (Roberts)
and his stuntwoman girlfriend (Kerns), and lawyer Jack Burroughs (Alda).
Frank's Place (CBS,
9/87-3/88)
Cast: Tim Reid, Daphne Reid, Tony Burton, Virginia Capers,
Robert Harper, Frances E. Williams
Summary: Frank Parish (T. Reid) is an Ivy League historybprofessor
whose father has recently died and left him his New Orleans restaurant,
Chez Louisiane. He goes down to New Orleans with the intention of
selling it to the employees, but one of the waitresses, an elderly woman
(Williams) who practices voodoo, puts a curse on him, with the result that
he decides after all to make a change in his life. One of the regulars
is mortician Hanna Griffin (Reid) and Frank falls for her instantly.
His Jewish lawyer Sy "Bubba" Weisberger (Harper) is another, and
one of only two white cast members. Sy is often in his cups and has
told his mother he's gay so she won't pester him about getting married.
The head chef is Big Arthur (Burton), a man consumed by Creole creativity.
Hanna's mother, funeral home director Bertha Griffin-Lamour (Capers), was
modeled on Trencia Henderson, a well-known local mortician, and the restaurant
after Chez Helene in the Creole district. Although primarily a comedy,
the series dealt with serious issues as well, one of which was Frank's
invitation to join a club allowing only light-skinned blacks.
Free Spirit (ABC, 9/89-1/90)
Cast: Corinne Bohrer, Franc Luz, Alyson Hannigan, Paul
Scherrer, Edan Gross, Josie Davis, Michael Constantine
Summary: Winnie Goodwin (Bohrer) was born in Salem, Mass.
in 1665. She is a witch who helps mortals in a public service program.
Her task this time is to take on the duties of housekeeper for divorced
private practitioner Thomas Harper (Luz) and his three children (Hannigan,
Scherrer, Gross). The youngest child Gene (Gross) wishes that he
had someone to take care of him, and magically Winnie appears. He
convinces his father to hire her and she assumes the role of caretaker
for the children whose father has little time for them. Winnie is occassionally
joined by her sister (Davis) and father (Constantine).
Fresh Prince of Belair (NBC, 10/90-5/96)
Cast: Will Smith, James Avery, Janet Hubert-Whitten, Tatyana
Ali, Karyn Parsons, Alfonso Ribeiro
Summary: When his mother thinks that young Will (Smith)
is spending too much time with the wrong crowd, she sends him off to live
with his rich uncle Philip (Avery) and aunt Vivian (Hubert-Whitten) in
Los Angeles. She hopes they will teach him values and give him a
good education. Will now attends the prestigious Bel Air Academy,
writes poetry and works as a waiter in a seafood restaurant. Although
he spent his youth tending to pigs, his uncle went on to Princeton University
and then Harvard Law School and is now a lawyer with the firm of Furth
and Meyer. His aunt Vivian is a teacher, cousin Hilary works for
a catering firm, cousin Carlton is majoring in prelaw at Bel Air Academy,
while youngest cousin Ashley is a bright teenager whose dream is a date
with a rap star. The clash of cultures allowed discussion of the treatment
of blacks in a white society in a way that was palatable and humorous without
being preachy or hostile, thus ensuring a longer life and bigger audience
for this comedy.
Gabriel's Fire (ABC, 9/90-8/91)
Cast: James Earl Jones, Laila Robins, Madge Sinclair,
Dylan Walsh, Richard Crenna, Len Cariou
Summary: Gabriel Bird (Jones) is a decorated police officer
who has to kill his own partner in a botched raid when he was ready to
shoot a young mother and child. He is sentenced to life in prison,
and 20 years later he meets attorney Victoria Heller (Robins) who is investigating
a prison killing. When she discovers what happened to him, she gets the
case reopened and Gabriel released. He returns to his old neighborhood
where he meets up again with the owner (Sinclair) of Empress Josephine's
Soul Food Kitchen and in thanks for past favors, she offers him free room
and board. He makes the restaurant his home base and begins work
as an investigator for Heller, and her partner Louis Klein (Walsh).
In the second season Victoria leaves her practice for the bench and Gabriel
joins forces with another p.i. Mitch O'Hannon (Crenna).
Gary the Rat (Spike TV, 6/03-12/03)
Cast: Kelsey Grammar, Rob Cullen, Billy Gardell, Spencer Garrett,
Vance DeGeneres, Rick Gomez
Summary: Gary Andrews (Grammar) is a ruthless and unscrupulous lawyer
who mysteriously changes into a 6-foot rat. To complicate matters, one of his
neighbors has hired an insane and incompetent exterminator, Johnny Horatio
Bugz (Cullen), to kill him although. He must must deal with his bizarre condition
even while taking on the firm’s biggest case, defending the Southern Tobacco Company
against the state of New York. The series was not so different from a standard law
firm series. Gary has mob clients, deals with office politics and is fired, faces
an old flame as opposing counsel, tries to fix the “king and queen” election at
his high school reunion, takes on an unlawful termination case involving a leper,
and must defend Johnny Bugz pro bono after he
tries to kill him.
Gemini Man (NBC, 9/76-10/76)
Cast: Ben Murphy, Katherine Crawford, William Sylvester
Summary: Harvard Law grad Sam Casey (Murphy) is a special
operative for Intersect, a federal research organization. While investigating
an unidentified satellite which has fallen from to the ocean floor, he
is made invisible when the satellite explodes and the radiation affects
his DNA structure. He is saved by one of Intersect's doctors (Crawford)
who also invents a miniature DNA stabilizer, which enables him to control
his visibility. He can again become invisibile but only for a short
time each day. His value to Intersect has obviously increased enormously
as he takes on special assignments from his boss Leonard Driscoll (Sylvester).
The latter role was played by Richard Dysart (Leland McKenzie in L.
A. Law) in the pilot and the series is based on a story by H. G. Wells.
Generations (NBC, 3/89-1/91)
Cast: Taurean Blacque, Lynn Hamilton, Joan Pringle, Sharon
Brown, Jonelle Allen, Kristoff St. John, Patricia Crowell, Gail Ramsey,
Gerard Prendergast
Summary: The first daytime serial which explored the relationships
among a black and a white family. The three-generation link between the
Marshall and Whitmore families began when Vivian Potter (Hamilton) worked
for lawyer Rebecca Whitmore (Crowley) as a housekeeper and nanny, and both
she and her daughter Ruth (Pringle) lived in the Whitmore mansion. Rebecca's
fortune had been all but lost by her ex-husband but going to law school
and eventually becoming a partner in a prestigious firm enables her to
regain the lifestyle she thought she had lost. Ruth grows up with dreams
of bettering her situation and marries Henry Marshall (Blacque).
When the series begins they have achieved solid middle class comfort after
he has established a chain of ice cream stores, financed with the aid of
Rebecca. The Marshall's have three daughters, attorney Chantal (Brown),
housewife Doreen, and college student Adam (St. John). Although there were
two black writers and a black psychologist who worked on the show, the
series did not focus on black/white relations but instead followed the
usual soap conventions of money, power, business dealings, lust, adultery
and crime.
The Girl With Something Extra (NBC, 9/73-5/74)
Cast: Sally Field, John Davidson, Zohra Lampert, Jack
Sheldon, Stephanie Edwards, Henry Jones, William Windom, Teri Garr
Summary: On occasion, Sally Burton (Fields) can read minds
and this may not bode well for her new husband, lawyer John Burton (Davidson).
Most of the action revolves around Sally's trying to undo what she has
done thanks to her E.S.P. His bosses (Jones, Windom) at the small
corporate practice law firm of Metcalfe, Kline, and Associates are stereotypically
conservative and straitlaced.
Girlfriends (UPN, 9/00-present)
Cast: Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Jill Marie Jones,
Persia White, Reggie Hayes, Jason Pace
Summary: Sex in the City with a black cast focuses
on attorney Joan Clayton (Ross) who turns 29 and makes junior partner in
the same week but doesn't quite have it all - she lacks a guy. She
leans on her friends, roommate Lynn Searcy (White), sniping real estate
agent Toni Childs (Jones), happily married office assistant Maya Wilkes
(Brooks), and "honorary girlfriend " fellow lawyer William Dent (Hayes).
Rated as the No. 1 prime-time Black sitcom among Black households, "Girlfriends"
has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding
Comedy Series each year since its inception.
girls club (Fox, 10/21/02-10/30/02)
Cast: Gretchen Mol, Kathleen Robertson, Chyler Leigh
Summary: Three young female attorneys are determined to
make their mark on the justice system in girls club, the latest
re-invention of the legal drama from David E. Kelley, creator of "Ally
McBeal" and "The Practice." A relationship-driven series set in San Francisco,
one of the world's most romantic and vibrant cities, girls club
explores the personal and professional lives of three twenty-seven-year-olds
-- best friends since law school -- who live together. Lynne Camden (Mol),
Jeannie Falls (Robertson) and Sarah Mickle (Leigh) share a desire to achieve
success and fulfillment in their lives, despite being employed by an "old
boys club" law firm. (from the official site http://www.fox.com/girlsclub/).
The show was cancelled after only 2 episodes because of low ratings.
Glynis (ABC, 9/63-12/63)
Cast: Keith Andes, Glynis Johns, George Mathews
Summary: Keith Granville (Andes) was a successful attorney
who had both a wife (Johns) who wrote mystery novels and a penchant for
falling into criminal cases. Together the unlikely duo would solve the
case, but this was less likely due to their detecting skills than dumb
luck
Good Advice (CBS, 4/93-5/93, 5/94-8/94)
Cast: Shelley Long, Treat Williams, Teri Garr, Estelle
Harris, Ross Malinger, Christopher McDonald
Summary: Best-selling marriage counselor Susan DeRuzza
and ladies' man and divorce lawyer Jack Harris (Williams) share office
space and trade barbs - she tries to keep couples together and he separates
them. As the series began, Susan has just returned from a book tour
and found her husband in flagrante. It appears that she will be seeking
advice from Harris, but since this is a sit-com, fences are mended and
the counselor and lawyer turn to stealing each other's clients.
The Grand Jury(Syndicated,
Desilu, 1959)
Cast: Lyle Bettger, Harold J. Stone
Summary: Desilu put together this series in response to
the major criminal investigations of the 50s. Although the producers
touted the public service aspect of the programs, their popularity actually
derived from their violence. Titles included Fire Trap, Extortion,
Murder
for Insurance, Boxing Scandal, Crime Crusader. The crimes
were usually uncovered by chief investigators Harry Driscoll (Bettger)
and John Kennedy (Stone) and then forwarded to a grand jury investigation.
"The forework of liberty, protecting the inalienable rights of free people.
Serving unstintingly and without prejudice to maintain the laws of our
land....THE GRAND JURY."
The Gray Ghost (Syndicated,
CBS Television, 1957)
Cast: Tod Andrews, Phil Chambers
Summary: An after-school program aimed at children and
teenagers, the series was based on the wartime exploits of of John Mosby
(Andrews), American lawyer and Confederate ranger. The character chose
to rely on his brains and cunning rather than the bruality of open battle
to defeat Union forces. He was born in Edgemont, Va., on Dec. 6, 1833.
After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1852 he was admitted
to the bar and practiced law in Briston, Va. After the Civil War
began, Mosby enlisted in the Confederate cavalry, fought at Bull Run, and
scouted for Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. In 1863 he recruited an independent
body of fighters, which became famous as Mosby's Partisan Rangers. Adopting
a guerrilla style of warfare, they operated in Virginia and Maryland, cutting
Union communications lines, destroying supply trains, and capturing
outposts. The rangers even captured Brig. Gen. Edwin Stoughton at Fairfax,
Va. The Union Army never succeeded in its desperate efforts to capture
Mosby. After the war, Mosby practiced law in Warrenton, Va., became a Republican
to the detriment of his popularity in the South, and supported President
Grant for reelection in 1872. He served as U. S. consul at Hong Kong (1878-1885)
and as an assistant attorney for the U. S. Department of Justice (19041910).
He wrote two books based on his service during the Civil War. Mosby died
in Washington, D. C., on May 30, 1916. (Encyclopedia Americana,
2003, <http://ea.grolier.com> 4/5/03) Initially, the studio expected
criticism about the series because of its setting in the Confederate south,
and after losing three sponsors, it decided to syndicate the show itself.
When it finally appeared on air, it proved to be surprisingly popular and
failed to garner much negative attention. It was based on Virgil
Carrington Jones' book Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders.
The Great Defender (Fox, 3/95-7/95)
Cast: Michael Rispoli, Kelly Rutherford, Richard Kiley,
Carlos Sanz, Peter Krause, Rhoda Gemignani
Summary: Boston store-front lawyer Lou Frischetti
(Rispoli) advertises on tv with a background do-wop group singinging the
eponymous song while clients brag about the judgments he's won for them.
When the senior partner Jason DeWitt (Kiley) of a conservative firm sees
him in action in the cortroom he asks Lou to join them. This is an
economic opportunity not to be thrown away, but no reason to change
his working class ways. He brings along his mom/secretary (Gemignani),
his p.i. (Rutherford), and his clients. His counterpoint in the firm
is new Harvard grad blueblood Crosby Caulfield III (Krause), whose earlier
failure to negotiate a simple settlement with Lou nearly brought the firm
down.
Greatest American Hero (ABC, 3/81-2/83)
Cast: William Katt, Robert Culp, Connie Selleca, Mary
Ellen Stuart
Summary: Ralph Hinkley (Katt) is a special education teacher
and has integrity, morality, and idealism. For these reasons he is
chosen by an alien race to fight crime before Earth destroys itself. Joining
him is Bill Maxwell (Culp), a hot-headed FBI agent, who witnessed Ralph's
encounter with the aliens, and has persuaded him to assist with some of
Bill's cases. Ralph has been given a special costume, "the Suit", which
allows him to fly, disappear, deflect bullets, and the other usual super-powers.
Unfortunately he and Bill have lost the instruction manual, and operation
of "the Suit" does not always go as they would like. His girlfriend (and divorce attorney) Pam
(Selleca) is not only a lawyer, but also his unwitting assistant in many
of these instances. Eventually Ralph's identity is found out and the aliens
tell him that he must find a replacement. He does, and the "Greatest
American Heroine", a foster parent who runs a day care center and animal
shelter is the next to take on the cape.
Green Acres (CBS, 9/65-9/71)
Cast: Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Tom Lester, Pat Buttram,
Frank Cady, Hank Patterson, Fran Ryan, Sid Melton, Mary Canfield
Summary: Oliver Wendell Douglas (Albert) is a New York
Harvard-degreed corporate lawyer with a lifelong yen to be a farmer.
He grows corn on his penthouse patio, but it is not enough. While
on a business trip, he sees an ad for a farm for sale in the town of Hooterville,
buys it sight unseen from the local con-artist (Buttram), then announces
to his luxury-loving wife (Gabor) that they are moving. She is distraught,
and he promises that they will just give it a try for six months.
Upon arriving at the farm, he sees a dream come true, and she sees a falling
down shack. They have a shy farmhand (Lester) whose hero is Hoot Gibson,
a pair of inept carpenters (Melton and Canfield) hired to repair the house,
neighbors who have raised a pig as their son (Patterson and Ryan), a cow
who gives precisely one glass of milk at a time, and a phone located on
top of the telephone pole.
The Green Hornet (9/66-7/67)
Cast: Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Wende Wagner, Walter Brooke,
Lloyd Gough
Summary: Britt Reid is the playboy heir of the Daily
Sentinel. After reading about his ancestor "The Lone Ranger,"
he decides to follow in his footsteps and protect the lives of the citizenry.
In addition to becoming editor of the Sentinel, he takes on a secret
identity, The Green Hornet, which is known only to his houseboy and assistant
Kato (Lee), his secretary (Wagner), and the district attorney Frank Scanlon
(Brooke). He and Kato are officially wanted by the police, so each
time they foil a crime, they escape just before the police arrive.
The original radio series by George Trendle ran from 1936-52. The
movie serials ran for 13 episodes in 1940, and The Green Hornet Strikes
Again ran for 15 episodes, also in 1940. The character was licensed
to a series of comic book companies beginning in 1940 and finally ending
in the 90's. "Another challenge for the Green Hornet, his aid Kato and
their rolling arsenal the Black Beauty. On police records a wanted criminal,
the Green Hornet is really Britt Reid, owner publisher of the Daily Sentinel.
His dual identity known only to his secretary and to the district attorney.
And now to protect the rights and lives of decent citizens rides the Green
Hornet."
The Guardian (CBS, 9/01-5/04)
Cast: Simon Baker, Dabney Coleman, Alan Rosenberg
Summary: Nick Fallin (Baker) is a hotshot lawyer working
at his father's ultrasuccessful Pittsburgh law firm. Unfortunately, the
high life has gotten the best of Nick. Arrested for drug use, he's sentenced
to do 1,500 hours of community service, somehow to be squeezed into his
24/7 cutthroat world of mergers, acquisitions and board meetings at his
father's (Coleman) firm. Reluctantly, he's now The Guardian, a full-time
lawyer who's forced to become a part-time child advocate at Legal Aid Services,
whose annual budget is as much as his annual salary, where one case after
another is an eye-opening instance of kids caught up in difficult circumstances.
Maybe he'll start to realize that making a difference is more important
than making a buck--well, as important, anyway. (From the official
webpage at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/fall_preview/guardian.shtml) [Voice
of Judge] "I am sentencing you to 1500 hours of community service, using
your skills as a corporate attorney to work as a child advocate."
Hagen (CBS, 3/80)
Cast: Chad Everett, Arthur Hill, Aldine King, Carmen Zapata
Summary: Outdoorsman, hunter and tracker Paul Hagen (Everett)
joins forces with suave and successfull San Francisco lawyer Carl Palmer
(Hill) to investigate difficult criminal cases. Hagen acts as the
investigator while Palmer handles the legal details.
Hardcastle and McCormick (ABC,
9/83-7/86)
Cast: Brian Keith, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Mary Jackson
Summary: Judge Milton C. Hardcastle (Keith) is facing a forced
retirement in Los Angeles but he's not ready to let go of the legal system.
Instead the hardliner who wears loud shirts and tennis shoes under his
robes decides to enlist the help of an ex-con and race car driver Mark
McCormick (Hugh-Kelley) to investigate 200 cases that were closed "due
to technicalities" during Milton's judgeship. He operates out of
his L.A. estate, drives an expensive sports car, hosts a weekly poker game,
and wears t-shirts that say "No plea bargaining in Heaven." Hardcastle
may have been something of a vigilante, a la Charles Bronson's Death
Wish character which spanned the same time period, but in one episode
he actually goes after a group of judges who are killing ex-cons as they
leave prison. (Star Chamber also came out in 1983.) Los Angeles
Superior Court Judge, former assistant D.A., and state attorney general
Lawrence Waddington served as legal consultant for the series.
Harrigan and Son
(10/60-9/61)
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Roger Perry, Georgine Darcy, Helen
Kleeb
Summary: Flamboyant criminal attorney James Harrigan Sr.
(O'Brien) has had a lifetime of practicing law his way. But now his
son, newly graduated from Harvard Law, (Perry) has joined the firm
and is less willing than dad to be "flexible" in his interpretation of
the law. Ably assisting them are complementary secretaries
Gypsy and Miss Claridge (Darcy and Kleeb).
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (Cartoon
Network, 9/01-present)
Cast: Gary Cole, Neil Ross, Stephen Colbert, John Michael Higgins,
Thomas Allen, Frank Welker, Michael McKean
Summary: In the first animated courtroom comedy, superhero
Harvey Birdman (Cole) has become a lawyer in a prestigious law firm. He
is a revision of the obscure 1967 Hanna-Barbera cartoon, "Birdman
and the Galaxy Trio." He still has the superhero cowl masking his face,
but his wings now poke out of the back of a charcoal-grey suit and it is
not certain how he got his law degree but he has the language down pat.
His boss is Phil Ken Stebben (Colbert), a shell-shocked man with a dangerous
past. Aided by his secretary, the eagle Avenger (Welker), he can handle
custody, personal injury, criminal and copyright cases. Peanut (Allen)
is his winged, antisocial, teenage paralegal who enjoys karate and speaking
Spanish. As the token superhero, Harvey winds up with all the unwanted
cartoon characters' lawsuits. His clients include Fred Flintstone as a
possible mobster, Scooby-Doo arrested for possession, Boo-boo suspected
as the Una-booboo, and Apache Chief who has been burned by hot coffee.
His old enemies Myron Reducto (Colbert), Vulturo (Ross), or Spyro (McKean)
take the opposing side. Each episode features a brief trial and a
verdict from either Judge Mightor (Cole), the prehistoric barbarian who
uses a mighty club as his gavel, or Mentok the Mindtaker (Higgins). The
series is an adult cartoon, mixing pop culture icons and images with bizarre
plots: "The Dabba Don" puts the Flintstones into Soprano-land, Fred
insists that the can-opener is dead to him after it testifies to observing
white slavery, and Harvey winds up with Quick Draw McGraw in his bed. The
creators are Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter. Sample testimony: "State
your first name, your last name, and occupation." "Lizardman, Lizardman,
and uh, Lizardman."
Hawk (ABC, 9/66-12/66; NBC, 4/76-8/78
[reruns])
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Wayne Grice, Bruce Glover, Leon Janney
Summary: Lt. John Hawk (Reynolds) was an Iroquois Indian
who worked as a night-time investigator for the New York City district
attorney's office. His Indian ways provided a unique outlook and
techniques to solve cases for assistant D.A.'s Murry Slaken (Glover) and
Ed Gorton (Janney). NBC ran reruns ten years later to capitalize
on Reynolds' new found popularity and the series was just as terrible as
it had originally been.
Hawkins (CBS, 10/73-9/74)
Cast: Jimmy Stewart, Strother Martin
Summary: Slow-talking and home-spun but formidable in
the courtroom, former D.A. Billy Jim Hawkins (Stewart) has moved back to
small town life in rural West Virgina. But small town civil cases
elude him as his reputation as a criminal defense lawyer bring more than
enough work to fill his and his cousin and assistant R. J.'s (Martin) time.
Like Clinton Judd (Judd for the Defense) a few years earlier, he
is well-paid to travel far and wide investigating crime and finding the
culprits.
Hazel (NBC, 9/61-9/65; CBS, 9/65-9/66)
Cast: Shirley Booth, Don DeFore, Whitney Blake,
Bobby Buntrock, Julia Benjamin, Lauren Gilbert
Summary: "George Baxter (DeFore) was a highly successful
corporate lawyer who was always in control of everything at the office,
but of almost nothing at home. When he returned from the office at day's
end, to his wife, Dorothy (Blake), and his young son, Harold (Buntrock),
he entered the world of Hazel (Booth). Hazel was the maid/housekeeper who
ran the Baxter household more efficiently than George ran his office. She
was always right, knew exactly what needed doing, and preempted his authority
with alarming, though justified, regularity." [Tim Brooks and Earle
Marsh,
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows
1946-Present 446 (6th ed. 1995).] Baxter's helplessness became
particularly clear whenever the plot included Harvey Griffin (Howard Smith),
a cantankerous businessman who was his most important client. Invariably,
Griffin would become upset with Baxter and threaten to fire him. It would
then be up to Hazel to save the day by smoothing matters over with one
of her homemade brownies. (from Bob Jarvis, Situation Comedies,
in Prime Time Law, http://www.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/ptl/jarvis.htm)
George is a partner in the firm Butterworth, Natch, Noll, and Baxter.
He went to "Dartmouth University Law School" where he had 2 years of pre-law
training and 4 years of law school, and is a member of the board of regents.
He is also an attorney for the Symphony Association. His partner,
god's-gift-to-women, Harry Noll (Gilbert) bought the house next door, where
he lives with his trophy wife.
Head Cases (Fox, 9/14/05-9/21/05)
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, Adam Goldberg, Richard Kind, Rhea Seahorn, Krista Allen
Summary: Corporate lawyer Jason Payne (O'Donnell) meets criminal defense lawyer Russell Schultz (Goldberg) in the mental hospital where they are both being treated, respectively for panic attacks and explosive
disorder. A condition of their return to society is that they be "buddies" and Schultz
sees a potential partnership. When Payne is fired by his former firm, his only alternative is to take up with Schultz
and thanks to a "gift" of the firm's client list, they begin by taking on the
opposing parties. Schultz soon hires a disbarred paralegal (Kind) and Payne counters by hiring his former
secretary (Seahorn). Payne's knowledge of the law and Schultz's unpredictable courtroom behavior makes them an odd couple but
well-matched team.
Hearts Afire (CBS, 9/92-4/93)
Cast: John Ritter, Markie Post, George Gaynes, Wendie
Jo Sperber, Beth Broderick, Ed Asner
Summary: Strobe Smithers (Gaynes) is a somewhat senile
and conservative Southern senator whose hard-working aide John Hartman
(Ritter) has two kids to look after. Liberal journalist Georgie Ann
Lahti (Post) enters the scene as a potential speechwriter who also happens
to have been recently evicted. She is hired and John invites her to stay
with him. But coming along with her is her father George (Asner),
a disbarred attorney who was once president of the American Trial Lawyers
Association. He took up ceramics and cooking while in prison and is now
the family's housekeeper.
Hidden Faces (12/68-6/69)
Cast: Conard Fowkes, Louise Shaffer, Joseph Daly, Linda
Blair, Rita Gam, Gretchen Walther
Summary: Set in the law office of Mason-esque attorney
Arthur Adams (Fowkes), this crime/suspense day-time serial attempted to
emulate the success of CBS's "The Edge of Night." Arthur's first-and-only
case involved beautiful physician Kate Logan (Shaffer), who was falsely
accused of causing a patient's death. By the end of the series' brief six-month
run, Arthur successfully defended and fell in love with Dr. Logan.
Highway to Heaven (NBC, 9/84-8/89)
Cast: Michael Landon, Dorothy McGuire, Joan Welles, Victor French
Summary: Arthur Morton (Landon) worked as an honest lawyer
and was a good husband and father until his death in 1948. Now he
has been made an apprentice angel, given a new name - Jonathan Smith -
and an assignment to gain his wings: to help people on earth.
He works alone until he meets Mark Gordon (French), a cynical ex-cop, and
when he restores Mark's faith in man and reveals himself as an angel, Mark
asks if he can assist with his tasks. Jonathan agrees and the two
become a team.
Hill Street Blues (NBC, 1/81-5/87)
Cast: Daniel Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Betty Thomas, Michael
Warren , Kiel Martin, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid, Joe Spano,
Taurean Blacque, Rene Enriquez, Ed Marinaro, Jeffrey Tambor, George Wyner,
Barbara Bosson
Summary: Ground breaking series that featured not only
the large ensemble cast, but also multiple story lines and crosscutting
sound and camera shots, techniques that critics said an audience would
never accept. Each episode followed the course of a day in the life of
the Hill Street police station, set in an anonymous inner city neighborhood
somewhere on the East coast. It is run by Captain Frank Furillo (Travanti),
whose personal life spilled into the office with a fractious ex-wife (Bosson)
and a secret lover, public defender Joyce Davenport (Hamel), whom he later
marries. The cops were a motley group: the
kindly Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (Conrad) who called roll and always closed with
"Let's be careful out there," the hot-headed Andy Renko (Haid) and his
partner Bobby Hill (Warren), the struggling alcoholic J. D. LaRue
(Martin) and his partner Neal Washington (Blaque), one of the few women
who worked the street Lucy Bates (Thomas), and Detectives Belker
(Weitz) whose temper is both quick and eccentric, and Bunce (Franz) who
never heard a rule he couldn't break. Also on hand are the sensitive and
compassionate community affairs officer Goldblume (Spano), Asst. Dist.
Atty. Irwin Bernstein (Wyner), and Judge Alan Wachtel (Tambor). Its complex
characterizations and stories which did not follow a hard line of moral
certainty garnered much critical acclaim; it won 6 Emmies in its first
year. The interconnections and conflicts between personal and professional
life gave the show its center, allowing plot lines to finish in one episode
or pull viewers in by creating story arcs.
Hizzoner
(NBC, 5/79-6/79)
Cast: David Huddleston, Will Seltzer, Kathy Cronkite,
Don Galloway, Diana Muldaur, Mickey Deems
Summary: Michael Cooper (Huddleston) is the mayor of a
small Midwestern town whose grown children provided a sharp contrast to
his conservative outlook. Daughter Annie (Cronkite) is a feminist
civil rights lawyer and son James (Seltzer), a hippie who belonged to a
commune known as the Wilderness Cult. He is assisted by his
chief of staff (Galloway), secretary (Muldaur), and driver and childhood
friend (Deems), who usually have to save him from his own best intentions.
As a way of calming the chaos, Mayor Cooper would break into song at least
once each episode.
Hollywood Offbeat (Syndicated, 1952;
Dumont, 11/52-1/53; CBS, 6/53-8/53)
Cast: Melvyn Douglas
Summary: Steve Randall (Douglas) is a former WWII intelligence
agent who became a p.i. after being wrongfully disbarred from the practice
of law. He takes on cases because he has one weakness - insatiable
curiosity - but his primary reason for getting a detective's license is
to find those responsible for framing him. In the last episode, he is readmitted
to the bar. The show ran as a syndication, titled Steve Randall,
simultaneously with Dumont's and CBS's network offering. "This is
Hollywood. It is a town like any other town. There may be a few more pretty
girls because of the pull of the motion picture studios, but otherwise
just another American town. And there is Steve Randall, who knows Hollywood
like the palm of his hand. Steve Randall is in his own way a composite
of Hollywood. He's seen everything a man can see anywhere and has been
disillusioned by most of it. And he belongs in Hollywood, for its fame
and so-called glamour are magnets for the money-hungry riffraff of the
outside world. They bring their greed to Steve Randall's town, and greed's
companion is trouble. And that's fine for Steve Randall because trouble
is his business."
The Home Court, (NBC, 9/95-10/95)
Cast: Pamela Reed, Breckin Meyer, Meghann Haldeman, Robert
Gorman, Phillip Van Dyke, Charles Rocket, Megen Fay
Summary: Chicago family court judge Sydney Solomon (Reed)
is a divorced single mom who can easily keep order from the bench but whose
homelife is chaotic at best. She has a son (Meyer) who has just quit
college and come home jobless, another one who spends all his time on the
internet (Gorman), a third (Van Dyke) who has ADD, and a daughter (Haldeman)
who would prefer to live on another planet.
The Homer Bell Show(Syndicated,
NBC Films, 1955)
Cast: Gene Lockhart, Jane Moultrie, Mary Lee Dearing
Summary: Judge Homer Bell (Lockhart) was a justice of
the peace in a small Western town. It was a daytime half-hour show and
geared to stay-at-home mid-50's wives. He had a mouthy housekeeper
(Moultrie) and a pretty daughter (Dearing) who was always getting into
little jams, but whose problems could be solved by her father's advice.
NBC simultaneously promoted it as a comedy, western, and drama and it was
also known as His Honor, Homer Bell. Lockhart was a character actor
who had been in more than 100 movies, including the roles of judge in Lady
from Texas (1951), That Wonderful Urge (1948), and Miracle
on 34th St. (1947), and was the father of actress June Lockhart.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids(ABC,
9/97-5/00)
Cast: Peter Scolari, Barbara Alyn Woods, Hillary Tuck,
Thomas Dekker, Bruce Jarchow
Summary: Wayne Szalinski is a brilliant but goofy inventor,
whose schemes more often than not get his family into a jam. Fortunately
his wife Diane (Woods) is a lawyer and the kids are just as likely to be
the rescuers as to create problems. The show combined comedy with
a surprisingly high standard of special effects.
House on High Street
(NBC, 9/59-2/60)
Cast: Phillip Abbott, James Gehrig, Harris Peck
Summary: One of the first daytime soaps to be videotaped,
it presented three-to-five part stories about divorce or juvenile deliquency,
supposedly based on actual cases. Social worker John Collier (Abbott)
narrated each episode which looked more like an experimental, psychological
mini-soap opera than a legal proceeding. Former Nassau County district
attorney and Family Court judge James N. Gehrig played himself; Harris
Peck played himself as the doctor.
House Rules (NBC, 3/98-6/98)
Cast: Maria Pitillo, Bradley White, David Newsom
Summary: A buddy comedy about three Gen Xers who share
a house in Denver: Friends meets Three's Company. The series
chronicles the adventures of three lifelong, ski-loving friends: Casey
Farrell (Pitollo), a deputy district attorney; William McCusky (Newsom),
a medical student; and Thomas Riley III (White), a reporter.
Huff (Showtime, 11/04-present)
Cast: Hank Azaria, Paget Brewster, Blythe Danner, Oliver
Platt, Andy Comeau, Anton Yelchin
Summary: Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt (Azaria) is a Los
Angeles psychiatrist whose life is sent reeling when a tragedy occurs in
his office. An eternal caretaker who thinks he can save people, Huff learns
very brutally that he can't save everyone. He deals with the functionally
insane all day, and when he comes home, he's faced with the daily insanities
of family life. His wife (Brewster) tries to be supportive, his mother
(Danner) is manipulative, son (Yelchin) is a "regular" 14-year-old, and
his brother (Comeau) is a schizophrenic locked in a mental ward.
It is left to his best friend and lawyer (Platt) to defend him, both professionally
and personally.
Husbands, Wives and Lovers (CBS,
3/78-6/78)
Cast: Eddie Barth, Mark Lonow, Lynne Marie Stewart, Randee
Heller, Claudette Nevins, Cynthia Harris, Stephen Pearlman, Ron Rifkin,
Jesse Welles
Summary: Joan Rivers created and hour-long sitcom following
five couples--neighbors and friends--living in the San Fernando Valley
near Los Angeles, California. Harry Bellini (Barth) was a blue-collar,
self-made man who owned a chain of garbage trucks and his brother Lennie
(Lonow) ran a jeans boutique with his lover Rita (Heller). Murray
Zuckerman (Pearlman) was a traveling salesman who often left his wife (Harris)
alone. Dentist Ron Willis (Rifkin) was amicably separated from wife Helene
(Welles), and corporate lawyer Dixon Carter (Siebert) was Ron's best friend,
handling Helene's divorce proceedings, and married to free-spending Courtney
(Nevins).
I Had Three Wives (CBS, 8/85-9/85)
Cast: Victor Garber, Shanna Reed, Teri Copley, Maggie
Cooper
Summary: Jack Beaudine (Garber), owner of Jackson Beaudine
Investigations, has 3 ex-wives, all of them friendly with him and each
other, who use their careers and talents to help him solve crimes.
Elizabeth Bailey (Reed) is a reporter for the Los Angeles Chronicle, Samantha
Collins (Copley) is an aspiring actress and stuntwoman, and Mary Parker
(Cooper) is an attorney.
I Married Joan (NBC, 5/52-4/55)
Cast: Jim Backus, Joan Davis, Beverly Wills
Summary: Domestic relations court Judge Bradley Stevens
(Backus) has a decidedly wacky wife Joan (Davis), but in an odd way he
relies on her to help him decide cases. Typically an episode opens
with Judge Stevens sitting on the bench, and as he explains how he and
his wife faced a similar problem, the courtroom fades to the Stevens' home,
where the plot unfolds. In Backus' autobiography, he reminisces that the
stolid judge married the "thoroughly dissarranged airline stewardess in
a moment of blinding insanity." He "hadn't the jurisprudence to judge
a dog show, loved every moment of it, as he went about ladling out his
own brand of treacly justice--'Whereas, who gets custody of the pony?'
" An early episode is at http://www.liketelevision.com/web1/classictv/joan/
I'll Fly Away (NBC, 10/91-4/93)
Cast: Sam Waterston, Regina Taylor, Jeremy London, Ashlee
Levitch, John Bennett, Kathryn Harrold, Mary Alice, Rae'ven Kelly, Dorian
Harewood
Summary: Forrest Bedford is the district attorney in a
small southern town in the late 1950s. His wife is mentally ill and
hospitalized, leaving his three children (London, Levitch, Bennett) motherless.
Coming to his assistance as both housekeeper and child watcher is the quiet
and compassionate but strong-willed Lilly Harper (Taylor). Slowly
the events of the civil rights movement unfurl, if only in small ways,
in the town and to Forrest's consternation, Lilly becomes a tentative part
of those changes. The audience sees Lilly in her own right, not just as
a white family's maid, but also at home with her cantankerous father (Cobbs),
a former player for the Negro Baseball League, and her young daughter (Kelly).
He believes that it is her duty to take care of her family and to bring
in a salary and is perturbed by her interest in a a traveling sax player
(Harewood). As time goes on, Forrest campaigns for state Attorney General
and then is appointed U.S. Attorney. A local defense attorney Christina
LeKatzis (Harrold) brings a bit of spark to his life, both in her opposition
to his views and as a possible love interest. Waterston and Taylor won
Golden Globes in 1993 for best performances in a drama series; the director
and writer won Emmy's in 1992; Mary Alice won a best supporting actress
Emmy in 1993; and the series won a best directing award from the DGA in
1992.
Imagine That
(NBC, 1/02)
Cast: Hank Azaria, Jayne Brook, Julia Schultz, Suzy Nakamura,
Katey Sagal, Joshua Malina
Summary: Josh Miller is a comedy sketch writer with a
fantasy life peopled by characters who all look like him. His boss
(Sagal) steals his ideas, his high-powered lawyer wife (Brook) drags him
to couples therapy, and his writing partner (Malina) is in lust with their
new assistant's (Schultz) underwear. The show was pulled after only two
episodes.
inJustice (ABC, 2006-present)
Cast: Kyle McLachlan, Jason O'Mara, Constance Zimmer, Daniel Cosgrove,
Marisol Nichols
Summary: Rather than merely catching the bad guys, this group of young
lawyers and investigators catch the bad guys and free the good! Focusing
on cases of justice run amok, cases in which an innocent person has been
wrongly convicted of a crime, the team from the National Justice Project
approach their work like a puzzle -- a puzzle that's been put together wrong.
Their task is to take the pieces apart and reassemble the puzzle correctly,
in the process identifying the truly guilty and freeing the innocent. These
modern-day heroes are not naïve crusaders. They're led by David Swain
(MacLachlan), an attorney of questionable ethics but unquestionable talent,
and by his chief investigator, Charles Conti (O'Mara), a former cop who's
willing to put up with Swain's idiosyncrasies in order to make sure that
justice is done. (from the official site at http://abc.go.com/primetime/injustice/index.html)
The young and competitive lawyers are the questioning Sonya (Nichols), even-tempered
Brianna (Zimmer), and hotshot Jon (Cosgrove).
Ironside (NBC, 9/67-1/75)
Cast: Raymond Burr, Don Galloway, Don Mitchell,
Gene Lyons, John Seven, Barbara Anderson, Elizabeth Baur
Summary: Robert T. Ironside is the San Francisco Police
Department's Chief of Detectives. Although paralyzed from a would-be
assassin's bullet and confined to a wheelchair, his detecting skills have
not been hampered and he is ably assisted by Lt. Ed Brown (Galloway), police
officers Fran Belding (Baur) and Eve Whitfield (Anderson), and his personal
assistant, an ex-con now attending law school, Mark Sanger (Mitchell).
It Takes Two (ABC, 10/82-9/83)
Cast: Patty Duke, Richard Crenna, Helen Hunt, Anthony Edwards,
Billie Bird, Della Reese
Summary: Molly (Duke) and Sam (Crenna) Quinn are a busy
professional couple with 2 children (Hunt and Edwards). Sam, a successful
surgeon, is beginning to have second thoughts about Molly's late-life career
as a district attorney. Life was so much simpler - for him - when she was
a stay-at-home mom and he didn't have to be concerned about running the
household.
JAG, (NBC, 9/95-present)
Cast: David James Elliott, Catherine Bell, Patrick Labyorteaux,
John M. Jackson
Summary: JAG (military-speak for Judge Advocate General)
is an adventure drama about an elite legal wing of officers trained as
lawyers who investigate, prosecute and defend those accused of crimes in
the military, including murder, treason and terrorism. Navy Cmdr.
Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr., (Elliott) an ace pilot turned lawyer, and
Marine Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (Bell), a beautiful by-the-book officer,
are colleagues who hold the same high standards but find themselves clashing
when they choose different routes to get to the same place. The unmistakable
chemistry between them must be held at bay for professional reasons as
they traverse the globe together with a single mission: to search
for and discover the truth. Helping them with their mission is Navy
Lt. Bud Roberts (Labyorteaux), a young lawyer who often surprises his superiors
with the breadth of his knowledge. Running the show is their boss, no-nonsense
Admiral Chegwidden (Jackson), a former Navy Seal who has the utmost confidence
in Harm, Mac and Bud. (from the official site at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jag/about.shtml).
"Following in his father's footsteps as a naval aviator Lieutenant Commander
Harmon Rabb, Jr. suffered a crash while landing his Tomcat on a storm tossed
carrier at sea. Diagnosed with night-blindness, Harm transferred to the
Navy's Judge Advocate General Corp which investigates, defends and prosecutes
the law of the sea. There, with fellow JAG lawyer Major Sarah McKenzie,
he now fights in and out of the courtroom with the same daring and tenacity
that made him a Top Gun in the air."
Jake and the Fatman (CBS, 9/87-8/92)
Cast: William Conrad, Joe Penny, Alan Campbell,
Melody Anderson
Summary: Jason Lochinvar ("J. L.") McCabe (Conrad) begins
the series as D.A. of an unnamed southern California city, then works as
a prosecutor in Honolulu, and finally in Costa del Mar, another small southern
California city. His chief investigator is Jake Styles (Penny), aided
later in the series by Neely Capshaw (Anderson). The series focused
on crime-solving and the friendship between the crusty elderly attorney
and his suave young assistant.
The Jean Arthur Show ( CBS, 9/66-12/66)
Cast: Jean Arthur, Ron Harper
Summary: Marshall and Marshall is a prestigious law firm
in Beverly Hills, California. Patricia Marshall (Arthur) founded
the firm with her late husband and is now partnered with her son Paul (Harper).
Patricia got her law degree from Harvard and is known as a brilliant litigator,
but she also takes the hard-luck and sometimes goofy cases no one else
will. Her son also went to Harvard, but in contrast to his free-spirit,
legally flexible mother, he is a by-the-books kind of guy who mostly represents
corporations.
Jennifer Slept Here (NBC, 10/83-12/83)
Cast: Ann Jillian, Georgia Engel, Brandon Maggart, John
Navin, Mya Akerling, Debbie Reynolds
Summary: Jennifer Farrell (Jillian) was a young woman
with a dream of achieving stardom in Hollywood. She did, singing
and dancing in the movie Stairway to Paradise, but shortly after
that she suffered an untimely death. Several years later, her posh Beverly
Hills home is purchased by New York lawyer George Elliott and his family.
One night 14-year-old son Joey (Navin) is startled to see her ghost in
his room; he is the only family member who can hear and see her.
Jennifer decides he needs some supernatural help to adjust to California
living and romance and she's the answer. Elliot is described as a dolt
and a lout in reviews and the series was included in a list of the least
likely clips to appear in their 75th anniversary special, along with "My
Mother the Car."
Judd, For the Defense (ABC, 9/67-9/69)
Cast: Carl Betz, Stephen Young
Summary: Wealthy and flamboyant Clinton Judd (Betz), based
in Houston, Texas, travels around the country with his assistant Ben Caldwell
(Young), defending high profile criminal cases. Many of them relate to
contemporary events, such as anti-war protests or civil rights murders,
although they are not based on actual cases. The character was supposedly
modeled on nationally known criminal defense lawyer Percy Foreman who actually
did live in Houston. Betz won an Emmy in 1969 for best male actor
in a dramatic series. A number of well-known actors made appearances:
Jessica Tandy, Richard Dreyfuss, Ida Lupino, Ed Asner, William Windom,
Lee Grant, Robert Duvall.
Judge Roy Bean, (Syndicated, Screencraft,
1955-56)
Cast: Edgar Buchanan, Jack Beutel, Russell Hayden, Jackie
Loughery
Summary: Judge Roy Bean (Buchanan) was the self-proclaimed
law west of the Pecos, and he presided over his courtroom with the help
of his right hand man Deputy Jeff Taggert (Beutel) and Steve (Hayden) the
Texas Ranger. Bean is also sheriff of the town of Langtry (named
for his inamorata the British actress Lily Langtry) and owner of Bean's
General Store, which is where he holds court. He doesn't own a gun,
relying instead on Taggert's quick draw and his own ability to understand
the criminal mind. Helping him out in the store is his niece Letty
(Loughery), who in addition to being quite beautiful can handle herself
in an emergency - she keeps a gun strapped to her ankle under her dress.
Hayden was also the producer. He shot the series in color and as
cheaply as possible in a Calfornia tourist-trap called "Pioneertown."
The tv Bean and town of Langtry was considerably sanitized for the audience.
"For much of his life from the time he left his Kentucky home in 1847,
Bean moved from town to town—in Mexico, Southern California, New Mexico,
and Texas—getting into and fleeing from one scrape after another, killing
at least two men in duels. During the Civil War he first served with Confederate
regulars and then was a blockade runner in Texas, becoming so prosperous
that he could live married in San Antonio for some 16 years at ease. In
1882 he moved on, west of the Pecos River, and set up a saloon, the Jersey
Lilly, next to a railroad line through Dead Man's Canyon. He named the
site Langtry (after the actress Lillie Langtry) and eventually established
himself as justice of the peace, with the approval of the Texas Rangers.
He knew neither law nor court procedure and became celebrated for his rulings,
which were variously hard, common-sensical, and prankish; he once reportedly
fined a dead man $40 for carrying a concealed weapon and pocketed the proceeds."
Encyclopædia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. 18 Jun, 2003 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=14108>
Judging Amy, (9/99-present)
Cast: Amy Brenneman, Tyne Daly, Dan Futterman, Karle Warren,
Marcus Giamatti, Jessica Tuck, Richard T. Jones, Jillian Armenante
Summary: Amy Gray (Brenneman) is a single mother who left New
York behind and become a family court judge in Hartford, Conn. Recently
divorced and raising her young daughter, Lauren (Warren), she has moved
in with her very opinionated mother, Maxine (Daly), a social worker; re-established
a friendship with her free-spirited writer brother, Vincent (Futterman);
her older brother, Peter (Giamatti) and his wife, Gillian (Tuck), and is
continuing to make her fresh start at work. Assisting Amy in the courtroom
are her court services officer, Bruce Van Exel (Jones), and her overeager
court clerk, Donna Kozlowski-Pant (Armenante). The series, based
on the real-life story of Brenneman's mother, is about three generations
of women living together as they confront the personal and professional
dilemmas in their changing and challenging lives. (from the official site
at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/judging_amy/index.shtml)
The Jury (Fox,
6/04-present)
Cast: Billy Burke, Jeff Hephner, Shalom Harlow, Anna Friel,
Adam Busch, Barry Levinson
Summary: "Guilty or Not Guilty? What do
you think? Starting June 8th, with the premiere of THE JURY, you
can render your verdict. All you need to do is have your wireless
phone handy and when you see the on-air call to action, tell us what you
think. Then, keep watching to see how America voted and whether you were
right! "Viewer Verdict” participation is available for Verizon, AT&T
Wireless, Cingular, Nextel and T-Mobile customers. *Viewer Verdict
is an opinion poll for entertainment purposes only and has no effect on
the outcome of the television program." (from the official website at http://www.fox.com/jury/home.htm).
The series, set in New York City, looks at criminal cases from the jury's
point of view. The first scene of each episode is the end of the
trial. The remainder shows jury deliberations, while flashbacks reveal
testimony, pre-trial conferences, witnesses' statements and police interrogations
to the viewers. After the jury has cast the final vote, another flashback
shows the actual crime and the viewers get to see if they came to the correct
decision. The case and jury change with each episode, but the officers
of the court remain the same: prosecutors John Ranguso (Burke) and Keenan
O'Brien (Hephner), defense attorneys Melissa Greenfield (Harlow) and Megan
Delaney (Friel), bailiff Steve Dixon (Busch), and Judge Horatio Hawthorne
(Levinson). The series follows the same format as the first syndicated
law program, Public Prosecutor,
but it was more likely influenced by the audience participation of Dateline's
true crime/trial shows.
Just Cause (Pax, 9/02-8/03)
Cast: Richard Thomas, Lisa Lackey, Shaun Benson, Khaira
Ledeyo, Mark Hildreth, Roger Cross
Summary: Alex DeMonaco's (Lackey) husband, a corrupt attorney,
vanished when he was about to be arrested for running an insurance scam.
Worse yet, he took off with their two-year-old daughter Mia, and Alex hasn't
heard from him since. With her husband missing, Alex takes the fall and
is sentenced to five years in prison. Determined to improve her life, Alex
vows to find her daughter and clear her name. Upon her release, she goes
to Hamilton Whitney III (Thomas), a successful and well-respected San Francisco
civil lawyer who also happens to be an old friend of the Governor, for
help. At first put off by Alex's brashness, Whitney refuses to get involved.
But Alex talks her way into a job at the firm after demonstrating her knowledge
of the law, and making quite an impression on Whitney's associate Patrick
Heller (Benson), both professionally and personally. Whitney's career has
been dedicated to helping rich people keep their money. Alex, however,
wants to use her legal skills to help the underdog. But as a convicted
felon, she can't practice law. So, to Whitney's dismay, Alex keeps bringing
him cases he would not otherwise take. (from the Pax website at http://www.pax.tv/shows/justcau/)
Just Legal (WB, 9/2005-present)
Cast: Don Johnson, Jay Baruchel, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Reiley
McClendon
Summary: David "Skip" Ross (Baruchel), 18, a brilliant legal
prodigy, dreams of becoming a great trial lawyer. The only person that
Skip feels truly comfortable with is his under-achieving younger brother
Tom (McClendon). When he can't land a job at any of the prestigious Los
Angeles law firms because he's too young, Skip ends up working for Grant
Cooper (Johnson). Once a great lawyer, Cooper used to be a golden boy at
an important downtown law firm, but when he lost a case he should not have
taken on, his client was executed and Cooper began a long, slow descent
into career and personal failure. Now, Cooper is barely scraping by in
a low-rent private practice as a court-appointed attorney in a shabby beachfront
office in Venice, California. A functioning alcoholic with a cynical view
of the world, Cooper is nonetheless touched by the enthusiasm and idealism
he sees in his unlikely new protégé. Skip's brilliant mind
allowed him to excel at all things academic, but he had a sheltered upbringing
and now finds himself in the working world with very few social skills
to fall back on. Skip desperately needs the practical advice that can only
come from an experienced trial lawyer, and Cooper is only too happy to
have someone around to do the "grunt" work. The law office has only one
employee, Dulcinea "Dee" Real (Kirchner), a former client of Cooper's who
took the job to pay off her legal fees and fulfill her parole requirements.
Cooper and Skip defend society's forgotten people, not wealthy celebrities.
Their stories involve murder, mayhem, medical malpractice, rape, racism
and classic whodunits with surprising twists. Many stories are based on
classic legal cases from the past, while others are ripped from today's
headlines. (from the WB website http://thewb.warnerbros.com/web/show.jsp?id=JL)
Justice (NBC, 4/54-3/56)
Cast: Garry Merrill, William Prince
Summary: This live series, "presented with the cooperation
of the National Legal Aid Association" featured legal aid attorneys
Richard Adams (Prince) or Jason Tyler (Merrill) who acted both as narrator
and member of the cast. Each episode aimed to show the importance
of the legal system and the good works of Legal Aid. Some episodes were
based on actual cases, mostly criminal, that the organization had handled.
The series was able to attract quite a few already well-known actors such
as Rod Steiger, Eileen Heckart, Ben Gazarra, Jack Klugman, Jason Robards,
Maureen Stapleton, Theodore Bikel, Walter Matthau, Eva Gabor, and Jackie
Cooper, many of whom made repeat appearances. A number of its writers and
directors later worked on "The Defenders."
Kate Brasher CBS (2/01-5/01)
Cast: Mary Stuart Masterson, Rhea Perlman, Hector Elizondo,
Gregory Smith, Mason Gamble
Summary: An inspirational family drama about a single
mother whose life changes when she ends up working at the community advocacy
center where she seeks help. Kate Brasher (Masterson), a financially strapped
single parent of two teenage sons, Daniel (Smith) and Elvis (Gamble), is
a hardworking mom full of love who will do anything to give her kids every
advantage. When Kate walks through the doors of Brothers Keepers asking
for legal advice, it changes her life forever. There she encounters a feisty
attorney, Abbie Schaeffer (Perlman), and the center's tough, street-smart
director, Joe Almeida (Elizondo). Together, they show Kate that by helping
others she can create a better life for herself and her boys. At Brothers
Keepers, it is all about giving a voice to the voiceless and Kate Brasher
intends that they be heard. Although many obstacles stand in her way, she
remains steadfast in her belief that, no matter what, the universe will
provide. (from the official site, http://www.cbs.com/primetime/kate_brasher/index.shtml)
Kate McShane (CBS, 9/75-11/75)
Cast: Anne Meara, Charles Haid, Sean McClory
Summary: Kate McShane (Meara) was independent, hard-headed
and soft-hearted - the perfect lawyer for the bad cases. Her father,
a former cop (McClory), was her chief investigator and her brother (Haid),
a Jesuit priest and law professor, offered moral and legal advice.
The first primetime dramatic series with a female lawyer as the lead character.
(Portia Faces Life was a daytime serial and both Willy and
The
Jean Arthur Show were light comedies.) Ms. Meara and her husband Jerry
Stiller made a comedy tv series in 1986 in which they have a son who is
a Harvard Law School dropout.
Kaz (CBS, 9/78-8/79)
Cast: Ron Leibman, Patrick O'Neal, George Wyner, Edith
Atwater, Linda Carlson, Gloria LeRoy, Mark Withers, Dick O'Neill
Summary: Martin "Kaz" Kazinsky (Liebman) was a lawyer
with
an unusual background. He was a true "jail-house lawyer" - he had
worked on his law degree while spending 6 years in jail for car theft.
After getting out, he passed the bar and was licensed, but could only get
a job as the lowest of associates in a big firm, Bennett, Rheinhart, and
Alquist, and that was only thanks to the generosity of the paternalistic
senior partner, Samuel Bennett (O'Neal). Fortunately, he had a niche
- a unique understanding of the criminal mind - and many of the criminal
cases fell into his lap. He had an inside line to the courthouse as well;
his girlfriend Katie (Carlson) was a court reporter. Liebman won the 1979
Emmy for outstanding actor in the drama series he created. George Wyner
played an assistant district attorney and did the same a few years later
on Hill Street Blues.
Kevin Hill (UPN, 9/04-5/05)
Cast: Taye Diggs, Jon Seda, Patrick Breen, Michael Michele,
Christina Hendricks, Kate Levering
Summary: Kevin Hill (Diggs) is a 28-year-old, self-made,
hotshot entertainment lawyer in New York City with the ultimate bachelor
life--a high-power job, plenty of pretty ladies and enough money to buy
whatever he wants. Joing along in his exploits is his buddy, the
charming and witty Dame (Seda). But, Kevin's whole life turns upside down
when he's left to raise the six-month-old daughter of his cousin, who died
suddenly. After figuring out how to deal with bottles, diapers and his
new no-nonsense, gay nanny George (Breen), Kevin quits his workaholic law
firm for a flex-time, boutique law office, Grey & Associates, owned
and staffed completely by women. Kevin must adjust his attitude when dealing
with his new co-workers, who include Jessie Grey (Michele), a single mom
and boss; Nicolette Raye (Hendricks), the office's most underestimated
legal weapon; and Veronica Carter (Levering), a whip-smart diva, who previously
had a one-night stand with Kevin. Despite continuing temptation from his
party buddies, Kevin is determined to walk the line between the women at
his job, the women that he chases, and the baby girl in the crib. (from
the official website at http://www.upn.com/shows/kevin_hill/)
Knots Landing
(CBS, 12/79-5/93)
Cast: Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, Don Murray, Michele Lee,
John Pleshette, Constance McCashin, James Houghton, Kim Lankford, Claudia
Lonow, Pat Petersen, Donna Mills
Summary: This popular night time soap opera followed the adventures
of five families living on the same cul-de-sac in a small California community
: Gary and Valene Ewing, who have fled the pressures of being Ewings in
Dallas; Sid and Karen Fairgate, owners of a classic car dealership; Richard
and Laura Avery, obnoxious, womanizing lawyer and successful real estate
agent, respectively; Kenny and Ginger Ward, a newlywed couple; and divorcee
Abby Cunningham, Sid's recently divorced sister, who immediately sets her
sights on Richard Avery. Gary divorces Val, marries Abby, and inherits
his share of Jock Ewing's estate. Richard and Laura's marriage falls apart
when she discovers that he is having an affair with Abby. After that affair
ends, Abby starts up with the mob-connected state senator/ lawyer Greg
Sumner. Sumner is up against Patrick McKenzie, married to the newly widowed
Karen Fairgate, to whom he has given the job of crime commissioner mistakenly
believing that "Mac" was corrupt. And this was only in the first two seasons.
The characters evolved and revolved among themselves as the series wore
on, but the general themes were corruption, plotting, adultery, murder
trials and attempted murders, long lost relatives, and much backstabbing.
L. A. Law (NBC, 9/86-5/94)
Cast: Corbin Bensen, Jill Eikenberry, Alan Rachins, Michael
Tucker, Michael Dysart, Susan Dey, Larry Drake, Michelle Green, Harry Hamlin,
Bruce Kirby, Jimmy Smits, John Spencer, Blair Underwood, Susan Ruttan
Summary: On L.A. Law, the critically acclaimed, Emmy award–winning
drama about a top Los Angeles law firm, some of the best battles take place
outside of the courtroom. In the bedroom, in the courtroom, or at
McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak's staff meetings, the firm's ambitious,
competitive attorneys confront conflict between their own desires, their
obligations as lawyers, and their principles as human beings.
It made a dramatic break from the usual TV focus on criminal cases, instead
using mostly civil litigation as the crux of its storylines. The
show won Emmy Awards for outstanding drama series in 1989 and 1990, outstanding
supporting actor in a drama series in 1988 and 1990, outstanding supporting
actress in a drama series in 1989, and outstanding writing in a drama series
in 1989 and 1990.
Law and Harry McGraw (CBS, 9/87-2/88)
Cast: Barbara Babcock, Jerry Orbach, Juli Donald, Shea Farrell,
Peter Haskell
Summary: Harry McGraw (Orbach) is an unorthodox, unkempt,
and rather irritable detective who offices across the hall from Boston
Brahmin and criminal defense attorney Ellie Maginnis (Babcock). He
is most likely to hurt himself in a fight and lose a car chase but he plods
on, tracking down criminals and saving Ellie from her more unsavory clients.
His office is held together by his tree-hugger niece and secretary E. J.
(Donald). Ellie's associate is her yuppie tax attorney nephew (Farrell)
who is always on the lookout for a potential mate for his aunt. Both
Harry and Ellie drive Assistant D. A. Tyler Chase (Haskell) crazy but he
seems to be falling for her in spite of himself.
Law and Mr. Jones (ABC, 10/60-9/61,
4/62-10/62)
Cast: James Whitmore, Janet DeGore, Conlan Carter
Summary: Abraham Lincoln Jones (Whitmore) is a criminal
defense lawyer with a penchant for citing Oliver Wendell Holmes. He is
assisted by his law clerk, young C.E. Carruthers (Carter) and secretary
Marsha Spear (DeGore). His cases usually did not involve violent but rather
white collar crime. When ABC cancelled the series, it received so many
angry letters that it was brought back the following spring, only to be
cancelled again for lack of viewers.
Law and Order (NBC, 9/90-present)
Cast: Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson,
Elizabeth Rohm, Sam Waterston, Fred Thompson
Summary: Law & Order is television’s longest-running
drama series currently on the air. The series that explores crime and the
legal system is the 1997 Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Drama Series
and the record holder for the most consecutive (nine) nominations in that
category. With its recent renewal through May 2005, it is set to become
the longest-running police series and second longest-running drama series
in the history of television. Filmed entirely on location in New
York City, this realistic program looks at crime and justice from a dual
perspective. In the first half-hour, Detectives Lennie Briscoe (Orbach)
and Edward Green (Martin) investigate crimes and apprehend suspects
under the supervision of their precinct lieutenant, Anita Van Buren (Merkerson).
In the second half-hour, the focus shifts to the criminal courts. Assistant
District Attorneys Serena Southerlyn (Rohm) and Jack McCoy (Waterston)
must work within a complicated justice system to prosecute the accused.
Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in New York City, a new
district Attorney, Arthur Branch (Thompson), has been elected to serve
as the guiding force in the D.A.’s office, offering a strict interpretation
of the Constitution.Some cases may be simple, but most are multi-faceted.
The investigations are challenging, prosecutions are complicated, and decisions
about legal procedures and plea-bargaining vexing. In the often arduous
and complex process of determining innocence and guilt, lives hang
in the balance. (from the official site at http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order/index.html)
William N. Fordes, a litigation partner at New York's Gold and Wachtel
who served five years in the Manhattan district attorney's office, adds
to the sometimes highly technical information in the scripts. Michael S.
Chernuchin, former editor of the law review at Cornell University School
of Law, is a regular staff writer.
The series was the primetime Susan Lucci, nominated for numerous awards
over its history, including Emmies every year, but seldom winning in spite
of positive critical notice and long-time good ratings. Sam Waterson won
the SAG award in 1997, Benjamin Bratt won Almas in 1998 and 1999, and it
finally won an Emmy for best television drama in 1997. However, Mike
Post consistently won the BMI Film & Tv award (1998-2004) for his striking
theme song and mystery readers approved it with Edgar Awards from 1993-2000
for best televison episode. "In the criminal justice system, the
people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The
police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the
offenders. These are their stories."
Law and Order - Criminal Intent
(NBC, 9/01-present)
Cast: Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan, Courtney
B. Vance
Summary: The third derivative of Law and Order
presents the story from the criminal's point of view. It continues
the format of crime, detection and trial, but with less emphasis on the
legal details. The series' regulars are Detectives Robert Goren (D'Onofrio)
and Alexandra Eames (Erbe), led by their commanding officer Capt. James
Deakins (Sheridan). D.A. Ron Carver (Vance) keeps them from crossing the
legal lines. The website is at http://nbc.com/Law_&_Order:_Criminal_Intent/index.html.)
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
((NBC, 9/99-present)
Cast: Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Richard
Belzer, Dane Florek, Ice-T, B.D. Wong, Stephanie March, Diane Neal, Marlo
Thomas
Summary: This hard-hitting and emotional companion series
to Law & Order chronicles the life and crimes of the elite Special
Victims Unit of the New York Police Department. The series follows
Det. Elliot Stabler (Meloni), a seasoned veteran of the unit who has seen
it all, and his partner, Olivia Benson (Hargitay), whose difficult past
is the reason she joined the unit. Overseeing the unit is Capt. Donald
Cragen (Florek). Cragen's tough but supportive approach to the team's complex
cases guides the squad through the challenges they face every day. Also
featured is Det. John Munch (Belzer), a transfer from Baltimore's homicide
unit, who brings his acerbic wit, conspiracy theories and street-honed
investigative skills. Joining Munch is partner Det. Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
(Ice-T), whose unique wit and investigative experience make him a formidable
match for Munch. The detectives have another ally in bringing criminals
to justice, the assistant district attorneys, whose efforts to bring closure
to the intense investigations adds a legal component to the series. They
were Alexandra Cabot (March, 2000-03) and her occasional advisor, Judge
Mary Clark (Thomas), and Casey Novak (Neal, 2003-), Also aiding the detectives
is forensic psychiatrist George Huang (Wong), whose insight into the minds
of the accused often provides significant clues that lead to the resolution
of a case. (from the official website http://www.nbci.com/LMOID/bb/fd/0,946,-0-2196,00.html)
"In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered
especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate
these vicious felonies are members of a elite squad known as the Special
Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Law and Order: Trial by Jury, (NBC, 3/05-present)
Cast: Bebe Neuwirth, Amy Carlson, Fred Dalton Thompson, Kirk Acevedo
Summary: For the first time, a “Law & Order” series is told not only from the point-of-view of the
prosecutors and police -- but also from the perspective of the defense attorneys, defendants,
judges and jurors. "Law & Order: Trial by Jury” shows the inner workings of the judicial system,
beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors’ complicated process
of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial. Each week we see
Assistant District Attorneys Tracey Kibre (Neuwirth) and Kelly Gaffney (Carlson) prosecuting
tough cases, with advice from the avuncular District Attorney Arthur Branch (Thompson) and
assisted by DA Investigator Hector Salazar (Acevedo). Defense attorneys vary from week to
week, each time a special guest star. The series was originally set to
feature Jerry Orbach from the original Law & Order, but he died after two episodes.
The Lawyers (NBC, 9/69-9/72)
Cast: Joseph Campanella, James Farentino, Burl Ives
Summary: Another of the social relevancy law firm series
to debut in the late 60s, this one had no women or minority attorneys but
with older mentor Walter Nichols (Ives) and two attractive young male lawyers,
Brian and Neil Darrell (Campanella and Farentino), it seemed more like
the immensely popular The Defenders. Their differing personalities,
avuncular father-figure, straightlaced researcher, and daring litigator,
made for a good team with an occasional disagreement. One of the three
series under The Bold Ones umbrella, it won a 1972 Emmy for outstanding
directing. ""THE BOLD ONES! Burl Ives, Joseph Campanella, James Farentino....Lawyers
defending justice in the nation's courtrooms."
Leap Years (Showtime, 7/01-9/01)
Cast: Bruno Campos, David Julian Hirsh, Michelle Hurd, Nina
Garbiras, Garret Dillahunt
Summary: This very short-lived series jumps from past
to present to future and back again in following the lives of five New
York City friends: Joe (Campos), a lawyer-politician consumed with
work; Josh (Hirsh), a real estate heir turned restaurateur; ambivalent
Beth (Garbiras), who marries Joe and then Josh; Athena (Hurd), a temperamental
actress, singer and druggie; and Gregory (Dillahunt), a writer--and later
therapist--who has an affair with Athena before coming out of the closet.
Leg Work (CBS, 10/87-11/87)
Cast: Margaret Colin, Frances McDormand, Patrick Clarke
Summary: Claire McCarron (Colin) is a an assistant D.A.
who quits her job to become her own boss. Before she can build up
clients, she needs work to pay the rent so she starts a detective agency,
McCarron Investigations. The series title refers to the fact that her detecting
is done on foot because her Porsche is always in the shop. Helping out
are her brother Fred (Clarke), who works in public relations for the Manhattan
police department and friend Willie Pipal (McDormand), who still works
in the D.A.'s office.
Life's Work (ABC, 9/96-6/97)
Cast: Lisa Ann Walter, Michael O'Keefe, Molly Hagan, Lightfield
Lewis, Alexa Vega, Andrew Lowery, Larry Miller
Summary: Following graduation from law school at Baltimore City
College, Lisa Hunter (Walter) is jazzed up about her new job as Assistant
State's Attorney. She has wanted to practice law for a very long
time. But, as usually is the case, life got in the way and temporarily
sidelined her ambitions. She married Kevin (O'Keefe), a basketball coach,
and eventually had two children -- Tess (Vega), who is now 7 years old,
and Griffin, their toddler son to whom Lisa gave birth during law school.
Her office co-workers include DeeDee Lucas (Hagan), her only female colleague
and who often puts her conservative pumps in her mouth; Lyndon Knox (Lowery),
whose snide put-downs and phony airs make him a favorite target for Lisa;
Matt Youngster (Lewis), the office manager whose brain synapses need stapling;
and her harried boss, Jerome Nash (Miller), whose caseloads are as high
as his hairline. Lisa has her work cut out for her, both at home
and in the office. She's pulled and shifted back and forth,depending
on the priority of the moment. She wants to have it all, but nobody
told her it would be this crazy! (from the website http://www.geocities.com/owepar2/LifesWork.html)
Living in Captivity (Fox, 9/98-10/98)
Cast: Dondre T. Whitfield, Kira Arne, Lenny Venito, Mia Cottet,
Matt Letscher, Melinda McGraw
Summary: Curtis Cook (Whitfield) is a black radio star who moves
with his pregnant wife Tamara (Kira Arne) to Woodland Heights, a white,
gated suburban community - right between the bigoted muffler salesman Carmine
Santucci (Venito) and his trophy wife Lisa (Cottet), and a sensitive, politically
correct novelist, Will Marek (Letscher) and his sharp-tongued attorney
wife, Becca (McGraw). Sterotypes abound: Curtis is accused
of stealing Carmine's barbecue grill a few days after moving in, Will relives
a mugging incident as he jogs with Curtis, the Italian is not only a bigot
but a nouveau riche bigot, and the lawyer is a castrating Jewish powerhouse.
The series appeared at the same time as ABC's similarly themed The Hughley's,
which coincidentally had been unsuccessfully pitched to the Fox network.
Living Single (Fox, 8/93-9/98)
Cast: Queen Latifah, Erika Alexander, Kim Coles, John
Henton, Terence Carson, Kim Fields
Summary: The love lives of four black, urban, professional
women predates Sex and the City. Khadijah James (Queen Latifah)
edits and publishes the city life magazine Flavor. Her cousin
Synclaire (Coles) is her roommate, a receptionist at the magazine, and
an aspiring actress. A childhood friend (Fields) rounds out the household.
Her best friend Maxine Shaw (Alexander) is a tough attorney and spends
more time at the apartment than in the courtroom. The cast is rounded
out with Kyle Barker (Carson), stockbroker, neighbor, and Max's verbal
sparring partner and on-again, off-again etc. love interest, as well as
Synclaire's sweetheart (Henton), who is also Kyle's roommate and the building's
handyman. The series won the 1996 and 1998 Image Awards for outstanding
comedy series and outstanding actress (Alexander) in a comedy series.
Lock Up (Syndicated, Ziv, 9/59-60)
Cast: McDonald Carey, Olive Carey
Summary: Low budget crime drama about defense attorney
Herbert Maris (M. Carey), his investigator Weston (Doucette) and secretary
Casey (O. Carey). Each episode featured a guest star, some well-known, some soon to be so.
It was based on the real-life Philadelphia attorney Herbert Maris, who
successfully took on cases of over 300 persons who had been wrongly
convicted. Originally titled Philadelphia Lawyer, the series was
the brainchild of Ziv executive Herbert Gordon. Gordon was facing a deadline
for a new release and saw his answer when he read a magazine article on
Maris. Fans wanted a romantic interest, so the character of Casey
was added to act as matchmaker for the hard-working attorney. (Olive Carey
was not related to McDonald Carey, but the widow of former lawyer/cowboy
actor Harry Carey.) Maris was nearly 80 at the time but consulted to the
series, providing the writers with access to his files.
Lyons' Den (NBC, 9/28/03-10/03)
Cast: Rob Lowe, Matt Craven, Kyle Chandler, Frances Fisher,
David Krumholtz, Elizabeth Mitchell, James Pickens, Jr.
Summary: At the center of the ensemble series is John “Jack”
Turner (Lowe), a maverick scion from an American political dynasty. A “true
believer,” Jack must reconcile his passion for the purity of law in the
morally ambiguous world he inhabits, in which no one is who they appear
to be. Content with working in a small pro-bono law clinic in Washington,
D.C. -- at the urging of his more practical longtime friend and colleague,
George Riley (Craven) -- Turner reluctantly accepts the position of managing
partner in the sponsoring law firm of Lyon, LaCrosse, and Levine in order
to save the clinic. The established law firm is made up of a cast
of diverse characters whose motives and alliances are rich with contradiction
and secrets. Ariel Saxon (Mitchell), an attractive attorney and recovering
alcoholic, is trying to re-establish her career after hitting rock bottom.
Turner’s nemesis in the firm, at least from his own perspective, is Grant
Rashton (Chandler), a cynic who is driven by competition and the brass
ring of partnership. Another floor down is paralegal Jeff Fineman
(Krumholtz), who sees life at the firm as more of a spectacle than a profession.
Climbing the opposite end of the corporate ladder is Brit Hanley (Fisher),
a cunning and determined assistant, who will stop at nothing to advance
her career. Leading the firm is the imposing attorney, Terrence Christianson
(Pickens), the partner who rules the establishment and all its machinations
with an iron fist. (From the official site at http://www.nbc.com/The_Lyon's_Den/)
Magnum PI (CBS, 12/80-9/88)
Cast: Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Larry Manetti, Kathleen
Lloyd, Roger Moseley, Elisha Cook, Jr.
Summary: Thomas Magnum is a private detective who lives
in Hawaii on the estate of the never-seen pulp writer Robin Masters in
return for providing its security. Jonathan Quayle Higgins looks
after the estate. He served with British military intelligence, created
his own blend of tea, and is writing his memoirs of WWII. Magnum
is nearly convinced that Higgins and Masters are one and the same.
Magnum gets help from 2 former navy buddies - one runs "Rick's Place" (Manetti)
and the other (Mosley) owns a helicopter service, assistant D.A. Carol
Baldwin (Lloyd), and an underworld boss (Cook).
Mancuso, FBI (NBC, 10/89-4/90)
Cast: Robert Loggia, Lindsay Frost, Fredric Lehne, Randi
Brooks, Charles Siebert
Summary: Nick Mancuso is a law-degreed, FBI veteran who
is brought back into service to investigate corruption in such high places
of government that a police team cannot be trusted. He reports only
to Eddie McMasters (Lehne) but works closely with federal prosecutor Kristen
Carter (Frost). The cases involve the usual murder, kidnappings,
and robbery, but the culprits or victims come from the IRS, the Supreme
Court, DEA, INS, or the FBI itself. Based on the mini-series Favorite
Son, from the novel by Steve Sohmer.
Markham (CBS, 5/59-9/60)
Cast: Ray Milland, Simon Scott
Summary: Roy Markham (Milland), a wealthy and successful
New York criminal attorney, decides to drop the demands of a law practice
and become a private detective. He travels the world, taking on cases as
they interest him. Although they may range from murder and serial bombings
to corporate fraud or missing persons, he has the expertise to see through
any criminal. Because he has outside income, he is free to charge clients
as he wishes, from exorbitantly to free. In the first few months
of the series he had an assistant (Scott), but that character was soon
dropped. The show always opened with Markham's voice-over set up of the
scenes to come.
The Marriage (NBC, 7/54-8/54)
Cast: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Malcolm Broderick, Susan Strasberg,
William Redfield
Summary: Ben Marriott (Cronyn) is a moderately successfull
New York lawyer and his wife Liz (Tandy) is a housewife who, now that she
no longer needs to work, finds outlets for her energy in numerous projects.
Their children are 10 year-old Pete (Broderick) and 15 year-old Emily (Strasberg).
The comedy transferred from their radio program of the same name (NBC,
10/52-3/54) and was the first network series to be regularly broadcast
in color, in a promotion for RCA's (owned by NBC) new color television
sets. (The television shown on our home page with the image of Amos
'n Andy is an RCA 1954 color model.) Ernest Kinoy, who wrote the scripts
for the radio show, later went on to write for The Defenders.
Married People (ABC, 9/90-1/91)
Cast: Bess Armstrong, Jay Thomas, Barbara Montgomery,
Ray Aranha, Megan Gallivan, Chris Young
Summary: A newly gentrified Harlem brownstone houses 3
very different married couples: black, middle-aged, and traditional
Nick and Olivia Williams (Montgomery and Aranha), the owners of both the
building and a fruit and vegetable store down the street; baby-boomers
Elizabeth (Armstrong) and Russell Myers (Thomas), a Wall Street law firm
associate aiming for partner and a freelance writer househusband who looks
after their newborn son, but leaves the cooking and cleaning to his wife;
and the newly wed and naive Indiana teenagers Cindy and Allen Campbell,
a waitress/aspiring dancer and a Columbia University freshman.
The Mask (ABC, 1/54-5/54)
Cast: Gary Merrill, William Prince
Summary: Brothers Walter (Merrill) and Peter (Prince)
Guilfoyle are law partners and crime-solvers. This was the first
hour-long tv drama to feature a continuing cast of characters (as opposed
to the usual anthology series of the time) and first to offer prime-time
repeats (a live performance followed by the kinescope version later
in the week). Each week the brothers would unmask criminals, usually
murderers or gangsters, or assist victims. It was unable to find
a sponsor and ABC cancelled it after only a few months. Both actors
immediately moved into the NBC series Justice.
Matlock (NBC, 9/86-8/92, ABC 1/93-9/95)
Cast: Andy Griffith, Linda Purl, Kene Holliday, Kari Lizer,
Michael Durrell, Lucille Meredith, Richard Newton, Julie Sommars, Nancy
Stafford, Brynn Thayer, Daniel Roebuck, Carol Huston
Summary: The father-daughter team Matlock & Matlock
run the best criminal defense firm in Atlanta. A more sophisticated
version of Sheriff Andy Taylor, Ben Matlock has added a Harvard law degree
to his Southern folksy philosopher persona. But like a big firm, he runs
through associates every few years: he is first joined by his daughter
Charlese (Purl), who is replaced by Michelle Thomas (Stafford), and then
by his second daughter Leanne (Thayer), a former prosecutor, and finally
by Jerri Stone (Huston). He has a series of investigators, stock
market whizkid Tyler Hudson (Holliday), then Conrad McMaster (Gilyard),
followed by Cliff Lewis (Roebuck, who earlier played another lawyer in
the episode "The Priest," 5/16/89). For one season he even has a
law clerk (Lizer). On the opposing side were an assortment of district
attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and judges: Lloyd Burgess
(Durrell), Julie March (Sommars), Irene Sawyer (Meredith) and Richard Cooksey
(Newton). He solves a crime, almost always a murder, a week, always proving
his client innocent and often with a Mason-esque flair of courtroom pyrotechnics.
His last case is representing his own assistant, Cliff Lewis, the son of
a childhood friend, against charges of murdering a private detective he'd
confronted in an earlier investigation. California sole practitioner Dennis
Smith reviewed each script and sometimes rewrote the courtroom scenes when
the regular writers made technical errors.
Matt Helm (ABC, 9/75-1/76)
Cast: Anthony Franciosa, Laraine Stephens, Gene Evans,
Jeff Donnell
Summary: Matt Helm was another typical 70's detective.
He was a former spy but now manages to live well, taking only "high-level"
cases, has a fancy sportscar, stylish bachelor pad, and sexy prosecutor
girlfriend (Stephens), travels the globe, and dines at the best restaurants.
He is tempered and advised by police Sgt. Hanrahan (Evans) and Ethel (Donnell),
the man who handles his answering service. The series was based on the
character in several detective novels by Donald Hamilton, also the subject
of several movies starring Dean Martin in the mid-late 60s.
Matt Houston (ABC, 9/82-7/85)
Cast: Lee Horsley, Pamela Hensley, Buddy Ebsen
Summary: Matt Houston (Horsley), millionaire oil baron,
rancher and playboy, also owns Houston Investigations in California, where
his detecting assistant is also his Harvard-trained lawyer C. J. Parsons
(Hensley). When Matt needed information C.J. utilized a corporate
computer nicknamed "Baby." With a touch of the keyboard, C.
J. could access a variety of data banks containing license plate numbers,
police records, biographical backgrounds and photographs of people, places
and things. If only librarians had access to that computer!
Maximum Bob (8/98-9/98)
Cast: Beau Bridges, Kiersten Warren, Liz Vassey, Sam Robards,
Rae'ven Kelly
Summary: Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, the series
featured an orchid-growing judge, Bob Briggs (Bridges) in Florida, who
married a water show mermaid (Warren) after a weekend courting and uses
the maximum sentence for a crime as his starting point. His wife
Leanne psychically communes with a long-dead slave girl (Kelly) and passes
on her advice to Bob. He is further flummoxed by his opponent in
the courtroom, public defender Kathy Baker (Vassey).
The Medium (NBC, 1/05-present)
Cast: Patricia Arquette, Jake Weber, Miguel Sandoval, Sofia Vassilieva, Maria Lark
Summary: Allison Dubois (Arquette) is a strong-willed young mother of three, a devoted
wife and law student who begins to suspect that she can talk to dead people, see the future in her dreams
and read people's thoughts. Fearing for her mental health, she turns for support to her husband Joe (Weber),
an aerospace engineer, who slowly comes to believe that what his wife is telling him just might be true.
The real challenge is convincing her boss, D.A. Manuel Devalos (Sandoval) -- and the other doubters in
the criminal justice system -- that her psychic abilities can give them the upper hand when it comes to
solving violent and horrifying crimes whose mysteries often reside with those who live beyond the grave.
(from the official website at http://www.nbc.com/Medium/) The series is based on the real-life Alison DuBois,
psychic researcher.
Men (ABC, 3/25/89-4/22/89)
Cast: Ted Wass, Ving Rhames, Saul Rubinek, Tom O'Brien
Summary: The series centered around the lives of four
Baltimore high school friends, who remained close as adults and met for
a weekly poker game. They are a surgeon (Wass), criminal defense
lawyer Charlie Hazel (Rhames), a reporter (Rubinek), and cop Danny McDaniel
(O'Brien). The first three had been classmates and after the death
of the fourth original member, Tom McDaniel, in the first espisode, they
invited his younger brother to join the game. The series probably
contained too much male angst to last: grief over their friend's death,
loss of jobs, desire for parenthood, and divorces comprised the weekly
discussions. It finished at the very bottom of the 1989 ratings, out of
126 prime-time series.
Michael Hayes (CBS, 9/97-1/98)
Cast: David Caruso, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Mary B. Ward
Summary: Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes (Caruso)
has a deserved reputation for honesty and integrity, with a good measure
of street smarts to match. Previously a beat cop and homicide detective
who put himself through law school, Michael was formerly Chief of Public
Corruption, prosecuting the white-collar crimes -- bribes, kickbacks, illegal
construction contracts, and the like -- that seem to be business-as-usual
in New York. When Michael's boss is injured by a car bombing intended for
someone else, Hayes is suddenly named acting U.S. Attorney -- the top legal
position overseeing the Southern District of New York. As Michael navigates
investigations that cover the myriad worlds of New York City -- Wall Street,
organized crime, art and fashion, medicine, the airports -- he often finds
himself juggling his blue-collar past with his newfound access to the world
of the power brokers. In his search for the truth, he is often assisted
by Eddie Ruiz (Santiago-Hudson), his crackerjack, wisecracking Chief Investigator.
(fron the official website http://www.spe.sony.com/tv/shows/hayes/)
Mike Hammer (CBS, 1/84-9/87)
Cast: Stacy Keach, Lindsay Bloom, Don Stroud, Kent Williams
Summary: The sexist, violent, chain-smoking, crime-solving
detective came straight from Mickey Spillane's novels to network television
in a sporadic series 25 years after the original syndicated episodes generated
criticism for its violence. Hammer's (Keach) cases still involved the usual
mayhem of murder, corruption, and kidnapping, but they were also updated
to deal with drugs and eldercare. His secretary Velda (Bloom), who had
been unseen in the original (a la Richard Diamond's "Sam"), was quite visible
as she ran the office in her low-cut dresses and his friend Capt. Pat Chambers
(Stroud) was still a great source of information. The humorless and rigid
Assistant D.A. Lawrence Barrington always posed problems as he wanted crime-solving
to operate by the book. The series was cut short by Keach's incarceration
for cocaine possession in England, brought back as a tv movie, then retooled
in 1986 with less sexism but more violence. It was also known as
Mickey
Spillane's Mike Hammer and in its later version as The New Mike
Hammer.
Miss Match (NBC, 9/03-12/03)
Cast: Alicia Silverstone, Ryan O'Neill, James Roday, Lake Bell,
David Conrad, Jodi Long
Summary: In addition to a burgeoning career as a divorce
attorney in her father’s law firm, Kate Fox (Silverstone) has a knack for
matchmaking, which she regards as merely a hobby, until a socialite bride
credits Kate for her romantic success in the press and word of her talent
spreads. Soon, to the dismay of her father and boss, Jerrold (O’Neal)
and her antagonistic co-council, Nick (Roday), Kate is juggling the conflicting
worlds of divorce and true love; her passion for all types of relationships
leading her from the office, to court, to consultations with every lovelorn
soul in Los Angeles as she attempts to fulfill her promise of “signature
service” for all her clients. With her best friend Victoria (Bell) at her
side, Kate is determined to bring a little romance into the world, perhaps
finding her own true love in the process. Rounding out the set are Michael
Mendelsohn (Conrad), a potential client who sparks Kate’s particular interest
and Claire (Long), Jerrold Fox & Associate’s meddling office manager.
(from the official website at http://www.nbc.com/Miss_Match/)
Miss Susan (NBC, 3/51-12/51)
Cast: Susan Peters, Mark Roberts, Robert McQueeney, Katharine
Grill
Summary: Daily daytime 15-minute soap featuring Susan
Martin (Peters), a wheelchair-bound lawyer who has returned to practice
law in her small hometown in Ohio. The actress herself was actually
paralyzed from a hunting accident several years earlier. Only the third
television series to feature a lawyer, this was the first for a female
lawyer. The long-running radio program, Portia Faces Life, did not
get onto tv until 1954.
The Mississippi (CBS, 3/83-3/84)
Cast: Ralph Waite, Linda Miller, Stan Shaw
Summary: Ben Walker (Waite) is a successful lawyer who
abruptly quit his practice to fulfill a lifelong dream of running a riverboat
on the Mississippi River. Although Walker used his legal skills in almost
every port he visited, admiralty law did not enter into the show's storylines.
Along for the ride is Stella McMullen (Miller), a former client who is
now studying law and his pilot (Shaw).
The Monroes (ABC, 9/95-10/95)
Cast: David Andrews, Lynn Clark, William Devane, Cecil
Hoffman, Darryl Theirse, Tristan Tate, Susan Sullivan, Steven Eckholdt
Summary:
The Monroes are a politically ambitious Maryland family, headed by patriarch
John, who has recently announced his gubernatorial race only to find the
campaign backfired when he is linked to a beautiful Austrian spy.
Nearly everyone else has a skeleton in the closet as well. Son Billy
(Andrews) wants to take his place on that ticket but he's just been found
in
flagrante, Son Gabriel (Tate) is the family black sheep and about to
be kicked out of law school, and defense attorney Greer (Hoffman) is having
an affair with someone who gets Secret Service Protection. Contrasting
to them are stand-up wife Kathryn (Sullivan) and astronaut son James (Eckholdt).
Mothers-in-Law (NBC, 9/67-9/69)
Cast: Eve Arden, Herbert Rudley, Roger Carmel, Kaye Ballard,
Deborah Walley, Jerry Fogel
Summary: Two next-door neighbors' children have intermarried
and not left home. Perfect mother and wife Eve Hubbard (Arden) and
succesful lawyer and husband Herb provide a home in their garage apartment
for daughter Suzie (Walley) and her new spouse Jerry (Fogel), son of eccentric
tv writer Roger Buell (Carmel) and his wife Kaye (Ballard).
Movin' On (NBC, 9/74-9/76)
Cast: Claude Akins, Frank Converse, Rosey Grier, Art Metrano
Summary: The series followed the travels and adventures
of a gritty trucker (Akins) and his law school grad partner (Converse).
Their opposite personalities made them a good team: Sonny was apt to settle
a fight with his fists while Will was more likely to try to negotiate,
but Sonny's soft heartedness could be tempered by Will's objectivity.
In the second season they were jointed by a pair of cons, also truckers
(Grier and Metrano). The show's popularity was partially fueled by the
cb radio craze of the time.
Mr. Belvedere (ABC, 3/85-7/90)
Cast: Christopher Hewett, Bob Uecker, Ilene Graff, Rob
Stone, Tracy Wells, Brice Beckham
Summary: Based on the character Clifton Webb played in
three popular movies from 1948-51, the series was also a replay of
many other care-taking butler or maid programs. A very British housekeeper,
Lynn Belvedere (Hewett) oversees the activities of the Owen family, sportswriter
George (Uecker), his law student wife Marsha (Graff), and their three children
(Stone, Wells, Beckham). He's a great cook and solves all the family
problems, both serious and light. By the 1987 season, Marsha had
finished law school and begun work at Legal Hut, only to be sexually harassed
by her boss in her first week at work. By the next season, she feels
unfulfilled with her legal career and quits to become a waitress, but in
the following season she has returned to a law practice. In one episode,
she defends a look-alike criminal, who knocks her out and takes over her
life until Mr. Belvedere realizes that something is not right with "Marsha."
Mr. District Attorney (ABC, 10/51-6/52;
Syndicated (Ziv) 1954)
Cast: Jay Jostyn, Len Doyle, Vicki Vola, David Brian,
Jackie Loughery
Summary: The series began as a network radio show in 1939
and was modeled on New York D. A. Thomas E. Dewey, 3-term governor and
two-time candidate for President (of the famous headline "Dewey Defeats
Truman"). Dewey had gained fame as a federal special prosecutor who investigated
organized crime in New York 1935-37, winning 72 convictions out of 73 prosecutions.
He was elected NYC District Attorney in 1937 and made his first bid for
the governorship in 1938, winning in 1942. After his third term he retired
to a lucrative law practice and in 1968 refused an offer from Richard Nixon
for the chief justice seat on the Supreme Court.
The radio show was directed and often written by Edward Byron, a former
lawyer, who also supervised the tv series. The radio program was hugely
successful, its popularity arising from realistic plots which were often
based on actual events, thanks to Byron's sleuthing among the denizens
of the underworld. It was always in the top 10 in ratings, at times with
a 28.3 share. Even the FBI was interested, especially when the show ran
a story on Nazi spies the same week the agency had arrested several men
on the same charge.
The ABC live television version used its radio stars: Jay Jostyn in
the lead role of D. A. Paul Garrett, Len Doyle as his ex-cop/investigator,
and Vicki Vola as his secretary. It alternated with The Amazing Mr.
Malone, a criminal defense attorney series. The Ziv version sprang
from its own syndicated radio series, also using its star, David Brian
as DA Garrett. His secretary was played by Jackie Loughery, the first Miss
USA and later Mrs. Jack Webb. The stories ran a lengthy gamut: Garrett
investigates a gambling ring, loses a case against a wife-killer, and suggests
a racing strip for teen-age hotrodders. An LAPD officer by the name of
Gene Roddenberry from the LA District Attorney's office acted as a technical
advisor to the series; he later took up writing for the small screen. There
were also several movies and a comic series (National Comics Publications,
1948-59) based on the character. [Narrator] "Mr. District Attorney, champion
of the people, defender of truth, guardian of our fundamental rights of
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (District Attorney Paul Garrett)
"...and it shall be my duty as District Attorney not only to prosecute
to the limit of the law all persons accused of crimes perpetrated within
the country, but to defend with equal vigor rights and privileges of all
citizens."
Mr. Sterling (NBC, 1/10/03-4/03)
Cast: Josh Brolin, Audra McDonald, William Russ, David
Norona, James Whitmore, Graham Greene, Chandra West
Summary: Well-intentioned young Senator William Sterling
Jr. (Brolin ) brings a fresh perspective -- and his own agenda as a former
prosecutor -- to Capitol Hill. Thrust into political office after the untimely
death of the senior Senator from California, Sterling is forced to navigate
the murky world of Washington politics with only the help of his resourceful
staff to guide him. They are: super-charged chief of staff Jackie Brock
(McDonald), principled Beltway insider and legislative director Tommy
Doyle (Russ), and Leon Montero (Norona), Sterling’s resident numbers-cruncher,
poll-taking techno-whiz. Additionally, he has the advice and strong
opinions of his father, the popular and powerful former governor of California
(Whitmore), his friend and confidant Senator Jackson (Greene), and occasionally
that of Laura Chandler (West), an ambitious political reporter. MSNBC senior
political analyst Lawrence O’Donnell, who also produced The West Wing,
is executive producer and creator of the production. (from the official
website at http://www.nbc.com/Mister_Sterling/)
Murder One, (9/95-1/97)
Cast: Daniel Benzali, Anthony LaPaglia, Mary McCormack,
Michael Hayden, Barbara Bosson, Jason Gedrick, Stanley Tucci
Summary: Created by Steven Bochco as a dramatic response
to the public's fascination with trials, this was the first and only series
to have one continuous murder investigation and its movement to trial and
verdict as its focus. A beautiful 15-year old girl is raped and murdered
and philanthropist/businessman Richard Cross (Tucci) is arrested after
he is seen in a surveillance video in the girl's apartment building.
He is defended by Teddy Hoffman (Benzali), an eccentric but highly effective
criminal defense attorney and his firm. When the charges against Cross
are dropped because an alibi surfaces, the investigation continues and
he insists that Teddy defend the new suspect, Neil Avedon, a young actor
with a penchant for drugs and alcohol. He has a history of violence,
is known to have dated the girl and his DNA is found on her body.
But it appears that everything is part of a conspiracy and Cross is at
the center of it. In the second season, Teddy takes a hiatus from
the firm and a former assistant D.A. (LaPaglia) takes over. It won the
1997 BAFTA for best foreign tv program.
Muscle (WB, 1/95-5/95)
Cast: Wendy Benson, Michael Boatman, Nestor Carbonell,
Dan Gauthier, Shannon Kenny, Allan Ruck, Amy Pietz, Jerry Levine
Summary: The "Soap"-style series is set in the Survival
Gym, newly inherited by Jane Atkinson (Kenny) and her stepson (Gauthier).
Its regular customers include a recently paroled savings and loan looter
(Levine), a psychiatrist (Ruck), a lesbian anchorwoman (Pietz), a gigolo
(Carbonell), and a criminal defense lawyer (Boatman) who is defending
a cannibal.
My Mother the Car (9/65-9/66)
Cast: Jerry Van Dyke, Maggie Pierce, Cindy Eilbacher, Avery
Schreiber, Ann Southern
Summary: While small-town lawyer Dave Crabtree (Van Dyke)
is looking around a used car lot for a second family car, he tries out
a 1928 Porter. He sits down, turns on the radio and the voice that comes
out is his mother (Southern), dead now 17 years. It seems she has
been reincarnated as the car. Unfortunately, he's the only one who
can hear her and the family thinks he's crazy for buying this "fixer-upper"
rather than the new station wagon they need. But whenever he has a problem,
he can now go into the garage and talk to Mom. This leads to the mailman's
belief that he has killed his mother and buried her under the garage. His
law practice was complicated by the nasty Dr. Bernard Manzini (Schrieber)
who lusted after the Porter for his antique car collection. He tries all
sort of ploys: gets Dave drugged, challenges Dave to a pink slip race,
and hires Dave's double to steal Mother. In the 20th episode, the rest
of the family finally realizes the car talks and in the last, Dave forgets
to set the handbrake when the car is parked on a hill and Mother winds
up in a truck on its way to Mexico. The same season that launched Green
Acres, I Dream of Jeannie, and Get Smart, also included
what became a regular source for jokes for Johnny Carson and has been listed
as among the worst tv shows of all time. The "Porter" was made up of parts
from a Model T, a Maxwell, a Hudson, and a Chevrolet. The fact is that 1928 cars did not have radios. In 1930 Paul Galvin put a working radio receiver into his Studebaker automobile and demonstrated it at the Radio Manufacturer's Association meeting in Atlantic City, NJ. He called it the "motorola," a combination of "motor" and "Victrola."
My Two Dads (NBC, 9/87-6/90)
Cast: Paul Reiser, Greg Evigan, Staci Keanan, Florence
Stanley
Summary: When Marcy Bradford dies, she leaves her teenage
daughter Nicole (Keanan) seemingly orphaned. But as it turns out
there are two men who might have been her father, one a businessman (Reiser)
and the other a free-spirited painter (Evigan), both still unmarried.
Both had been having affairs with her 13 years earlier and according to
her will, one of them was the father. Biological testing is inconclusive
so Judge Margaret Wilbur (Stanley) decides to award both of them custody
and she kindly keeps an eye on matters.
The New Addams Family (Fox Family Channel,
9/98-8/99)
Cast: Glenn Taranto, Ellie Harvie, Nicole Fugere, Brody Smith,
Betty Phillips, John Astin, John DeSantis, Michael Roberds, Steven Fox
Summary: The new series updates and repeats the themes
of the cult 60's favorite about the macabre family who lived at 1313 Cemetery
Lane. It appropriately debuted with a Halloween theme; Pugsley (Smith)
and Wednesday (Fugere) dressed in costume as "two of history's most frightening
and inhibiting creatures," Siskel and Ebert. The family continues
to try to take part in community life while convinced that there is nothing
unusual about themselves. Gomez (Taranto) might fight off a dead
cousin for Morticia's (Harvie) favors, Fester (Roberds) joins the
mercernaries, Grandmama's (Phillips) spells don't always work as they are
intended, Lurch (DeSantis) learns to dance, and new castmember
Grandpapa Addams (Astin) comes for a long visit.
A New Kind of Family (ABC, 9/79-5/80)
Cast: Eileen Brennan, Gwynne Gilford, Connie Hearn, Lauri
Hendler, David Hollander, Rob Lowe, Telma Hopkins, Janet Jackson
Summary: Rob Lowe made his breakthrough at age 15 as Tony,
the son of Kit Flanagan (Brennan), and brother to Hillary (Hendler) and
David (Hollander). Their mother had been bamboozled by an unscrupulous
real estate agent and found that the home she thought she had rented was
also rented to another single mother, Jill Stone (Hearn) and her law student
daughter Abby (Gilford). They decided to join forces and blend families,
but the Stones were replaced after three months by the Ashton duo (Hopkins,
Jackson).
The New Leave It to Beaver (Disney,
1985-86; WTBS, 1986-89)
Cast: Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsley, Ken
Osmond, Kip Marcus, John Snee
Summary: Divorced and out of work, the "Beave" (Mathers)
has temporarily moved back in with Mom (Billingsley), along with his own
sons Kip (Marcus) and Oliver (Snee). Wally (Dow) is now a successful lawyer,
married to his high school sweetheart and also has two sons. Eddie
Haskell (Osmond) is still his old sleazy self, but he now runs a construction
company and has two sons who get into just as much trouble as he did.
The focus of the new show was on the new generation and often used the
same story lines as the original - boys just getting into innocent trouble.
Titled Still the Beaver while it was on the Disney channel.
The New Perry Mason, (CBS, 9/73-1/74)
Cast: Monte Markham, Sharon Acker, Albert Stratton, Dane
Clark, Harry Guardino
Summary: The new version of Perry Mason did miserably,
lasting all of 15 episodes. Not only was the acting stiff and uncomfortable,
the original production formula was lost in translation. There was more
attention paid to detecting than to the courtroom denouement. Although
the books were hugely popular and this new Mason was actually closer to
the fictional character, the television audience so closely identified
Raymond Burr in his quintessential role that Markham was doomed to failure.
The same was true of the supporting characters. Erle Stanley Gardner
had died (1970) by the time the series came out, but his widow Jean was
involved in the production, as were two of the original producers, Cornwell
Jackson and Gail Patrick. The plotlines were not based on the original
novels.
Night Court (NBC, 1/84-9/92)
Cast: Harry Anderson, Markie Post, John LaRoquette, Richard
Moll, Charles Robinson, Marsha Warfield, Denice Kumagai
Summary: This half-hour comedy takes a light-hearted look
at the officers of and visitors to a Manhattan Night Court. Presiding over
the outrageous courtroom antics is Judge Harold T. Stone (Anderson).
Harry is the youngest and most unpredictable judge in the history of the
New York State legal system. He is an unwavering symbol of sanity
amidst the chaos and confusion of his courtroom. A parade of zany,
and often bizarre, characters pass before Judge Stone for judicial review
each night, and though no one knows what he'll do next, it's certain to
be unconventional and hilarious. (from the A&E website http://www.aande.com/tv/shows/nightcourt.html)
Appearing before the bench are the manipulative and law-bending district
attorney, Dan Fielding (LaRoquette) and the long-suffering but valiant
public defender Christine Sullivan (Post). Bull Shannon (Moll) is the bailiff
and Mac Robinson (Robinson) is the court clerk. LaRoquette won best
supporting comedy actor Emmies 1985-88.
Night Heat (CBS, 1/85-9/91)
Cast: Allan Royal, Scott Hylands, Jeff Wincott, Wendy
Crewson, Sean McCann, Deborah Grover
Summary: Newspaper reporter Tom Kirkwood (Royal) covered
crimes probed by Detectives Kevin O'Brien (Hylands) and Frank Giambone
(Wincott) of the Major Case Squad in his column "Night Heat." Lt.
Jim Hogan (McCann) ran the investigation until assistant district attorneys
Dorothy Fredericks (Crewson) and Elaine Jeffers (Grover) took over and
prosecuted the criminals.
The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (ABC, 10/58-3/60)
Cast: Robert Loggia, Robert F. Simon, Lisa Montell
Summary: Elfego Baca (Loggia), like El Gato, had nine
lives. He was both a sheriff and an attorney and chose to fight outlaws
with his brains rather than his guns. The show was a string of 10 episodes
appearing on Walt Disney Presents and had a surprising roster of
guest actors - James Coburn, James Drury, Annette Funicello, Alan Hale
Jr., Brian Keith.
NYPD Blue (ABC, 9/93-present)
Cast: Dennis Franz, Gordon Clapp, James McDaniel, Sharon
Lawrence, James McBride, Scott Campbell, Michael Silver, Garcelle Beauvais,
Esai Morales
Summary: Set against the gritty and volatile backdrop
of New York City, NYPD Blue powerfully portrays realistic characters devoting
themselves to the pursuit of justice while struggling to maintain an ever-elusive
sense of humanity. In spite of — or perhaps because of — the danger of
the streets, the chaos of the squad room and the fragility of their own
private lives, the members of the 15th Precinct share a strong commitment
to the job — and each other. (from the official site at http://abc.abcnews.go.com/primetime/nypdblue/index.html.)
Although the series centers on the detectives of the 15th precinct, the
district attorney's office was also represented by Sylvia Costas (Lawence)
- who was also Det. Sipowicz (Franz) wife - from 1993-99, Leo Cohen
(Silver) 1996-9, then from 2001- by ADA Valerie Heywood (Beauvais). The
series won ALMA awards for outstanding drama in 1998-99; the DGA award
for best directing in 1999, 1994; Edgar Allan Poe awards 1994-96; 1994-99
Emmies in various categories, 1994-96 Golden Globes; 1999 Peabody; 1995
and 1997 SAGs; and Writer's Guild award in 1997.
The O.C. (Fox, 8/03-present)
Cast: Peter Gallagher, Benjamin McKenzie, Kelly Rowan, Adam
Brody, Mischa Barton, Tate Donovan, Rachel Bilson, Chris Carmack, Melinda
Clarke, Alan Dale
Summary: Sandy Cohen (Gallagher) is a New Yorker moved to Berkeley
for law school, where he meets Kirsten Nichol (Rowan), who turns out to
be the love of his life. They marry, have a son, Seth (Brody), and
live the life supported by the salary of a public defender until she is
pulled by family ties back to Los Angeles, where she joins her wealthy
father in his land development company. The new lifestyle is completely
foreign to Sandy but he is at least able to continue his work and becomes
accepted in the community. But when Ryan Atwood (McKenzie), a teenager
caught in a minor crime, lands in his professional lap, the Cohen family's
household gets a good shake-up. Sandy comes to believe that Ryan can make
a home with them, Ryan falls for the girl (Barton) next door who already
has a steady boyfriend (Carmack) and a father (Donovan) about to go to
jail for financial fraud, Kirsten's father (Dale) begins an affair with
her next door neighbor, Seth sees the misfit Ryan as his hero in spite
of the fact that trouble seems to find him so easily, and a new night time
soap is born.
Ohara (ABC, 1/87-8/88)
Cast: Pat Morita, Rachel Ticotin, Robert Clohessy
Summary: The series began as a very nontraditional cop
show. Ohara (Morita) was not Irish, but a Japanese-American who practiced
meditation and preferred an intellectual and instinctual route to solving
cases rather than crashing down doors and putting guns in suspects' faces;
at most he occasionally used martial arts. When it resurfaced in
fall 1987, the entire cast except Morita had been dropped. He had
been reassigned from a police precinct to a federal task force headed by
US attorney Teresa Storm (Ticotin) and had a new partner, Lt. George Shaver
(Clohessy). He also adopted the usual police tactics - using a gun,
driving a car, but still using martial arts when force was called for.
In January 1988, the format was again changed - both he and the lieutenant
resigned thanks to disenchantment with the legal system and became private
eyes. It was shortly thereafter cancelled.
On Trial, (NBC, 9/56-9/57)
Cast: Joseph Cotton and guests
Summary: Half-hour anthology series of courtroom dramas,
hosted by Joseph Cotten. The stories were based on the records of actual
cases throughout history. Cotten sometimes took the lead character and
guest stars included popular actors Joan Fontaine, Keenan Wynn, Kim Hunter,
Alexis Smith, Everett Sloane (Arthur Bannister in The Lady from Shanghai),
Paulette Goddard and Hoagy Carmichael. Among the cases were: The Freeman
Case, in which William Seward, later Lincoln's secretary of state, was
one of the first to use the insanity defense in a murder trial; The Tichborne
Claimant, who was a practically illiterate Australian making claim to the
inheritance of a long lost Englishman; The Trial of Mary Surratt, a Lincoln
assassination co-conspirator and the first woman to be executed by the
United States government; The Trial of Colonel Blood, a 17th century Irish
rogue who managed to steal the crown jewels, confess to Charles II, and
was pardoned because the king so enjoyed his story-telling. A list of episodes
is at http://ctva.freewebpage.org/US/Anthology/OnTrial.htm. The series
had several name changes: It began as On Trial, changed on Feb.
1, 1957, to The Joseph Cotten Show - On Trial, reruns in the summer
of 1958 were The Joseph Cotten Show, and CBS used that title for
its collection of reruns from that show, GE Theater, and Schlitz
Playhouse in the summer of 1959.
Orleans (CBS, 1/97-4/97)
Cast: Larry Hagman, Brett Cullen, Michael Reilly Burke,
Colleen Flynn, Vanessa Calloway, Lynette Walden
Summary: This family/crime/courtroom drama featured the
shrewd and eccentric Judge Luther Charbonnet (Hagman), a man as easy
with members of New Orleans society as the criminals who came before him.
His younger son, prosecutor Jesse (Burke) has recently returned from California,
where he was raised by his mother. The oldest son, Clade (Cullen),
is a police detective and daughter Paulette (Flynn) runs a steamboat casino.
His best friend is D.A. Rosalee Clark (Calloway). With a bit of dramatic
license, the judge hears both civil and criminal cases, thereby ensuring
a steady mix of drama and family involvement.
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (ABC, 9/71-8/74)
Cast: Arthur Hill, Lee Majors, Joan Darling, Christine
Matchett, David Soul, Reni Santoni
Summary: Owen Marshall (Hill) practiced both civil and
criminal law in a small California town. He was a kindly and well-respected
member of the community and always dealt fairly with his clients.
He was joined first by young partner Jess Brandon (Majors), who was replaced
by Ted Warrick (Soul), and then Danny Paterno (Santoni). He was ably
assisted by law clerk Frieda Krause (Darling) and his family life was depicted
with his young daughter Melissa (Matchett). The series was one of
the more popular in this time period and compared in tone with Marcus
Welby, M.D. In fact, the shows shared producers and there were
several cast crossover episodes. The series was co-created by David
Victor and University of Wisconsin law professor Jerry McNeely and received
serveral public service awards from legal associations.
The Paper Chase (CBS, 9/78-7/79; Showtime,
4/83-8/86)
Cast: John Houseman, James Stephens, James Keane, Tom
Fitzsimmons, Robert Ginty, Francine Tacker
Summary: James T. Hart (Stephens) is a first year law
student in a very competitive school. He is immediately overwhelmed
by famed contracts professor Charles Kingsfield (Houseman) and joins a
study group founded by the imperious Franklin Ford III (Fitzsimmons).
The classroom, the study group and his pizza parlor job quickly form the
borders of his world. Kingsfield synopsizes the storyline: "The study of
law is something new and unfamiliar to most of you, unlike any other schooling
you have ever known before. You'll teach yourself law but I'll train your
minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush and, if you survive,
you'll leave thinking like a lawyer." The series followed the popular movie
by five years, and only Houseman reprised his original role. CBS portrayed
the first year experience but cancelled it despite excellent reviews because
it never got much of an audience - L. A. Law and other popular lawyers
were still 7 years away. Showtime picked it up 4 years later with a mostly
new cast of 2nd and 3d year students. It depicted the gamut of
characters in a law school: the gunners, the cheaters, the anal law
review types, the people who share their outlines, the older students who
have returned after other careers, the supremely confident and the desperately
insecure. The cable series won the Cable ACE award 1985-87.
The Parent'hood (WB, 1/95-7/99)
Cast: Robert Townsend, Suzzanne Douglas, Kenny Blank,
Regan Gomez-Preston, Curtis Williams, Ashli Adams, Faizon Love
Summary: Warner Brothers' first season featured a sitcom about
a middle-class black family: college professor Robert Peterson, his
law-student wife Jerri (Douglas), and their children: Michael (Blank),
Zaria (Gomez-Preston), Nicholas (Williams), and Cece (Adams). "Robert's
a communications professor at NYU; his wife Jerri is a law student. They're
deeply in love, highly opinionated and equally adept in the fine art of
persuasion. With their hectic schedules they do their best to share responsibilities
- but have very different ideas about how to get things done. The
Peterson's four kids span the ages from teens to toddlers. The oldest two,
16-year-old Michael and 15-year-old Zaria, are reaching that age where
they're eager to spread their wings, take their hormones for a test drive
and avoid being seen with their not-quite-cool parents. Nicholas is a bright-eyed
eight-year-old who's quickly discovering the joys of mischief. Four-year-old
Cece is the darling of the family. Offering his own offbeat point-of-view
is Robert's childhood buddy, Wendell (Love). Parenting has never been an
easy task, and in the fast-paced, high-tech, user-friendly, information-overload
world of the '90s, it seems more difficult than ever. But Robert and Jerri
want the best for their kids - and they're going to use all the love, ingenuity
and creativity at their disposal to give it to them. (from the Warner Bros.
press release) Following real time, by the fourth season Jerri had graduated
from law school and started a solo practice.
Park Place (CBS, 4/81)
Cast: Harold Gould, David Clennon, Don Calfa, Mary Elaine
Monti, James Widdoes, Lionel Smith, Cal Gibson, Alice Drummond
Summary:
David Ross (Gould) runs the Park Place Division of the New York City Legal
Assistance Bureau, where the poor could find free legal assistance.
His motley crew consisted of the naive but eager to help Jeff O'Neill (Clennon),
Howie Beech (Calfa) who was always looking for the big case that could
get him out of there, feminist Jo Keene (Monti), disabled black vet Mac
MacRae (Smith), and Harvard grad Brad Lincoln (Widdoes). The support
staff are Ernie (Gibson) who makes the clients take numbers and a secretary
(Drummond) who tells everyone "Jesus loves you." In spite of The
New York Times' review of a "promising" series, it lasted only four
episodes.
Partners (Fox, 9/95-4/96)
Cast: Tate Donovan, Jon Cryer, Maria Pitillo, Catherine
Lloyd Burns, Corinne Bohrer
Summary: The show centers around a triangle of friendship
among San Francisco architect Owen (Donovan), Bob (Cryer), his best friend
and bachelor business partner, and his assertive fiancee Alicia (Pitillo),
a lawyer. Bob is better than Owen at picking out clothes for Alicia,
but Alicia sets Bob off by the amount of time she wants to spend with Owen
now that they are engaged. Adding to the conflicts is Lollie (Bohrer),
Alicia's best friend, who has a love-hate relationship with Bob.
The show's last episode was oddly a cliffhanger, with the upcoming nuptials
never fully decided.
The Paul Lynde Show (ABC, 9/72-9/73)
Cast: Paul Lynde, Elizabeth Allen, John Calvin, Jane Actman,
Pamelyn Ferdin, Herb Voland, James Gregory
Summary: Paul Simms (Lynde) is a respectable but high-strung
lawyer living in Ocean Grove, California with his wife Martha (Allen) and
their two daughters (Actman and Ferdin). Simms's attempt to be a loving
and understanding husband and father were repeatedly tested during the
show's run by his new son-in-law, Howie Dickerson (Calvin), an eccentric
brain who could not hold a job but had a special knack for upsetting his
father-in-law. Paul's law partners are T. R. Scott (Gregory) and T. J.
McNish (Voland).
Perry Mason (CBS, 9/57-9/66)
Cast: Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, Ray Collins, William
Hopper, William Talman
Summary: The title character is a criminal defense lawyer
working in Los Angeles. Mason (Burr) is teamed with two talented and ever
faithful assistants: trusty and beautiful secretary Della Street (Hale),
and the suave but boyish private detective Paul Drake (Hopper). In each
episode this trio worked to clear their innocent client of a murder charge
brought by the formidable district attorney Hamilton Burger (Talman). Most
episodes follow this simple formula: the guest characters are introduced
and their situation shows that at least one of them is capable of murder.
When the murder happens, an innocent person (most often a woman) is accused,
and Mason takes the case. As evidence mounts against his client, Mason
pulls out a legal maneuver involving some courtroom "pyrotechnics." This
not only proves his client innocent, but identifies the real culprit. These
scenes are easily the best and most memorable. It is not because they are
realistic. On the contrary, they are hardly that. What is so engaging about
them is the combination of Mason's efforts to free his client, perhaps
a surprise witness brought in by Drake in the closing courtroom scene,
and a dramatic courtroom confession. The murderer being in the courtroom
during the trial and not hiding out in the Bahamas provides the single
most important image of each episode. The murderer forgoes the fifth amendment
and admits his/her guilt in an often tearful outburst of "I did it! And
I'm glad I did!" This happens under the shocked, amazed eyes of district
attorney Burger and the stoic, sure face of defense attorney Mason.
The credit for the series' success is split equally among Burr, the
Perry Mason production style and the series' creator Erle Stanley Gardner.
Burr provided the characterization of a cool, calculating attorney, while
the production style builds tension in plots at once solidly formulaic
and cleverly surprising, and Gardner, as an uncredited executive story
editor, made sure each episode carefully blended legal drama with clever
detective work. In all, the series won three Emmys, two for Burr and one
for Hale. (from Encyclopedia of Television, Horace Newcomb, ed.)
See also, J. Dennis Bounds, Perry Mason,
the Authorship and Reproduction of a Popular Hero.
Mason lost only one case, in October, 1963. Headlines on a seven star
edition of the Los Angeles Chronicle read "Burger Defeats Mason." "The
Case of the Deadly Verdict" opens in the courtroom and the decision reveals
that Perry's client is found guilty of murdering her aunt for money, and
is sentenced to die in the gas chamber. At the beginning of the season,
producer Gail Jackson slipped teasers to the press that Burger would finally
win a case. But since the hour begins with the verdict, what else will
Perry do? Of course, he finds out that his client was lying and he tracks
down the real culprit. See http://www.perrymasontvshowbook.com/pmb_c209.htm for more details.
The Persuaders (ABC, 9/71-6/72)
Cast: Roger Moore, Tony Curtis, Laurence Naismith
Summary: A self-made, wealthy American (Curtis) who still
thinks of himself as a poor kid and a member (Moore) of the British aristocracy
meet a retired judge (Naismith) and find new meaning to life. Judge
Fulton understands the potential of this combination of boredom, testosterone,
and wealth and proposes to Danny Wilde and Lord Brett Sinclair that they
take on criminal cases the legal system cannot solve. They agree and discover
that helping the judge means that stolen inheritances, spies, murders,
the occult, dead bodies, mistaken identities, kidnappings, bombs and thieves
have become the order of the day.
Petrocelli (NBC, 9/74-3/76)
Cast: Barry Newman, Susan Howard, Albert Salmi, David
Huddleston
Summary: Tony Petrocelli (Newman) is an Italian-American
Harvard-educated lawyer who gave up the big money and frenetic pace of
major-metropolitan life to practice in a sleepy city in the American Southwest.
He and wife Maggie (Howard) live in a trailer in the country while waiting
for their new house to be built, and travel around in a beat-up old pickup
truck. For a quiet rural area, Petrocelli seems to have no trouble running
into his share of murderers to defend. (from the IMDB database)
Philly (ABC, 9/01- 5/02)
Cast: Kim Delaney, Tom Everett Scott, Kyle Secor, Rick Hoffman,
Diana-Maria Riva, Scotty Leavenworth, Jamie Denton
Summary: Kathleen Maguire (Delaney) is a year out of law
school and is steadily building her reputation as a tough, no-nonsense
defense attorney in the weathered courtrooms of Philadelphia's City Hall.
Kathleen's ex is the formidable, shrewdly arrogant District Attorney (Secor),
and she's a single mom to a 10-year-old son (Leavenworth). Kathleen's
caseload doubled this morning when her law partner got shipped off to the
sanitarium following weeks on a pill-fed fad diet. Six arraignments, three
pretrial conferences, four witness interviews, a deposition and a waiver
trial later, added to an afternoon in jail on contempt charges after rejecting
the pass of a fat-assed judge, Kathleen's ready for the psych ward herself.
Enter the charmingly scrappy Will Friedman (Scott), a popular young attorney
who desperately wants out of the Public Defender's office. He takes opportunistic
pity on Kathleen, convincing her that they'd make a good team. A partnership
made in heaven it isn't, but Kathleen's desperately out of options and,
as Will brashly boasts, "the entertainment factor's free." From the
client who pleads guilty to a crime he doesn't commit so he'll have the
perfect alibi for the one he did, to the cops, prosecutors and even some
justices who turn a blind eye to due process, Philly blends eccentric characters
with envelope pushing, muscular storytelling, the hallmark of its legendary
creator, Steven Bochco. (From the official webpage at.http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/fallpreview/philly.html
Phyllis (CBS, 9/75-8/77)
Cast: Cloris Leachman, Henry Jones, Lisa Gerritsen, John
Lawlor, Judith Lowry, Janet Rose
Summary: A spin-off from the hugely popular Mary Tyler
Moore Show, Mary's landlady Phyllis Lindstrom (Leachman) moves back
to San Francisco with her daughter (Gerrittsen) after the death of the
never-seen husband Lars. She moves in with her ditzy mother (Rose)
and put-upon step-father Judge Jonathan Dexter (Jones). Leachman
won the 1976 Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy.
Picket Fences (CBS, 9/92-9/96)
Cast: Tom Skerritt, Kathy Baker, Holly Marie Combs, Justin Shenkarow,
Adam Wylie, Fyvush Finkel, Ray Walston, Don Cheadle, Costas Mandylor, Lauren
Holly
Summary: David Kelley created this very quirky drama/comedy
which focused on the lives of the Brock family and always touched on important
social and legal issues but never presented either side as the correct
one. Jimmy Brock was the sheriff in Rome, Wisconsin so the criminal
cases - murder, assault, kidnapping, guns in schools - invariably went
through his hands. Medical issues - euthanasia, transplants, abortion,
mental illness - were handled in Jill Brock's office; she was the town
doctor. Their children, Kim (Combs), Matthew (Shenkarow) and Zack
(Wylie) were often either involved in crime, witnesses to one, or troubled
by the social issues. District Attorney Littleton (Cheadle) prosecuted
and Douglas Wambaugh (Finkel) defended the cases that landed in Judge Ray
Bone's (Walston) lap. The series won the DGA award in 1993; Emmy's
in 1996 for best actress (Baker), 1995 for best actress, best supporting
actor (Walston), and best guest actor (Paul Winfield), in 1994 for best
drama, best gues actor (Richard Kiley), supporting actor (Finkel), and
supporting actress Leigh Taylor-Young, in 1993 for best drama, best actor
(Skerritt), best actress (Baker); 1993 Golden Globe for best actress (Baker);
1995 SAG for best actress (Baker)
Pig Sty (UPN, 1/95-7/95)
Cast: Brian McNamara, David Arnott, Timothy Fall, Matt
Borlenghi, Sean O'Bryan
Summary: A guys version of Friends was part of UPN's
first season schedule. Five young men and a dog crowded into a rent-control
Manhattan apartment, previously leased by the deceased grandmother of
one of them. In the first episode, the egotistical assistant D. A.
Johnny Barzano (Borlenghi) left to move in with his girlfriend, couldn't
commit, and returned. Ad exec Cal Evans (Arnott) was a manipulative,
sleazy mess. Bartender Randy Fitzgerald (McNamara) was really an author
in the making. The corn-fed naif Joe Dantley (O'Bryan) moved from Iowa
to work in the emergency room of a tough inner city hospital. Folksinger
P. J. Morris (Fall) lived off his trust money and in the walk-in closet
with their loopy labrador Jimmy. A Gen-x comedy aimed at a male audience,
the humor was often crude and stealing cable service was a regular subject
of discussion.
Portia Faces Life (CBS, 4/54-7/55)
Cast: Frances Reid, Carl Swenson, Charles Taylor, Renne
Jarrett, Donald Woods, Eda Heinemann, Richard Kendrick, Fran Conlon
Summary: "The story of a not-too-perfect marriage" in
a daytime soap opera. In a very early media portrayal of the super-mom,
Portia Blake Manning (Reid, Conlon) juggles her law practice with the traditional
role of wife to Walter (Swenson, Woods) and mother to Dick (Taylor)
and Shirley (MacManus and Jarrett). This was a long running (1940-51)
radio series starring Lucille Wall, but it was not particularly popular
on television. The exciting story lines of the spunky attorney whose first
husband had been murdered while investigating mobsters and who went on
to continue his work could not be duplicated on-screen. After 6 months
it was renamed The Inner Flame and recast when Reid decided the
daily show was too stressful. It was cancelled a few months later.
Reid went on to play other soap characters: Grace Baker in As the World
Turns (1958-62), Rose Pollock in The Edge of Night (1964-65),
and has been the matriarchal Alice Horton since 1965 in Days of Our
Lives.
The Practice (ABC, 9/97-5/04)
Cast: Dylan McDermott, Kelli Williams, Steve Harris,
Camryn Manheim, Michael Badalucco, Marla Sokoloff, Lara Flynn Boyle,
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Summary: Set in Boston, The Practice centers on
the passionate attorneys of Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt. To these
defense lawyers, every case is important, every client worth a fight to
the end. Legal maneuvering is the firm's modus operandi and they
have it down to a science, making even the most questionable arguments
seem convincing. And while they can't -- and don't -- win every trial,
the pursuit of justice remains the priority until the final verdict is
announced ... and sometimes afterwards. Pursuing justice, however,
often confronts the firm with serious ethical and moral issues of conscience,
often causing the colleagues to clash with their clients -- and each
other. The series has won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, the Golden
Globe for Best Dramatic Series, and the George Foster Peabody Award for
overall excellence. Leading the team is head partner Bobby Donnell (McDermott),
a suave, astute attorney whose good looks take second chair to his adeptness
and ardor in the courtroom. Yet while relentless on the job, Bobby has
surrendered his heart to Lindsay Dole (Williams), his partner in the practice
and in life. Last season Lindsay fittingly gave birth to the couple's first
child, Bobby, Jr., on the courtroom floor. Fatherhood prompted Bobby to
take a closer look at his priorities and the consequences of his actions,
an introspection that remains in progress. Maintaining the firm's
steadfast reputation are partners Ellenor Frutt (Manheim) and Eugene Young.
Ellenor is well known for her fervent commitment to clients, regardless
of the evidence against them, and for refusing to take "no" for an answer.
Eugene Young (Harris) can find and argue the weakness in even the
toughest case and, more often than not, it's that weakness that gives the
defense a fighting chance. In addition, Eugene's strength under pressure
makes him the logical stand-in as firm leader, when Bobby's unable to do
the job.(from the official website http://abc.abcnews.go.com/primetime/thepractice/index.html)
The Protectors (NBC, 9/69-9/70)
Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Hari Rhodes
Summary: Old-school Police Chief Sam Danforth (Nielsen)
occasionally clashes with the more flexible new D.A., William Washburn
(Rhodes). While they both aim for the public good, the Chief prefers to
follow defined rules which may not still work in a growing city with a
new moral and social climate, but the African-American Washburn uses
the political skills he learned on his way to office and is more
likely to consider cases on an individual basis. One of the three rotating
series in The Bold Ones and also known as The Law Enforcers.
"Lawyers
defending justice in the nation's courtrooms .... Public servants enforcing
the laws of a challenging society...THE BOLD ONES!"
The Public Defender (CBS, 3/54-6/55)
Cast: Reed Hadley
Summary: Reed Hadley was the host and lead actor, as Bart
Mathews, in this dramatic series about the work of the office of public
defender. Each episode opened with a description of the office, re-enacted
one of its case files, and closed with a salute to a real attorney who
had freed an innocent person from the legal system. See the episode
Mama's
Boy, starring Dennis Hopper at http://www.liketelevision.com/web1/classictv/pubdef/.
"A public defender is an attorney employed by the community and responsible
for giving legal aid without cost to a person who seeks it and is financially
unable to employ private council. It is his duty to defend those accused
of a crime until the issue is decided in a court of law. The first public
defender's office in the United State was opened in January, 1913. Over
the years, other offices were opened and today that handful has grown to
a network...a network of lawyers cooperating to protect the rights of our
clients."
Public Prosecutor (Syndicated,
1947-48, DuMont 9/51-2/52)
Cast: John Howard, Anne Gwynne, Walter Sande, Warren Hull
(Host)
Summary: Jerry Fairbanks produced television's first filmed
(rather than live) and syndicated series, renting episodes directly to
local stations or advertisers, bypassing the networks. The number
of televisions in the U.S. had grown from 175,000 in the early 1940s to
a million in 1946 and the 34 stations broadcasting in 21 cities needed
programming. The series was a combination mystery/game show which
ran 17½ minutes each. It featured prosecuting attorney Stephen Allen
(Howard), his secretary (Gwynne) and a police detective (Sande).
In order to fill a 30-minute time slot DuMont added a live three-member
panel, usually mystery buffs, plus a host, Warren Hull; the film would
stop before the climax and the panelists would attempt to guess the identity
of the guilty party. Other stations were able to purchase rights to air
this series, but most often did not employ panelists and simply padded
the time with commercials. Also known as Crawford Mystery Theatre;
its sponsor was Crawford Clothing. It returned as a radio program, running
1954-56 on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
The Pursuit of Happiness (NBC, 9/95-11/95)
Cast: Tom Amandes, Melinda McGraw, Brad Garrett, Larry
Miller
Summary: Steve Rutledge (Amandes) is a well-meaning, idealistic
lawyer who roots for the Cubs, visits his grandmother, and dreams of taking
a precedent-setting case to the Supreme Court. Alex Chosek (Garrett)
is his partner and best friend, a closeted gay who finally comes out to
him but is comforted by the fact that "People hate lawyers more than
they hate gays." Alex is Steve's opposite: brutal, ruthless, and
at 6'8" and 270 pounds an imposing figure who can get mega-bucks for whiplash,
the antithesis of the fem hairdresser or florist. When Steve's wife
(McGraw) loses her job and her hapless brother (Miller) moves in with them,
Steve finds that he is forced to follow Alex's lead in the kind of cases
they take.
Queens Supreme (CBS, 1/10/03-1/24/03)
Cast: Oliver Platt, Anabella Sciora, Robert Loggia, L.
Scott Caldwell, Marcy Harriell, James Madio
Summary: This is a seriocomic drama that delves into the
chaos, infighting and colorful personalities of the people behind the bench
and behind the scenes at the Queens County Courthouse in New York City.
Judge Jack Moran (Platt) is a brilliant, cynical judge whose integrity
and wisdom are often overshadowed by his non-conformist and occasionally
bizarre courtroom behavior. Newly appointed Judge Kim Vicidomini (Sciorra)
is young, attractive and ambitious, and is quickly proving that her political
connections and legal savvy are assets both in and out of the courtroom.
Judge Rose Barnea (Caldwell), hardworking and brutally frank, knows that
the jury is still out regarding Kim, and she's not afraid to let her know
it. Judge Thomas O'Neill (Loggia), the highest-ranking at the courthouse,
tends to be the voice of reason as he works to keep his fellow judges'
egos, agendas and eccentricities in check. Assisting the judges are Carmen
Hui (Harriell) and Mike Powell (Madio), the ever-helpful law clerks who
are surprised by very little. The final character in the dramedy is Queens
itself, the most ethnically diverse community in the United States that,
to an outsider, looks like an eclectic mix of urban landscapes, strip malls
and airports. Most people pass through without noticing, but then again,
they don't live there. To the judges bound by neighborhoods like Ozone
Park, Flushing Meadows and Utopia, their world is Supreme. (from the official
website at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/queens_supreme/)
Reasonable Doubts (NBC, 9/91-7/93)
Cast: Mark Harmon, Marlee Matlin, William Converse-Roberts,
Tim Grimm, Nancy Everhard, Jim Beaver, Bill Pugin
Summary: Deaf Assistant D.A Tess Kaufman (Matlin) first
meets Detective Dicky Cobb (Harmon) when she is questioning him on
the witness stand. The case concerns crooked cops and it turns out the
detective understands American Sign Language. She soon finds that
her boss (Converse-Roberts) has decided that she needs her own investigator
and the prickly Cobb is it. It was the first tv series with a deaf
star and one of the few to include the character's impairment as a plot
device.
Riker (CBS, 3/81-4/81)
Cast: Josh Taylor, Michael Shannon
Summary: Frank Riker (Taylor) was kicked off the L.A.P.D.
force, fired for rule infractions too numerous to count. He
was broadly regarded as a "bad egg" and disliked and mistrusted by most
of his former colleagues. In actuality, the situation was a set-up.
His former partner and now state Deputy Attorney General Bruce Landis (Shannon)
had arranged his ignominious departure and Frank, having secretly resigned,
now worked directly for him on special investigations that may have been
put in jeopardy by regular staff.
Robin's Hoods (Syndicated, 9/94-3/95)
Cast: Linda Purl, Jennifer Campbell, Julie McCullough,
Gretchen Palmer, Claire Yarlett, David Gail
Summary: Jake Robin was a cop by trade until someone wanted
him dead and succeeded. But his true passion was Robin's Nest, a
nightclub employing five young parolees whose respective offenses were
writing bad checks, breaking and entering, armed robbery, possession and
sale of marijuana and aggravated assault. His assistant D.A.
widow Brett (Purl) joins forces with the "hoods" to find Jake's killer
and then act as a sort of Charlie's Angels to fight crime, using
the "skills" that got them into jail in the first place.
Rockford Files (NBC, 9/74-7/80)
Cast: James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos, Gretchen
Corbett, Stuart Margolin, Bo Hopkins
Summary: Jim Rockford (Garner) was an ex-con turned detective,
a career move based on the principle that it takes a thief to catch one.
In his case, he had been wrongly convicted but prison had taught him a
few things in addition to helping him make useful contacts. His cases
were often those which seemed open and shut or already solved, a fact that
did not endear him to Det. Becker (Santos), a good friend but frustrated
opponent in the justice system. He was often helped out by his retired
trucker father (Beery) and whenever he crossed the law or needed bailing
out, his faithful attorney girlfriend Beth Davenport (Corbett) was there
to save him from himself. His former cellmate "Angel" (Margolin)
frequently provided new cases as well as inside information as he continued
contact with their old criminal pals. Friend and disbarred
lawyer John Cooper (Hopkins) was sometimes available for legal research.
In a fallback to stereotyping, Rockford's girlfriend and his ex-wife were
both lawyers, but the episode featuring the ex-wife, "I Still Love L.A.,"
inferred that their marriage had failed because of her ambition and devotion
to her career.
Rosetti and Ryan (NBC, 9/77-11/77)
Cast: Tony Roberts, Squire Fridell, Jane Elliot, Dick O'Neill,
William Marshall
Summary: The criminal defense firm of Rosetti and Ryan
consisted of two good-looking, single men, as different in their backgrounds
and personality as possible. Joseph Rossetti (Roberts) was suave,
debonair, arrogant, and had grown up in a comfortably wealthy family.
His partner Frank Ryan (Fridell) was an ex-cop who had put himself through
night law school and used the dogged detecting methods of a professional
to solve their cases. They were often up against assistant D. A.
Jessica Hornesby (Elliot) who could not understand how they were always
able to outwit her. Judge Praetor Hardcastle (O'Neill) attempted
to keep the two opposing parties in order. The series won the 1978
Edgar award for best television feature for its pilot, "Men Who Love Women,"
directed by John Astin (Gomez Addams) and written by Don Mankiewiscz, the
screenwriter of Trial and I Want to Live. "It's out
there, people violating contracts, swindling, trespassing, killing, reusing
postage stamps; crimes beyond counting; but come morning, some citizen
accused of an interesting one will seek us out."
The Round Table (NBC, 9/92-10/92)
Cast: Roxann Biggs, David Gail, Jessica Walter, Stacy
Haiduk, Erik King, David Breznahan, David Ackroyd, Pepper Sweeney
Summary: An ensemble drama which depicts the working and
personal lives of a group of young professionals in Washington D.C. The
group consists of rookie cop Wade Carter (King), naive secret service agent
Devereaux Jones (Sweeney), Rhea McPherson (Haiduk), a journalist turned
FBI trainee whose mother (Walter) wants her to take over the family paper,
her roommate Jennifer Clemente (Biggs), a prosecutor in the US Attorney's
office, her bartender boyfriend (David Gail), and an opportunistic Justice
Department attorney (Breznahan) who is under the influence of a powerful
senator (Ackroyd).
Rumpole of the Bailey (BBC, 4/78-12/92;
PBS, 2/80-)
Cast: Leo McKern, Peggy Thorpe-Bates, Patricia Hodge,
Julian Curry, Peter Bowles, Abigail McKern, Moray Watson, Peter Blythe,
Bill Fraser, Robin Bailey, Robin Bailey, Richard Murdoch
Summary: All episodes feature the court cases of Horace
Rumpole (McKern), a short, round, perennially exasperating, shrewd but
lovable defense barrister. His clients are often caught in contemporary
social conflicts: a father accused of devil worshipping; the Gay
News Ltd. sued for blasphemous libel; a forger of Victorian photographs
who briefly fooled the National Portrait Gallery; a pornographic
publisher. His deep commitment for justice leads him to wholeheartedly
defend hopeless cases and the spirit of the law, as opposed to his
fellow barristers who stubbornly defend the letter of the law. Rumpole
is given to frequent oratorical outbursts from the Oxford Book of English
Verse and manages to aim the elegant passages at upper-class
hypocritical judges and other barristers. He comments on the phenomenon
of "judgitis [pomposity] which, like piles, is an occupational hazard
on the bench." His suggested cure is "banishment to the golf
course." Rumpole is married to Hilda (Thorpe-Bates), to whom he refers
as "She Who Must Be Obeyed" (a reference to Ayesha of the H. Rider-Haggard
novels, SHE who must be obeyed! ...SHE who must be loved! ...SHE who must
be possessed!). Even though Hilda--whose father was head of chambers--aspires
for a more prestigious position for her husband and a bit more luxurious
life-style for herself, she continues to support her husband's brand
of justice rather than that sought by egotistical or social climbing
royal counsels. Rumpole revels in lampooning his fellow colleagues
whom he believes to be a group of twits. They include the dithery
and pompous Claude Erskine-Brown (Curry), the full-of-himself Samuel
Ballard (Blythe), and a variety of dour judges who preside in court--the
bumbling Justice Guthrie Featherstone (Bowles), the blustering "mad
bull" Justice Bullingham (Fraser), the serious and heartless Justice Graves
(Robin Bailey), and the almost kindly Justice "Ollie" Oliphant (Bailey).
Among Rumpole's colleagues he favors the savvy and stylish Phillida
Neetrant Erskine-Brown (Hodge)--the one feminist voice of the
series and wife of Claude--and the endearing Uncle Tom (Murdoch),
an octogenarian waiting to have the good sense to retire--who, in the meantime,
practices his putting in chambers. (from Encyclopedia of Television,
Horace Newcomb, ed.). It appeared as an episode of BBC1's Play for Today
in 1975, then 44 total episodes were produced by Thames from 1978-1992.
It was presented as part of PBS's Mystery series in 1980 and continues
to be shown sporadically.
Run for Your Life (NBC, 9/65-9/68)
Cast: Ben Gazarra
Summary: When successful lawyer Paul Bryan is told by
his doctor that he has only two years to live, he decides to leave his
law practice and do everything he has always wanted to do. With money
not a problem, he travels to exotic locales and crams a lifetime of adventure
into three seasons of television.
Salty (Syndicated, 1974-75)
Cast: Mark Slade, Johnny Doran, Julius Harris, Vincent
Dale
Summary: Taylor (Slade) and Tim (Doran) Reed are rescued from
the hurricane that claimed their parents lives by retired lawyer and marina
owner Clancy Ames (Harris). They live together at the Cove Marina,
along with the boys' pet sea lion Salty.
Sam Benedict (NBC, 9/62-9/63)
Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Richard Rust, Joan Tompkins
Summary: This courtroom drama set in San Francisco featured
lawyer-detective Sam Benedict (O'Brien), his assistant (Rust), and secretary
Trudy (Tompkins). The free-wheeling character was loosely based on that
of Jake Erlich, the lawyer who defended Lawrence Ferlenghetti in the 1957
"Howl" obscenity case and Billie Holliday when she was arrested on drug
charges.
Sara (NBC, 1/85-5/85)
Cast: Geena Davis, Alfre Woodward, Bill Maher, Bronson
Pinchot, Ronnie Claire Edwards
Summary: Described as the first yuppie tv series, this
was the story of a San Francisco legal assistance office which apparently
was the only one where lawyers complain of having nothing to do. The kind
and generous Sara (Davis) shares the office with her singles bar-hopping
friend Roz (Woodard), sleazeball Marty (Maher), and overly fem gay Dennis
(Pinchot). One reviewer described it as "at least better than the Dukes
of Hazard."
Second Chances (CBS, 12/93-1/94)
Cast: Connie Selleca, Justin Lazard, Jennifer Lopez, Megan
Porter Follows, Ronnie Cox, Ray Wise, Matt Salinger
Summary: Dianne Benedict (Selleca) is a public defender,
mother of an 8-year old and considering running for judge against a corrupt
incumbent (Wise). She doesn't realize that her womanizing husband
could create a problem and her old boyfriend Mike (Salinger) is coming
back to town. Her sister (Follows) has sworn off men but still carries
a secret torch for Mike and is planning the wedding of Diane's law clerk
(Lazard) and fiancee (Lopez). Neither set of parents is thrilled
about the coming nuptials and try to break the couple up. The series
was scuttled thanks to Selleca's ill-casting and the Northridge earthquake
in January 1994.
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
(UPN, 10/98)
Cast: Chi McBride, Dan Florek, Christine Estabrook, Max
Baker, Kelly Connell
Summary: Desmond Pfeiffer (McBride) is a wealthy English
nobleman of Moorish descent. He's on the lam because he was caught
cheating at cards - something no gentleman does. He sees the possibility
of new opportunities in America and soon becomes butler and confidant to
the president, Abraham Lincoln (Florek). Abe needs a good advisor
because in this series he's a sex-obsessed doofus, rather than the lawyerly
statesman that he was. His wife (Estabrook) is crazy and his top
general is a falling-down drunk (Connell). In the first episode, he's trying
to have "telegraph sex" and ends up contacting a Southern general who is
trying to surrender. The writers were only too obviously trying to satirize
Bill Clinton's self-destruction and at one point Pfeiffer tells Lincoln
"You're acting no better than a horny hillbilly from Arkansas." The series
made many critics' "worst-of-the-season" list, came in at 133 out of 135
in the ratings and was protested by a few African-American groups who said
that it made light of slavery. It lasted all of one month and the pilot
never showed due to its over-the-top racial jokes.
Sex and the City (HBO, 5/98-2/04)
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis,
Cynthia Nixon
Summary: Newspaper columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Parker)
captures the lives of the lovelorn and the love-seeking in New York City
as she looks to the her own experiences and those of her best friends.
They are: the sexually adventurous PR exec Samantha Jones (Cattrall), the
ever-optimistic Charlotte York (Davis), and lawyer Miranda Hobbes (Nixon).
Miranda is smart, self-assured and proud of her achievements. She raises
the bar for herself continually - be it in her professional or personal
life. She made partner in her law firm and was able to buy her own pre-war
apartment on the Upper West Side. However, she's struggled with her love
life and at times, abandoned the pursuit of love altogether. Tough
and down-to-earth, she doesn't open up easily, masking her vulnerability
with cynicism and self-deprecating humor. After an unexpected and very
brief fling she realized she was pregnant. She had every intention of having
an abortion, but minutes before the procedure she had a change of heart
and decided to keep the baby. She wondered if this was her last chance
at motherhood. As her pregnancy progressed, she feared she didn't have
a maternal instinct and struggled to juggle her demanding career with her
new identity as a mommy-to-be. Nature took its course and with best friend
Carrie by her side, she gave birth to Brady Hobbes. In Season Five, Miranda
grappled with her new role as a single working mom. She had to come to
terms with how being a mom would change her relationships with her friends
and any new man that might come along. (compiled from the official website
at http://www.hbo.com/city/)
Shannon's Deal (NBC, 4/90-5/90, 3/91-5/91)
Cast: Jamey Sheridan, Elizabeth Pena, Jenny Lewis, Miguel
Ferrer, Richard Edson, Martin Ferrero
Summary: Critically acclaimed but short-lived series based
on the character of a down-on-his-luck lawyer turned private investigator.
Jack Shannon (Sheridan) may be a Philadelphia lawyer, but that isn't
his reputation. He's drank and gambled away his corporate law firm
career and family and now operates out of a falling down storefront with
a secretary (Pena) who is working off the fee for getting her boyfriend
out of jail. He is trying to mend his relationship with his daughter (Lewis)
while keeping out of the way of the debt-collector His nemesis
is the assistant district attorney (Ferrer) whom he sees as an oily, media-seeking
snake. John Sayles created the series and wrote both the pilot and
two of the episodes; he based the character on Paul Newman's Frank Galvin
in The Verdict. Alan Dershowitz acted as legal consultant.
Wynton Marsalis, Dave Grusin and Chick Correa supplied the jazzy, noirish
music. Producer Stan Rogow was a lawyer in the mid-70's in Boston's
Roxbury district. "I thought I was a big shot. Big money. Big house.
Big car. I thought I held all the cards. I thought I could pick the winner
every time. I thought I could smell it. But the whole thing was built on
garbage. I treated my wife badly and I knew it and I didn't stop and one
day she walked. She took my daughter with her. I started gambling big time.
Crazy stuff. Long shot stuff. I turned into the kind of man that I'd grown
up hating. Making the big bucks and being made a partner wasn't enough
to buy that off. I'm just kinda starting from scratch, trying to
keep things low pressure."
Simon & Simon (CBS, 11/81-12/88)
Cast: Jameson Parker, Gerald McRaney, Mary Carver, Jeannie
Wilson, Eddie Barth
Summary: A. J. and Rick Simon are brothers, complete opposites,
and partners in a struggling detective agency. A.J. is conservative,
college-educated, clean-cut, and ambitious for the business. Rick
is laid back, a slob, drives a beat-up pickup truck, and not interested
in working. Across the street is a competing agency run by Myron
Fowler (Barth), aided by his daughter Janet (Wilson), until she starts
law school and ends up as an assistant D.A. prosecuting some of the Simons'
cases.
Sirota's Court (NBC, 12/76-4/77)
Cast: Michael Constantine, Kathleen Miller, Fred Willard,
Owen Bush, Cynthia Harris
Summary: The first sitcom to actually show lawyers at
work and a clear precursor to Harry Anderson's Night Court.
Matthew Sirota (Constantine) is a night court judge who takes an offbeat
look at justice. The other regulars include the idealistic public
defender (Miller), egotistical D.A. (Willard), the bailiff (Bush) and the
court clerk (Harris).
Sisters (NBC, 5/91-5/96)
Cast: Swoosie Kurtz, Patricia Kalember, Sela Ward, Julianne
Phillips, Elizabeth Hoffman, Philip Sterling, David Dukes
Summary: The lives of the four Halsey sisters (Kurtz,
Kalember, Phillips, Ward) provided the stories of this popular weekly drama.
It blended serious topics such as cancer, abortion, divorce and crime with
lighter ones. NBC did not air the opening segment, the women grouped
in a steam shower and discussing orgasms, until it went into syndication.
In the first season, the women's parents (Dukes and Hoffman) divorced and
their mother married Judge Truman Ventnor (Sterling).
Skin (Fox, 10/03)
Cast: Ron Silver, Kevin Anderson, Rachel Ticotin, Olivia
Wilde, Pamela Gidley, D. J. Cotrona
Summary: Jewel (Wilde) and Adam (Cotrona) are two totally different
Los Angeles teenagers who meet and fall in love with one another at first
sight. But their romance is threatened by the very different and
feuding families they come from. Jewel's liberal Jewish father, Larry Goldman
(Silver), is an entrepreneur who specialized in pornography as well as
some not-entirely-legal activities, while Tom's conservative Catholic father,
Tom Roam (Anderson), the city's district attorney, is obsessed with bringing
Goldman down in any way possible. The only thing both men have in common
is a vow to halt the union between their children at all costs. The series
was canceled after only 3 episodes due to low ratings, in spite of good
reviews and Jerry Bruckheimer's production.
Slattery's People
(CBS, 9/64-11/65)
Cast: Richard Crenna, Edward Asner, Tol Avery, Maxine
Stuart, Paul Geary, Kathie Browne
Summary: The series foreshadowed both the 1970s social
justice themes and the political themes of the early 2000s in lawyer shows.
James Slattery, politician, lawyer, and leader of the minority party in
a state legislature crusades against injustice, facing issues as varied
as wire-tapping, public transportation and legislative procedures.
He is assisted by aide Johnny Ramos (Geary) and secretary B. J. Clawson
(Stuart). Onhand to provide advice is veteran political reporter
Frank Radcliff (Asner). His friendly enemy is opposition leader Bert Metcalf
(Avery). The second season attempted to increase ratings by adding
a love interest, TV newscaster Liz Andrews (Browne). This was Asner's
first work in episodic tv. David Rintels, a writer for The Defenders,
scripted a number of the stories. "Democracy is a very bad form of
government, but I ask you to never to forget it, all the others are far
worse."
Sonny Spoon (NBC, 2/88-12/88)
Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Melvin Van Peebles, Terry Donahoe,
Joe Shea, Jordana Capra
Summary: Sonny Spoon is a con-artist and p.i. whose office
is an out-of-order phone booth. He solves cases by assuming various
characters and disguises and using his variety of contacts on the street.
His most frequently seen acquaintances are Lucius DeLuce (Shea), a newsstand
operator near the phone booth, and Carolyn Gilder (Donahoe), an ambitious
assistant D.A. who is more troubled than amused by Sonny's antics.
Soul Food (Showtime, 6/00-5/04)
Cast: Irma P. Hall, Nicole Ari Parker, Malinda Williams, Vanessa
Williams, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Rockmond Dunbar, Boris Kodjoe
Summary: Mama Joe's (Hall) girls, Teri (Parker), Maxine
(V. Williams) and Bird (M. Williams) are still grieving over her death
five months earlier. Teri is the oldest sister and a top-flight attorney,
making her way to managing partner. Though the most successful careerwise,
as a two-time divorcee, she's not as lucky in love. Work may still be a
high priority, but she hasn't slacked off in her big-sister duties to Maxine
and Bird, lending a dollar or an ear to help them and other family members.
Her unexpected relationship with Damon (Kodjoe) brings both joy and pain
to her life. Maxine has been married for years to Kenny (Dunbar), and is
the mother of three. As Kenny struggles with being an entrepreneur running
his own towing service, and Maxine seeks out an identity beyond her roles
as wife and mother, they're challenged to keep the home fires burning.
Even Baby Bird has settled down and gotten hitched to Lem (Henson) and,
at the beginning of season one, is on the verge of giving birth. The Sunday
dinners still hold the family together, as well as their bond with Mama
Joe, still seen in flashbacks or dream sequences. This was the longest
running African-American television drama and Showtime's highest rated
series.
Sparks (UPN, 9/96-1/98)
Cast: Miguel Nunez, Terrence Howard, James Avery, Robin
Givens
Summary: What happens when a bright and beautiful female
attorney joins an inner-city Los Angeles law firm run by a ready-to-retire
patriarch and his two bickering sons? Sparks! This is a comedic study in
family dynamics, sibling rivalry and office romance. Two polar-opposite
brothers manage the law firm of Sparks, Sparks & Sparks, founded by
their father Alonzo Sparks (Avery). While each son is dedicated to the
family profession, the flashy, womanizing Maxey (Nuñez) is just
as interested in the pursuit of beautiful young women as he is in the pursuit
of justice, while younger brother Greg (Howard) is serious, straitlaced
and a seeker of the high road. Imagine their surprise when the one thing
the brothers find they can agree on is their mutual affection for Wilma
Cuthbert (Givens), the Stanford Law graduate who Greg has just hired to
join Sparks, Sparks and Sparks as the firm's only associate - after an
extensive three-year search. Both brothers vie for her affections, but
Wilma - caught up in the jitters of a stressful new job and an engagement
to a high-profile sports figure is oblivious to either brother's
interest. (from the UPN press release 8/26/96)
Spenser for Hire (ABC, 9/85-5/88)
Cast: Robert Urich, Avery Brooks, Barbara Stock, Carolyn
McCormick, Richard Jaeckel, Ron McLarty
Summary: Based on the novels by Robert Parker, the series
featured former Boston cop turned P.I. Spenser (Urich) and and his friends
and frequent assistants, the street-wise and barely legal Hawk (Brooks)
and police detective Frank Belsen (McLarty). His love interest Susan (Stock)
leaves after the first season while new D.A. Rita Fiori (McCormick) tries
to prosecute Spenser for blackmail in the first episode of season two.
After dropping the case, she hires him as a special investigator and becomes
a close friend. Most of his cases involve murders, kidnappings, or
disappearances.
The Storefront Lawyers (CBS, 9/70-9/71)
Cast: Robert Foxworth, Sheila Larken, David Arkin, A Martinez,
Barry Morse, Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Summary: One of the late 60's/early 70's series with a
social relevancy theme aimed at a young audience, this series featured
L.A. lawyer David Hansen (Foxworth) who works part-time at his prestigious
firm but seems to spend most of his time at a legal aid clinic in Century
City. He is assisted by fellow associates Debra Sullivan (Larkin)
and Gabriel Kaye (Arkin). They also have the volunteer help of law
student Roberto Alvarez (Martinez) and one of the law firm partners (Morse).
However, the show changed format from the mentor-neophyte style to feature
only the young associates, then failing to gain the youth audience with
its social justice message, returned to a fancy law office. The young attorneys,
now supervised by partner Devlin McNeil (O'Loughlin), focused on the relationship
between Hansen and McNeil, and in fact, changing it's name to Men at
Law in January 1971.
Sugarfoot (ABC, 9/57-7/61)
Cast: Will Hutchins
Summary: Tom Brewster, "jogging along/With a heart full
of song/And a rifle and a volume of the law" was a peripatetic westerner
who studied law through correspondence courses. Very seldom do the
episodes have anything to do with a law practice, but on several occasions,
Brewster is forced into acting as a defense attorney in a murder trial.
In 1960 he also made a guest appearance as an unnamed lawyer on Maverick
in "Bolt from the Blue".
Sunday Dinner (CBS, 6/91-7/91)
Cast: Robert Loggia, Teri Hatcher, Kari Lizer, Martha
Gehman, Patrick Breen, Marian Mercer
Summary: Norman Lear based this family comedy on his own
divorce and remarriage to a much younger woman. In this case, Ben
Benedict (Loggia), 56 year-old widower and owner of a printing company,
has become engaged to a 30 year-old environmental lawyer (Hatcher) with
a spiritual bent. Needless to say, his grown children are not amused and
their own versions of religion - atheism, agnosticism, new age, and materialism
provide some of the conflict.
The Super (ABC, 6/72-8/72)
Cast: Richard Castellano, Ardell Sheridan, Margaret Castellano,
Bruce Kirby, Jr., Phil Mishkin
Summary: Joe Girelli is a big guy who wants only a cold
beer, a tv, and to be left alone. Instead, he's the super of an aging
apartment building in New York City, who is harassed by his tenants and
his wife (Sheridan), kids (M. Castellano and Kirby), and hot shot lawyer
brother (Mishkin).
Sweet Justice (NBC, 9/94-4/95)
Cast: Cicely Tyson, Ronny Cox, Melissa Gilbert, Megan
Gallivan, Jason Gedrick, Greg Germann, Richard T. Jones, Jim Antonio, Cree
Summers
Summary: Kate Delacroy (Gilbert) has returned to her southern
home for her sister's wedding after 4 years at a Wall Street firm.
Her father James-Lee (Cox), a convervative, corporate attorney, invites
her to join him, but she values her independence. At the wedding
she meets up with a high school friend, now a waitress, who has lost her
son to her weathy and cruel ex-husband. Drawn into the custody case,
Kate asks for help from her late mother's oldest friend and law partner,
activist and defender of the underdog, Carrie Grace Battle (Tyson), but
Grace, seeing something of the mother in the daughter, encourages her to
go to trial herself. Kate finds herself sharing work space, then
working part-time, then joing Grace's small firm, a move her father does
not care for at all.
Sydney (CBS, 3/90-6/90)
Cast: Valerie Bertinelli, Craig Bierko, Matthew Perry,
Barney Martin, Daniel Baldwin, Perry Anzolotti
Summary: Sydney Kelis (Bertinelli) is single, perky, bright
and slightly over her head when she decides to become a private detective
in the hard-boiled city of Los Angeles. But she's lucky enough to
land a lawyer (Bierko) as a regular client, has a cop brother (Perry) who
keeps his eye on her, gets fatherly advice from the owner (Martin) of the
local bar and inside info from a snitch (Anzilotti). Unfortunately,
she spends most of her time arguing with people, who think she is a "Sidney,"
about her credentials and abilities as a P.I. Bertinelli's husband,
Eddie Van Halen, wrote the theme music.
T. and T. (Syndicated, Global TV, 88-90)
Cast: Alex Amini, Mr. T, David Nerman, Kristina Nicoll,
Jackie Richardson
Summary: "T. S. Turner (Mr. T) was a city smart kid fighting
his way off the street until he was framed for a crime he didn't commit.
Amy Taler (Amini) was a young crusading lawyer. She mounted an appeal
to put Turner back on the street, this time in a suit and tie, working
as a private detective. Together they are ...T & T." Lawyer Terri
Taylor (Nicoll) joined the firm after Amy left after two seasons.
Temple Houston, (NBC, 9/63-9/64)
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Jack Elam
Summary: Frontier lawyer Temple Houston (Hunter), son
of Sam Houston, and his friend Marshall George Taggart (Elam), bring law
to the lawless. Houston is a western version of the familiar Perry
Mason lawyer/detective style. The series couldn't decide what it
wanted to be; it began with serious, suspenseful crime dramas, then evolved
into comedy as he handles more civil cases.
To Have and to Hold (CBS, 10/98-12/98)
Cast: Moira Kelly, Jason Beghe, Fionnula Flanagan, Stephen
Lee, John Cullum, Stephen Largay, Jason Wiles, Mariette Hartley
Summary: Boston public defender Annie Cornell (Kelly)
and cop Sean McGrail (Beghe) have known each other since they were in kindergarten.
They have grown up and plan to stay in the same neighborhood, surrounded
by their extended families. Finally, after two aborted trips to the
altar, they are getting married. Since opposites attract she is a
bleeding heart liberal feminist and he is a conservative law-and-order
chauvinist and she takes on the criminal cases that he has investigated.
Tom (CBS, 3/94-6/94)
Cast: Tom Arnold, Alison LaPlaca, Jason Marsden, Josh
Stoppelworth, Tiffany and Kathryn Lubran, Andrew Lawrence
Summary: Tom Graham (Arnold) is a welder who has decided
to build his dream house in Kansas on the old family farm, which sits next
to the town dump. He moves his family from town to the site, with
only a construction trailer to house them. His kids miss their friends
and want to know how avoid the rats while wife Dorothy (LaPlaca) is dealing
with law school. He can't understand why none of them is satisfied
with their new lifestyle.
Tony Randall Show (ABC, 9/76-3/77;
CBS, 9/77-3/78)
Cast: Tony Randall, Barney Martin, Allyn Ann McLerie,
Brad Savage, Diana Muldaur, Zane Lasky, Hans Conried, Devon Scott
Summary: Walter Franklin (Randall) is a widowed judge
in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. His life is made easier
by a perfectionist court reporter (Martin) and motherly secretary (McLerie),
more complicated by a potential love interest Judge Eleanor Hooper (Muldaur),
and more difficult by the obnoxious assistant D.A. (Lasky) and his two
children, Bobby (Scott) and Oliver Wendell (Savage).
Tracey Takes On (HBO, 1/96-2000)
Cast: Tracey Ullman, Seymour Cassel, Julie Kavner, Michael
McKean, George Seagal, Michael Tucker
Summary: Tracey Ullman takes on a different subject -
from marriage to Hollywood to childhood - in each series, with her
various characters illustrating the theme. Sydney Kross is a blonde, frizzy-haired
lawyer whose teeth look like they have the bite of a shark; the character
was modeled after Leslie Abramson She makes a video for a dating
service, with a cariacature of the famous scene in Fatal Instinct,
dances in a restroom to the tune of Lord of the Dance, ties to stop
a death sentence by getting a serial murderer to marry his penpal, files
a class action suit against a spa she's visiting. The series won
the American Comedy Award for funniest female performer in 1998-2000, the
DGA award in for musical/variety in 2000, and Emmy's 1997-99, including
best variety series in 1997, the SAG in 1997
Trial and Error (CBS, 3/88)
Cast: Eddie Velez, Paul Rodriguez, Stephen Elliott, Debbie
Shapiro, John de Lancie
Summary: John Hernandez (Velez) and Tony Rivera (Paul
Rodriguez) are two lifelong Hispanic best friends who reunite as roommates
after attorney Velez joins a prestigious L.A. law firm and Rodriguez has
become "the hottest T-shirt hustler on Olvera Street." Although John
sees himself as the token hispanic, he has the honest support of the firm's
senior partner (Elliott) and gets behind-the-scenes information from his
secretary (Shapiro). Unfortunately, this contrasts with the condescension
coming from a fellow associate (de Lancie), which is reinforced when he
has his own conflicts and embarrassment for the blue-collar attitudes of
his friend.
The Trials of O'Brien
(CBS, 9/65-5/66)
Cast: Peter Falk, Joanna Barnes, Elaine Stritch, David
Burns
Summary: Daniel J. O'Brien was far more successful with
the trials in his professional career than his personal life. Altough
he was a much-in-demand and very expensive criminal defense lawyer, he
was behind in his rent, behind in alimony payments to his ex-wife Katie
(Barnes), and a very unlucky gambler. In spite of attempts by his
secretary (Stritch) to keep his life in order, disarray was more likely.
The show split in treatment of both sides of his life: cases were dealt
with dramatically, his personal life was viewed comedically.
The Trials of Rosie O'Neill
(CBS, 9/90-5/92)
Cast: Sharon Gless, Dorian Harewood, Ron Rifkin, Georgann
Johnson, Ed Asner
Summary: Rosie O'Neill (Gless) is an attractive, wealthy,
middle-aged lawyer whose husband has left her for a younger woman and who
realizes that while she was building a career in corporate litigation that
the rest of world was going to hell in a handbasket. She decides
to change her life's direction, divorces him, and goes to work at the Los
Angeles Public Defender's office. Her socialite mother (Johnson)
is aggrieved by this action and cannot understand why her daughter chooses
to mix with criminal types. Her unwilling officemate is Hank Mitchell
(Harewood); he thinks she's merely trying to ease her conscience. Her boss
(Rifkin) is a religious Jew who looks at his job with a philosophical take.
A conservative counterpoint to the office's liberal views was investigator
Walter Kovatch (Asner), who joined the show in 1991. Each show opened
with a brief session with her psychiatrist who is never seen, only heard
- the part was played by her husband and the show's producer, Barney Rosenzweig.
Union Square (NBC, 9/97-1/98)
Cast: Jim Pirri, Michael Landes, Constance Marie, Harriet
Harris, Jonathan Slavin, Christine Burke
Summary: Set in a New York diner called Union Square,
this multi-ethnic sitcom tells the stories of a good-looking lawyer (Landes)
turned play-writer, an aspiring actress (Marie) who just got to the Big
Apple, a womanizing cook (Pirri), an absent-minded waiter (Slavin), and
a neurotic real estate broker (Harris).
Vengeance Unlimited
(ABC, 9/98-2/99)
Cast: Michael Madsen, Kathleen York
Summary: The mysterious Mr. Chapel, (Madsen) materializes
into the lives of people who have been wronged and makes them an offer
that's hard to refuse. The offer: justice, or maybe just raw vengeance.
The price: $1,000,000. or a favor, collectible sometime in the future,
so that he can help someone else. K.C. Griffin (York) repays that
favor each week by using her position as a paralegal in the district attorney's
office to feed information to Mr. Chapel. He goes after the rich and powerful,
who have rich and powerful lawyers to defend them when they destroy the
lives of others.
The Virginian (NBC, 9/62-9/71)
Cast: James Drury, Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Bickford,
Don Quine, Stewart Granger, Clu Gulager, L. Q. Jones
Summary: Television's first ninety-minute western came out at
the apogee of the genre and focused on the mysterious foreman of the Shiloh
Ranch in Wyoming. Known simply as The Virginian, he "forced his idea
of law and order on a Wyoming Territory community in the 1890's."
The ranch was first owned (4 seasons) by Judge Henry Garth (Cobb), then
the Gaither brothers (Bickford and Quine), and finally in the last season
by Col. MacKenzie (Granger). The series was well received as an adult
western and respected for its use of character-based rather than shoot-em-up
scripts. Well-respected dramatic actors such as Colleen Dewhurst,
George C. Scott, Lee Marvin, Bette Davis, Ida Lupino, Nina Foch and Howard
Duff were eager to guest star. It was based on the book written by
Owen Wister in 1902, and had been made into a movie in 1914, 1923, 1929,
and 1946. In both the book and films, Trampas (McClure), the headstrong
foreman's assistant, had originally been the leader of a gang of cattle
thieves. From 1970-71 it was known as The Men from Shiloh.
Walker, Texas Ranger (CBS, 4/93-5/01)
Cast: Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Sheree Wilson,
Judson Mills, Nia Peeples
Summary: Cordell Walker (Norris) is an old-fashioned Texas
Ranger, who works with his instincts and martial arts. His partner
is Jimmy Trivette, who balances Walker's emotional style with scientific
detecting techniques. Rounding out the crew is Assistant District
Attorney Alex Cahill (Wilson) who later in the series marries Walker.
Wasteland (ABC, 10/99-10/99)
Cast: Marisa Coughlin, Sasha Alexander, Rebecca Gayheart,
Jeffrey Sams, Eddie Mills, Brad Rowe, Dan Montgomery
Summary: Seven college friends continue their relationships
in their working lives in this waste of time that lasted one month. Dawnie
(Coughlin) is writing her anthropology thesis on her generation (gen-x).
She broke up with boyfriend Ty (Rowe) but he still pursues her. Sam
(Gayheart) is a paralegal who depends on her rich father for handouts and
who has broken up with her guitarist boyfriend Vandy (Mills). Jesse (Alexander)
is a publicist, with a promiscuous sex life. Russell (Montgomery)
is a closeted soap actor and Vince (Sams) is a good-looking and politically
ambitious assistant district attorney.
We Got It Made (NBC, 3/83-3/84;
Syndicated, MGM-UA, 1987)
Cast: Teri Copley, Tom Villard, Matt McCoy, John Hillner
Summary: Neatnick lawyer David Tucker (McCoy, Hillner)
and sloppy importer Jay Bostwick (Villard) share an apartment and decide
the only way they are going to be able to live together is to hire a maid.
The first interviewee is a gorgeous blonde (Copley) and they hire her on
the spot, in spite of her complete lack of any experience and in spite
of their girlfriends' misgivings. The syndicated version replaced McCoy
with Hillner.
We'll Get By (CBS, 3/75-5/75)
Cast: Paul Sorvino, Mitzi Hoag, Jerry Houser, Devon Scott,
Willie Aames
Summary: George Platt is a hard-working lawyer who lives
with his wife and children (Hoag, Houser, Scott, Aames) in a middle class
neighborhood in New Jersey. The series was created by Alan Alda and apparently
was too low key to survive.
The West Wing (NBC, 9/99-present)
Cast: Martin Sheen, Stockard Channing, Elizabeth Moss, John
Spencer, Richard Schiff, Sam Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney,
Janel Moloney, Dule Hill, Timothy Busfield
Summary: The series centers around New Hampshire Democrat
Josiah Bartlet (Sheen), a former economics professor and now the U.S. President
who exudes a country-lawyer charisma that belies his brilliance, his deep
conviction and devotion to what he believes is right for the country. Among
Bartlet’s loyal staffers are Leo McGarry (Spencer), the President’s chief
of staff and his closest ally and confidant. He possesses the sort of street
smarts that enable him to keep in touch with the sentiments of the nation.
Deputy Chief of Staff and lawyer Josh Lyman (Whitford) is a skilled strategist,
who helped get Bartlet elected. At times he can be too opinionated for
his own good, but his sarcastic assistant, Donna (Moloney), is often there
to take the wind out of his sails. Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Janney)
spends most of her time deflecting the press’ questions with grace and
skill, working alongside Toby Ziegler (Schiff), the rumpled and sleepless
Communications Director whose cynical sense of humor gets him through many
dicey political situations. In contrast to his boss, Deputy Communications
Director and lawyer Sam Seaborn (Lowe) is a strictly political animal,
easily able to craft an appropriate presidential response. Rounding out
the team is the President’s plainspoken yet astute personal aide, CharlieYoung
(Hill). The combined efforts of the diverse members of this unique team
help run a country. The nation survives because of -- and at times in spite
of -- what happens in theWest Wing. (from the official site at http://www.nbci.com/LMOID/bb/fd/0,946,-0-2216,00.html).
The series has won numerous awards: 2000 Peabody Award, 2001 SAG award
for best drama ensemble, supporting actress (Janney) and actor (Sheen),
2001 Golden Globes for best drama and actor (Sheen), 2001 Emmies for outstanding
drama, director, supporting actor and actress (Schiff and Janney) and writing,
and 2001 DGA award for best drama directing. In 2003, series creator and
writer Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme were forced from the show
amid accusations of drug use, tardy scripts, high costs, and lower ratings.
John Wells, executive producer, took over the show, stating that there
would be little difference except for a diminished use of Sorkin's dramatic
machine-gun style dialogue and a little more representation of the GOP
point of view. Ratings did stabilize but some viewers were put off by the
darker feel to Wells' writing.
Whoopi (NBC, 9/03-5/04)
Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Omid Djalili, Wren T. Brown, Elizabeth
Regen
Summary: Fifteen years earlier, Mavis Rae had one huge, spectacular
hit song -"Don't Hide Love" - and, quickly realizing that her initial success
was a fluke, she parlayed her finances from that hit into purchasing the
Lamont Hotel in Manhattan. Mavis operates the hotel on her charm and wit
while assisted by Nasim (Djalili)
her reliable handyman. Now Mavis has decided to take her hotel to the
next level by sprucing it up, along with the Nappy Dug Out Lounge -- more
like a glorified hotel bar -- where she hopes magic will happen. Encamped
at the hotel is her conservative, corporate and uptight brother Courtney
(Brown) who couldn't be more opposite in personality and politics than
his liberal-minded sister. When Mavis offers free office space to Courtney
to allow him to pursue his law practice, her brother’s close proximity
also results in a daily dose of his meddling in Mavis’ business. She in
turn provides relentlessly blistering commentary about his white girlfriend,
Rita (Regen), who talks and dresses like a “sister” -- and is just too
much fun for Mavis to ignore.(from the official website at http://www.nbc.com/Whoopi/)
Will and Grace (NBC, 9/98-present)
Cast: Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally, Sean
Hayes
Summary: Will Truman (McCormack) and Grace Adler (Messing)
are best friends and neighbors in this adult comedy about two people who
seem perfect for each other but can never actually find romance together
because Will is gay and Grace is straight. On the show, Will is a
successful Manhattan lawyer, likable, handsome and charming, and has recently
ended a long-term relationship. Grace is a beautiful, self-employed
interior decorator. They both love French films, poker night with the guys
and the home version of "The $10,000 Pyramid." Will and Grace have been
friends forever, and though they're both looking for love, they long ago
accepted the fact that there will be no romance between them. Despite the
fact, or possibly because of it, they face life's ups-and-downs together,
knowing they will always have each other to lean on. Grace's work
life is complicated by her unusual assistant, Karen Walker (Mulally), a
wealthy socialite who only bothers to show up at work because it keeps
her "down to earth," and because she likes to tell Grace how to live her
life. Will has another good friend in the very gay, outrageous Jack McFarland
(Hayes), a well-meaning but self-involved young man who comes with a complete
set of emotional baggage. (from the official site http://www.nbci.com/LMOID/bb/fd/0,946,-0-2152,00.html)
Willy (CBS, 9/54-7/55)
Cast: June Havoc, Hal Peary, Lloyd Corrigan, Mary Treen, Whitfield
Connor, Sterling Holloway
Summary: In 1954, Desilu Studios presented Willy, the
first sitcom and third television program with a woman lawyer in the lead
role. Willa "Willy" Dodger was a new law school graduate who decided to
return to her hometown of Renfrew, New Hampshire to begin her legal career.
She wasn't expecting her life to have such variety: she defends an absent-minded
guy who seems to have shoplifted a fishing pole, tries to get obsolete
statutes repealed, defends a "water witch," handles the divorce of the
town butcher, is offered the princely sum of $10,000 a year to move to
a west coast firm, nearly has her lawbooks repossessed, saves the town
band, and is convinced that her nephew is an embezzler. This was very light
comedy and to add a little pizazz, the show's locale was moved to New York
City, where Willy, always a wannabe thespian, landed a job as counsel to
a vaudeville organization run by Perry Bannister (Peary). Her escapades
continue to be just as ditzy: when her nephew sets a shoe-shining business,
she finds the shoes in her living room and gives them all away, her fancy
dress for a fancy dinner turns out to be made from fabric used for women's
prison garb, and becomes an adviser to a company trying to market a weather
machine. June Havoc, sister to Gypsy Rose Lee, began working in the film
industry at age 2 in Harold Lloyd shorts and by the time she was 5, was
a vaudeville star as "Baby June" and went on to fame and fortune in 40s
comedies and musicals. Her husband, William Spier, produced Willy.
Wolf (CBS, 9/89-11/89)
Cast: Jack Scalia, Joseph Sirola, Nicolas Surovy, Mimi
Kuzyk
Summary: Former cop now P.I. Tony Wolf (Scalia) was framed
and then bounced from the San Francisco police force, but has returned
to live with his crotchety father (Sirola) on his old fishing boat. The
lawyer (Surovy) who prosecuted the phony charges against him now believes
in his innocence and in addition to trying to get the case reopened throws
investigative work his way.
Wonderfalls (Fox, 3/04)
Cast: Caroline Dhavernas, Katie Finneran, Tyron Leitso, William
Sadler, Diana Scarwid, Lee Pace, Tracie Thoms
Summary: Jaye Tyler (Dhavernas) made a high school vow
to be overeducated and under-employed. She succeeded with a philosophy
degree from Brown, a job as a sales clerk in a souvenir shop in Niagara
Falls, and a home in a trailer park that her wealthy family finds distasteful.
Her father Darrin (Sadler) is a surgeon and frustrated composer who specializes
in angry Republican novelty songs. Her mother Karen writes travel guides
and tries to control the minutiae of her children's lives. Her sister
Sharon (Finneran) is a workaholic immigration lawyer with a fabulous house,
a big SUV, no dates, and a long history of estrangement with the under-achieving
Jaye. Her brother Aaron is a lifetime student with several graduate degrees.
When the animal figurines in the shop start offering her advice she initially
thinks she's having a nervous breakdown, but eventually realizes that good
fortune will come to someone, if not her, when she follows their suggestions.
The series was abruptly cancelled after only 4 episode although 13 were
shot; it was picked up and shown on Canadian tv and a dvd was released.
Work with Me (CBS, 9/99-10/99)
Cast: Kevin Pollak, Nancy Travis, Ethan Embry, Emily Rutherfurd
Summary: Jordon Better (Pollak) works for a fast-paced
Wall Street law firm and has little time for his "solo practioner for the
underdog" wife Julie (Travis). That is until he's passed over for
a partnership and decides life would be ideal if they worked together.
He's also brought along his assistant (Rutherfurd) who has been dating
hers (Embry).
The Wright Verdicts (CBS, 3/95-6/95)
Cast: Tom Conti, Aida Turturro, Margaret Colin
Summary: Charles Wright is a transplanted barrister who
has been practicing law in New York City for 15 years. He plays both sides,
usually doing criminal defense work but he occasionally takes on the role
of special prosecutor as well. Sandy Hamar (Colin) is the obligatory
ex-cop turned lawyer's investigator and Lydia (Turturro) is his super-efficient
secretary.
A Year in the Life (NBC, 8/87-4/88)
Cast: Richard Kiley, Wendy Phillips, Jayne Atkinson, Adam
Arkin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Morgan Stevens, David Oliver
Summary: An average upper-middle class WASPish household
is potrayed as an average family - no wrenching traumas or soap situations.
Joe Gardner (Kiley) is a widower and owner of a plastics factory in Seattle.
His oldest daughter (Phillips) gets divorced and brings her two children
back to live with dad and 30 year old brother Sam (Stevens). Second
daughter Lindley (Atkinson) has recently married patent attorney Jim Eisenberg,
had a daughter and gone to work for her father. Kiley won both the
Emmy and Golden Globe for best lead actor in 1988. Based on the 1986
mini-series with the same name and cast.
The Yellow Rose (NBC, 10/83-5/84)
Cast: Sam Elliott, Cybill Shepard, David Soul, Edward Albert,
Chuck Connors
Summary: Family patriarch Wade Champion has died and left
his 200,000 acre west Texas ranch to his sons and widow. The sons
are half-brothers Quisto (Albert), a lawyer, and Roy (Soul). Widow Colleen
(Shepherd) is only a few years older than her stepsons and attracted to
the mysterious drifter Chance (Elliott) who drops in and stays to work
the ranch. As it turns out, the family begins to notice Chance's resemblance
to Wade and discovers that he has served time for murder. Roy wrestles
with both the family arch-enemy Jeb Hollister (O'Connor), who believes
the ranch should be his and wants to put oil wells on the pristine land,
and his passion for Colleen. The night-time soap also dealt with timely
subjects such as drug and illegal alien smuggling from across the Mexican
border.
Young and the Restless, (CBS, 3/73-present)
Cast: Lauralee Bell, John Castellanos, Christian LeBlanc, William
Wintersole, Doug Davidson
Summary: The daytime soap revolves around the lives
and rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional
midwestern metropolis Genoa City. The lives and loves of a wide variety
of characters mingle through the generations, dominated by the Newman,
Abbott and Winters families.
Michael Baldwin - A cunning and skilled attorney, Michael Baldwin (LeBlanc)
lives his life as he handles his court cases: to win. He is manipulative
both in and out of the courtroom and even his friends sometimes wonder
where the slick attorney stops and the real Michael starts. When he originally
came to Genoa City, he developed a reputation as a publicity seeking corporate
attorney who handled and won high profile cases. Today, he shares a law
partnership with Christine Williams, with whom he also shares a turbulent
history. Michael has been in love with Christine since he served as her
mentor when she was in law school. Now, thanks to a little help from Michael,
Christine's marriage to Paul Williams (Davidson) is over and Michael is
there with a shoulder to lean on. Will he finally get what he has wanted
all these years?
Christine Williams - Attorney and partner in the Law Firm, Baldwin,
Williams & Associates and ex-wife of Paul Williams. Christine "Cricket"
Blair (Bell), an open and generous hearted young woman, came to Genoa City
to model in a campaign for Jabot. But modeling was only a means to
an end for the ambitious and spirited teenager. Cricket had a dream, and
she used the money she earned as a model to put herself through law
school. In the meantime, she made friends and put down roots in her adopted
city. While she was in law school, prominent Genoa City Attorney,
Michael Baldwin served as her mentor. Today, they share a law partnership.
As an attorney, Christine became a champion of the underdog, handling cases
for the homeless, fighting for the rights of senior citizens, tackling
domestic violence and donating her time and skills to Legal Aid. She later
married Paul Williams, whom she loved very, very much. But when Paul began
to pressure her to have children, she decided she needed time away from
her marriage and took a job with a prestigious law firm in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles, she went to Australia, and when she finally decided it
was time to come home and reconcile with Paul, she had been gone for nearly
two years. Unfortunately, Paul hadn't been able to wait for her: she found
him in the arms of Isabella Braña, who was pregnant with his child.
Chris knew how much Paul wanted children, so in one of the most painful
decisions of her life, Chris let him go. Her friend and law partner, Michael
Baldwin, offered her a willing ear and a shoulder to cry on. But what Christine
doesn't realize is that Michael wants Chris for himself, and it was
Michael who sent Isabella into Paul's arms.
John Silva - One of Genoa City's premier attorneys, John Silva (Castellanos)
has built a highly reputable law practice. Over the years, John Silva has
provided legal advice and representation to many of the best-known residents
of Genoa City: the Abbotts, the Newmans and Katherine Chancellor. Though
he is close friends with attorney Christine Williams, John is essentially
a loner. His life centers around his career. His expertise includes many
areas and he is comfortable handling both criminal and civil cases. John
is highly skilled and trustworthy, and has an outstanding reputation as
the man to call when legal advice or representation is needed. (from the
official site at http://www.sonypictures.com/soapcity/yr/index2.html).
The Young Lawyers (ABC, 9/70-5/71)
Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Zalman King, Judy Pace, Philip Clark
Summary: Third-year law students operated a neighborhood
clinic that provided free legal advice to the indigent. The cast was suitably
mixed in this "socially relevent" series: idealist Aaron (King), Chris
(Clark) the earnest WASP, Pat the well-educated black woman (Pace), and
their supervisor, the wise and experienced lawyer David Barrett (Cobb).
Their cases were considerably more complicated than most law students could
be thought to handle: drug busts, police brutality, slum landlords,
criminal scams. "In the commonwealth of Massachusetts, law students can
go right into court and defend their clients, take a case all the way,
win or loose...helping people who need legal services. These students are
doing it at the Neighborhood Law Office. They're lawyers...THE YOUNG LAWYERS."
