The Practice (Part 1)

The Practice is a show that ran from 97 - 04, initially a mid season replacement, I don't think anyone expected it to run one season let alone eight.

David E. Kelley made famous for working on shows like L.A. Law, Chicago Hope, and Doogie Houser is responsible for this creation. 

The show featured a large ensemble cast that consisted of Dylan McDermott  (Robert Donnell), Kelli Williams (Lindsay Dole), Lisa Gay Hamilton (Rebecca Washington), Steve Harris (Eugene Young), Camryn Manheim (Eleanor Frutt), Michael Badalucco (Jimmy Berlutti), Marla Sokoloff (Lucy Hatcher), and Lara Flynn Boyle (Helen Gamble).

What is the show?

The Practice is about a group of defence attorneys working in a small, struggling law firm in Boston, lead by the stoic Bobby Donnell. These defence attorneys often represent the vilest of criminals.  They are often conflicted with ethics and morality when it comes to representing their clients. The show also features the point of view from the prosecutions side in Assistant District Attorney, Helen Gamble alongside Richard Bay (Jason Kravits) & Kenneth Walsh (Bill Smitrovich).

The Practice was heavy on serialisation and was not afraid to go places where other shows ordinarily wouldn’t go on a week-to-week basis.  This was a dark show.

Why should you watch this show?

This show was simply brilliant. It took a lot for me to get into this show at first; the first two seasons were at times very dull.  However, season two offered up very meaty episodes involving a client named Joey Heric played brilliantly by John Larroquette. Heric was a narcissistic gay man who would befriend men then ultimately killing them, just so he could stand trial.  Heric would attempt to sensationalise every case he was involved in throughout the series.

Larroquette wasn’t the only compelling guest star to darken the doors of The Practice.  Linda Hunt would recur as Judge Hiller, a prim and proper judge that would often butt heads with the firm. Her performances were outstanding, she would get into yelling matches with Bobby Donnell which were compelling to see unfold. Most times it was like watching a one-act play.

Once you get past the first two seasons, the show goes from mediocre legal procedural to a ‘must watch’ serialised, legal thriller. The show no longer was bound down to simple ‘case of the week’ television. There would often be two or three on going storylines that could expand and grow over the course of nine episodes. It would show you the point of views from the defence attorneys, the prosecution and judges. The show would show every aspect of a legal case including the crime, the hiring, arraignment, pre-trial, to trial to appeal, sometimes it would even show jury selection.

There were more compelling and complex characters introduced, including the Emmy winner Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men) as Judge Roberta Kittlelson, an elderly woman who was a very lonely soul. Roberta began a relationship with Jimmy, who was a much younger man. They had great chemistry and weren’t your usual TV couple you’re accustomed to seeing on your screens. The relationship was dropped (assumedly off-screen) and never spoken of again, which was very strange.

Michael Emmerson (LOST, Person of Interest) was introduced as William Hinks, one of Lindsay Dole’s clients she got off, and ultimately stalked her for half a season. Emmerson’s portrayal of Hinks was Emmy Award winning. He was creepy, yet comical at the same time. Still one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from Michael Emmerson. 

I have to mention two of my favourite episodes from the series, maybe two of the best hours of television I’ve seen in a while; the first episode:

“Killing Time” (Season 6, Episode 2)
Charles S. Dutton guest stars as a man who is up for parole, in order to be released he has to ask for forgiveness and admit his guilt. He refuses, insisting he is an innocent man. Dutton delivers one of the best monologues I’ve ever seen on a TV show, he conveys both emotion and anger; it’s hard not to feel for the man.

The second episode:

“Day in Court” (Season 4, Episode 10)

Bobby defends an old client charged with murder. The trial gets out of hand very quickly that not even the judge can control. The client attacks the prosecution in open court, strangling her and even attacking his own lawyer. This episode is all about yelling. The defence, the prosecution, the judge are at each other like ravaged dogs. Paul Dooley who plays the judge in this episode delivers the best shouting and intense lines which made me think to myself: “Was he nominated for an Emmy for this performance?” Well, guess what? He was!

Other notable guest stars included Henry Winkler, Rene Auberjonois, Sharon Stone, Tony Danza, and Edward Herrmann.  

This is the end of Part 1 of my review of “The Practice”