William Shatner

The Practice

I have just finished watching all eight seasons of “The Practice“. Getting through all of it took me longer than usual, but I still did.

The way I watch TV series is pretty much the way I watch movies and read books – from cover to cover and, hopefully, in one go. If I want to watch a single episode, chances are I will watch the whole season. If I want to watch a season, I will probably watch all available seasons. I don’t know why I am like that and that’s not really important right now.

What’s important is that I found out about “The Practice” after watching all “Boston Legal” and wanting more. There were no more, but there was “The Practice”, which was pretty much a prequel to “Boston Legal”. It was created by the same David Kelley and even featured some of the same characters. The character that I was the most interested in – Alan Shore – was introduced in the last, eighth season of “The Practice”, and initially I wanted to see just that season. But how could I? What if I miss something? What if there is more to be had? I just had to watch all eight seasons.

I can’t say that I regret it. “The Practice” is a very good TV series. There is everything I want from my TV – entertainment, interesting stories, good acting, humor, drama, and characters I can associate with. “The Practice” offers all of that and more. But it wasn’t until I actually got to season eight, not until Alan Shore (played by the excellent James Spader), that I recognized why it took me only a few days to watch “Boston Legal”.

“The Practice”, as good as it is, takes itself a bit too serious. There is a lot of realism and drama. “Boston Legal” is a much lighter TV series. There is more humor, it’s easier on the audience. Both of the TV series provide plenty to think about. But “Boston Legal” does it in a more suggestive way, while “The Practice” pretty much slams you with an idea and demands you make up your mind about it before the episode is over.

Overall, as I said, it is still a very good TV series. If you like good quality TV, that’s something to watch. Especially if you enjoy legal context to your stories. But if you really enjoyed the lighthearted way of the “Boston Legal”, than I suggest you just watch the last, eighth season of “The Practice”. It is very similar to “Boston Legal”. Prior seasons are very different.

Rating? I’ll give it a solid 4 out of 5.

Boston Legal

I just finished watching all five seasons of “Boston Legal“. As it often happens with me and good TV series, when I start watching I don’t stop until I’ve seen all of it. Too bad there won’t be any further episodes. However, now I am interested in “The Practice” which were TV series preceding “Boston Legal”.

While I got hooked from the first season, I’d have to say that the second and the third seasons are the best of all. Fourth and fifth are pretty good too, but they vary from episode to episode. Second and the third seasons don’t.

“Boston Legal” is about lawyers. I do realize that law system in real life is probably very very different from what is shown here. But the purpose of this TV series is entertainment, not precise documentation. And as far as entertainment goes – “Boston Legal” does splendid. There are many characters, picturing a variety of human quirks. There is plenty of humor. And what I consider even more important – there is plenty to think about. The setup provides for a plethora of cases, which can be argued both ways, and in this TV series many many problems are explored from a number of different viewpoints. Really, anything goes – abortion, capital punishment, corruption, politics, family values, religion, racism, disabilities, and more.

On top of that, there is something in here that is rarely seen in other TV series – examples to follow. Not one, but several characters show what a decent human being is, what friendship, loyalty, and humanity are; how one should behave oneself in difficult situations, and how one could correct own mistakes.

With all of that, I can’t rate it anything less than 5 out of 5. Highly recommended.

Fanboys

Managed to catch “Fanboys” in the cinema. I’ve seen the trailer of it some time ago and thought that I should watch the movie. And I was right. I guess most movie fans, and especially those of “Star Wars” religion among you, will enjoy the film. It’s pretty light, with lots of movie-related jokes, and a touch of drama, which only makes it so much better.

I found the cast to be quite interesting. Main characters are played by not yet so famous young actors (they needed the geeky look after all) – Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Dan Fogler. But while they move through the film, there are many familiar face such as Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, William Shatner and even Kevin Smith. Even though their roles are very short, almost cameos.

While this film is not a masterpiece by any measure, I did enjoy it quite a bit. 4 stars.