50 Fun Facts About Boston Legal

Boston Legal is a direct spin-off of which earlier legal drama?

Alan Shore, Denny Crane, Tara Wilson and Sally Heep all carried over from The Practice's eighth and final season in 2004.

What is the name of the law firm at the centre of Boston Legal?

The other three are also Kelley firms: from Ally McBeal, The Practice and L.A. Law respectively. Edwin Poole, the middle name, appears in only four episodes.

On which network did Boston Legal air from 2004 to 2008?

It was produced with 20th Century Fox Television but ran on ABC, which put it on hiatus in its first season to make room for a new show called Grey's Anatomy.

Which two things do Alan and Denny share on the balcony at the end of most episodes?

The balcony musings became the show's signature, a space for two political opposites who happen to be best friends.

What was the show's working title, an allusion to where the firm had its offices?

It was briefly The Practice: Fleet Street. The real building used as the office is at 500 Boylston Street, 1.4 miles away.

Denny Crane blames his lapses on what illness, though he is really in the early stages of Alzheimer's?

He claims to have never lost a case in fifty years of practice, and by season three mostly appears in court as a plaintiff or defendant because of his own antics.

What happens between Denny and Alan in the series finale?

The wedding let Denny pass his fortune to Alan and gave Alan the power to make his medical decisions. Shirley and Carl married in the same episode.

Which real Supreme Court justice officiates Shirley and Carl's finale wedding at Nimmo Bay?

Carl Sack, an old flame, had proposed to Shirley in the episode 'Thanksgiving'. The double wedding was the show's last scene.

How many episodes of Boston Legal aired in total?

The 13-episode final season was ordered specifically to push the show past the 100-episode mark that makes syndication viable.

How many Primetime Emmy nominations did Boston Legal receive over its run?

They included Outstanding Drama Series nods in 2007 and 2008. Its seven nominations in 2008 were a series high.

How many Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama did James Spader win as Alan Shore?

The first, in 2004, came for The Practice; the 2005 and 2007 wins were for Boston Legal, beating the likes of Hugh Laurie and Kiefer Sutherland.

William Shatner's Denny Crane won him an Emmy for each series. Which other award did he win for the role in 2005?

Critic Pat Jordan described the performance as 'William Shatner the man playing William Shatner the character playing Denny Crane, who was playing William Shatner'.

Which senior partner did Candice Bergen join the show to play in January 2005?

She arrived in episode 11 of season one and stayed to the end. Bergen had already won five Emmys as Murphy Brown.

What nickname do the other lawyers give Jerry Espenson because of how he walks?

He walks with his palms pressed to his thighs, purrs when anxious, hops when excited and shouts 'Bingo!' as a yes. Christian Clemenson won a 2006 Emmy for the part.

Jerry Espenson is an attorney diagnosed with which condition?

Clemenson was nominated for three Emmys for the role and won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama in 2006 before being promoted to the main cast.

Which actor joined in season four as Carl Sack, a senior partner transferred from the New York office?

Larroquette had won four straight Emmys as Dan Fielding on Night Court. Tara Summers joined at the same time as associate Katie Lloyd.

Betty White's recurring character, Alan's blackmailing former assistant, was called what?

She first played the church-going gossip on The Practice in 2004 and appeared in 16 episodes of Boston Legal, befriending the matricidal Bernard Ferrion.

Leslie Jordan's character Bernard Ferrion hired Alan after killing his mother with what?

Catherine Piper took the short-statured murderer under her wing to introduce him to God. He appeared in six episodes.

Alan Shore suffers from night terrors and a fear of what?

He also gave up having a home, preferring to live in hotels. He hired Betty White's replacement partly to help with the night terrors.

Which creator of Boston Legal was himself a former lawyer and Boston native?

Kelley captained Princeton's ice hockey team before law school, and married Michelle Pfeiffer after a blind date in 1993.

Which British barrister and creator of Rumpole of the Bailey was hired as a consultant on the show?

Mortimer's Rumpole was another shabby, wine-loving advocate with a taste for lost causes, a clear cousin of Alan Shore.

Which new ABC hit pushed Boston Legal onto hiatus during its first season in 2005?

Boston Legal came back that autumn with an extended 27-episode second season.

The show was noted for frequently doing what, unusual for a legal drama?

Characters joked about being on television, their time slot and even the show's own cancellation, especially Denny and Alan on the balcony.

Which prestigious broadcasting honour did Boston Legal win in 2005?

Nielsen also found it drew the richest audience on television, measured by high-income viewers aged 18 to 49.

René Auberjonois, who played Paul Lewiston, was famous for which Star Trek role?

He played the shape-shifting security chief on Deep Space Nine, was an Emmy nominee for Benson, and voiced Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid.

Paul Lewiston has his meth-addicted daughter Rachel abducted and sent where?

He takes custody of her daughter Fiona, his granddaughter. Paul is the firm's expert on Far Eastern markets.

Brad Chase often relies on his background in which military branch to intimidate people?

Mark Valley, who played him, really did graduate from West Point with a maths degree in 1987.

Where does Denny marry Brad Chase and his pregnant bride moments before their baby is born?

Denise had gone into labour at her own wedding, and Brad insisted no child of his would be born out of wedlock.

Which future Modern Family star played associate Denise Bauer?

Bowen joined in season two and left after season three, then won two Emmys as Claire Dunphy.

After Michael J. Fox's Daniel Post dies, Denise travels to a haunted house to retrieve what?

Post, a terminally ill millionaire, had dated Denise through season two and had his head cryogenically preserved.

Tom Selleck played Ivan Tiggs, the womanising ex-husband of which character?

Ivan's very young sixth wife Missy, a snort-laughing Broadway fan, was played by Meredith Patterson.

Denny marries Joanna Cassidy's character in season two. What is her name?

He courts and marries her in short order. Brad Chase nearly loses his job for offering to pay her not to go through with it.

Which Texan lawyer, played by Christopher Rich, is Alan Shore's courtroom nemesis?

Rich is better known as Brock Hart on Reba. Palmer's relentless good-ol'-boy bonhomie drives Alan to distraction across six episodes.

Judge Robert Sanders, played by Shelley Berman, mocks a sitting president by calling himself what?

The senile judge also says 'jibber-jabber' and 'poopycock' and rules on objections at random, which Alan exploits shamelessly.

Gary Anthony Williams's shy character Clarence Bell has alter egos including Clarice, Clevant and whom?

Clarence struggles to make eye contact until he becomes one of his larger-than-life personas. Williams joined in season three's eleventh episode.

Saffron Burrows's season-four lawyer Lorraine Weller is secretly running what?

Whitney Rome and Katie Lloyd uncover her past after Jerry Espenson loses his virginity to one of her employees, who then sues him.

Which future Empire star played litigator Whitney Rome in season four?

Henson's single season came between her Oscar nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and her Golden Globe-winning run as Cookie Lyon.

Denny Crane believes gun control is for whom?

He shoots several people over the course of the series, including one of his own clients, a child rapist and murderer, leading colleagues to note simply that 'Denny shoots people'.

Shirley founded the firm with Denny Crane and which other partner?

Larry Miller's Edwin Poole appears in just four episodes, once famously arriving at the office without his trousers.

Parker Posey guest-starred as Marlene Stanger, described as what kind of attorney?

She appeared in four episodes in season three, sparring with Denise and Brad.

Lincoln Meyer, the campy eccentric played by David Dean Bottrell, was a witness in whose murder trial?

The victim was a female judge he had an unrequited crush on. Meyer kept returning for eight episodes, increasingly unhinged.

Which actor played senior partner Jerry Austin in the pilot before René Auberjonois replaced him?

The pilot's expanded storyline also introduced Larry Miller as Edwin Poole. Higgins went on to Community and Pitch Perfect.

Why did Shirley fire Sally Heep shortly after taking over the Boston office?

Sally had begun a relationship with Alan on The Practice that crossed over into Boston Legal. Lake Bell returned once as a guest in season three.

Jeffrey Coho, the grandiose defence attorney played by Craig Bierko, transferred from which CP&S branch?

He arrived in season three with Constance Zimmer's Claire Simms and left in episode 15.

Monica Potter played which junior partner in season one?

Lori files a sexual harassment claim against Denny despite being close to Shirley. Potter left during the first hiatus and later starred in Parenthood.

How many episodes were in Boston Legal's final season?

ABC announced the fifth and final season on May 13, 2008. The last episode aired on December 8 that year.

The parent show of Boston Legal won Outstanding Drama Series Emmys in which two consecutive years?

It ran eight seasons on ABC from March 1997 to May 2004, with Dylan McDermott leading the cast for most of that time.

Which Nielsen distinction did Boston Legal hold, according to the research firm?

The measure was the concentration of viewers aged 18 to 49 with household incomes over $100,000, catnip to advertisers even when overall ratings were modest.

Mary Gross played Leigh Swift, Jerry Espenson's girlfriend and client, who shares which of his traits?

Leigh also has a paraphilia involving wooden objects. Gross was a Saturday Night Live cast member in the early 1980s.

Betty White's character appeared in how many episodes of Boston Legal?

Catherine Piper went from Alan's neighbour on The Practice to his assistant, a caterer and eventually a fugitive. Anthony Heald's Judge Cooper also carried over from the parent show.