The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Outstanding Drama Series, and spawned the spin-off series Boston Legal, which ran for five more seasons (from 2004 to 2008).
This article is about the television series that aired in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For the 1976–1977 American sitcom, see The Practice (1976 TV series). For the 1985 British medical drama, see The Practice (1985 TV series). For other uses, see The Practice (disambiguation).The Practice
Conflict between legal ethics and personal morality was a recurring theme with light comedy being occasionally present. Kelley claimed that the show was intended to be something of a rebuttal to L.A. Law and its romanticized treatment of the American legal system and legal proceedings.[1]
Overview[edit]
In season 1, Robert Donnell and Associates features Bobby Donnell as the sole senior partner in a firm that he started a decade prior with his receptionist Rebecca Washington. Ellenor Frutt, Eugene Young and Lindsay Dole are his associates. Jimmy Berluti is hired as an associate after losing his job in finance in an attempt to help Donnell and Associates with a loan.
In season 2, Eugene, Lindsay and Ellenor become partners after Lindsay insists on equity. Robert Donnell and Associates becomes Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt. Helen Gamble, an assistant district attorney, becomes regularly entangled in the cases and personal lives of the employees of the firm. She is a personal friend of Lindsay and viewers learn several episodes into the season that Bobby and Lindsay have had an on-again/off-again secret affair. Her romantic relationship with Bobby ends after a high-profile murder case pits them against one another.
In season 3, Rebecca Washington, who had been attending law school in secret, becomes an associate after passing the bar exam. Lucy Hatcher is then hired as the new receptionist.
In season 4, Assistant District Attorney Richard Bay, like Helen, becomes a frequent ally and opponent of Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt.
In season 5, Lucy becomes a rape crisis counselor in addition to her job as the firm's receptionist. Richard Bay is later assassinated after refusing to throw a murder trial.
In season 6, Assistant District Attorney Alan Lowe becomes an antagonist of the firm for a short period of time.
In season 7, Lindsay leaves Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt to start a new law firm with Claire Wyatt. To fill the void left by Lindsay, Jamie Stringer is hired as an associate. Bobby later leaves the firm.
In season 8, Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt has been renamed to Young, Frutt and Berluti. Eugene has taken Bobby's place as a senior partner. Lucy has left the firm to become a full-time rape crisis counselor. Rebecca has also left the firm for unknown reasons. Helen is no longer present at the firm's cases. Tara Wilson is hired as a paralegal, and Alan Shore becomes an associate. After firing Alan and Tara – as well as being sued by the former – Young, Frutt and Berluti dissolve. Eugene then becomes a judge. Ellenor focuses her attention on motherhood. Jimmy and Jamie begin a new firm. Alan and Tara are hired by another firm, Crane, Poole and Schmidt and their story is continued in Boston Legal.
Budget reduction and major revamp[edit]
By the end of the seventh season, faced with sagging ratings, ABC conditioned the show's renewal on a drastic budget reduction. As a result, Dylan McDermott, Kelli Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Chyler Leigh, Marla Sokoloff, and LisaGay Hamilton were fired as regulars. McDermott and Sokoloff reappeared as special guest stars and a recurring character respectively in the eighth season. The addition of James Spader and Rhona Mitra to the cast somewhat revived the ratings as Spader went on to win an Emmy for his appearance. However, ABC announced that The Practice would not return for a ninth season on March 11, 2004. Instead, Kelley would create a new spin-off series called Boston Legal which starred Spader, Mitra, Lake Bell and William Shatner.[2]
Viewer numbers per season of The Practice on ABC.
Note: Each US network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. The first two seasons include the household rating. Seasons 4 and 5 reached the top 10 rankings.
The exposure from its January 30, 2000, post-Super Bowl episode (attracting 23.8 million viewers) plus their weekly lead-in from early 2000 to mid-2001, the then mega-hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, helped the series reach its ratings peak.