Boston Legal Fans, I Have a Question

[OhMyGato]

do you think the show is going in the wrong direction with Alan Shore (James Spader) losing his mind? him and shatner are the best part of the show....

[atorifan]

i think it's just like shatner's alzheimer concerns earlier on. and i love spaders' flat aspect that he seems to bring to all roles. i truly love 'danny crane' and all his naive, narcissistic, sexual machismo bs. and spader has the underhandedness and the compassion that makes for an interesting character. i think this is the best show the guy made, and i've loved all this guys shows.

[Adaptoid]

I wish Shatner would adopt a more natural speaking voice instead of his obviously artificial "Denny Crane" voice. Also, Candace Bergen sucks as an actress and she doesn't belong in the cast. David E. Kelley's casting choices are usually stellar and of course he's got to be the very best legal drama writer in TV history. All his shows have tanked when he stops writing the episodes. If Mr. Kelley keeps writing, the show will remain entertaining. His cadre of fill-in writers just don't have any magic. If the show's current direction is David E. Kelley's doing, there will be a satisfying payoff at some point. If it's the idea of a substitute bottle episode writer, the plot will lead nowhere and be abandoned and never resolved.

Spader is really a good actor and what a great role - he richly deserved the Emmy. Shatner? I can't figure him out. He's needs to recapture his Captain Kirk command presence -- if only briefly. Sure would be nice to see him act and talk like he did in the old Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and Star Trek. His acting from the Trek movies forward has been awful and contrived. I wonder if he has the old acting chops left in him? Or is he determined to mock himself for the rest of career?

[Phil Clark]

Actually if you watch the show carefully, Shatner apes himself for general purposes of the character, but there are moments when Denny Crane isn't being "on" that he let's his "put on" Denny rest and the "real" Denny comes out and is quite sensitive and personable and vulnerable. Those moments show that Shatner still has it.

As too the main question... I don't really think they are going with Alan going crazy, he is perhaps just a bit stressed, and making a couple of questionable choices that will likely pay off with his getting a moment of supreme clarity and he will return to his old self, just a bit wiser for the experience.

[Ontir]

Shatner speaks the way he speaks. His intentional send-up of his own persona, while playing an "F Lee Bailey" sort is fantastic.

Candice Bergin is fantastic, and always has been. Check her out in Carnal Knowledge if for some reason you don't care for Murphy Brown. That film alone is justification for casting her on BL!

[tricksterpup]

I personally do not think that Alan is loosing his mind. I think its the stress and other fears hitting him. Everyone who he worked with at the firm has left the office. His true friend Denny is still there. But Alan is showing signs of his fear through his talking gibberish. It has lead to a few touching scenes and I am looking forward to more. No, this has not hurt the show at all.

[OhMyGato]

see, i like BL best when Alan and Denny are pimpin it on top of their game...