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'''''L.A. Law''''' is an [[United States|American]] television [[legal drama]] that ran from [[1986 in television|1986]] to [[1994 in television|1994]]. It was one of the most popular American [[television]] shows of the late 1980s and early 1990s. ''L.A. Law'' reflected important social and cultural issues of the 1980s and early 1990s.
'''''L.A. Law''''' is an [[United States|American]] television [[legal drama]] that ran from [[1986 in television|1986]] to [[1994 in television|1994]]. It was one of the most popular American [[television]] shows of the late 1980s and early 1990s. As with ''[[Thirtysomething (TV series)|thirtysomething]]'', ''L.A. Law'' reflected important social and cultural issues of the 1980s and early 1990s.


==History==
==History==
It was co-created by [[Steven Bochco]] (who had created the landmark NBC show ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' and would later co-create [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[NYPD Blue]]'') and former entertainment lawyer [[Terry Louise Fisher]].
It was co-created by [[Steven Bochco]] (who had created the landmark NBC show ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' and would later co-create another successful drama series, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[NYPD Blue]]'') and former entertainment lawyer [[Terry Louise Fisher]].


==Location==
==Location==

Revision as of 18:41, 6 August 2008

L.A. Law
The L.A. Law opening title
Created bySteven Bochco
Terry Louise Fisher
Starring(See entire cast list below)
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes172
Production
Executive producerSteven Bochco
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1986 –
May 19, 1994

L.A. Law is an American television legal drama that ran from 1986 to 1994. It was one of the most popular American television shows of the late 1980s and early 1990s. As with thirtysomething, L.A. Law reflected important social and cultural issues of the 1980s and early 1990s.

History

It was co-created by Steven Bochco (who had created the landmark NBC show Hill Street Blues and would later co-create another successful drama series, ABC's NYPD Blue) and former entertainment lawyer Terry Louise Fisher.

Location

The series was set in and around the fictitious Los Angeles law firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, located in the 444 Flower Building, and featured attorneys at the firm and various members of the support staff.

Series history

L.A. Law took over NBC's prized Thursday 10PM (9PM Central) time slot from another Bochco-produced show, Hill Street Blues, and was itself eventually replaced by another hit ensemble drama, ER, which in turn will be replaced with a second season of The Celebrity Apprentice in March 2009. Bochco had been fired from Hill Street Blues in 1985. L.A. Law's original time period was Friday 10PM following Miami Vice but after struggling there, NBC decided to move it to Thursdays as Hill Street Blues was winding down. The original two-hour movie aired on Monday, September 15, 1986. The series was a critical favorite before it had premiered. An encore of the movie aired in place of Saturday Night Live on September 27 being a rare scripted rerun in that late-night slot.

Co-creator Fisher was fired from the series in season 2 and filed a well-publicized lawsuit with Bochco and the studio. Bochco and Fisher had also co-created the 1987 John Ritter series Hooperman for ABC.

The scene where Leland McKenzie, played by Richard Dysart, was shown in bed with his enemy Rosalind Shays, played by Diana Muldaur, was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television (the list originally appeared in an issue of EGG Magazine). Rosalind Shays' demise, falling into an open elevator shaft, has also been a famous scene from the series.

Boston attorney David E. Kelley was hired by Bochco in the series' first season after having written the feature film, "From the Hip." Kelley went on to critical and commercial success as show-runner of the series before leaving to create Picket Fences. While on L.A. Law, Kelley and Bochco co-created Doogie Howser, M.D. as the first Steven Bochco Productions series for a major, ten-series deal with ABC. Shortly after, Bochco was offered the job as President of ABC Entertainment but turned it down.

At the height of the show's popularity in the mid-1980s, attention was focused upon a fictitious sexual technique named the "Venus Butterfly". The only clue describing the technique was a vague reference to "ordering room service". Fans and interested persons flooded the show's producers with letters asking for more details about this curious kink.

During the seventh season, the executive producers John Tinker and John Masius were fired midseason, and while the show went on hiatus, William Finkelstein was brought in to fix it. Bochco and Kelley each returned to pen episodes until Finkelstein took over. Tinker and Masius had brought a whimsical, soapy tone to the series which they were known for on St. Elsewhere. Dan Castellaneta who does the voice of Homer Simpson appeared in a Homer costume and hired the attorneys in the seventh-season premiere. That episode also reflected on the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Finkelstein reined in the series to the serious legal cases that made the series famous.

In the final eighth season, the characters of Denise Ianello (Debi Mazar) and Eli Levinson (Alan Rosenberg) were transplanted from the cancelled Bochco legal series Civil Wars, which had run on ABC from 1991-93. Eli Levinson was revealed to be Stuart Markowitz's cousin. During the final season, the series was rested in January 1994 to launch the second season of Homicide: Life on the Street. When that series succeeded wildly with a guest appearance by Robin Williams, it was expected that L.A. Law would conclude that May and Homicide: Life on the Street would succeed it on Thursdays in the fall. However, ER tested so well that Warner Bros. executives campaigned network president Warren Littlefield to give that series the prized Thursday slot.

After the end of the regular series in 1994, it returned for a single broadcast in 2002 as L.A. Law: The Movie. On May 24, 2007, the AmericanLife TV Network announced that it would begin rebroadcasting L.A. Law starting June 3, 2007, Sundays at 10 pm. [1] From 2000 until 2004, A&E had been rebroadcasting the show. [2] Lifetime Television also reran the show until the late 1990s.

Cast and characters

The show's original ensemble cast:

Over the run of the show, additional cast members included:

Awards

Main article: List of L.A. Law awards and nominations

The show won numerous awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991. Some of the actors, such as Larry Drake, also received Emmys for their performances. The series shares the Emmy Award record for most acting nominations by regular cast members (excluding the guest performer category) for a single series in one year with Hill Street Blues and The West Wing.

For the 1988-1989 season, nine cast members were nominated for Emmys. Larry Drake was the only one to win (for Supporting Actor). The others nominated were Michael Tucker (Lead Actor), Jill Eikenberry and Susan Dey (for Lead Actress), Richard Dysart and Jimmy Smits (Supporting Actor), Amanda Plummer, Susan Ruttan and Michele Greene (for Supporting Actress).

It was listed as #42 on Entertainment Weekly's list of The New Classics in the July 4, 2008 issue.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L.A._Law&oldid=230245936"