"L.A. Law" (1986) TV series 1986-1994

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Creators:

Steven Bochco
Terry Louise Fisher

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

3 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The lives and work of the staff of a major Los Angeles law firm.

Plot Keywords:

Law | Courtroom | Los Angeles California | Bisexual | Human Relationship

Awards:

Won 5 Golden Globes. Another 36 wins & 113 nominations

Cast

Corbin Bernsen	...	Arnie Becker (171 episodes, 1986-1994)
Jill Eikenberry	...	Ann Kelsey (171 episodes, 1986-1994)
Alan Rachins	...	Douglas Brackman, Jr. (171 episodes, 1986-1994)
Michael Tucker	...	Stuart Markowitz (171 episodes, 1986-1994)
Richard Dysart	...	Leland McKenzie (171 episodes, 1986-1994)
Blair Underwood	...	Jonathan Rollins (149 episodes, 1987-1994)
Larry Drake	...	Benny Stulwicz / ... (139 episodes, 1987-1994)
Susan Ruttan	...	Roxanne Melman (138 episodes, 1986-1993)
Susan Dey	...	Grace Van Owen (126 episodes, 1986-1992)
Jimmy Smits	...	Victor Sifuentes (107 episodes, 1986-1992)
Harry Hamlin	...	Michael Kuzak (105 episodes, 1986-1991)
Michele Greene	...	Abby Perkins (105 episodes, 1986-1991)
John Spencer	...	Tommy Mullaney (83 episodes, 1990-1994)

Runtime:

46 min (170 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (early episodes) | Stereo (later episodes)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

In the opening title sequence, the car's "L.A. Law" license plate expiration sticker always showed the ending year for a given season (for year one it showed "87" for the 1986-1987 season).

Quotes:

Douglas Brackman, Jr.: I'm more like my father than I thought. I wanted to be the lawyer he was, the man he was. Turns out we both just like to cheat on our wives.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: Dial B for Virgin (#9.7)" (1994)

Good cast, flawed writing

This show had one of the best ensemble casts in recent memory, at least for a drama series. Some fine acting from Larry Drake and others saved what could have been a fluff sex-and-rich-people yuppie drama. Some good courtroom drama is interspersed with decent character stories to make this a watchable drama. What keeps it from being a classic is a half-hearted attempt at social criticism of Los Angeles immorality that just falls flat, as well as a little more gratuitous sex and skin that is just unnecessary.

If you happen to catch it in syndicated reruns on cable, watch it. But it isn't worth seeking out on video, unless you really want to see the breakout rolls of Larry Drake and Blair Underwood.