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"L.A. Law" More at IMDbPro »

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18 reviews in total

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46 out of 59 people found the following review useful:
Steven Eckholdt/ Yes I will marry you!!!!!, 22 May 2005
Author: edwinalarren from United States

Tall gorgeous handsome sexy six figure prominent attorney with an incredibly great personality and a command on the world that respects him as well as loves the fact that he is young and good looking!! Let's face it girls, where are we going to find a guy this perfect? Steven Eckhold plays the gorgeous hunk attorney who is just too good to be true...This is why he is a television character, and not a real guy just walking around in downtown Los Angeles somewhere!! I love Steven Eckholdt...I loved him in a great number of things, but I really loved him in L.A. Law,,,he is so incredibly handsome and I just go crazy thinking about dating a guy like that...He was the true hunk on L.A. Law and some of the other guys were OK!! Nothing really all that special...Television is of course supposed to be entertainment, and looking at a hunk like Steven Eckholdt is very entertaining to me.. As a matter of fact, Steven Eckholdt would be the perfect blind date...upon feasting my eyes on him and then finding out that he is L.A.'s most prominent attorneys, the first thing I would say to him would be, yes I will marry you!!!

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14 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
David Kelley's warmup to his true writing genius, 23 January 2001
Author: (schuchat@hotmail.com) from Miami, FL.

L.A.Law was a standout drama from '86-'94. At the end, as many drama's have happen, it became somewhat stale and may cause many to forget the gripping storylines Bochco, Kelley etc. created. The acting was superlative from the mainstays Dysart, Rachins, Tucker, Eikenberry, Ruttan, Bernsen, Hamlin etc. As the show expanded Law brought forth additional characters played by Dey, Smits, Greene, Underwood, Donohoe, Spencer, Drake, Muldaur etc. These actors made their roles and characters as unforgettable as the originals made there's.

Probably the best thing that can be said about this show is that no one player was the focal point. No one character had to be the "lightning rod" for the show to be great. In an interview for the 100th show Richard Dysart, who played Leland McKenzie, the paternal "glue" of McKenzie, Brackman, Cheney, Kuzack, and Becker, told Jane Pauley that the actors weren't the genius of the show...the writers were. Awful high praise from an actor at a very candid moment.

Catch it in syndication on A&E each Monday thru Friday. You'll love it the second time around.

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7 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Steve Eckholdt and so many others!!, 29 June 2007
Author: dataconflossmoor from United States

This show was so good when it premiered, several seasons later, it diminished in quality... Much of the cast contributed significantly to the success of this series, Tom Verica and Steve Eckholdt were very enlightening and auspicious factors to making "L.A. Law" popular in the latter years of the show's existence!! By then, those two were about the only stellar characters in this series!! Dialog in programs today is far more intellectual and acrimonious than it was in the past!! "L.A. Law" was the harbinger of things to come in terms of relevant and legally germane script writing which was pertinent to the authenticity of a law office in the 1980's!! The original made for T.V. movie signified a revelation in television law shows!! Candor about legal settlements, and situations involving ethics with relation to salaries and status quo behavior, became a staple to the modus operandi of L.A. Law!! The poignant jeremiads which articulated the indictments of our prevailing legal system in America, became one of "L.A. Law's" trademarks!! "L.A. Law" lasted eight seasons, only three were really excellent!! Almost everyone who knows about "L.A. Law" would agree with me, it is just that it is very difficult to comprehend why "L.A. Law" went downhill so quickly? NBC's perception of the Thursday Night slot of 10/9 central was that it was sewn up in their favor regardless of what they put in this slot!! Rationale of this nature is always a grave mistake!! There were a few highlights to the show in it's last couple of years, guys like Steve Eckholdt added to the show tremendously!! Even with his talent, he was not enough to re-establish the reputation "L.A. Law" had at one time for being one of the best shows on television!!

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5 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Steven Eckholdt Is Too Handsome And To Die For!!, 25 April 2010

Author: dataconflossmoor-719-601928 from United States

I love Steven Eckholdt, he is so incredibly handsome, and he was my favorite part of the show "L.A. Law"! I think that Steven has one of the best looking faces that I have ever seen. Steven is so tall and well dressed, and he has the greatest personality, I think that Steven exudes a sex appeal that women just love, I know that I love his sex appeal a whole lot! I have seen Steven on many other shows, and I think he is really handsome on those shows too!! He has a way of looking perfect! Steven's acting is superb, and I believe he got a really good start on "L.A. Law", he had been in other television presentations prior to "L.A. Law" but, his role as Patrick Flanagan put him on the map!! WOW!! Steve is so handsome and so to die for!! I have always loved him!!

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The Start of a great TV mogal., 6 September 2012

Author: blablablabla4 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Allot of people give Steve Bochco all the credit for the shows success as well they should because he read a screen play called From The Hip ands in turn hired the writer of said screen play. While Bochco wrote many amazing moments in Hill Street, it was David E. Kelly that dropped Rosalyn Shays down an elevator shaft. It was Kelly that established established the beginnings with the odd twist which he would continue with Picket Fences and Chicago Hope. Hardest thing for this writer is every show after it was compared to LA Law. People complained about that in the case of Harry's Law. But at least it was considered in the shadow of Boston Legal. Really Bochco and Kelley invented the dramedy.

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At Its Best There Were Few Better, 11 May 2012

Author: fguliuzza from United States

This was a seminal show -- probably the first "lawyer show" that wasn't really a detective program in disguise. L.A. Law introduced us to many of the particulars of a law firm: The staff meeting, administrative hearings, appellate court argument, as well as almost all aspects of criminal and CIVIL litigation. It was an amazing program that, when it focused on the intriguing cases that came to the firm, was arguably the best show on television in the late 80s and early 90s. If I recall correctly only Hill Street Blues, The West Wing, and L.A. Law won 4 Emmys for best drama (now maybe Mad Men?). There's a reason this show ranks in the upper echelon of television dramas.

To be fair to its critics, however, I can't remember ANY program that was this good that, almost abruptly, became so bad! Although I continued to watch it until the end, it was hit-and-miss at best, and sometimes just plain terrible after the fifth season.

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2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A classic legal drama that redefined TV, 19 July 2001
Author: asmith-7 from Los Angeles, CA

The previous post was less than favorable to this incredible show ("great actors, flawed writing"), so I just had to weigh in. For a moment, forget that "L.A. Law" presented some of the most compelling and unusual legal cases as drama (some of them so unusual, in fact, showrunner David E. Kelley would revisit them in his own "Picket Fences," "The Practice," and even "Ally McBeal").

"L.A. Law" brought black comedy back to television and presented sexuality and sensuality that actually advanced its storylines. The latter were core character traits of Corbin Bernsen's Arnold Becker and Jill Eikenberry's and Michael Tucker's Ann Kelsey and Stuart Markowicz, respectively. You can argue the tastefulness of these scenes and others, but you couldn't make a case for their gratuity.

The writing, of course, enabled the other collaborators on this show to perform at the peaks of their abilities. The show explored some of the more difficult issues of its time through our legal adversarial process. Whether surgeons should be obligated to operate on AIDS patients, the right for the terminally ill to die, the lives of the mentally challenged, sexual dysfunctions, the pressures and responsibilities of the police -- these and other episodes paved the way for the shows we're watching today. "L.A. Law" stood on the shoulders of giants, yes, but it became a giant in its own right.

Arguably the show created by Stephen Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher suffered with the departure of David. E. Kelley in its fifth season. The guys who used to run "St. Elsewhere" had a brief stint as showrunners, and viewers began tuning out when the show became less about L.A. lawyers and more about various medical maladies.

That fifth season was especially dramatic, too, as several cast members also were leaving, which freed the writers from some of the constraints of series television -- namely, that characters could not change significantly from week to week.

To dismiss "L.A. Law" as a show about yuppie lawyers is to misjudge a deep, poignant, and important book by its slick, glossy cover. Check it out.

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5 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Great few seasons then downhill, 15 November 2001
Author: tex-42

This show concerning the lives of lawyers at an LA law firm was a breakout hit during its first season for its well written plots and great characters. This of course was because of some incredible writers and great actors. However as the show entered about it's sixth season the best writers and actors began to leave en masse the plotlines fell apart and the show became much more stale. Avoid this period if you can.

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2 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Entertainment In Legal Series Expanded, 23 December 2006

Author: DKOSTY from United States

It is hard to believe that David E. Kelly first started writing television scripts with Doogie Howser MD & then went straight to this. There is a world of difference between those efforts. This series is very entertaining.

It also is much more serious than some of the later series he has done. While this series has some comedy, it has a much more serious tone than Ally McBeal or House MD which have been his later work. This series not only presents more serious issues than those later shows, but also better draw more realistic characters as well.

The acting & production quality of this is very good. Richard Dysart seems the perfect actor to be the foundation of this law firm. The rest of the cast seems to fit their roles well too. Wonder if a 20 or 25 year reunion is planned for this series? A retrospective could be fun.

Towards the end of the series, more of David E Kelly's humor started showing up. In fact, the last season very much resembles a trial run of Ally McBeal in it's tone. Lets not forget Boston Legal too. Kelly has continued to develop his talents in that direction since.

If you like House MD or Ally McBeal, you will like this series. If you liked Boston Public (which was a little more serious) you'd like this show too. I am not sure if David Kelly has any other directions he can head but viewers sure get a lot chance to enjoy his work.

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5 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Steven Eckholdt is Spectacular!!, 6 August 2008

Author: dataconflossmoor-1 from United States

Amongst the many shows that Steven Eckholdt has been a guest star on, his quasi-regular role of Patrick Flanagan on " L.A. Law" was extremely excellent!! Steven has been on numerous shows as a powerful guest star. "Law and Order" "Boston Legal" "West Wing" "Wings" and so many others!! I liked his role in "About Last Night"!! I thought he was great in the movie "Santa Who". The short lived series "It's Like You Know" was tremendously bolstered by Steven Eckholdt, and I thought he was really good in "Leaving Drew" as well!! The best part of Steven Eckholdt with his role as Patrick Flanagan on "L.A. Law" was that he was a character who was flawlessly feasible. A young, good looking, and successful attorney working in a high profile law firm in Los Angeles is going to be very arrogant, and, basically, he is going to feel like he is above the law!! Towards the end of the series "L.A.Law", Steven Eckholdt was a big reason why I watched the show!! I know a lot of people who just think that Steven Eckholdt is absolutely spectacular!!

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