Ally McBeal (1997–2002)

Ally McBeal and Billy Thomas were going steady throughout their childhoods. Ally even followed Billy to Harvard law school despite having no interest in law. But when Billy chose to pursue ... See full summary »

Creator:

David E. Kelley

Stars:

Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann, Jane Krakowski

Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 29 wins & 94 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Calista Flockhart	...	Ally McBeal (112 episodes, 1997-2002)
Greg Germann	...	Richard Fish (112 episodes, 1997-2002)
Jane Krakowski	...	Elaine Vassal (112 episodes, 1997-2002)
Vonda Shepard	...	Vonda Shepard (108 episodes, 1997-2002)
Peter MacNicol	...	John Cage (103 episodes, 1997-2002)
Lisa Nicole Carson	...	Renee Raddick (91 episodes, 1997-2002)
Portia de Rossi	...	Nelle Porter (89 episodes, 1998-2002)
Lucy Liu	...	Ling Woo (72 episodes, 1998-2002)
Courtney Thorne-Smith	...	Georgia Thomas (69 episodes, 1997-2002)
Gil Bellows	...	Billy Thomas (68 episodes, 1997-2002)
Albert Hall	...	Judge Seymore Walsh (51 episodes, 1998-2002)

Storyline

Ally McBeal and Billy Thomas were going steady throughout their childhoods. Ally even followed Billy to Harvard law school despite having no interest in law. But when Billy chose to pursue a career in law away from Ally, their relationship came to an end. In the present, an old classmate of Ally's named Richard Fish gives Ally a job at his law firm, where Billy and his new wife are also working. This puts Ally in a predicament since she still has feelings for Billy which she's laboring to get over. At the office, Ally puts up with a nosy, gossiping secretary named Elaine, and an oddball lawyer named John Cage never seems to lose a case. At home, Ally's friend and house-mate Renée regularly advises her on her love life. The series follows Ally's trials and tribulations in life through her eyes, and caricaturizes her personal thoughts and fantasies.

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Plot Keywords:

law | lawyer | love | single | law firm | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Fox [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ally My Love

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, David E. Kelley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min 60 min (112 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an effort to boost ratings, Robert Downey Jr. was hired to play Ally's love interest at the start of season four. The ratings increased and David E. Kelley began planning to have that season end with the wedding between Ally and Robert Downey Jr.'s character. However, before production on the season finale could begin, Downey was arrested on a drug-related charge. Despite objections from David E. Kelley, Fox fired Downey from the show and forced Kelley to have to rewrite a brand new season finale episode that removed Larry Paul character from the series and rewrite and re-shoot a new ending to the previous episode so as to remove all references to the aborted wedding storyline. Ironically, the episode's title remained "The Wedding".

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Quotes

[catch-phrases]
Richard Fish: Bygones.
Richard Fish: Fishism.
Richard Fish: Vulgarism.
Richard Fish: Bugger.
Richard Fish: Ouch!
Richard Fish: Kidding.
Richard Fish: No biggie.

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Connections

Referenced in Smart Guy: The Soda Wars (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Searchin' My Soul"
(theme song)
Written and Performed by Vonda Shepard

User Reviews

Absolutely Addictive

A fantastic show to relish and enjoy!

Calista Flockhart is sheer delight and so is the cast. Specially the underrated Billy Thomas (Gil Bellows) who is quite frankly a world-class charmer!!! The show is sharply written and it is consistent, something we don't see happen much.

All in All (y?) a Winner!