What's On

There seems to be no rules left for television. It’s an anything goes world of faux reality and über drama. What was racy then is careful now. Violence is to be expected, nipples are to be slightly blurred and loser after loser is to be pushed out onto center stage for your review. Television has become a you’re-never-going-to-believe-this crapshoot, and like much of the rest of the world, I’m a near-junkie.

I sometime hate myself for spending so much time watching television; I’ve even blogged about it here in the past. But now and then, albeit seldom, something comes along that changes everything, and I actually feel grateful for TV. Sometimes it’s a single episode. Sometimes it’s an entire series. West Wing was this for me; LOST and The Office have had their moments. This quality, whatever it is, is not formulaic or definable. It’s something organic. It’s usually of consequence and often imbued with hope. And as rare as these “quality” moments may seem, they are out there.

I give you Boston Legal.

On its surface, Boston Legal is about sleazy hookups and shallow men. But beneath that, at its truer levels, it’s about so much more. It’s about the lives of wealthy and broken people, each searching for purpose and intimacy, and trying when they can to do something meaningful with their lives. It’s about the past and about the future, and it's about the here and now of the world's affairs. Above all, though, it’s about something even greater—friendship.

Simply put: If you’ve lost faith in television, you need a dose of Boston Legal.

Front and center of Boston Legal is the friendship of Alan Shore (James Spader) and Denny Crane (William Shatner). Their dedication to each other is of the ages. It’s what makes the show go 'round, and it’s what makes me want to stand up after every episode and declare, “I am better off having watched this!”

Each episode of Boston Legal closes with Alan and Denny sitting together on Denny’s balcony. There, they share a glass of scotch, smoke a cigar and talk about their days. In these moments, television itself rises above being worthless and becomes something quite beautiful.

Here’s a taste from this week’s episode, “Indecent Proposals.”

Alan: One thing I do love about you.

Denny: Tell me.

Alan: While many people embrace the promise of tomorrow, too few celebrate the joy of now. And nobody does that like Denny Crane.

Denny looks off.

Denny: Well, let me tell you something. When you've got polar icecaps melting and breaking off, and when you’ve got Osama still hiding in a cave—planning his next attack, and when you’ve got other rogue nations with nuclear arsenals, not to mention some whack job homegrown who can cancel you at any second, now gets high priority.

Alan laughs. Denny looks over.

Denny: And when you’re sitting on your balcony on a clear night, sipping scotch with your best friend, now is everything.

Alan: Here’s to that.
Denny: Here’s to now.

As Rooting McGreevy (also from Boston) used to say, ‘Nuf Ced.