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Who's really the
star of 'Boston Legal'
Yes, it's that old ham bone, William Shatner
By Ed Robertson
David E. Kelley is one of those dark
semi-geniuses of television whose mystery has as much to do with his failures as his
successes. He fails brilliantly. Then there are those flashes, and one certainly is with
“Boston Legal,” the new show morphed from his long-troubled "The
Practice." It's a matter of brilliant casting.
But we are not talking about James Spader, who plays Alan
Shore, the ethics-challenged lawyer Kelley introduced last season. We're talking
about William Shatner, the ex "Star-Trekker" and odd-ball spokesman for
Priceline who plays Denny Crane, the daffy defense attorney whom Kelley also introduced in
“The Practice's” final season.
Call Shatner what you will: a ham, a lightweight, an ubiquitous shill for
Priceline. You'd be right on each count. Shatner hasn’t really been challenged as an
actor since the early days of “Star Trek.”
But Shatner knows how to entertain. He also has the kind of vast, built-in
audience that producers, network executives and potential sponsors all love to see when it
comes to developing a TV series.
Star vehicles rarely work in television, but character vehicles do.
We’ve seen this time and again. Back in 1974, for example, Roy Huggins built
“The Rockford Files” around James Garner—and specifically, the actor’s
portrayal of the reluctant hero type he originated on “Maverick”—because he
knew that Garner’s success with that character would resonate with viewers. It did,
and “Rockford” ran for six seasons on NBC.
Thirty years later, we see Kelley doing the same thing with Shatner on
“Boston Legal.”
As Denny Crane, Shatner is basically playing off the self-parodying image he
has crafted for himself in recent years, both in the Priceline commercials as well as his
live appearances on the sci-fi convention circuit. That image is that of a vainglorious
actor who is nonetheless likeable because he doesn’t seem to take himself seriously.
Kelley has masterfully taken that characterization of Shatner and used it to
drive the main storyline on “Boston Legal.”
The wily yet eccentric Crane is considered a joke among his own colleagues,
to the point that senior partner Paul Lewiston (an image-conscious sniveler played by
René Auberjonois) has been plotting to drive Crane out of his own firm.
In this past Sunday’s episode, Crane appears to play right into
Lewiston’s hands when his questionable behavior toward a female plaintiff in a
deposition leads to possible sanctions against the firm. Much to Lewiston’s dismay,
Crane proves to the court that he’s not a man to be underestimated. Not only does he
argue successfully against the sanctions, he wins the case outright.
Similarly, it’s easy to dismiss “Boston Legal” as
lighthearted, ethereal fare. After all, we are talking about William Shatner. Yet that
perception actually works in the show’s favor.
Viewers familiar with Shatner’s shtick won’t expect high art, only
to be entertained, a much lesser burden of proof. That gives the show a tremendous
potential upside that has already paid early dividends. The premiere of “Boston”
finished in the top 20 among households.
Like Crane, Shatner is the ultimate survivor, having bounced back in his
career more times than a Superball. When he hit a dry spell in the ‘70s, he went back
to “Star Trek,” lending his voice to the animated series before signing on for
the theatrical movies. When the “Star Trek” movies began to pigeonhole him in
the ‘80s, he returned to television as the star of “T.J. Hooker.”
“T.J. Hooker” was certainly over the top, but Shatner’s
intensity made it fun to watch, in much the same way as the actor’s personality makes
his portrayal of Denny Crane fun to watch.
Then, after lampooning sci-fi fans in the infamous “Get a life”
sketch on “Saturday Night Live,” Shatner turned around and embraced the
convention circuit in the ‘90s. Along the way, he even poked fun at himself by
writing a book called “Get a Life.”
Yet for all his comic skills, Shatner brings a depth to Crane that is
surprisingly effective, as evidenced in the scene near the end of last Sunday’s
episode in which he confides in young associate Brad Chase (Mark Valley of “Keen
Eddie”). Though his outward bluster suggests otherwise, Crane admits to Chase that he
is well aware that rivals such as Lewiston are eager to see him fall.
Shatner has no shortage of detractors in the TV industry, many of whom would
probably like to see him fall in “Boston Legal.”
It's to Kelley's credit that he could create a role that captures Shatner's full
range as an actor. And to pair him with a capable, if far prettier, actor like Spader. In
his unending search for the quirky, Kelley may have found just the right mix of tics to
match his own. |
Oct. 14,
2004 © 2004 Media Life
- Ed Robertson is a television historian and a regular contributor to
Media Life.
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