By now, chances are very good that you have at least heard of David E. Kelley's Boston Legal. The show has been nominated for countless Emmy Awards, starred many well known celebrities, and is quite honestly one of the most enjoyable courtroom dramas to appear on TV within the past decade. Then again, it's not surprising considering Kelley has been involved with the likes of Alley McBeal and The Practice.

Boston Legal seemed like a surefire hit once it premiered. For starters some of the characters came from the world of The Practice, so there was instantly some familiarity among television audiences. Over the course of the show several characters have come and gone, but a few things have remained the same. Alan Shore (James Spader), Denny Crane (William Shatner), Shirley Shmidt (Candice Bergen), Jerry Espenson (Christian Clemenson), and Clarence Bell (Gary Anthony Williams) all make a return here as far as cast members are concerned. The writing is still rock solid, the sex is still as pervasive as ever, and the off-brand sense of humor is every bit as enticing in the fourth season as it was in the first three. With that being said there are many changes this time around.

By the end of the third season, most of the characters that were introduced were shown the door to make way for some new associates. Adding to the insanity this time around are one season characters Whitney Rome (Taraji P. Henson) and love-interest for Alan, Lorraine Weller (Saffron Burrows), who actually has some interesting roles to play in the season. Random plaintiffs and defendants also show up this season and of course there are also several guest stars, including the bevy of entertaining judges that appear in court.

Some more stable characters are introduced for this fourth season as well. Katie Lloyd (Tara Summers), an English lawyer, arrives at Crane, Pool & Shmidt and immediately gels with the rest of the cast. She's a rookie in just about every regard and is fresh out of law school, but that doesn't mean she can't be a shark in the courtroom. Katie proves quite quickly that she can be just as good a lawyer as anyone else and over the course of the season her character gets plenty of opportunity to grow. The biggest change for this year is undoubtedly the involvement of John Larroquette who plays the role of Carl Sack, a senior partner from New York who has moved to Boston to be with Shirley and help her bring some sanity to the firm. Larroquette fits in quite nicely with the cast and immediately establishes his character and the dynamic he brings to the show.

Similar to the third season, a lot happens for this fourth year that spills over from episode to episode. Sure there are still one-shot court cases and storylines, but they are often referenced again at a later point. There are also several cases that take multiple episodes to come to fruition. The real story behind the show here is the characters themselves, and you can expect a lot of the season to focus on their development and relationships.

Let's take Denny for instance. As the season progresses he's brought to court for hiring a prostitute, propositioning a police officer in a men's room for gay sex, and he even fires an obese woman from the firm because he doesn't want to catch the fat disease. Throughout it all, you can see that something is weighing heavily on Denny's mind. As he's getting older, he feels his youth and prominence slipping away. Due to that fact he keeps posturing himself with ridiculous cases and doing whatever he can to get the spotlight on himself. It's better to burn out than fade away, and Denny isn't the kind of person who wants to fade. This makes Carl Sack's job much harder as you'd imagine.

Aside from the events that transpire about the two main characters, you're going to see a lot of little office romances and relationships throughout the season. Jerry falls for Katie, but winds up going for a woman who is in love with a utility box. Clarence keeps cross-dressing despite assurance from Carl that what he does outside of work still reflects on the office. And Shirley finds herself involved in several cases this season, including one with her granddaughter. All around there are plenty of interesting things for the characters in this season, and loads of fun cases that are brought to trial.

This season of Boston Legal is full of great episodes, solid writing, fantastic acting, and an energy that is a rarity to behold. With that being said, the quality of some of these episodes isn't quite as high as we've grown accustomed to. Out of the 20 episodes featured here, about a quarter of them simply aren't as good as the rest. Despite that, the fourth season of Boston Legal is a blast and if enjoyed any of the previous seasons you'll find plenty to love about this one. It's solid entertainment all around and it's easy to see why the show is so celebrated by its fans and critics.

The DVD:

Boston Legal season four is presented with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio just like the previous years. The transfer for this DVD set is gorgeous and it stands as a testament to the show's production. The bright colors, rich contrast, and eye-popping clarity come through marvelously. This series continues to be a benchmark for quality in terms of video presentation and transfers for television shows. From the first season to this one, the picture quality is remarkable throughout every episode.

Boston Legal's fourth season is presented exactly the same way as the prior years were. The English 2.0 mix is adequate for the dialogue driven series and though the audio quality is nice and robust, it lacks the impact that a 5.1 selection could have made. Despite this, there is still a nice level of clarity and crispness. Once again there are also subtitles for English, French, and Spanish.

Like the other seasons of Boston Legal the fourth contains some bonus content on the final disc in the set. Unfortunately, this time around it's merely a single featurette entitled "The New Kids on the Courtroom Floor" (15:47). As you could probably guess, this feature takes a look at the new characters in this season with commentary from the cast. Clips from several episodes are peppered throughout the featurette to cite examples of what the actors are talking about. In the end it's an interesting feature to watch, but it's more or less just a fluff piece.

Final Thoughts:

Boston Legal continues to be one of the best shows on television, and the fourth season continues to reveal why. Solid writing, fun characters, great actors, and an addictive energy all come together to create a memorable and unique series. There may be a few missteps this season, but all around several of these episodes still stand out as some of the show's best. If you haven't seen the series yet, consider it highly recommended, and if you have been following, then get off your butt and pick this season up already!

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