Criminal and law shows are a dime a dozen these days. You can't flip through the channels without coming across some type of courtroom drama. Because the market is so saturated it takes a special kind of show to stand up and get the attention of a viewer. Leave it to David E. Kelley; the man behind Alley McBeal and The Practice to come up with Boston Legal.

When the show began back in 2004 the formula for success had already been established. The characters of Denny Crane (William Shatner), Alan Shore (James Spader), Sally Heep (Lake Bell), and Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra) all appeared on The Practice and were carried over for their own show. Next to Spader and Shatner, other big names like Candace Bergen and Rene Auberjonois joined the cast in the first season as new characters. With talent like this it was hard to dismiss Boston Legal and the show went on to be a success.

The basic concept of the show is to follow the lives of key attorneys at Crane, Poole, and Shmidt as they work through various cases and office banter. That part is pretty much stereotypical for the genre. What really breaks the mold with Boston Legal is the manner in which the show handles itself. Flamboyant, irreverent, self-referential, and naughty are some words that could be used to describe the demeanor of the series. It's a show filled with laughs, great character development, and a good ratio of successful stories. It's easy to see why Kelley's show became a hit.

While the third season is well underway in broadcast, the second has just arrived on DVD. This year brought about many changes to the structure of the show and some of its characters. In total there are 27 episodes and after watching every one of them it's safe to say that the second season was much more enjoyable than the first. There were a few episodes in the season that didn't quite meet the expectations set by the others but overall Boston Legal hit some wonderful notes.

As far as some of the changes brought about this season, they are mostly character related. Denny Crane for instance continues to battle with Alzheimer's though he tries passing it off to everybody that he meets as mad cow disease. He's still as conservative as ever, loves his guns, and has a hard time keeping his "crane" in his pants. One of his biggest plotlines this season involves him hooking up with a woman named Bev in a coat room. He falls in love, marries her, and cheats on her at the wedding reception which leads to divorce.

Alan Shore has become kind of a do-gooder. In the first season he was borderline loathsome at times and did whatever he had to in order to see that he won the case. Whether it was blackmail, extortion, or even assault; nothing was beneath Alan. In the second season, however, he fights for the little guy and throughout the season he goes out of his way to help someone out. For instance he gives a homeless guy $75,000, tries to save the Alaskan Salmon from extinction, and goes out of his way to help out his friends. It may have something to do with a breakup with Tara early in the season, but whatever the reason he seems like a changed man.

As far as Tara is concerned she leaves early on in the second season and for that matter so does Lori Colson. Some fresh faces are brought in and some old favorites still remain. Brad Chase is kicking around and gets a promotion to partner. He also kind of becomes a private investigator of sorts for his peers and there are many times in this season where he acts outside of the law. Shirley Shmidt and Paul Lewiston are still here as well and they play much bigger roles in this year's storyline. Betty White's character, Catherine Piper, also makes a return for those of you wondering how she faired with Bernard.

Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen) is a new major character for this season. She appears frequently along with the others and we get to know her as the episodes roll on. The cast is probably the main reason to like Boston Legal. There are so many prominent actors featured here that it's kind of ridiculous. Equal caliber guest stars make their way onto the show as well. Michael J. Fox and Tom Selleck both make frequent appearances this season.

While there are many plots that come and go throughout the second year of Boston Legal there are a few episodes that stand out as being better than the rest. One of my favorites was one entitled Finding Nimmo. Denny and Alan take a vacation up in the great outdoors of Canada for some fishing. There they discover that the Alaskan Salmon are being made extinct and take it upon themselves to do something about it in court. There is also a hilarious scene where they are talking about fish and Alan makes a comment about "cling-ons" to which Denny (Shatner) replies after giving it a moment's thought, "Klingons?"

Another funny Star Trek reference came about in the episode "The Cancer Man Can". While the episode is about a man with cancer (Michael J. Fox) being sued because he bought his way into a drug test, there was an instant where Denny Crane flips open a new cell phone only for it to make the noise of a Trek communicator. Stuff like this makes for a perfect example of how this show never takes itself seriously and is often times irreverent. During one episode Alan actually says to Denny "There you are. Hardly seen you this episode."

There are many other great stories this season such as "Truly, Madly, Deeply" where Denny shoots his client, "Legal Deficits" which features Brad and Denise going undercover to try to find a kidnapped child, and "Race Ipsa" where Denny shoots somebody; this time his therapist. These particular ones are, in my opinion, the best of the best but to be honest the entire season is very strong. If you enjoyed the first season or even a single episode of Boston Legal this is a set that deserves to be in your collection.

When all of the pieces fall into place and something fresh and endearing comes from such a simple concept that's a rare thing. It doesn't happen enough in television so that makes Boston Legal something special. Shatner, Bergen, Spader, Auberjonois, and the rest of the cast are all brilliant here. There are a few points this season where the dialogue feels a little preachy, like the writers wanted to get up on a soap box on some issues but they still fit in with the flow of the show. This season hits so many great notes that the few missteps are easy to overlook. Definitely check this out if you're in need of a good laugh.

Boston Legal season two is presented with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and features a transfer that is just as gorgeous as the first season's. This is a vibrant and eclectic show that jumps out at you thanks to a vibrant presentation no matter what location it's at. The video is very sharp and clean with only minimal amounts of grain. I didn't notice any aliasing, shimmer, or edge enhancement while watching. It's a natural image the entire way through with some beautiful shots of Beantown.

Boston Legal's second season is presented on DVD much the same way the first season was; in 2.0 Stereo. A show like this deserves a 5.1 surround mixture but instead we have the lesser of the two presentations. The quality is still decent though with a strong and clean audio presence but one that's lacking the technical oomph I was hoping for. Subtitles are available for English, Spanish, and French.

The bonus content for season two is included on the seventh disc of the boxed set. There are only two features available; Legal Pad and Exhibit A. The first extra is a five minute mini-featurette about the writing process for the show and some of the changes from this season. Given the time constraints there isn't much detail available here but just the same it was interesting to see how the episodes came together. The second feature showcases the design of the show from the set of the office to the cast's wardrobe.

If you have never seen Boston Legal before you are missing out on one of the quirkiest and most twisted comedy-dramas ever to grace television. Shatner, Bergen, and Spader are no less than brilliant in every episode here and the same could be said about the rest of the cast as well. All of the pieces just come together for this show and the second season is once again a perfect example of that. The 27 episodes here are nothing less than great television and the set comes highly recommended.

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