Boston Legal Season Four Review

The gang of Crane Poole & Schmidt are back in the fourth season of Boston Legal arriving on DVD September 23. There are new and familiar faces, and the usual sexual tension is in full force this season.

There is a reason Boston Legal is one of the best shows on television and despite its shortened length season four is no exception. It continues to be as thought-provoking, funny, touching, and entertaining as ever. The relationships at the core of this show are brilliantly handled, especially that of Alan Shore (James Spader) and Denny Crane (William Shatner). Their friendship is expertly handled and is a driving force for the show.

Cast shake-ups occur frequently on David E. Kelley shows and it seems Boston Legal has had more than a few. This season brings us some welcome additions with John Larroquette and Tara Summers, who thankfully survived the recent cast culling for the fifth and final season, as did Christian Clemenson, who plays my absolute favorite character, Jerry Espenson.

Boston Legal always touches on important social and political issues and that tradition continues in season four, subjects include a young girl with HIV suing her school for teaching abstinence only, a gay general suing the army, cases against the national guard, green offices, oil company donations, forced abortions, and much more.

This season also brought us the epic contests of Alan Shore against Shirley Schmidt as well as Alan Shore against Denny Crane. Powerhouse battles of brilliant minds and Mad Cow.

Shore's closings continue to be long and brilliant and Boston Legal continues its reign as one of the best shows on television in recent memory.

It's shows like Boston Legal that make television worth watching. With an amazing cast whose talents are superior to nearly any other cast on TV, smart and important plots, and true emotionally driven relationships, the fourth season of Boston Legal only keeps the streak of this brilliant show alive.

That said, it's unfortunate that the show doesn't get better DVD treatment. The episodes all look and sound perfectly but each season is devoid of any interesting special features. There are no deleted scenes, no bloopers, only a single featurette. Boston Legal deserves better. Despite its lack of features, the DVD sets are worth buying. The show is endlessly rewatchable and here at my place we revisit the seasons often, more so than many other shows.

Boston Legal - Season Four hits stores September 23. That's one day after the premiere of the fifth and apparent (not to mention unfortunate) final season.