Everything about Ally Mcbeal totally explained
Ally McBeal is an award-winning
American television series which ran on the
FOX network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by
David E. Kelley, who also served as the
executive producer, along with
Bill D'Elia. The series starred
Calista Flockhart in the
title role as a young
lawyer working in the
fictional
Boston law firm Cage, Fish and Associates with other young lawyers whose lives and loves were eccentric, humorous and dramatic.
Overview
Despite its legal environment, the show paid minimal attention to the actual practice of law. Instead it focused on the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, though sometimes using legal proceedings as plot devices to contrast or reinforce a character's drama. For example, bitter divorce litigation of a client might provide a backdrop for Ally's decision to break up with a boyfriend.
The show had many off-beat and frequently surreal running gags and themes, for example Ally would immediately fall over whenever she met somebody she found attractive, and the character Fish's "wattle" fetish and humorous mottos ("Fishisms") ran through the series. The show used vivid, dramatic
fantasy sequences for Ally's and other characters' wishful thinking; particularly notable is the
dancing baby.
The show also featured regular visits to a local
bar where singer and cast member
Vonda Shepard regularly performed (though occasionally handing over the microphone to the characters). Each episode generally concluded on an upbeat, hopeful note, with energetic music.
Despite its success,
Ally McBeal received much criticism from TV critics and
feminists who found the title character annoying and demeaning to women because of her perceived flightiness, lack of demonstrated legal knowledge, and extreme emotional instability. Perhaps the most notorious example of the debate sparked by the show was the
25 June, 1998 cover story of
Time magazine, which juxtaposed McBeal with three pioneering feminists and asked "Is Feminism Dead?".
Courtney Thorne-Smith was brought in to replace
Anna Gunn after Smith had left
Fox's
Melrose Place. Gunn continued to work on Kelley series such as
The Practice.
Flockhart's visible loss of weight by the second season also caused much media speculation. However, Ally's search for true love struck a chord with young female audiences, and the
eccentric characters around her were developed further, giving the show firm footing.
In the fourth season,
Robert Downey Jr. joined the regular cast as Ally's boyfriend Larry Paul, temporarily resurrecting the
ratings of a show that had lost its novelty appeal and thus much of its audience. However, when Downey got into legal troubles over his real-life
drug addiction, he was forced to leave the show. Shortly thereafter other central cast members also left, and various characters disappeared from the show without an explanation (such as Renee, Mark, Jackson and Jane Wilco), which caused the ratings to sink again. Guest appearances from
Jon Bon Jovi,
Christina Ricci,
Matthew Perry,
Heather Locklear, and
Dame Edna Everage in season five were not enough to save the show.
Episode list
Ally the sitcom
In 1999, at the height of the show's popularity, a half-hour version entitled
Ally (External Link
) began being broadcast in parallel to the main program. This innovative version, designed in a
sitcom format, used re-edited scenes from the main program, as well as previously unseen footage. The intention was to further develop the plots in the comedy-drama in a sitcom style. It also focused only on Ally's personal life, cutting all the courtroom plots. 13 episodes of
Ally were shot, but only 10 were broadcast.
Main cast
Guest stars
The singers who would perform at the bar (most often
Vonda Shepard) were accompanied by a trio of back-up singers often referred to as
the Ikettes. The singers/actresses who portrayed the Ikettes were:
Renee Goldsberry
Vatrena King
Sy Smith
Whenever Goldsberry, Smith or King were unavailable, they'd be replaced by:
Cynthia Calhoun
Melanie Taylor
The show also featured many guest stars, some of whom would return for an extensive number of episodes. Guest stars included:
Jon Bon Jovi – Victor Morrison (Season 5 / 10 Ep.): A plumber who was Ally's boyfriend for a short period of time
Dyan Cannon – Judge Jennifer 'Whipper' Cone (Season 1–3 / 17 Ep.): Judge who had a relationship with Richard Fish for a while. She later started her own law firm together with Renee Raddick
Taye Diggs – Jackson Duper (Season 4 / 10 Ep.): a lawyer who worked at Cage and Fish for a while and was a love interest for Ling Woo
Lisa Edelstein – Cindy McCauliff (Season 4 / 5 Ep.): a transsexual whom Mark Albert dated for a while
Josh Groban – Malcolm Wyatt (Season 4–5 / 2 Ep.): A teenager who hires Ally and ends up taking her to his high school prom; gets help from Ally with the loss of his mother. (also sings "You're Still You" and "To Where You Are")
Albert Hall – Judge Seymore Walsh: A stern judge with little sense of humor and a general dislike of the Cage and Fish law firm
Anne Heche – Melanie West (Season 4 / 7 Ep.): A school teacher who had Tourette syndrome. She dated John Cage for a while
John Michael Higgins – Steven Milter (Season 4–5 / 13 Ep.): An attorney who was also Ally's therapist for a while
Jennifer Holliday – Lisa Knowles (Season 1–4 / 6 Ep.): Lead choir singer at the local church who had a history with the reverend
Barry Humphries (credited as Dame Edna Everage) – Claire Otoms (Season 5 / 12 Ep.): A client of Cage & Fish who later started working at the firm as a secretary
Gregory Jbara - Reverend Compton (Season 4 / 1 Ep.): Reverend who testifies about his relationship with the nymphomaniac whose husband is seeking an annulment from the very marriage for which the reverend had performed the ceremony in the episode titled "Reach Out and Touch".
Phil Leeds – Judge Dennis 'Happy' Boyle (Season 1–2 / 5 Ep.): A very old judge who was obsessed with dental hygiene
Jesse L. Martin – Dr. Greg Butters (Season 1–2 / 11 Ep.): A doctor whom Ally dated for quite a while
Harrison Page – Reverend Mark Newman (Season 1–4 / 6 Ep.): The reverend at the local church, who had a history with lead choir singer Lisa Knowles
Matthew Perry – Attorney Todd Merrick (Season 5 / 2 Ep.)
Gina Philips – Sandy Hingle (Season 3 / 13 Ep.): Billy Thomas' secretary whom he briefly dated after his divorce
Christina Ricci – Debbie 'Liza' Bump (Season 5 / 7 Ep.): a lawyer who worked at Cage and Fish and married Richard Fish in the last episode
Tracey Ullman – Dr. Tracey Clark (Season 1–3 / 6 Ep.): Ally's unusual therapist; recommended to her by John Cage
Bruce Willis – Dr. Nickle (Season 2 / 1 Ep.): Filling in for Ally's therapist, Dr. Tracey Clark
Apart from these frequently recurring actors the show also saw a lot of cameo appearances by singers (as themselves), along with numerous other one-off celebrity guest stars:
Barry White: Appeared for one of John Cage's birthday party and at Richard Fish's wedding
Al Green: Ally saw him in her hallucinations
Tina Turner: Ally won a contest to appear as backup singer for her
Gloria Gaynor: Appears at the bar and in Ally's hallucinations after the death of Billy
Chubby Checker: Appears at a twist contest
Anastacia: Appears in a club when Richard and John go to Los Angeles
Sting: Takes Larry as his lawyer for being sued by man accusing him to break up his marriage
Elton John: Sung one night at the bar. Ling didn't know him.
Barry Manilow: Appears as a hallucination to Ally when Larry goes to Detroit to visit his son. Also sings at the bar later that night and Ally tries to punch him thinking him to be her hallucination.
Mariah Carey: Appears as Candy Cushnip, a woman in a trial against a company claiming to find the perfect match for everybody. She carries a technician with a spotlight at all times because she believes "...a woman is prettier when she feels good about herself."
Macy Gray: Performs in the bar in one episode ("Hope and Glory", episode 20 of season 3)
Broadcasters
| Country |
TV network |
| Arab World |
MBC |
| Australia |
Seven Network and FX (Now W. Channel) |
| Austria |
ORF1 |
| Belarus |
Belsat |
| Belgium |
Kanaal Twee, Plug tv (French), La Deux (French) |
| Brazil |
FOX Life (cable) |
| Bulgaria |
BTV and FOX Life |
| Canada |
CTV (English), ARTV (French), TVA (French) |
| Chile |
Canal 13, FOX Life (cable) |
| Colombia |
RCN, Citytv Bogotá, FOX Life (cable) |
| Croatia |
Nova TV, HRT |
| Czech Republic |
Česká televize |
| Denmark |
TV2 |
| Estonia |
TV3 |
| Finland |
MTV3 |
| France |
Téva, M6 |
| Germany |
VOX, Comedy Central |
| Hong Kong |
ATV world |
| Hungary |
Viasat 3 |
| India |
STAR World, Zee Cafe |
| Indonesia |
RCTI |
| Ireland |
originally screened on RTE Two repeats air on TV3 |
| Israel |
Channel 2, Channel 3 |
| Italy |
Canale 5, Italia 1, FOX Life |
| Japan |
NHK |
| Kenya |
Kenya Television Network |
| Lithuania |
TV3 |
| Malaysia |
NTV7 |
| Mexico |
FOX Life (cable) |
| Netherlands |
RTL 8 |
| New Zealand |
TV2 |
| Norway |
TV 2 |
| Pakistan |
STAR World |
| Philippines |
RPN-9 |
| Poland |
Polsat, TV4, FOX Life |
| Portugal |
TVI, FOX Life |
| Romania |
PRO TV, Pro Cinema |
| Russia |
Ren-TV |
| Serbia |
RTS, RTV BK Telecom, FOX Life (cable) |
| Slovenia |
POP TV, Kanal A |
| South Africa |
SABC 3 |
| South Korea |
Home CGV |
| Spain |
Telecinco (former broadcaster), Cuatro, FOX |
| Sweden |
TV4 |
| Taiwan |
|
| Thailand |
True Series |
| Turkey |
CNBC-E and Fox Life |
| United Kingdom |
Channel 4, Paramount Comedy 1, Paramount Comedy 2, TMF, Zone Romantica |
| Venezuela |
Televen |
Ally McBeal in the U.S.
FX has shown Ally McBeal from 2001 to 2005.
DVD
DVD releases
Due to music rights issues, the first complete season of Ally McBeal hasn't been made available on DVD in the United States (only 6 random episodes can be found on the R1 edition), though it has been available in Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany, the UK, Mexico, Australia and Brazil. In the Netherlands it isn't possible to purchase a single season, all the 5 seasons are available in a "shoebox set", and are not sold individually. In Ireland all seasons are available in a complete boxset.
| DVD Name |
Region 1 |
Region 2 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete First Season |
N/A |
February 21, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Second Season |
N/A |
February 21, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Third Season |
N/A |
February 21, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Fourth Season |
N/A |
May 9, 2005 |
| Ally McBeal The Complete Fifth Season |
N/A |
May 9, 2005 |
Awards and nominations
Awards won
Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Comedy Series (1999)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (2001)
Golden Globe Awards:
Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1998-1999)
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical Calista Flockhart (1998)
Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
Screen Actors Guild:
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
Awards nominated
Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Comedy Series (1998)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Calista Flockhart (1998–1999, 2001)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (1999–2000)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Robert Downey Jr. (2001)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Lucy Liu (1999)
Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series Bernadette Peters (2001)
Golden Globe Awards:
Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (2000–2002)
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical Calista Flockhart
Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series Jane Krakowski (1999)
Screen Actors Guild:
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998, 2000–2001)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Calista Flockhart (1998–2001)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Lucy Liu (2000)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Peter MacNicol (1999–2001)Further Information
Get more info on 'Ally Mcbeal'.
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