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Ally McBeal (season 1)
Encyclopedia
The first season of the television series Ally McBeal commenced airing in the United States on September 8, 1997, concluded on May 18, 1998, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of Ally McBeal, a young lawyer that found herself without a job after being sexually harassed by her boss, only to end up employed by her friend from college, Richard Fish, to work in the firm he created with his friend John Cage, named Cage & Fish.
The entire season aired Mondays at 9pm. It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of Ally McBeal: Season One on October 7, 2002. Due to music rights issues, only several episodes of the first season of Ally McBeal were available in the United States
.
The first season had an average rating
of 11.4 million viewers in the United States
and was ranked #59 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. A month after the conclusion of the first season, a debate sparked by the show was the cover story of Time
magazine, which juxtaposed McBeal with three pioneering feminists and asked "Is Feminism Dead?".
On the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
, the show won its first Emmy
in the category of Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special for the episode Boy to the World, and was nominated in nine other categories. On the 55th Golden Globe Awards
, the show won in two categories, one for the Best Series, and one for the Best Actress, for Calista Flockhart
's portrayal of Ally.
and David E. Kelley Productions. The sole executive producer was the creator David E. Kelley
, who also wrote all 23 episodes, with the exception of co-writing with Nicole Yorkin
and Dawn Prestwich
on the episode Body Language and with Jeff Pinkner
on the episode Once in a Lifetime. Jonathan Pontell
served as the supervising producer, while Jeffrey Kramer
served as the co-executive producer.
. Calista Flockhart
portrayed protagonist Ally McBeal
, a lawyer that found herself employed by her friend Richard Fish, who was played by Greg Germann
. Fish opened a firm with John Cage, played by Peter MacNicol
, who was billed as a guest star during the first eleven episodes and promoted to series regular status in episode number 12. Jane Krakowski
played Ally's secretary Elaine Vassal, while the role of Ally's friend Renée Raddick was played by Lisa Nicole Carson
. Ally's love from childhood Billy Thomas was played by Gil Bellows
, while Courtney Thorne-Smith
played his wife Georgia, also working with her husband at the same firm.
Various supporting characters included Dyan Cannon
as Whipper Cone, a judge who had a relationship with Richard Fish for a while; Albert Hall as Seymore Walsh, a stern judge with little sense of humor and a general dislike of the Cage and Fish law firm; Jennifer Holliday
as Lisa Knowles, the lead choir singer at the local church who had a history with the reverend; Phil Leeds
as Happy Boyle, a very old judge who was obsessed with dental hygiene
; Jesse L. Martin
as Ally's date Dr. Greg Butters; Harrison Page
as the reverend at the local church, who had a history with lead choir singer Lisa Knowles; Tracey Ullman
as Ally's unusual therapist; and most notably Vonda Shepard
as a musical performer at the bar where the lawyers used to hang out every night after finishing their daily jobs. Shepard performed in every episode of the entire season, and was upped to series regular status in the upcoming season. Renee Elise Goldsberry
, Vatrena King and Sy Smith
appeared at the bar as the Ikettes, the backup singers for Vonda and other performers.
The first season also included a crossover episode from another David E. Kelley
show, The Practice
. The second part of the crossover was the episode titled Axe Murderer which began on the Ally McBeal episode titled The Inmates, which aired April 27, 1998 and has several characters from The Practice. Calista Flockhart
and Gil Bellows
, in return, guest starred on The Practice.
The entire season aired Mondays at 9pm. It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of Ally McBeal: Season One on October 7, 2002. Due to music rights issues, only several episodes of the first season of Ally McBeal were available in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The first season had an average rating
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
of 11.4 million viewers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was ranked #59 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. A month after the conclusion of the first season, a debate sparked by the show was the cover story of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, which juxtaposed McBeal with three pioneering feminists and asked "Is Feminism Dead?".
On the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
50th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 13, 1998. It was broadcast on NBC. Nominees and winners are listed below, winners are in bold.- Outstanding Comedy Series :*3rd Rock from the Sun, NBC*Ally McBeal, FOX...
, the show won its first Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in the category of Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special for the episode Boy to the World, and was nominated in nine other categories. On the 55th Golden Globe Awards
55th Golden Globe Awards
The 55th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1997, were held on 18 January 1998. The winners were selected from the 55th Golden Globe Awards nominees. The ceremony was notable for two memorable moments...
, the show won in two categories, one for the Best Series, and one for the Best Actress, for Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
's portrayal of Ally.
Crew
The season was produced by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
and David E. Kelley Productions. The sole executive producer was the creator David E. Kelley
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
, who also wrote all 23 episodes, with the exception of co-writing with Nicole Yorkin
Nicole Yorkin
Nicole Yorkin is an American television writer and producer. She is the daughter of Bud Yorkin. In 1997, she shared an Emmy nomination with several producers of Chicago Hope in the category "Outstanding Drama Series"...
and Dawn Prestwich
Dawn Prestwich
Dawn Prestwich is an American television writer and producer. She attended The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. In 1997, she shared an Emmy nomination with several producers of Chicago Hope in the category "Outstanding Drama Series"...
on the episode Body Language and with Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
on the episode Once in a Lifetime. Jonathan Pontell
Jonathan Pontell
Jonathan Pontell is a television director, producer and editor.A native of New York City, Pontell attended the School of Visual Arts, studying film and television...
served as the supervising producer, while Jeffrey Kramer
Jeffrey Kramer
Jeffrey Kramer is an American film and television actor and film producer.-Life and career:Kramer was born in New York City and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School with the Class of 1963. He made his first appearance on the TV series Barney Miller starring in the...
served as the co-executive producer.
Cast
The first season had seven major roles receive star billingBilling (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
. Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
portrayed protagonist Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal (Character)
Allison Marie "Ally" McBeal is the central fictional character in the Fox series Ally McBeal played by Calista Flockhart.Ally is a Boston-based lawyer. She is shown as a woman who believes in love and is continually looking for her soul mate...
, a lawyer that found herself employed by her friend Richard Fish, who was played by Greg Germann
Greg Germann
Gregory Andrew "Greg" Germann is an American actor. He played the roles of Richard Fish in the television series Ally McBeal, businessman Mattson from Child's Play 2 and the vet Laurence from Quarantine...
. Fish opened a firm with John Cage, played by Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
, who was billed as a guest star during the first eleven episodes and promoted to series regular status in episode number 12. Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...
played Ally's secretary Elaine Vassal, while the role of Ally's friend Renée Raddick was played by Lisa Nicole Carson
Lisa Nicole Carson
Lisa Nicole Carson is an American actress. She is best known for her work on U.S. television, including supporting roles in NBC's ER and Fox's Ally McBeal...
. Ally's love from childhood Billy Thomas was played by Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
, while Courtney Thorne-Smith
Courtney Thorne-Smith
Courtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, and Cheryl Mabel in According to Jim, as well as her recurring role in Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy.-Early life:She was born in San Francisco,...
played his wife Georgia, also working with her husband at the same firm.
Various supporting characters included Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon is an American film and television actress, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer.-Early life:...
as Whipper Cone, a judge who had a relationship with Richard Fish for a while; Albert Hall as Seymore Walsh, a stern judge with little sense of humor and a general dislike of the Cage and Fish law firm; Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer-Yvette Holliday is an African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls, and later became a successful recording artist...
as Lisa Knowles, the lead choir singer at the local church who had a history with the reverend; Phil Leeds
Phil Leeds
Phil Leeds was a Jewish-American Hollywood character actor. Leeds' bulging eyes, rubbery face and wizened features made him a distinctive presence.-Biography:...
as Happy Boyle, a very old judge who was obsessed with dental hygiene
Oral hygiene
Teeth cleaning is part of oral hygiene and involves the removal of dental plaque from teeth with the intention of preventing cavities , gingivitis, and periodontal disease. People routinely clean their own teeth by brushing and interdental cleaning, and dental hygienists can remove hardened...
; Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin is an American theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for originating the role of Tom Collins in the Broadway theatrical production of Rent, and for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Ed Green on the NBC drama television series Law & Order.-Early life:Martin, the third of...
as Ally's date Dr. Greg Butters; Harrison Page
Harrison Page
Harrison Page is an American television and film actor who has appeared in many popular shows, including Cold Case, JAG, ER, Ally McBeal, Melrose Place, Quantum Leap, The Wonder Years, 21 Jump Street, Murder She Wrote, Fame, Gimme a Break!, Benson, Hill Street Blues, Webster, The Dukes of Hazzard,...
as the reverend at the local church, who had a history with lead choir singer Lisa Knowles; Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
as Ally's unusual therapist; and most notably Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.-Biography:Vonda Shepard was born in New...
as a musical performer at the bar where the lawyers used to hang out every night after finishing their daily jobs. Shepard performed in every episode of the entire season, and was upped to series regular status in the upcoming season. Renee Elise Goldsberry
Renee Elise Goldsberry
Renee Elise Goldsberry is an American actress, singer and songwriter.Goldsberry was born in San Jose, California and raised in both Houston, Texas and Detroit, Michigan. After graduating from Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills she went to Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated...
, Vatrena King and Sy Smith
Sy Smith
Sy Olivia Smith is an American Emmy nominated singer-songwriter. Born in New York, New York, Smith rose to fame in the late 1990s when she signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records. Smith released her first studio album Psykosoul in 2000, which spawned the singles "Gladly" and "Good N...
appeared at the bar as the Ikettes, the backup singers for Vonda and other performers.
The first season also included a crossover episode from another David E. Kelley
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
show, The Practice
The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
. The second part of the crossover was the episode titled Axe Murderer which began on the Ally McBeal episode titled The Inmates, which aired April 27, 1998 and has several characters from The Practice. Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
and Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
, in return, guest starred on The Practice.
Episodes
| Series # | Season # | Title | Director | Writer(s) | Original air date | Ally McBeal Episode List at IMDb.com
TV.com TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan... The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
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