The running time is 728 mins..
Yeah, I know Captain Kirk is iconic, but that was a role William Shatner made famous so many years ago that I think it is safe to say that the time between then and now has allowed us to separate that Shatner from future Shatners. That said, once you see him as Denny Crane of Crane, Poole and Schmidt you will forget all about those other Shatners. He is that good! I am also tired of typing Shatner now.
But, this show is not only Denny Crane's show; it is primarily Alan Shore's show. Shore, is played by James Spader, an actor I never really had a fondness for. My dislike of Spader was not because of him personally, it pretty much stemmed from his ability to play the lowest of low-life scum and play them perfectly. Unfortunately I never really liked any of his scum bag characters, that is until Alan Shore came along. Spader plays Shore with an uncanny ability to not only be offensive to everyone he meets, but equally likable and humorous in the same breath. When you take Spader and Shatner's performances and stretch those out over an episode/season there are more laughs, tied in with serious moments, then one show should be allowed to have. It is this balance that these two actors are able to carry out that make this show great. That is, on top of a stellar supporting cast made up of some phenomenal actors.
Aside from Spader and Shatner you also get Candice Bergen as firm partner Shirley Schmidt, Rene Auberjonois as lawyer big wig Paul Lewiston who is always looking for a way to get rid of both Alan and Denny. Mark Valley plays pretty boy Brad Chase, Monica Potter plays Lori Colson, Lake Bell plays Sally Heep and the sexy Rhona Mitra plays Tara Wilson. Now some of these names are no longer with the show which is in its second season, but they are in season one and they more than make their mark. The ladies are all beautiful and add more than enough brains to the sex-driven male cast.
The show is described as a spin-off of "The Practice", but I would like to think that it is actually more realistic than other lawyer shows. While these characters may be a bit over the top, they are flawed and real and often times you are able to connect with their sensitivities. It will really throw you for a loop when you have to watch them defend an abusive cop, a scheming (very hot) lesbian or a woman suing her ex-fiancé for millions for leaving her at the alter. The thing that will hit you the hardest is that they most often win, which may not be realistic, but when you see some of the despicable cases they are winning, the winning more than makes up for the realism that is lost.
This DVD set carries all 17 season one episodes, a few deleted scenes from the pilot and a couple of featurettes. Overall, the special features are just space filler and I am sure the second season will include a couple of commentary tracks and so forth. It is easy to see how this show has become such a fan favorite and it is also further proof that ABC is really taking the network battle by storm. Hell, if it wasn't for such mundane and annoying shows as "American Idol" ABC may have a strangle hold over the others. They even had "Dancing with the Stars," that almost isn't fair. Is it?