One of the only shows I still watch on television, Boston Legal may be completely insane, but boasts one of the best casts ever made. The current season seems to be even loonier than previous ones from a crossdressing Alan Shore to the endless fourth wall references, but this episode was written to a different tone.
This is a very serious minded episode with James Spader being the Alan Shore people remember from the Practice. His darker side comes out when he finds himself against friend Jerry Espenson in a trial, and pulls a dirty trick to crush his friend's newfound confidence. Shore does, as usual, get on his soapbox, but it seems more focused and less ranting.
Mark Valley and Julie Bowen get a little more screen time than usual with their new subplot, but nothing much progresses by the end of the episode. Beside the abscence of Candice Bergen, this episode reminds people that Boston Legal started off as a halfway serious show, and I hope the rest of season keeps it that way. B
