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David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is a prolific multi-Emmy award winning American writer, executive producer, and creator of the well-known television series Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, and Boston Legal. He has also written several film scripts. Kelley's shows are renowned for their whimsical, occasionally surreal comedic touches, as well as moments of seriousness. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (700x851, 133 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Michelle Pfeiffer David E. Kelley ...
An Emmy Award. ...
is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine in the United States on the west bank of the Kennebec River. ...
A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
A lawyer, according to Blacks Law Dictionary, is a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law. ...
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is a three-time Oscar-nominated and an internationally known American actress. ...
is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Television series redirects here. ...
Picket Fences is a 60-minute drama which initially ran from September 18, 1992 to June 26, 1996 on the CBS television network in the United States. ...
Chicago Hope was a popular CBS drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994 to May 4, 2000. ...
The Practice was an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston, Massachusetts law firm. ...
Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002, and was one of the best-known dramedy television series of the 1990s winning several awards. ...
This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...
Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ...
Early life Born in Waterville, Maine, raised in Boston, Kelley was the son of a hockey coach[1] and played the game himself. He was captain of the team at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1979 with a degree in politics.[2] Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine in the United States on the west bank of the Kennebec River. ...
Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area - City 232. ...
Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ...
Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ...
Demonstrating early on a creative and quirky bent, in his junior year at Princeton, Kelley submitted a paper for a political science class about John F. Kennedy's plot to kill Fidel Castro as a poem.[3] For his senior thesis, he turned the Bill of Rights into a play. "I made each amendment into a character," he said. "The First Amendment is a loudmouth guy who won't shut up. The Second Amendment guy, all he wanted to talk about was his gun collection. Then the 10th Amendment, the one where they say leave the rest for the states to decide, he was a guy with no self-esteem."[2] Also while at Princeton, he was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club.[4] John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, Kennedy, John Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, or JFK, was the 35th President of the United States. ...
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ...
The Senior thesis is a research-based paper written at many universities and high schools. ...
Image of the United States Bill of Rights from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration The United States Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. ...
An amendment is a change to the constitution of a nation or a state. ...
The Bill of Rights in the National Archives The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. ...
The Bill of Rights in the National Archives Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, declares a well regulated militia as being necessary to the security of a free State, and prohibits Congress from infringement of the right of...
The Bill of Rights in the National Archives Amendment X (the Tenth Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. ...
The Princeton Triangle Club is a drama society at Princeton University, more than a century old. ...
He graduated with a law degree from Boston University where he wrote comedy sketches for the annual follies. He began working for a Boston law firm, mostly dealing with real estate and minor criminal cases. In 1983, while considering it only a hobby, Kelley began writing a screenplay, a legal thriller, which was optioned in 1986 and later became the Judd Nelson feature film From the Hip in 1987.[2][5] For similarly-named academic institutions, see Boston (disambiguation). ...
The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television. ...
In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement between a movie studio, a production company, or a producer (henceforth called the producer) and a writer, in which the producer obtains the right to buy a screenplay from the writer, before a certain date. ...
Judd Nelson as John Bender in The Breakfast Club Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959 in Portland, Maine) is an American actor and writer. ...
Television work
L.A. Law (1986–1994)
 In 1986, Steven Bochco was searching for writers with a law background for his new NBC legal series, L.A. Law. His agent sent him Kelley's movie script for From the Hip. Enthusiastic, Bochco made him a writer and story editor for the show. During this first year, Kelley kept his law office in Boston as a hedge. However, his involvement in the show only expanded. In the second year, he became executive story editor and co-producer. Finally, in 1989, Bochco stepped away from the series making Kelley the executive producer.[5] While executive producer, Kelley received two Emmys for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series and the show received the award for Outstanding Drama Series for both years.[6] For the first five seasons he was involved with the show, he wrote or co-wrote two out of three episodes. Kelley left after the fifth season in 1991 and ratings began to fall. As Newsday's TV critic wrote, "The difference between good and bad L.A. Law ... was David Kelley."[7] Midway through the sixth season, both Bochco and Kelley were brought in as creative consultants after the show received bad press about its decline in quality.[8]
Image File history File links L.A. Law logo, in a screenshot from I Love the 80s. ...
Steven Ronald Bochco (born December 16, 1943) is an American television producer and writer. ...
The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A script editor - a position sometimes known as story editor in the 1950s and 60s - is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. ...
The Primetime Emmy Award for best drama has changed names many times in its history. ...
Newsday is a daily tabloid-size newspaper that primarily serves Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens, although it is sold throughout the New York City metropolitan area. ...
Creative consultant is a credit that has - particuarly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored†a movie screenplay. ...
Picket Fences (1992–1996)
 By 1992, after co-creating Doogie Howser, M.D. with his mentor Bochco, Kelley formed his own production company, David E Kelley Productions, making a three-series deal with CBS.[9] Its first creation, Picket Fences, airing in 1992 and influenced by Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure,[10] focused on the police department in the quirky town of Rome, Wisconsin. Kelley took on the role of writing most of the episodes for the first three years.[11] The show was critically acclaimed but never found a sizable audience.[12] Picket Fences went on for four years, receiving a total of 14 Emmy awards including back-to-back Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series for its first and second seasons.[6] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993), was a television dramedy starring Neil Patrick Harris as a brilliant teenaged doctor who was also faced with the problems of being a normal teenager, despite having graduated from Princeton University at age 10[1]. The show was set in Los Angeles, California and...
CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ...
Picket Fences is a 60-minute drama which initially ran from September 18, 1992 to June 26, 1996 on the CBS television network in the United States. ...
Twin Peaks is an American Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, which first aired in the United States on April 8, 1990 and ended on June 10, 1991. ...
Northern Exposure was a quirky, surreal, character-driven American dramatic comedy television series. ...
Rome is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Wisconsin: Rome, Adams County, Wisconsin Rome, Jefferson County, Wisconsin The television series Picket Fences is set in the town of Rome, Wisconsin, which is presumably not intended to be either of the above Romes. ...
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. ...
The Primetime Emmy Award for best drama has changed names many times in its history. ...
In 1995, the fourth and final season, Kelley stopped writing episodes. "We had almost 10 writers try to come in and take over for this one man," said Holly Marie Combs who played a character on the show. "The quality was not nearly what it was."[13]
Holly Marie Combs (born December 3, 1973 in San Diego, California, USA) is an American actress who has worked in movies and television series. ...
Chicago Hope (1994–2000)
 Under pressure from CBS to develop a second series even though Kelley didn't feel ready to produce the two shows simultaneously,[14] Kelley's medical drama, Chicago Hope, starring Mandy Patinkin and Adam Arkin, premiered in 1994.[15] Airing at the same time as the season's other new medical drama, NBC's ER, the ultimate ratings leader,[16] Chicago Hope plotted "upscale medicine in a high-tech world run by high-priced doctors."[17] During its six-year run, it won seven Emmys,[6] generally high critical praise but only middling ratings.[18] Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ...
Chicago Hope was a popular CBS drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994 to May 4, 2000. ...
Mandy Patinkin as Rube John Sofer from the television show Dead Like Me. ...
Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956) is an American television, film, and stage actor. ...
The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...
ER is a long-running, Emmy Award winning American serial medical drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. ...
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. ...
Originally intending to write only the first several episodes in order to return full time to Picket Fences, Kelley eventually wrote most of the material for both shows -- a total of roughly 40 scripts. Expressing a desire to focus more on his production company and upcoming projects, Kelley ceased day-to-day involvement with both series in 1995, allowing others to write and produce.[19] Towards the end of the fifth season in 1999, facing cancellation, Kelley fired all cast members added since he had left the show, brought back Mandy Patinkin and began writing episodes again.[20]
Mandy Patinkin as Rube John Sofer from the television show Dead Like Me. ...
The Practice (1997–2004)
 In 1995, Kelley entered into a five year deal with 20th Century Fox Television to produce shows for both the ABC and FOX television networks, each agreeing to take two series. If one network passed on a project, the other got first refusal. Kelley retained full creative control.[21] Ally McBeal on FOX and The Practice on ABC were the first two projects to come from this deal.[22] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of the 20th Century Fox movie studio, a subsidiary of News Corporation. ...
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a television and radio network in the United States. ...
The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ...
Right of first refusal is the right to make an offer before offers from others are considered. ...
Artistic control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. ...
Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002, and was one of the best-known dramedy television series of the 1990s winning several awards. ...
The Practice was an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston, Massachusetts law firm. ...
Premiering as a midseason replacement for the 1996-1997 season, The Practice was Kelley's chance to write another courtroom drama but one focusing on the less glamorous realities of a small law firm.[12] Receiving critical applause (along with two Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series) but low ratings in its starting seasons, it eventually became a popular top 10 program.[23] The New York Times described the show as "the profoundly realistic, unending battle between soul-searching and ambition".[24] A midseason replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of a television season usually between January and April. ...
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. ...
The Primetime Emmy Award for best drama has changed names many times in its history. ...
The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...
During the first two years of the series, Kelley was the sole full-time writer. He felt that, at first, the show creator can best flesh out the characters in a "voice-specific show." Later, the writing staff would grow to 10, most with law degrees.[25] By the fifth season, he worked on the final script and was generally not on the set during filming.[26] Writers Voice is the voice any reader can hear in his mind when reading e. ...
In 2003, due to sagging ratings, ABC cut Kelley's budget in half for the eighth and final season. He responded by firing most of the cast and hiring James Spader for the role of Alan Shore,[27] who the New York Times described as "a lecherous, twisted antitrust lawyer with a breezy disregard for ethics."[28] The final episodes of The Practice were focused on introducing the new characters from his next show, Boston Legal.
James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as sex, lies, and videotape (for which he won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival), Stargate, and Secretary. ...
Alan Shore is a fictional character on the ABC Network television series Boston Legal, portrayed by James Spader. ...
The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...
Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ...
Ally McBeal (1997–2002)
 When Ally McBeal, Kelley's first genuine and influential hit, premiered in 1997 on FOX, Kelley was also shepherding his other two shows, Chicago Hope and The Practice, although he was not actively participating in Chicago Hope at the time.[20] The title character, Ally, is a young, attractive, impulsive, Harvard-educated lawyer, described by a New York Times journalist as "stylish, sexy, smart, opinionated and an emotional wreck."[29] In contrast to The Practice and its idealistic lawyers, the law firm in Ally McBeal was founded to make money.[30] Image File history File links Ally_mcbeal. ...
Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002, and was one of the best-known dramedy television series of the 1990s winning several awards. ...
The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ...
Chicago Hope was a popular CBS drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994 to May 4, 2000. ...
The Practice was an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston, Massachusetts law firm. ...
The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ...
The New York Times felt that the show uniquely emphasized "character and caricature."[24] The show lasted five seasons, seven Emmys (one for Outstanding Comedy Series for its second season), mostly positive reviews and a barrage of criticism for its portrayal of women, with many journalists saying that the character Ally was a giant step backwards.[31] The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. ...
The Primetime Emmy Award for best drama has changed names many times in its history. ...
Parallel to The Practice, Kelley penned all the scripts for the first season, then brought in other writers in subsequent years.[25]
Boston Public (2000–2004) In 2000, 20th Century Fox Television extended its arrangement with Kelley.[32] The deal, which ran for six years, reportedly made Kelley the highest paid producer in TV history -- up to $40 million a year -- in return for a first-look at his projects.[33] Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of the 20th Century Fox movie studio, a subsidiary of News Corporation. ...
This March 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ...
Premiering on FOX in 2000, Boston Public, which follows the lives of teachers and administrators at a Boston high school, joined The Practice and Ally McBeal for the season meaning Kelley was responsible for writing or overseeing 67 episodes.[23] The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ...
This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...
The Practice was an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston, Massachusetts law firm. ...
Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002, and was one of the best-known dramedy television series of the 1990s winning several awards. ...
The program initially considered a modest hit but received less than glowing reviews. The previous season, Kelley stumbled with both the short lived Snoops, his first attempt at delegating most of the responsibilities to others and with Ally, the experiment with 30 minute shortened episodes of Ally McBeal. The TV critic from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram opined that these failures and the weaknesses he saw in Boston Public were a sign that Kelley had lost the Midas touch.[34] However, the show lasted four seasons, garnering, though, only one minor Emmy.
Snoops was a 1999 dramedy television series created by David E. Kelley. ...
Ally McBeal is an American television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002, and was one of the best-known dramedy television series of the 1990s winning several awards. ...
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. ...
Midas was a character in Greek mythology, who is most recognized for his ability to turn anything he touched into gold. ...
Boston Legal (2004–present) In addition to Snoops, Kelley continued to have a string of unsuccessful series: girls club in 2002, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire in 2003, the reality show The Law Firm in 2005. All the while, he continued overseeing Boston Public and The Practice. Image File history File links BostonLegalS2. ...
Snoops was a 1999 dramedy television series created by David E. Kelley. ...
Girls Club was a 2002 American television series created by David E. Kelley. ...
The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire was a short-lived American television series starring Randy Quaid and Mare Winningham and written by David E. Kelley. ...
Reality television is a genre of television programming in which the fortunes of real life people (as opposed to fictional characters played by actors) are followed. ...
The Law Firm is an hour-long reality television series that premiered on NBC on July 28, 2005. ...
Boston Legal on ABC, premiering in 2004, gave continuity and success to the Kelley franchise. It is a spin-off of his long-running legal drama The Practice. It follows attorney Alan Shore (a character introduced during the last season of The Practice, played by James Spader) to his new law firm, Crane, Poole & Schmidt. It also stars veteran television actors Candice Bergen and William Shatner. Critically popular with less than spectacular ratings (ranked 27th for the first season[35], 46th for the second[36]), the show has received four Emmys.
Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ...
The American Broadcasting Company ( oftenly known as ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ...
Alan Shore is a fictional character on the ABC Network television series Boston Legal, portrayed by James Spader. ...
James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as sex, lies, and videotape (for which he won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival), Stargate, and Secretary. ...
Crane, Poole & Schmidt is a fictional law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts which is the setting of the ABC TV show Boston Legal, created by David E. Kelley (although it was first introduced in the final episodes of The Practice). ...
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning American actress and former fashion model, currently best known for her starring role on the television situation comedy Murphy Brown, and as William Shatners legal partner, Shirley Schmidt, on the ABC hit dramedy...
William Alan Shatner (born on March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor who gained fame for playing James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ...
In 2007, Boston Legal began to see a rise of viewership as a result of it following ABC's extremely popular Dancing with the Stars series, mostly ranking either first or second most watched program of the evening in it's ten o'clock time period, beating out CBS and NBC's shows. The show's third season finale dominated other network's shows.[37] Countries with their own version Dancing with the Stars is the name for a number of international television series based on the format of the British series Strictly Come Dancing. ...
Recent projects
 His most recent new series, Wedding Bells, began airing at the beginning of 2007 and canceled after only seven episodes.[38] Kelley is working on an Americanized version of Life on Mars for the 2007-2008 season on ABC, an adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Station, and a single-camera comedy about a jury for FOX.[39] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Wedding Bells is the name of a television series on Fox. ...
The Guardian newspapers Media Guardian. ...
The American Broadcasting Company ( oftenly known as ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ...
Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. ...
The single-camera setup (aka, single-camera mode of production) is a method of shooting films and television programs. ...
The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ...
Methods
Writing Kelley, using a heavy metal Bic ballpoint and yellow legal pad, writes his first drafts longhand. He easily churns out scripts in two to four days, initially working without collaboration, finding it faster and easier than trying to explain what he wants to others.[3] Bic logo Société Bic is a company based in Clichy, France, founded in 1945, best known for making inexpensive disposable products including cigarette lighters, magnets, ballpoint pens, and shaving razors. ...
A ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument, more specifically a pen, similar to a pencil in size and shape. ...
Kelley was criticized for not delegating. A Picket Fences writer described his time on the show as "the most boring period of my life -- you'd write a scene ... [and Kelley would] rewrite it completely. Or he just cut you out completely -- you learned nothing. Having a writing staff was a needless expense for the network."[40] Later, he became more comfortable bringing in writers for ideas and taking over the writing responsibilities.[25] Kelley described this as a natural evolution:
| “ | There's a period at the beginning of a series (when) you're doing most of the writing and then you go through another period where you have the ideas and you're assigning those stories and ideas to other people and hopefully they execute them. Then, if you're lucky, you get a staff where they come into the room with their own ideas and specific takes on how to execute them and they do.[25] | ” |
Story elements Kelley structures his episodes with multiple storylines. An episode may include a self-contained sub-plot plus other story arcs that either began in a previous episode or will continue subsequently -- some will continue the entire season. The viewer, thereby, is rarely sure whether what appears as a simple incident will blossom into a major plot point.[41] // Regular Context The line of a story. ...
A subplot is a series of connected actions within a work of narrative that function separately from the main plot. ...
A story arc is a term in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books and comic strips that refers to a continuing storyline. ...
A plot point is a significant or overt action or moment within a plot that creates obstacles, raises the stakes, articulates theme, or complicates things for a protagonist trying to reach an ...
Kelley seeds his plots with political, social and religious "hot-button" issues. One method is by introducing provocative legal cases. Episodes have covered the gamut of contemporary issues from the culpability of tobacco companies and gun makers to assisted-suicide crusaders.[42] Another way is by undergirding the character's social interrelationships with serious explorations of (say) feminism, homosexuality or divorce.[43] Instead of lessons, Kelley strives to "raise moral and ethical questions without easy answers."[44] He avoids a didactic narrative by not losing sight of the audience's desire to be entertained.[45] He states, Look up plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Didacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. ...
| “ | You've got to honor your relationship with your audience -- that they sit down because they want to be entertained. And that doesn't mean you can't provoke them and antagonize them and challenge them in the course of the entertainment as long as you keep the entertainment part of the equation alive.[19] | ” | Instead of taking clear stands on issues such as, say, sexual harassment, Kelley creates scenarios meant to challenge audience preconceptions. For instance, an episode of Ally McBeal dealt with a female employee suing for sexual harassment because she noticed that other, "prettier" women were being promoted. There was no clearly explicit point-of-view.[3] Sexual harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a sexual nature. ...
Perspective in theory of cognition is the choice of a context or a reference (or the result of this choice) from which to sense, categorize, measure or codify experience, cohesively forming a coherent belief, typically for comparing with another. ...
Using humor and the surreal, mixing tragedy and farce, Kelley described his strategy this way,
| “ | Often we try to seduce the audience at the beginning that this is going to be fun, a romp or a ride, and then once the ride has begun, to reveal some serious subject matter for them to think about.[46] | ” | In Ally McBeal, Kelley utilized two techniques: the voice-over, providing an interior monologue for the titular character and Walter Mitty-like fantasy sequences (ala Dream On, as critics have noted) that gave humorous, often ironic portrayal of these thoughts.[47][48][49] A voice-over is a narration that is played on top of a video segment, usually with the audio for that segment muted or lowered. ...
A monologue, which comes from the Greek words mono and logos meaning one word, is a speech by one person directly addressing an audience. ...
Walter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurbers short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, published in 1941. ...
Dream On S1 is out on uk DVD 30TH JULY Dream On is a cult American adult situation comedy about Martin Tupper, a dreamer whose life is full of colourful characters. ...
Crossover episodes Kelley frequently crossed the cast of different shows. One crossover program event (which uniquely crossed networks also) involved characters from Kelley's Ally McBeal on the Fox network appearing on his ABC show, The Practice, and, in turn, The Practice characters appeared on Ally McBeal. This was done in spite of the two shows' different tones (one a comedy, the other a drama).[50] This crossover was partially credited for raising the ratings for The Practice which it sustained.[23] The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ...
The American Broadcasting Company ( oftenly known as ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ...
Subsequently, Kelley repeated this stunt with Boston Public and Ally McBeal. Many other crossovers occurred including shows not created by Kelley.[50]
Casting David E. Kelley's shows tend to be revolving door ensemble casts with no single principal character. Even on Ally McBeal there were episodes in which the title character had few lines or was even omitted. Every season (sometimes even more often) some of the old regular characters get written out and are replaced by new regular characters. As Kelley focuses on the newer characters, it can appear that he is neglecting to develop the older characters who've stayed. For example, the last season of The Practice was almost completely dominated by Alan Shore, to the point that the older regulars, Eugene Young and Jimmy Berlutti, appeared to have nothing to do except plot to fire Shore from the firm. On the first season of Boston Legal, Shore and Denny Crane started to recede to the background as Shirley Schmidt was added. However, subsequent seasons have brought Shore and Denny Crane back to the forefront.
Kelley often uses regular actors from older shows in newer shows, and vice versa. For example, Anthony Heald and Rene Auberjonois both played judges on The Practice, and both went on to be regular cast members in later shows (Heald on Boston Public as a vice-principal and Auberjonois on Boston Legal as a partner at a law firm). Anthony Heald is an American actor best known for portraying Hannibal Lecters smarmy psychiatrist, Frederick Chilton, in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, and as deputy principal Scott Guber in Boston Public. ...
René Murat Auberjonois (born June 1, 1940 in New York, New York) is an American actor best known for his early 1980s role as Clayton Endicott III on the television show Benson and his role as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ...
Critiques
Legal profession The Practice was considered more accurate in its portrayal of the law than L.A. Law or Ally McBeal. The importance of legal strategy sometimes at the expense of the truth rang true. One attorney said, "[I]t's really about the tactics and the mistakes that opposing counsel makes." Judges were represented as complex, less than perfect human beings, sometimes with emotional problems. Plots demonstrated how a defendant's personality would impact the adjudication of a case.[51] Stuart Levine of Variety said, "[The Practice] isn't afraid to paint the firm's clients as the dregs of society."[12] Kelley said, Variety is a daily newspaper for the entertainment industry. ...
| “ | One of the most fundamental questions people have about defense attorneys is, 'How can you do that? How can you go to bat everyday for a person that you may not know is guilty but you have a pretty good idea that he's not so innocent.[12] | ” | Other aspects of the legal profession in Kelley's shows have been criticized as unrealistic. Attorneys complained that: - Ex parte meetings (where lawyers meet in a judge's chambers without opposing counsel present) do not happen,
- Judges would not allow attorneys to badger or attack witnesses,
- His shows overplayed prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct, and
- Many of the cases would never have made it to trial.[51]
Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning from (by or for) one party (pronounced ekss par-TAY or ekss par-TEE, although the proper Latin is Eks PAR-teh). An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring the plaintiff to be present. ...
A judges chambers - often just called Chambers - is the office of a judge. ...
Women When the program Ally McBeal first ran, many women lauded its portrayal of the lead character. Sharon Waxman, writing for the Washington Post, commented that Kelley had a keen insight into the human nature of both men and women. Quoting Dyan Cannon in the article, "This man understands the way a woman thinks, ... the complex ways we've found to hide our fears."[3] A New York Times writer used the character as an example of a strong television woman's role,[52] another saw herself, at times, in the character's portrayal of self-absorption and reflection, her crafted neuroses, her vulnerabilities.[49] Sharon Waxman is an American journalist who writes for The New York Times. ...
Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Freisen on January 4, 1937) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated American film and television actress, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. ...
Later, however, much press coverage was spent on the controversial nature of women in Ally McBeal. Time featured a cover story about the decline of feminism with a picture of Ally (among a pantheon of feminist heroes) on the cover.[53] In the article, Ginia Bellafante used the McBeal character as a modern exemplar proving that "[M]uch of feminism has devolved into the silly."[54] In response, the author Erica Jong felt that the Time journalist diminished her argument by using only pop-cultural references and ignoring the majority of real world women who have made significant progress.[55] Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ...
Ginia Bellafante, born March 31, 1965, is an American writer and critic, primarily at the New York Times. ...
Erica Jong (née Mann, born March 26, 1942, in New York City, New York) is an American author and educator. ...
Writing in Salon.com, Joyce Millman disputed that Ally McBeal should even be described as a "women's show" -- that its representations of women were, in fact, a male fantasy. She felt that Kelley's treated his female characters "sadistically" in general, beginning all the way back to L.A. Law, saving only The Practice for positive remarks.[42] Salon. ...
What can't be denied is that Kelley's Ally McBeal was hugely successful in attracting the 18-to-34-year-old women audience demographic. The New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, quoted two young, professional women saying they liked shows with female characters like themselves, single, even obsessed. Quoting the executive producer of Law & Order, Dick Wolf, "I think there is a wish-fulfillment factor when you put an attractive woman in a situation where she is doing real, adult stuff."[56] A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting, to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment. ...
Maureen Dowd (born January 14, 1952) is a columnist for The New York Times. ...
Law & Order is an American television police procedural and legal drama set in New York City. ...
Richard Anthony Wolf, (born December 20, 1946, New York City), is one of American televisions most respected drama series creators and is an Emmy Award-winning producer, specializing in crime dramas. ...
Public education Samuel G. Freedman, a professor of journalism at Columbia University, writing in the New York Times, praises Kelley's series Boston Public as an attempt to both reflect and change public opinion about public education, particularly the urban, overcrowded, underfinanced variety. He liked the realism of the setting, the mixed ethnicity of the faculty and (ofttimes antipathetic) student body and the bureaucratic struggles. He lambasted Kelley, though, for pandering to stereotypes of teachers and students and of failing to show successful teaching strategies.[57] Samuel G. Freedman is a journalist and currently a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. ...
Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ...
Medicine In the New York Times, Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, felt that medical dramas such as Kelley's Chicago Hope do a good job of addressing bioethical issues such as who should receive a liver transplant or when should a patient be allowed to die. However, there is a lack of discussion concerning the primary money issue: "How do people pay for this?"[58] The show has been criticized for presenting a one-sided view of managed care, portraying HMOs as dramatically evil glossing over the complexities. Doctors are too often shown as selfless patient advocates ready to battle whatever the financial cost.[59] The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...
Arthur L. Caplan is Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ...
A medical drama is a television drama in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any other medical environment. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Managed care is a concept in U.S. health care. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Catholicism Kelley has incorporated religious subject matter from the beginning, including issues involving Protestantism, Judaism and Catholicism.[60] With the widespread media coverage of child sexual abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late 90s, Kelley naturally began to introduce this controversy into his scripts. For instance, the character Bobby Donnell on The Practice, a Catholic, became personally estranged from the Church over the issue of sexually abusive priests. While the conservative Catholic League didn't have an issue with this episode,[61] they frequently complained of anti-Catholic bias in Kelley's shows because of his references to this subject.[62][63][64] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Cases of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. ...
Throughout history there have been many alliances and organizations known as the Catholic League, including: Catholic League (USA) - Civil rights group in the United States. ...
Feature films Besides his first film, From the Hip which received poor reviews,[65] Kelley wrote and produced three other films. 1996's To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, a romance, co-starring his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, received tepid critical and box office reception.[66] In 1999, came two films: Lake Placid, a unique combination of suspense, horror and comedy, and Mystery, Alaska, about a fictional small-town ice hockey team that plays a game against the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Neither movie did well with either the critics or the audience. To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday is a 1996 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes and Wendy Crewson. ...
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is a three-time Oscar-nominated and an internationally known American actress. ...
Lake Placid is a 1999 horror film, directed by Steve Miner. ...
Mystery, Alaska is a 1999 movie directed by Jay Roach. ...
Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ...
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, U.S.A. Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the National Hockey League, and are part of the group of teams referred to...
“NHL†redirects here. ...
His next film, Chasing Montana, starring Pfeiffer, and written by Kelley, is a father-daughter drama to be released by Focus Features in 2008.[67] Focus Features is the art house films division of Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distrubutor for foreign films. ...
Kelley will oversee the scripting of a new feature film based on the origins of the World Hockey Association (a league Kelley's father was involved with[1]) and hockey player Gordie Howe.[68] World Hockey Association logo The World Hockey Association (French: Association Mondiale de Hockey) was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. ...
Gordon Gordie Howe, OC (born March 31, 1928 in Floral, Saskatchewan) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers in the NHL, and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the WHA. He is often referred to as Mr. ...
Personal life Kelley married actress Michelle Pfeiffer in 1993. They have two children, a daughter and a son. Kelley is known for leaving work in time to be home in the evenings and weekends.[69][3] Sometimes assumed to be a Catholic because of his surname, Kelley is actually a Protestant.[70] Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ...
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is a three-time Oscar-nominated and an internationally known American actress. ...
Filmography The year 2008 in film involves many significant plans. ...
The year 1999 in film involved some significant events. ...
Mystery, Alaska is a 1999 movie directed by Jay Roach. ...
Lake Placid is a 1999 horror film, directed by Steve Miner. ...
This is a list of film-related events in 1996. ...
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday is a 1996 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes and Wendy Crewson. ...
// May 9 - Actor Tom Cruise marries actress Mimi Rogers. ...
Television work | Season[71] | Title | Network | Involvement | Status | | 2007–2008 | Life on Mars | ABC | Creator, writer, executive producer | pre-production | | 2006–2007 | The Wedding Bells | Fox | Creator, writer, executive producer | canceled after 7 episodes[38] | | 2005–2006 | The Law Firm | NBC | Creator, writer, executive producer | canceled after 2 episodes[72] | | 2004–2005 | Boston Legal | ABC | Creator, writer, executive producer | ongoing | | 2003–2004 | The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | CBS | Creator, writer, executive producer | canceled after 5 episodes | | 2002–2003 | girls club[73] | Fox | Creator, writer, executive producer | canceled after 2 episodes | | 2000–2001 | Boston Public | Fox | Creator, writer, executive producer, executive consultant | ended 2004[74] | | 1999–2000 | Snoops | Fox | Creator, writer, executive producer, actor (uncredited) | canceled after 10 episodes[75] | | Ally | Fox | Creator, writer, executive producer | canceled after 10 episodes | | 1997–1998 | Ally McBeal | Fox | Creator, writer, executive producer | ended 2002 | | 1996–1997 | The Practice | ABC | Creator, writer, executive producer | ended 2004 | | 1994–1995 | Chicago Hope | CBS | Creator, writer, executive producer, executive consultant | ended 2000 | | 1992–1993 | Picket Fences | ABC | Creator, writer, executive producer | ended 1996 | | 1989–1990 | Doogie Howser, M.D. | ABC | Co-creator (with Steven Bochco), writer, creative consultant | ended 1993 | | 1986–1987 | L.A. Law | NBC | Writer, story editor, executive story editor,
supervising producer, co-producer, executive producer, creative consultant | ended 1994 | The year 2007 in television involves some significant events. ...
The year 2008 in television involves some significant plans. ...
The Guardian newspapers Media Guardian. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2006. ...
The year 2007 in television involves some significant events. ...
The Wedding Bells is an American television comedy-drama that debuted on FOX on March 7, 2007. ...
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2006. ...
The Law Firm is an hour-long reality television series that premiered on NBC on July 28, 2005. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2004. ...
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events. ...
Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2003. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2004. ...
The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire was a short-lived American television series starring Randy Quaid and Mare Winningham and written by David E. Kelley. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2002. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2003. ...
Girls Club was a 2002 American television series created by David E. Kelley. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2000. ...
This is a list of television-related events in 2001. ...
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