michaelthompson-98713 Dear David E. Kelley,Why oh why did you write this superb television series, and then ditch the formula and half the regular cast from season 8 ???????????The Practice easily knocks spots of anything shown today that comes from your country, America.Watching The Practice took me back to the days of Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, L.A Law, NYPD Blue. American Drama Television writing at its best.But The Practice beat the lot hands down.However, James Spader's introduction threw The Practice into second gear , and without the full regular cast the heart went out of the programme as far as I was concerned.At the tail end of the series, Steve Harris who played Eugene Young to the hilt, made it to the bar and became a Judge. Might I suggest with your excellent writing skills, you develop a new series here around his success as a Judge. ?In general The Practice, series 1 to 7 only, has been an excellent American Drama, the best ever.. Characters you warmed to, and cared about. Series 8 was cold. James Spader was totally miscast. Well done David E. Kelley and all concerned in the series.

njmollo The Practice is a neglected yet classic American Legal Drama Series. Over 8 seasons there are remarkably few poorly written episodes and those there are, come after Season 3.Looking at the series as a whole the main characters could be called consistently inconsistent. Their moral boundaries are malleable to the point that ultimately they have no morals at all. This could be considered systematic of the profession but more likely, it is the cause of having to find new story lines and motivations week after week.I assume that David E. Kelly realised his characters often professed morality as they tried to justify their immorality and seeing this paradox created the character of Alan Shore. Alan Shore sees the legal system for what it is, inherently corrupt, and unapologetically exploits that system. Apart from the brilliant performance by James Spader, this unapologetic manipulation of a rotten system is what makes the character of Alan Shore so refreshing. The final season leaps into new territory with the introduction of Alan Shore. Shore renders the earnest posturing of the regular characters in The Practice as irrelevant, cynical and ultimately unconvincing. There are two unforeseeable yet disturbing changes that occur during the seven year run of this legal show.The first observation is the confusion caused within the American Legal community after the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act. What appeared to be a broken yet workable set of rules suddenly, with the passing of this unconstitutional act, reduces the whole legal system to mere pretence as "beyond reasonable doubt" no longer holds any validity.The second unfortunate observation while watching the seasons in chronological order is the rapid alteration of the once beautiful Lara Flynn Boyle by way of plastic surgery. Episode by episode, her top lip changes in size, then it reduces again only to grow fatter yet again. Later her face alters almost beyond recognition as it has obviously been stretched and any natural movement and expression has been restricted. I for one, believe an actor should be required to grow old gracefully, allowing a history to be seen in the face. There is a barbed comment in the pilot episode of Boston Legal that considers the abuse of surgical enhancement. Could this remark be a veiled reference to Lara Flynn Boyle and her constantly altering features?I feel it is about time that the complete series of this excellent show should be released on DVD.

plkcsk Please - When are all 8 series of that fantastic programme, THE PRACTICE, going to be released on DVD?? When? When? When? For those who do not know the series, the following is a summary: Set in Boston, The Practice centres on a firm of passionate attorneys to whom every case is important and every client worth a fight to the end. Legal manipulations are the firm's modus operandi, and they have it down to a science, making even the most questionable arguments convincing. And while they can't — and don't — win every trial, the pursuit of justice remains the priority until the final verdict is announced … and sometimes afterwards. Pursuing justice, however, often confronts them with serious ethical and moral issues of conscience. But please - when is it coming out on DVD??

miriammatzeder There is no question in my mind that "The Practice" was the best thing available on television for a long, long time. It is the only show for which I can recall a sense of mourning at show's end. My favorite character was Eugene. I admit to have had a feeling of panic to think the familiarity of the show would be broken up by a "movie star," but James Spader injected a lot of the thrill that David E. Kelley initially devoted to the show. The only bad thing I can say about the show is that I believe it began to sink when too much was invested in the unsubstantial relationship between Bobby and What's-her-name. The strength of the show was the characters' relationships with one another as LAWYERS, not LOVERS. The case details and the rotation of unusual plaintiffs and defendants were the attractions. The only other shows I bother viewing are the CSI programs, but I'm always going to miss "The Practice." Especially the character, Eugene, who bopped that child molester in his head right there in the courtroom. That single scene deserved an Emmy. I very much look forward to "Boston Legal." I just hope the thrill of James Spader and Denny...Denny Crane won't blot out the case-specific details, characters and truth and justice issues we so loved about "The Practice."