CRITIQUE OF A PRIMETIME NETWORK TELEVISION PROGRAM

Ally McBeal

(MON 9-10 PM FOX)

Ohio University
College Of Communication
School of Telecommunication
Fall quarter 1998
Joseph Ritchie
Broadcast & Cable Programming (TCOM 355)

by

Christoph Koch

Assignment 3

If there was one show in the last year almost everybody talked about, it was certainly Fox Network′s new series "Ally McBeal". The show tells the story of a young woman working for a Boston law firm, trying to be successful in the courtroom as well as in her love life, succeeding in the former rather than the latter. On her first day in the new job for example she finds out that her ex-boyfriend Billy (Gil Bellows) works there as well as his new wife, the smart and beautiful Georgia (Courtney Thorne-Smith of "Melrose Place"). Since Ally (Calista Flockhart) still has feelings for Billy, treating him and Georgia as colleagues of course isn′t quite so easy and the three find themselves in a lot of awkward situations.

Trying to figure out what genre "Ally McBeal" belongs to, is not so easy. On the first look it might appear to be a courtroom drama due to its hour-long format and trials taking place in every episode. But there is also a comedy side to "Ally McBeal". Her struggle with life is shown in a humorous (often even slapstick) way and other characteristics of a comedy, like "childish behavior of the protagonist" or "lack of experience with the other sex" (Kaminsky 1985, p. 137-139) can be found as well.

Although the show won two Golden Globes in the comedy categories in 1997, "Ally McBeal" should rather be labeled as a "dramedy" due to its mixture of humor and serious issues. The genre of "dramedy" is a combination of drama and comedy and had its (short) heyday during the 1980s when it was praised as a fresh recipe to address an upscale audience. "Ally McBeal" does a very good job in reviving this genre, making its audience laugh as well as reflect or even cry.

One reason for its amazing success might be the very good cast of "Ally McBeal". Especially Calista Flockhart, who plays Ally, does an outstanding job in making her character very believable and sympathetic. Her confused look and the way she strokes her hair out of her face or nervously plays with her necklace have almost become her trademark. Apart from her Golden Globe Award she was also nominated for an Emmy as best actress in a comedy, which undermines her ability to bring a character to life.

But also the other characters contribute to the overall success of the show. Each of the other lawyers is portrayed in a very special way and the group dynamics in the small firm (during meetings or at the bar downstairs were the colleagues hang out after work) are very interesting to observe. Each of the characters has got its own little oddities, its own body language and it own way to talk, a concept that could very easily be unnerving but that works very well with the well-chosen cast of "Ally McBeal".

David E. Kelley, the producer of “Ally McBeal” was also responsible for shows like “Picket Fences”, “The Practice” or “Chicago Hope”. He has got a sure hand concerning the looks of a show and the editing, so it is no surprise that “Ally McBeal” is a piece of good craftsmanship. The Law firm might look a bit overdone (considering that it was just founded) but Ally’s apartment for example looks very realistic and much more down to earth than the ones you usually find in a series portraying young people2. Another important factor in the performance of the show is the very appropriate and stylish use of music. Almost all of the songs appearing on the show are sung by the same artist (Vonda Shepard) and they are always chosen to fit the situation Ally finds herself in.

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