Regular Cast
James Spader as Alan Shore
William Shatner as Denny Crane
Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson (Season 1)
Lake Bell as Sally Heep (Season 1)
Monica Potter as Lori Colson
Mark Valley as Brad Chase
Rene Auberjonois as Paul Lewiston (Seasons 2 - )
Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt (Seasons 2 - )
Ryan Michelle Bathe as Sara Holt (Seasons 2 - )
Julie Bowen as Denise Bauer (Seasons 2 - )
Justin Mentell as Garrett Wells (Seasons 2 - )

Boston Legal
Alan Shore and Denny Crane lead the brigade of high-priced civil litigators in an upscale Boston law firm in a series focusing on the professional and personal lives of brilliant, but often emotionally-challenged, attorneys. Fast-paced, darkly comedic, the series will confront social issues, moral conscience, safe sex, pursuit of happiness and money, with varying degrees of priority. Escape to the law firm on One Fleet Street.-where anything goes… and often will.

Season One

1. Oct 3, 2004: Head Cases
   When esteemed partner Edwin Poole makes a shocking entrance at the morning meeting, Brad Chase, up from the Washington, DC office, is forced to stay in Boston longer than planned, finding himself instantly at odds with Alan Shore, both professionally and personally. Meanwhile, on a dare, Shore takes the case of an African American girl who is denied the lead role in the national tour of Annie, and Denny Crane gets caught having an affair with the wife of the firm's biggest client.
    
2. Oct 10, 2004: Still Crazy After All These Years
   Alan Shore represents an ex-lover who was institutionalized after attempting to murder him, and the partners are concerned by Denny Crane's increasingly erratic behavior.
    
3. Oct 17, 2004: Catch and Release
   Denny Crane's long-lost son, Donny Crane (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) — himself an attorney — represents environmental interests against the development of a shopping mall by one of Crane, Poole & Schmidt's major clients. Meanwhile Shore, with Lori serving as second chair, tries a sexual harassment case, with his ex-lover, Christine — whom he recently helped get released from a mental institution and who, he now fears, is stalking him — serving as opposing counsel. And Sally tries her first case, defending a man who was caught stealing red-handed.
    
4. Oct 24, 2004: Change of Course
   When Edwin Poole escapes from the mental hospital and wanders into a criminal courtroom, he shocks the firm by taking on the pro-bono case of a man accused of murdering a police officer. Brad Chase persuades Lori Colson to use her skills from her days as a D.A. and serve as first chair in the defense. Meanwhile, Shore is encouraged by a senior partner to use extreme measures to defend a company CEO charged with shoplifting and to keep the case from going public.
    
5. Oct 31, 2004: An Eye for an Eye
   When mayoral candidate Jack Fleming has his bid for Boston's highest office threatened by dirty politics just days before the election, his wife, Samantha, seeks the help of longtime friend Alan Shore… whose tactics put him on a collision course with the city's new power elite. Meanwhile, Lori takes the case of a man, Richard Kirkland, whose ex-wife refuses to release their son's umbilical cord blood that was stored at the time of his birth, which may be the only hope Kirkland has to fight his cancer, and Lori is forced to tell him some very difficult news.
    
6. November 7, 2004: Truth Be Told:
   Dana Delany guest stars as Shore's dream lover from college, now wed to a slick mayoral candidate who hires Shore to block his opponent's provocative TV-ad campaign. Meanwhile, a power struggle embroils Crane.
    
7. November 21, 2004: Questionable Characters:
   A showcase for the wily, agitating Alan Shore, who badgers a dotty judge; romances ara, whom he surreptitiously helps in a thorny criminal case; and backs Crane, who's been arrested for solicitation.
    
8. November 28, 2004: Loose Lips:
   A suit with a Yule theme finds Shore defending a gay cross-dressing Santa, contesting his dismissal from his department-store role. Rev. Al Sharpton appears as himself. Another thorny case involves doctor-patient privilege.
    
9. December 5, 2004: A Greater Good:
   Ethical issues embattle Shore and Crane, at odds as cocounsels representing a drug company in a civil suit that hinges on the testimony of a conflicted MD (Gina Rivera). Also, out-of-court impropriety busies Tara, who's guilefully conning an
    opposing lawyer.
10. December 12, 2004: Hired Guns:
    A homicide embroils Chase, who distinguishes himself in the defense of a wronged wife (Megan Ward) charged with killing her philandering husband and his lover. Elsewhere, a child-custody battle endangers Shore, who's held hostage by a
     crazed father.
     
11. January 9, 2005: Schmidt Happens:
    Candice Bergen joins the cast as a founding partner of the firm — and former lover of Denny Crane — who lends zeal to a suit against the U.S. over its foreign policy in Sudan. Elsewhere, an apparent matricide embroils Shore with a client who's clearly over the edge.
     
12. January 16, 2005: From Whence We Came:
    Echoes of the Scopes Trial pervade a case that centers on teaching creationism to eighth-grade students. Betty White has a cameo in a role she created on The Practice. Also, an acquitted killer returns to haunt Shore, who's further embattled with charges of sexual harassment.
     
13. January 23, 2005: It Girls and Beyond:
    An MD's ethics are questioned in a case that involves an unapproved diet drug, which the doctor sold to a patient who's obese. Meanwhile, a suit entangles lesbian partners over their personal and business relationships.
     
14. February 13, 2005: 'Til We Meat Again:
    Where's the beef? Not in a Massachusetts burg out to ban red-meat sales. So a steak-house owner sues. Elsewhere, Shore faces battery-conspiracy charges over a bar brawl; and Lori's drawn to a persuasive lawyer (Rick Yune) who refers to himself as ?sexy man.?
     
15. February 20, 2005: Tortured Souls:
    Freddie Prinze Jr. returns as unruly lawyer Donny Crane, opposing Denny in a suit over a cancelled wedding. Also, a case of police brutality entangles Shore with Schmidt.
     
16. Mar 13, 2005: Let Sales Ring
    Milton Bombay is asking the courts to allow him to be frozen until another century so he can continue his legacy of being a great lawyer and needs Denny and Shirley to defend him. Alan and Chelina defends a high school student who accuses his teacher of censorship when he blocks out a news station on the school's televisions.
     
17. Mar 20, 2005: Death Be Not Proud
    Chelina asks Alan to assist her in Texas because her former client is getting executed but may be innocent of the crime. An old friend of Denny and Shirley asks them for legal representation when she charged with having sexual encounters for a fee. Lori files a complaint about Denny with Shirley and Paul and they seriously consider doing something about it; especially when they suspect he performed an unethical act on his recent case.

Season Two

1. Sept 27, 2005: Black Widow
   Alan Shore and Brad Chase represent Kelly Nolan (Heather Locklear), a cold-as-ice- beauty dubbed “The Black Widow” by the media, on trial for poisoning her wealthy and much older husband. Denny Crane lusts after Mrs. Nolan and begs Shore to let him lend a hand in any way possible. Denise Bauer enlists junior associates Garrett Wells and Sara Holt to assist her on a case involving a Jewish man who feels his civil rights were violated when his Christian co-workers held Bible readings in the workplace. To complicate matters, Denise’s husband serves her with divorce papers in front of them. Meanwhile, Shirley Schmidt and Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra) defend a respected surgeon accused of sexually assaulting a mute woman, who ultimately testifies by very unconventional means. Shore is taken aback when he finds out that opposing counsel on the case is Tara’s former lover, Malcolm Holmes (Rupert Everett).
    
2. Oct 04, 2005: Schadenfreude
   In the midst of a media circus, the murder trial of Kelly Nolan (Heather Locklear), AKA 'The Black Widow,' gets underway with defense team Alan Shore, Brad Chase and Denny Crane. Can they pull off an acquittal in this seemingly un-winnable case, with the media playing judge and jury and a defendant who is unapologetically cold as ice? Meanwhile Denise Bauer, intent on avoiding alimony payment to her soon-to-be-ex-husband, enlists the help of junior associates Garrett Wells and Sara Holt to challenge the constitutionality of no-fault divorce; Holmes (Rupert Everett) convinces Tara (Rhona Mitra), who's desperately trying to avoid his charming advances, to help represent his client, Johnny Damon (Russell Andrews) -- Damon, singer Edwin Starr's nephew, wants to be allowed to sing his late uncle's trademark song, "War," at a club where the owner has deemed the song un-American -- and a frightened Catherine (Betty White) goes to the police when Bernard (Leslie Jordan) calmly tells her that he fantasizes about committing another murder.
    
3. 11 Oct 05 Finding Nimmo
   Reeling over his break-up with Tara, Alan Shore heads to Nimmo Bay in British Columbia with Denny Crane for some fly fishing and male bonding in an effort to cure his pain. When they learn that the salmon population is being threatened by sea lice produced by fish farms, Shore and Crane feel compelled to act. Meanwhile Catherine Piper drops a bombshell on Shirley Schmidt when she confesses to killing Bernard Ferrion (Leslie Jordan) by whacking him over the head with a skillet, and the firm scrambles to find the best way to deal with this shocking turn of events. And Sara Holt and Garrett Wells go to extremes to convince Reverend Diddum (Kurt Fuller), the divorce attorney for Denise Bauer's husband, to decrease the alimony settlement she is required to pay him.
    
4. 18 Oct 05 A Whiff and a Prayer
   Forced by a client to put Denny Crane on the case, Shirley Schmidt reluctantly enlists his help to defend a Democratic Congressman being sued for not keeping a campaign promise to pass a ban on assault weapons. The right-wing Crane is an unlikely defender from the start, but Schmidt really wonders if she made the right decision when he goes missing the day of his closing. Meanwhile, Alan Shore, still reeling from Tara's exit, focuses on defending Catherine Piper (Betty White), accused of murdering his client, Bernard Ferrion. And Reverend Diddum (Kurt Fuller), Denise Bauer's ex-husband's lawyer, threatens to report Sara Holt and Garret Wells to their superiors for their ruse to get him to drastically reduce his client's alimony -- but he'll forget the whole matter if Sara gives in to a sexually perverse request.
    
5. 25 Oct 05 Men to Boys
   When an old case she neglected comes up for trial, Denise Bauer frantically prepares for her defense against an auto manufacturer whose defective pick-up truck caused a fire that killed a terminally ill woman. Garrett Wells' research trip to the file room of the opposing law firm turns steamy when he meets Cassie (Tamara Feldman), an audaciously outspoken paralegal. Meanwhile Alan Shore, still trying to get over Tara Wilson, takes Sara Holt to dinner and embarrasses her by giving his own public service announcement to a crowded restaurant. And when Lori Colson (Monica Potter) files an internal complaint against Denny Crane for sexual harassment, Shirley Schmidt insists that he apologize, leading Denny from the frying pan into the fire.
    
6. 1 Nov 05 Witches of Mass Destruction
   Shirley Schmidt and Denise Bauer represent two groups of parents, one Christian and the other Wiccan -- a pagan religion -- who are suing to get rid of a school's Halloween pageant for its wicked witch. The Christians feel their faith is being marginalized by a satanic symbol, and the Wiccans claim that Halloween images stereotype them - especially after the school's principal gives a riveting demonstration of her cackling, green witch. Meanwhile, Garrett Wells takes Cassie (Tamara Feldman), the paralegal with whom he's involved, to see Alan Shore and ask him to represent her in suing the U.S. government, to vindicate the death of her brother, killed in the Iraq war. Shore takes on the unconventional case, but his friendship with Denny Crane is threatened since Crane strongly feels that one shouldn't criticize the military while the country is at war. The strained friendship threatens the annual office Halloween party, where they both were to dress up as giant flamingoes.
    
7. 8 Nov 05 Truly, Madly, Deeply
   Denny Crane is appalled that he should have to do pro bono work for a non-repentant man who raped and killed a 13-year-old girl, so he goes to extremes to get off the case - an effort that lands him in jail. Meanwhile, Alan Shore and Brad Chase defend a TV station that has fired Zozo the Clown (Joel McKinnon Miller) for talking to his young viewers about environmental issues. During the trial, Brad is surprised to learn that Alan's childhood fear of clowns prevents him from addressing Zozo in court. And, when a long-time client comes to Shirley Schmidt to stop his wife's action to annul their 23-year marriage, Schmidt is taken aback when she learns how the man cheated on his wife.
    
8. 15 Nov 05 The Ass Fat Jungle
   When Alan Shore experiences the return of his night terrors - where he sleepwalks and could physically hurt himself - he asks his new, attractive secretary, Melissa, if she would moonlight and sleep with him to keep him from hurting himself. Meanwhile, if Alan agrees to get an MRI for his night terrors, then Denny Crane will agree to undergo one to determine whether he has Alzheimer's or Mad Cow disease. Meanwhile, Shirley Schmidt is reluctant to take a case in which the teenaged son of a rich client is accused of vehicular manslaughter, and she becomes even more reluctant when she has to interview the only eye witness, an elderly woman with Alzheimer's. And Denise Bauer is asked to represent two women who claim that Boston's most famous plastic surgeon injected his own butt fat into their lips, when they believed the fat was coming from their bodies.
    
9. 6 Dec 05 Gone
   While Denise Bauer shops with her housekeeper and the woman’s four-year-old son, the unthinkable happens when the boy is kidnapped by a known pedophile. An FBI special agent tells them that technicalities prevent the Bureau from getting involved, but he strongly suggests that, as private citizens, Denise and Brad Chase conduct their own investigation. Their frantic search eventually takes them to Father Ryan (Richard Fancy), a priest who refuses to help since he can’t break his confessional seal. Meanwhile, a homeless man throws a rock at Denny Crane for not acknowledging his request for money and Denny shoots him – with a paintball gun. When the man shows up at Crane, Poole & Schmidt for compensation, Denny adamantly refuses to consider his request, but Alan Shore takes the man’s case, pitting the friends against each other.
    
10. 13 Dec 05 Legal Deficits
    Brad Chase pushes for an immediate trial after he is arrested for impersonating an FBI officer and assaulting a priest during the rescue of a kidnapped child. Shirley Schmidt is worried about how this case may reflect on the firm and is reluctant to consent to Brad’s request for the erratically-behaving Denny Crane to be the lead attorney. Meanwhile, Alan Shore tries to bail out his secretary, Melissa (Marisa Coughlan), who is in serious credit card debt, and seeks the assistance of the firm’s quirky but brilliant bank and finance genius, "Hands" Espenson (Christian Clemenson).
     
11. 10 Jan 06 The Cancer Man Can
    The law firm represents Daniel Post (Michael J. Fox), a CEO battling terminal lung cancer who used his status with a pharmaceutical company to ensure that he receive the non-placebo in a promising anti-cancer drug test. Now, another participant in the test study is suing him. During one of Post’s visits to Crane, Poole & Schmidt, the charismatic man meets and becomes romantically involved with the firm’s Denise Bauer. Meanwhile, Denny Crane is attracted to Beverly Bridge (Joanna Cassidy), a fifty-year-old attractive predator trolling for a husband amongst her high-net-worth peers. And Alan Shore advocates on behalf of “Hands” (Christian Clemenson), a fellow quirky employee in his quest for partnership at Crane, Poole & Schmidt.
     
12. 17 Jan 06 Helping Hands
    Daniel Post (Michael J. Fox) convinces his new love, Denise Bauer, that he should second-chair in her case against overbearing parents who harass their teenaged daughter’s teacher. Meanwhile, Shirley Schmidt makes life difficult for Alan Shore as he prepares his defense of Jerry “Hands” Espenson (Christian Clemenson), the firm’s brilliant but quirky attorney who held a cake knife to Shirley’s throat. And the partners at Crane, Poole and Schmidt worry about Denny Crane’s impending nuptials and the kind of influence his future wife, Beverly Bridge (Joanna Cassidy), could have over the firm.
     
13. 24 Jan 06 Too Much Information
    Alan Shore bails out Catherine Piper (Betty White) after she goes on a spree of convenience store holdups. Meanwhile, Denise Bauer sues an HMO for inadequate internet security that led to a brutal murder -- all the while trying to get through to her hospitalized boyfriend, Daniel Post (Michael J. Fox), who won’t take her phone calls. And, as the partners begin to see Beverly Bridge’s influence on Denny Crane, Brad Chase makes her a proposition and tries to convince her to leave Denny.
     
14. 7 Feb 06 Breast in Show
    The terminally ill Daniel Post (Michael J. Fox) hosts his own funeral, an event that Denise Bauer would rather not attend. Meanwhile, Alan Shore takes an interest in a woman who causes a political uproar when she leads a protest with hundreds of bare-breasted women. And Catherine Piper (Betty White), who is now the office building’s new sandwich lady, decides that the office of junior associate Garrett Wells is the perfect spot for her to do her accounting work.
     
15. 14 Feb 06 Smile
    Alan Shore files a discrimination suit against a private school that refuses to admit a gifted nine-year-old girl with nerve damage that makes it impossible for her to smile. Since Brad Chase’s attempt to bribe Denny Crane’s fiancée, Beverly Bridge (Joanna Cassidy), failed miserably, she threatens to tell Denny what happened unless Brad can find a legal loophole to save her sickly cat from her ex-husband, who wants to take it off of life support. Meanwhile, Shirley Schmidt and Julie Bauer defend a teenaged girl who was brutally raped and is now pregnant. The girl wants to sue the Catholic hospital where she was treated because they refused to provide her with emergency contraception.
     
16. 21 Feb 06 Live Big
    While trying to woo her back, Shirley Schmidt’s ex-husband, Ivan Tiggs (Tom Selleck), wants her to be his ‘best man’ at his upcoming wedding with an annoyingly perky woman. Meanwhile, Paul Lewiston’s estranged daughter, Rachel, who he claims blindly stole from him to feed her drug and alcohol habits, comes back into his life after seven years. And Alan Shore defends a man who said he was only complying with his wife’s wishes when he assisted in ending her life.
     
17. 27 Feb 06 ...There's Fire
    Within three hours of getting married, Denny Crane is caught with another woman and Bev Bridge (Joanna Cassidy) demands an annulment plus 50% of her brand new husband’s worth. While the attorneys from Crane, Poole & Schmidt frantically rally around their colleague to rescue him, Bev hires the slick, handsome divorce lawyer Eli Granger (Corbin Bernsen) to represent her. Meanwhile, Alan Shore defends Joan Zeder (Nicole Sullivan), who was fired from her job after being unable to adhere to the company’s strict no-smoking policy.