Boston Legal and Activism

I am a HUGE fan of the now-cancelled court dramedy Boston Legal. Especially if you're a liberal, this show has the most ingenious courtroom scenes on television. The issues it raises are both absurdly entertaining AND, most importantly, extremely progressive and topical. 


Aside from it's amazing cast, the series is brilliant on at least three levels:

#1) The Closing Arguments

It deals beautifully with great, relevant topics every episode. Episodes often deal with legal issues recently introduced in real American court rooms, or with issues that SHOULD be dealt with in real court rooms. The ebb and flow of arguments for and against, plus some beautifully written and acted closing arguments make the episodes really shine. James Spader, specifically, performs some awe-inspiring arguments and closings that match any great rhetoric or moral conscience. 

#2) The Balcony

Almost every episode ends with Alan Shore and Denny Crane smoking cigars, drinking scotch, and reflecting on the day’s events from the balcony of Denny’s executive office suite. These scenes are so special because the friendship between Spader's Alan Shore and Shatner's Denny Crane is one of the most beautiful fictional friendships ever written. The friendship is also a brilliant interplay between liberalism and conservatism.

Alan Shore is a fierce Democrat who believes in social justice. He has argued against the death penalty, abuse of the 1st amendment in protecting the worst in religions, big tobacco, the credit industry, the gambling industry, radical prejudice, and -- for lack of a more concise term -- George W Bush.  
    
Denny Crane, on the other hand, is a stout Republican. He believes in big business, old-fashioned values, the second amendment / NRA, free-enterprise, and American exceptionalism. He staunchly argues against a liberal town from succeeding from the USA, argues for the 2^nd Amendment, and even for the right of a home-owner to protect his property by means of electrocution.

Their friendship is great because, despite their seemingly incompatible beliefs and ideologies – not to mention their frequent falling outs – they share one of the great bromances of our time. They are each other’s “flamingos”.

#3) The Heart + The Silliness

Boston Legal is both brilliantly topical and ridiculously silly. The friendship of Alan and Denny is just one great example. They are both silly, dysfunctional, sexist, and unabashedly confident. They also get into all kinds of hijinx in and out of court.

Yet, at the same time it’s an endearing friendship of two completely different people finding a soulmate in the other. It is also a friendship between  one person at the height of his legendary legal career and another who -- suffering from Alzheimer’s disease -- struggles to keep his legendary reputation and pride from utter ruin.

In this vain, Boston Legal often balances bizarre shtick with topical and moving issues – and it does a great job of delivering on both accounts. If you haven’t seen it, please pick up a season on DVD or catch it in syndication! If you do neither, then I hope you still enjoy the clips I have selected for the purpose of bringing different topical issues under discussion. I hope you argue or supplement the views of the characters and myself on the comments section.     

Boston Legal - Argument for Legalized Prostitution

In this scene, Jerry Espenson (played by Christian Clemenson) argues that it has been estimated that legalized prostitution could lower the rape rate by as much as 25%.

Also, criminalizing prostitution doesn't work -- it never has. Making it illegal is a stubborn way of trying to impose a moral viewpoint, but ends up only making it more dangerous. It creates revenue of criminals and is connected with the child sex trade and slave trafficking.

On the other hand, if it became legal we could regulate it -- reducing occurrences of STIs and AIDS. He also hints that we could protect the sex workers themselves, giving them benefits such as insurance (though I would add a fair wage, free health checks, and protection through labour law). Also, we could keep prostitutes from ending up in the morgue. As of now they're easy targets from pimps and customers. Legalizing prostitution can literally save lives.

And -- TRUMP CARD -- we could TAX this billion dollar industry. And tax money can help Support The Troops! Jerry wins!

Unfortunately he doesn't, but this scene demonstrates the brilliance of Boston Legal in that it is very smart and topical, while also being extremely off-beat and silly. Jerry suffers from Asperger's syndrome which gives him various nervous ticks and quirks. In this scene, he argues with his hands planted on his thighs while walking around in circles.

The prosecuting attorney in this scene is played by Gina Torres who played Zoe in the TV show "Firefly".

Boston Legal - Alan Shore argues for Condoms and against Abstinence Only Education

In this scene, from s04e03 "The Chicken and the Leg", Alan Shore (played by James Spader) argues against abstinence only education. His client, a 15 year old girl, was taught abstinence only. When she finally gave in to her biological urges she had unprotected sex. As a result, she contracted HIV. 

In this episode, Alan Shore helps her sue her school because it chose to teach abstinence only education in order to receive federal funding from the Bush Administration.

In his powerful closing argument, Shore argues that the condom is perhaps the most important invention of the last 3000 years, and for schools to discredit the effectiveness of condoms is akin to conspiracy to commit murder. He details how the health of the world depends on condoms, how important they've become since the rise of HIV, how there's no evidence linking abstinence only education to lower teenage pregnancy rates, and how some the the abstinence only literature shamefully and wrongfully compares using a condom to playing Russian roulette.