Uncle Orson Reviews 1998

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Prime Time Drama

The Practice. Of all the David Kelley series I've loved and hated, this one is the least smug ("Picket Fences" still holds the record for despicable self-righteousness) and the most intensely truthful. The cast is superb, the writing clever, the stories compelling. Best of all, it does not seem to be undergoing second-year collapse the way Bochco's series usually have. This is partly because Kelley has not forgotten to have compelling cases for these lawyers to deal with each week. Continuing "soap opera" stories about the characters' personal lives are fine -- but not when they interfere with the engine that drives the show: the legal maneuvering and battling. This is one of the best shows ever on television.

Law & Order. I watch it in reruns. I watch it in syndication. I watch it on Wednesday nights. I watch it regardless of cast changes -- though the cast is always excellent. The writers do suck stories out of the headlines, but they always spin them in interesting ways and rarely make issues too simple or one-sided. And if you watch "Law & Order" regularly, you'll see the stars of tomorrow cycle through the guest roles. Whoever does their casting is superb.

E.R. What can I say? I'm an American. This show is good and stays good. Unlike "Chicago Hope," which, despite some excellent cast members, quickly degenerated into show-off writing and directing tricks distracting from forgettable soap-opera storylines following annoying characters, the writers of "E.R." do a superb job of keeping characters alive without losing hold of the engine driving this show: the medical, ethical, and educational problems in a teaching hospital.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Better writing and better acting than the premise ever deserved, this show keeps its vigor and, yes, truthfulness -- despite the utter vapidity of the vampire premise.

The X-Files. The biggest tease in television, Chris Carter has managed somehow to keep us intrigued by putting the deadpan cast of "Dragnet" into teasing "Twilight Zone" situations -- mostly by the quality of the writing, which is always clever without ever showing off.

Homicide: Life on the Streets. I'm not sure yet about the post-Andre Braugher era. The rest of the ensemble is talented, yes, but the writing here seems to take second place to the style, which gives these actors less to work with -- even though the show wants to be more real and personal than any of the other dramas on TV.

NYPD Blue. Like all series with the Bochco name -- excepting only "Hill Street Blues" -- this show frequently loses its way, getting too caught up in long-term personal storylines that quickly cloy. They killed Jimmy Smits's character only moments before I did it myself. And the mumble-and-gripe quality of the remaining male characters is a serious problem. Only the strong women on this show keep me watching. Come to think of it, that's much of the reason why I watch "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal," too.

Ally McBeal. I know, it's listed for the Emmys as a comedy, but that's bunk. Just like any of the other legal dramas, this series rises and falls on its dramatic storylines, not on comic shtick. Kelley has not invented a new hour-long comedy form, he's simply raised comic relief on a traditional one-hour drama to the n^th degree. Callista Flockhardt is the most watchable actress on television today, not because she's thin or pretty, and not because of her "cuteness" tricks -- which she'd better reign in when she works outside this show -- but because she is simply a remarkable talent with a breathtakingly powerful ego -- in other words, a star with staying power. People keep comparing her to Audrey Hepburn, but what I see in her is more like Katherine Hepburn. Picture her in any Katherine Hepburn role and you'll see what I mean.

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