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Nov 23, 2009, 2:16am

The James Spader Meeting Place :: General :: "The Practice" :: TP Alan and BL Alan

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vanilla
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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #15 on Aug 28, 2006, 1:10am »

madinirose1 I really enjoyed reading your post on TP an BL Alan.

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #16 on Aug 28, 2006, 9:17am »

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I don't really see that we disagree. And, of course, there's character development.

Some of us, like you, agree that the Alan from S2 is losing his zing, and IMHO, that is part of the reason the ratings are sliding, and part of the reason JS did not get an Emmy nomination. It IS just my opinion, however.

We don't disagree on the lost of Alan's edginess, but I think we disagree on whether or not this is a good or bad thing. I actually like S2 of Boston Legal better than S1. This is because there is more character development in S2 than S1 and TP. However, I'm worried that the writers may go too far to the "soft side." Right now, I feel that they have a good balance and despite Alan's "softening", he's still interesting. Especially when he's pitted with Denny, Catherine, Shirley and other characters from Boston Legal. I just think if they make Alan even softer; that's it, they have ruined him. S2 is the softest I want Alan to be. Sure, having him play the same games he did with TP and S1 over and over again may prove boring in the long-run, but there's still more "shaking up" and havoc he can cause at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt. It's a balancing act that the writers must play in order to keep the show interesting. And I don't envy them.

Also, I think there are other reasons why James didn't get a third Emmy. Award shows are very political and they probably didn't want to give him yet another Emmy due to how it may look. Sure, in the eyes of the Emmys, the material in S2 was probably not as strong as S1, but you can't ignore the politicking that goes on with these things. And a lot of times, merit is not an issue (or is secondary in the minds of those who give out these awards).

I'm not upset that James didn't get another Emmy or wasn't even nominated this year. I've been a fan since 1997 and have no plans to stop anytime soon. It was nice that James finally got the recognition he deserved, but his career and acting skills transcends the politics that goes into any awards show (be it the Emmys, Oscars, SAGs, etc). I'm just glad that his talent is being seen by more people. When stating that I am a Spader fan, I no longer have people looking at me puzzled (because they barely know who he is) or crazed (because they think he's untalented). And it's nice that one of my friends who's a fan of another actor (one who we both like immensely) has now become a Spader fan as well. I think that's totally awesome.

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steph
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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #17 on Dec 14, 2006, 11:17am »

Hi,

for me it was very difficult to get "The Practice" Season 8, where Alan Shore came in. But I solved the problem. I watched all episodes. All of them are great. I love Alan and the other ones in this series.

Alan told only in a very short moment that he was a widower. Never told again. Does anyone knows more???? He don't like to speak of his private live as Alan. I think he doesn't really know what he wants. That one of the reasons he took every risk. He goes to places where no one would go. He needed it. I think he is a "searcher".

In BL he found his life. He is back again. He could be like Alan really is. Denny is one of the reasons why Alan act likes he do. He give him the background and help he needs with his friendship. They need each other. Denny is nothing without Alan. And Alan needs Denny. They are best friends. A friendship which could only be exist between men.

In one ep. Denny is really jealous about Jerry "hands" while he is standing with Alan on the balcony and have a drink. He will quit the friendship. Alan has to tell him, that he is the "only" best friend.

But back to the top. Alan in The Practice is a different man than in BL, in that point I agree with most of you. I like when he is wearing his eyeglasses. He is young and dynamic. He takes every risk for his clients to get the best solutions for them. He does every thing for his friends. Ok, he does many illegal thinks, but he knows that this is the only way to the justice.

In my opinion you have to watch TP first. There are many explanations in it, why e.g. Denny Crane say always his name etc. And it gives a explanation for the deep friendship of Denny and Alan.

I love both Alan's. The one out of TP and the one of BL.

Greetings

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #18 on Oct 13, 2007, 8:44am »

All I've seen of The Practice[ Season 8, is a short compilation someone posted on YouTube. However, the postings on this thread really made clear to me some things I'd found puzzling.

Of course the lighting is one important factor. In S1 of Boston Legal it wasn't as harsh as it became later - surely? You're probably correct in that it was the move from drama to comedy that caused the change but they could still vary it a little. Except for the balcony scenes we very seldom get that softer, darker, lighting.

I can see that the Alan of TP had to change and adapt for BL - he can no longer be constantly on the edge of being sacked or walking out but my personal feeling is that the friendship with Denny has taken the edge off Alan. Don't misunderstand me - I love Denny - but I like it when Denny is still very much the senior partner in CP&S. The episode when he turned the tables on Paul over being a rainmaker, and the one when he called Bev's bluff over their divorce is the kind of Denny I like to watch.

I think the trouble is that DEK and Bill d'Elia couldn't believe their luck at the chemistry between Spader and Shatner. In an iterview on the S1 DVD Bill d'Elia likened them to Laurel & Hardy who he obviously loved but I don't want to see them in this guise. I prefer them as friends who need each other - Alan to watch Denny's back and Denny to stand against Alan being sacked.

In the UK we haven't yet got S4 of BL but from the postings it would seem that Alan is very much back in form - maybe DEK, etc. do read the comments on the websites.

Anyway, thanks Sheri and Teacher, et al - maybe one day, one day, I'll be able to buy a DVD of S8 of TP and, (fingers crossed) at some point in the near future be able to enjoy S4.

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #19 on Jan 24, 2008, 3:42pm »

I've just finished watching Season 8 of TP and so much that I found puzzling at the start of "Boston Legal" now becomes clear.

In TP a lot more was explained about Alan's personality. We're shown a man who's good-looking, charismatic and has a brilliant mind but who doesn't see himself as OK and seems determined to destroy himself because he believes he should be punished. He distrusts 'love' and can neither give it nor receive it. He attracts women effortlessly but, as he tells Sally, while he can make women feel wonderful he always leaves them less so, presumably because they want to take the relationship to another level and he is unwilling/unable to do this.

The interaction between him and Tara in TP makes sense of what happens between them in BL. Tara is not prepared to settle for what Alan is only able to offer; it's only after she persuades herself that if she can influence the 'naughty' Alan that she starts a relationship, but it's ultimately doomed because he doesn't give her the intimacy she wants.

Even his brief affair with Sally becomes much more believable if you've seen them starting the relationship in TP.

Men don't like or trust Alan. When he meets Denny he finds someone who isn't threatened by Alan's success with women or his brilliance because Denny, the supreme egotist, would never consider anyone could be more successful with women or more brilliant than he is. They start out watching each other's backs but it turns into a genuine friendship - probably the first one Alan has had with someone of his own sex.

I can't understand why DEK didn't make it easier for Season 8 of TP to be available to those of us who love BL. IMO those 22 episodes are essential to our understanding of Alan and he, after all, was the basis on which the series was built.

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #20 on Mar 19, 2009, 2:36pm »

I fell in love with Alan Shore while watching Season 5 of BL on ABC as well as on ION and WGN. You might say I fell in love with Alan first.....and only then did I catch James Spader Fever

So I did it backwards in seeing BL before Season 8 of TP and watching the changes made in Alan from TP to BL was a very fascinating ride.

I know I've read comments somewhere in which people have said they preferred Alan's character in TP8 and I can definitely see why. First and foremost, he's edgier. He's a troubled individual in TP8 and as much as I loved his self-assurance, and bravado, it's obvious that under all that bluster and arrogance he suffers from self-loathing and in need of professional help. Tara senses this and tells him so. He's very complex and a fascinating character study.

As much as I love Alan in BL, he's a much different person. DEK made him more comical in some situations and while I understand that BL *is* formulated as more of a dramedy/dromedy or whatever....as the seasons progress, Alan at times becomes more of a caricature than a character. The Alan Shore of TP8 would never faint at the sight of seeing a former flame such as he did in seeing Lorraine in Season's 4 "Beauty and the Beast". Nor would he ever wear a ridiculous looking stars and stripes scuba diving outfit such as he did in Season 4's "Rescue Me".

Understand that when I watched the funny stuff in BL, I enjoyed it at the time...but after seeing the original Alan Shore in TP8, I just appreciated the vulnerability of his personality so much more in that he was more human and less of a buffoon. There was also a big different in Alan's appearance between the two series, especially going from TP8 into the first 2 seasons of BL but I guess this has been pretty much discussed already. Aside from the weight gain, his posture changed and by the time we got into BL3-5, he seemed to have developed the stance of holding his head back when talking to people or addressing a judge or jury in court, and standing so often with the palm of his hand placed against his upper stomach area. Maybe I'm being picky but it was just so obvious to me. Make no mistake; I love any and all of Alan Shore dearly.

I often wonder what James' thoughts would be on the subject of Alan Shore's character growth from TP8 to the end of BL5. I bet he'd have something interesting to say.

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #21 on Mar 20, 2009, 10:11am »

Mar 19, 2009, 2:36pm, mrs. alan shore wrote:

I often wonder what James' thoughts would be on the subject of Alan Shore's character growth from TP8 to the end of BL5. I bet he'd have something interesting to say.

I agree it would be interesting to have his personal views as to how - and why - Alan changed over the course of BL.

BYW Shirl I liked your post; I thought it very perceptive.

« Last Edit: Mar 20, 2009, 10:11am by gonegirl »

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #22 on Mar 20, 2009, 6:34pm »

I've been reading through some of the perspectives shared on Alan in TP and BL, very interesting stuff, I want to wait until I've seen the entire series of BL, which will be soon. I still have Season 3 to finish and then I would love to add to this discussion.

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #23 on May 13, 2009, 5:03am »

Very sharp analyses, all of them.
I have watched about half the episodes of BL so far and I am just beginning to watch episodes of TP. I find AS more interesting in TP than in BL by a long shot.
First, BL is essentially a comedy with dramatic moments (the latter taking place mainly in the courtroom whereas the comedic stuff happens more in CPS's offices). As a result, AS comedic character borders sometimes on caricature, which I find at times somewhat annoying.
Second, in TP JS was on a losing streak: a widower (it's not clear when he lost his wife), losing ground professionally, no ties, no friends, nobody he really loved (the relationship with Tara was sort of doomed from the start), nothing to live for except his job. So his self destructive tendencies were overtaking him, which is perfectly understandable. When you have lost (almost) everything, why should you care?
In BL, AS is on a winning streak: he is doing well professionnally, more accepted by his peers at CPS (despite his quirks) than he ever was at his former firm--every body has quirks at CPS, whereas Young, Frutt and co were extremely straight, boring and very leary of him.
Most of all, he's found a stable happy relationship with Denny, it grounds him, it gives him a reason to live--he says himself that he absolutely needs their daily balcony sessions.
In BL, he is obviously happier, fatter, debonair, more at peace with the world and himself despite the night terrors and fears of clowns, less cynical, less attracted to the dark side (no more prostitutes for him apparently), less autodestructive although far from being ready to commit to a stable relationship with a woman.
Since neither him nor Denny can ever be remotely faithful to a woman, their frienship gives them the emotional stability they crave without forcing them to curtail their tomcatting urges.
In BL, AS is happy, or at least as close to happiness he can ever be. Happiness does that to you; it makes you lose your edge; personnally, although I love BL and enjoy its comedic side, I think AS's character in TP is more complex and has more substance and depth than in BL.

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #24 on May 13, 2009, 8:37am »

May 13, 2009, 5:03am, francine wrote:

Francine I loved your comparison of the two Alans and I agree with you 100%, not that I do not absolutely LOVE "Boston Legal" and its version of Alan Shore. Just like you though I do prefer the edginess of "TP" Alan. What a great and complex character that was!!!!

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #25 on May 13, 2009, 10:05am »

Francine, I really enjoyed your take on the two Alans of TP and BL. I am in the middle of re-watching TP for the third time and I can see so many differences in them, in looks and personality. I love the edginess of TP Alan, but I don't like the fact he doesn't like himself and is self destructive, incapable of loving anyone. By the middle of season 1 of BL that edginess is all but gone, but he likes himself more and is much happier. DEK had to change him in order for the comedic flavor of BL to work. The humor is what drew me to BL in the first place.

As appealing as TP Alan was, I much prefer the BL Alan and miss him terribly. What a great character James and DEK created! :-*

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #26 on May 14, 2009, 8:08am »

Thanks leebee and jb

.
I'd say that BL is more fun and enjoyable and TP is darker but more interesting psychologically.
I am watching BL at the rate of 3 or 4 episodes a day, because I know that if I let myself go, I will completely go overboard and will spend the night glued to the screen.
it takes an iron will to respect this limit, it's like when I buy a box of fine (very dark) chocolates and decide I will eat no more than 3 per day, but on the other hand I don't want to run out of episodes to soon.
I fear withdrawal pains when I am thru watching all of them. :-D

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #27 on May 14, 2009, 9:35am »

May 14, 2009, 8:08am, francine wrote:

Thanks leebee and jb

I know exactly what you mean, Francine, but don't worry. If you're like me when you finish watching all the episodes, you'll just start all over again.

The anticipation of something "new" may be gone, but you'll enjoy them just as much. You will notice little nuances, things you didn't notice the first time, maybe an expression, something to bring you joy with this great series.

Enjoy!

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Re: TP Alan and BL Alan
« Reply #28 on May 14, 2009, 1:42pm »

You are right, leebee, I am already doing that with JS's movies-I have lost count of how many times I watched WP;
and hey, if I want something new, I can still buy DVDs of the TP, I just started to watch the show on TV and missed most of it.

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