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Ally McBeal - Series 2 Part 1

Starring: Calista Flockhart, Courtney ThorneSmith
Director: Alex Graves, Ben Lewin, Bethany Rooney, David Grossman, Tom Moore
Original UK Premiere: 1998
Dvd Release: 7th October, 2002
Number Of Discs: 3
Format: Box set, Full Screen, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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[DVD Review]
[Biographies]
[Articles/Resources]
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Background Information: Ally Mcbeal
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Ally McBeal was an American television dramedy devised by David E Kelley, with Calista Flockhart in the title role as a young, attractive lawyer working in the fictional Boston law firm Cage & Fish, filled with a cast of similarly young, attractive lawyers who live & love highly melodramatically. The show ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002. Despite its legal settings, the show pays little attention to the actual practice of law, using legal manoeuvers as plot devices to push the main thrust of the showforward. The shows use of fantasy sequences to illustrate the characters inner thoughts was particularly notable, along with the characters regular visits to a particular bar where singer & cast member Vonda Shepard regularly performed. Ally McBeal was hugely successful, but received much criticism from TV critics & feminists who found the title character annoying & demeaning to women because of her lack of demonstrated legal knowledge & extreme emotional instability & unreliability. Flockharts visible loss of weight by the second season also caused much media speculation. Posters Of Ally Mcbeal
Editorial DVD Review
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At the start of Series Two of the Boston law firm drama, nothing much had changed at Richard Fishs rather kooky establishment. Ally was still a skinny, whimsical woman-child looking for Mr Right. Billy was still married to Georgia , John Cage was still too eccentric to be considered for romantic involvement, Elaine was still a nosey meddler & Fish himself was still looking for ways to make money. Lots of it. Greed prompts him to hire new litigator Nelle , a tall, blonde power-dresser who leaves the other women bristling in her wake. But their antipathy towards their new colleague is nothing compared to the forces of hatred spiky Ling inspires. Before long John & Nelle are embarking on a tempestuous romance, Ally is stealing Elaines new boyfriend before going out with one of Georgias exes & Billy begins to show the signs of instability which lead to him to bleach his hair blonde in the following season. Allys outspoken flatmate Renee got a welcome increase in her time on screen in this second season. Despite the sheer number of episodes David E Kelley & his team turn around each year, this second series consistently provided entertaining viewing to the last, despite, or perhaps because of, some of the characters being so unlikable. The inter-office banter reached new heights of inventive bitchiness, the comic CGI illustrations of Allys imagination still felt reasonably fresh & the court cases managed to combine oddity with emotional involvement. All in all this group of dysfunctional & rather incestuous workaholics proved curiously engaging yet again.
Biography: Calista Flockhart
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Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress. She is most well-known for her starring role as the temperamental lawyer in the 1997-2002 television show, Ally McBeal. Calista Flockhart was born in Freeport, Illinois, to Kraft Food executive Ronald Flockhart, his English-teaching wife, Kay Calista & as a sibling to her older brother Gary Flockhart. Reversing her own first & second names, her mother named her Calista Kay. The name Calista means most beautiful in Greek. Because her fathers job required the family to move often, Calista was raised with brother Gary in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, upstate New York & New Jersey. As a child, she wrote a play called Toyland in which she performed to a small audience at a dinner party. However, she never professed an ambition to become an actor, instead claiming she wanted to be a clown when she grew up. Beginning in 1978 & graduating in 1982, Flockhart attended Shawnee High School in Medford Township, New Jersey. She served on the Student Council, participated in the drama program & became a cheerleader. Posters Of Calista Flockhart

Editors Choice: Ally Mcbeal, Jane Doe, View DVDology

Biography: David Grossman
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David Grossman is an Israeli author. He studied philosophy & theater at Hebrew University. For Israels state radio service, Kol Israel, he worked as a correspondent & radio actor. He was one of the presenters of Cat in a Sack, a childrens program that was broadcast from 1970 to 1984. On that program his book Duel was first aired as a radio drama. There as well, with Dani Eldar, he ran the popular absurdist series Stutz. He is married & the father of three children. His books have been translated into many languages & published around the world. In 1984 he won the Prime Ministers Prize for Creative Work & was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Grossman writes for children, teens & adults. The Smile of the Lamb. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990. Washington Square Press, 1990. Jonathan Cape, 1991. Picador, 1992. The Zigzag Kid. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997. Bloomsbury, 1997. Love. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989. Jonathan Cape, 1989. Washington Square Press, 1990. Pan Books, 1991. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997. Vintage, 1999. Picador, 2002. The Yellow Wind. Posters Of Ally Mcbeal

Editors Choice: Ally Mcbeal, George Of The Jungle 2, Angel, View DVDology

Biography: Tom Moore
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Thomas J Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. Along with his brothers Matt & Owen, he emigrated to America & all went on to Hollywood, California & to successful careers in motion pictures. Tom Moore appeared in his first motion picture in 1912 & directed the 1915 film The Secret Room. Frequently cast as the romantic lead, he starred in many silent films as well as in some of the first sound films. In 1914, he married silent film star Alice Joyce, with whom he had a daughter named Alice who, in later years, would act in films with her father. While in New York City on New Year’s Eve 1920 Tom Moore met the young French actress Renee Adorée. A whirlwind romance ensued & six weeks after meeting, they were married on February 12, 1921 in his home in Beverly Hills, California. The marriage lasted only a few years & in 1931 Tom Moore married a third time to Eleanor Merry. The Great Depression saw many studios close & much consolidation as the motion industry went through tough times & Tom Moore retired from film in the mid 1930s. Posters Of Ally Mcbeal

Editors Choice: Ally Mcbeal, Geppetto, Danielle Steels Fine Things, Heartbeat, View DVDology

Additional Articles & Resources:
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Tom Moore: | Wikipedia Article * |
David Grossman: | David Grossman | Wikipedia Article * |
Calista flockhart: | Wikipedia Article * |
Ally Mcbeal: | Wikipedia Article * |
Link To This Article:
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