LA Law: Season One

Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, this series that refreshed the TV legal drama debuted in 1986 just as Bochco's signature TV series, Hill Street Blues, was winding down its final season. Harry Hamlin stars as young partner Michael Kuzak, a handsome hotshot balancing career and conscience, with Richard Dysart as Leland McKenzie, the paternal senior partner of a successful law firm, and Alan Rachins as number two man Douglas Brackman, Jr., who is more concerned with money than anything else (including civility). Jimmy Smits appears in his first major role as streetwise litigator Victor Sifuentes, the new guy in the firm, while Susan Dey costars as an assistant DA romanced by Michael, and Corbin Bernsen, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, and Michele Greene fill out the associates. LA Law features plenty of courtroom theatrics and eccentric clients—typical of Bochco and staff writer David E. Kelley (who went on to create Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Boston Legal)—but the series relies on the legal team to carry the show and this able ensemble does just that. It's mix of character drama, inventive writing, offbeat humor, and unusual cases made it an iconic show of its era, nabbing five Emmy awards (out of 20 nominations) in its debut season. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 1986-87 first season, extras include new interviews with series co-creator Bochco and many of the show's stars. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)