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Season 1 – Ally McBeal

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Ally McBeal 1997 Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Ally McBeal is a young attorney who joins a prestigious law firm with a highly sexual environment and whose staff includes Ally's ex-boyfriend. The series contains fantasy sequences, flashbacks and voiceovers to reveal what Ally is really thinking. Many episodes contain an appearance by singer Vonda Shepard, who performed the show's theme song.
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Ally McBeal — Season 1

Ally McBeal — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

The debut season of Ally McBeal has its charms, but may prove irksome due to its borderline stereotypical depiction of women in the workplace.

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Critics Reviews

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Alynda Wheat Entertainment Weekly It's not that the show feels dated -- that original snap is still there -- it's just that TV's come a long way, baby. Rated: B+ Mar 13, 2019 Full Review Allan Johnson Chicago Tribune Ally McBeal has a spark of hope in her that you just can't turn your back on... How can one not root for someone like that, annoying flaws aside? Mar 13, 2019 Full Review Kate le Vann Independent (UK) It's easy to like characters who share our flaws, because if they're sexy, it lets us believe maybe our hang-ups are sexy too. But with her limp hair and bad suits... Ally has problems worth bonding with. Mar 12, 2019 Full Review Liz Kocan Decider While not all of the “edgy” aspects of the show will mean as much to a modern audience, you can still appreciate the show for what it was doing and how much it captured the zeitgeist of the time. And, nostalgia aside, it’s a well-written legal dramedy... Nov 12, 2024 Full Review Emma Clark-Dow The Post NZ Before there was Suits, before there was The Good Wife, there was Ally McBeal. Dec 2, 2022 Full Review Amanda Ripley Washington City Paper What woman can't relate to this scenario? Well, none, actually. Mar 13, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Fred C Season 1 is wonderful! Except for that same, exactly the same singer they push into every single episode, that was a really, really dumb decision. Imagine to get music that you really deeply hate pushed onto you every day, who thinks that is a great idea for a tv show? Really hope that they cut that out in the next seasons. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/09/21 Full Review Audience Member Ally Mcbeal was one of my favorite shows of the 90's!! Ally was to me everything a woman wants to be........she's cute, smart, beautiful, sexy, tough, loveable, and you might even despise her. The truth is Ally Mcbeal was a woman we all see ourselves in somehow, and I could never take my eyes off the screen. This show still holds up to shows on todays t.v. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Love these series since the beginning... its funny to see Ally love live mix with her fantasy and her law firm career. The writer done a good job making scenario which make the audiences laugh and entertained. Thats way these series has a huge fans world wide and in my oppinion in its own unique way, one of tv series that has big influence in its decade beside friends and baywatch. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Ally McBeal — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 8, 1997 Pilot Young lawyer Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) struggles to control her personal life. With Courtney Thorne-Smith, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jane Krakowski, Gil Bellows and Greg Germann. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 15, 1997 Compromising Positions Ally is duped by Richard and Whipper into a double date and winds up falling for her selected partner; John is arraigned on solicitation charges. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 22, 1997 The Kiss Ally senses something amiss on her date with Ronald; Georgia and Ally represent a news anchor (Kate Jackson) in an age-discrimination case. Details Episode 4 Aired Sep 29, 1997 The Affair Ally must confront her former professor's widow about the past when asked to be a pallbearer at his funeral; Billy upsets Georgia and Ronald. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 20, 1997 One Hundred Tears Away When Ally squabbles over the last bag of potato chips in a supermarket, she is provoked into getting arrested and must appear before the state bar review board. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 27, 1997 The Promise Ally resuscitates an overweight attorney who perceives her to be an angel; Ally struggles with the reality of the legal world while defending a client. Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 3, 1997 The Attitude Ally represents a woman (Brenda Vaccaro) asking her rabbi for a divorce from her comatose husband; Richard hires Georgia after she is forced out of her job. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 10, 1997 Drawing the Lines Ally and Georgia represent a woman whose wealthy husband wants to divorce her for another; Elaine files a harassment suit against the firm. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 17, 1997 The Dirty Joke Elaine's lawsuit changes direction, but the delivery woman decides to file suit against the firm; guest Sandra Bernhard. Details Episode 10 Aired Dec 1, 1997 Boy to the World Richard delivers a eulogy for his eccentric uncle; Ally represents a transvestite prostitute in a third-strike charge. Details Episode 11 Aired Dec 15, 1997 Silver Bells Ally works on a case similar to her relationship triangle; Renee and Vonda Shepard sing during the company Christmas party. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 5, 1998 Cro-Magnon Ally dates the male model who posed for her sculpture class; a 19-year-old faces assault charges for protecting his date. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 19, 1998 The Blame Game Ally and John take the case of a wrongful death that Richard thinks will profit the firm; Ally and Glenn discuss their feelings for each other. Details Episode 14 Aired Feb 2, 1998 Body Language Fish asks Ally to flirt with a new client; Ally and Georgia defend a woman who wants to marry a convict with a life sentence; Whipper spots Fish fondling Janet Reno's wattle. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 23, 1998 Once in a Lifetime Ally and Billy take the case of an elderly artist who is trying to regain control of his estate from his heirs apparent; Cage broods. Details Episode 16 Aired Mar 2, 1998 Forbidden Fruits One of the firm's cases parallels the love triangle of Ally, Billy and Georgia (Calista Flockhart, Gil Bellows, Courtney Thorne-Smith). Details Episode 17 Aired Mar 9, 1998 Theme of Life Ally (Calista Flockhart) reluctantly agrees to meet with a psychiatrist (guest star Tracey Ullman); Fish (Greg Germann) again pursues Janet Reno. Details Episode 18 Aired Mar 16, 1998 The Playing Field Ally and her new boyfriend are involved in a traffic accident, then must deal with a 10-year-old genius lawyer. Details Episode 19 Aired Apr 6, 1998 Happy Birthday Baby Ally's friends plan a birthday surprise for her; a client believes his foot fetish qualifies him as temporarily insane. Details Episode 20 Aired Apr 27, 1998 The Inmates Renee's rambunctious date charges her with assault after she rejects his advances. Details Episode 21 Aired May 4, 1998 Being There Defense attorney Ally upbraids client Renee for her sexual aggressiveness; a Vonda Shepard music video opens the program. Details Episode 22 Aired May 11, 1998 Alone Again Cage battles an old classmate in the courtroom; a jilted bride sues for emotional and physical damages. Details Episode 23 Aired May 18, 1998 These Are the Days Cage and Renee find themselves in a rather romantic legal case; Ally teams up again with handsome young attorney Bobby Donnell. Details
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Season Info

Executive Producer
David E. Kelley, Jeffrey Kramer
Network
Fox
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 8, 1997