Great article. Loved it. Loved the show back in the day too. I think there’s a case to be made for TV in the early days of the internet containing a fair bit of nuance in the script — particularly when written by someone as skilled as David E Kelley. Ally McBeal wasn’t promoting any position, nor I’d argue was it’s successor Boston Legal (also very well written and hilarious) — instead it glances on complex moral issues through conflicting fleshed out characters with opposing world views. That makes good TV.

Bad TV is when you set up a straw-man argument, or write Mary Sue characters for modern sensibiltiies. There’s an awful episode of Brooklyn-99 that does exactly this — and it’s very noticeable in the cannon of otherwise great writing. If we allow identity politics to forcefully shape creativity either in the products or the people who create them, then we’ll be doing society a huge disservice. Things should develop organically and with an eye for quality rather than appeal.

That way you end up with high quality nuanced storytelling, and not mountains of badly put together exposition and barely concealed wish fulfilment for your audience.

Great article, thanks for writing. I’m now thinking I should take the plunge and get some Ally McBeal on DVD, experience some Vonda Shepherd all over again! :o)