Bygones: Ally McBeal Revisited



Ally McBeal was an Emmy and Golden Globe winning comedy drama that aired for five seasons, from 1997 to 2002.  The show followed the bizarre personal and professional lives of a group of men and women working at a Boston legal firm, Cage and Fish (McBeal was added as a partner in the final season).  Calista Flockhart played the title role of Ally, a neurotic, eccentric and lonely lawyer searching for love as she enters her 30s.

I recently started rewatching the series from the first episode and, while the first season now seems a little dated (the ill-fitting men's suits, massive ties, clunky shoes, the mini skirt suits), the show was really ahead of its time in terms of the issues and legal battles it tackled throughout its five season run and still holds up almost 20 years later.  Granted, Ally was annoying AF at many points throughout the show but the steady stream of cameos as well as the other regular characters provided a much-needed balance to her tiresome antics. 

The show also had a fantastic soundtrack and introduced the world to Vonda Shepard, who performed the theme song for the show, Searchin' My Soul, and often appeared in the series as a performer at the local bar.

Having just completed all five seasons, I have compiled a list of some of my favourite moments from the series:
Richard's wattle fetish
"bygones"
"snappish"
Ally's therapist, Tracy (played by Tracy Ullman)
John's toilet dismounts and automatic flusher ("I like a fresh bowl")
"This troubles me"
Elaine's Face Bra
"meat whistle"
The dancing "oogachaka" baby
Subzero Nell
Vicious Ling
"I need to take a moment"
The well-endowed model Ally sleeps with
Stefon the frog
"I'm penile psychic"
Elaine's personalised condoms
Ally kicking the lawyer who looks like a baby
The dancing twins
"Go pick another theme song you pissy little thing" - Betty White as Ally's therapist
Ally's tryst in the car wash
Tina Turner's cameo & the Tina Turner backup dancer contest
Ally's collagen lips
Alicia Witt's performance of Hanky Panky
Robert Downey Jr as Larry
Robert Downey Jr's performances of Joni Mitchell's River and his Every Breath You Take duet with Sting
Elaine's rotating bra
The Twist contest
Chayanne as the sultry salsa instructor Sam Adams
John's "hole in the wall"
Ally undressing Taye Diggs with her eyes and accidentally grabbing his penis while reaching for the remote
Elaine's uncontrollable sweating
A baby-faced Josh Groban singing You're Still You at his prom, then To Where You Are in an emotional episode
James Marsden's cheekbones
Dame Edna's cameo as Claire Otoms
Claire's acid reflux attacks
Claire pretending to sing for Nell at the bar
James Marsden performing Always On My Mind
Ally sniffing Jon Bon Jovi's butt
Christina Ricci as Liza "Lolita" Bump
"Let the record reflect: she just grazed my johnson" - John Cage
John in the mariachi band
Elaine's audition for A Chorus Line
The tearjerker of a final episode

Check out this Entertainment Weekly article:  Where Are They Now

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