The Crossover Files: When ‘Ally McBeal’ Joined ‘The Practice’

There’s a long history of crossover episodes — when characters from TV series randomly pop up on another. Most of the time they are pretty obvious ploys for big ratings, but they’re also pretty fun (and a little weird). Today, we take a look at the unlikely pairing of The Practice and Ally McBeal.

In 1997, David E. Kelly had a hit show on his hands. That show was Ally McBeal, an hour-long comedy about a lady lawyer and her wacky Boston law firm that had very lax sexual harassment policies and, naturally, a unisex bathroom. Kelly had another lawyer show, too: The Practice, a legal drama about another Boston law firm that focused more on defending rich people who murdered other people. The Practice had an element of quirkiness to it, but it had a much darker tone. It was in its second season when Ally McBeal premiered, and it was struggling in the ratings. Obviously, David E. Kelly’s brain started churning and came up with the natural quick-fix to save The Practice: a crossover episode with Ally McBeal!

But here’s the thing: Ally McBeal was on Fox, and The Practice was on ABC. Could two rival networks work together for the sake of one of their shared star writers? Well, they did it, and it was rather weird.

Ally McBeal‘s episode,”The Inmates,” aired first, and we got an introduction to the case that brings the two law firms together: a woman (played by Broadway star Donna Murphy) murdered her husband with an axe. The law firm of Cage and Fish pick up the case, but they all agree it’s beyond their expertise, so they bring in Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) of Robert Donnell and Associates. Naturally, the two teams clash in the uproarious work environment that is the Cage and Fish offices — particularly when the flirty receptionist played by Jane Krakowski tells Bobby that she dreamt they had unprotected sex.. And, of course, Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) falls down a lot, particularly when she interacts with the dashing Bobby (although, to be fair, I probably would, too).

Also, she morphs into a dog wearing a wig and drools over how hot he is…

…and everyone else is like, “Classic Ally McBeal.”

The second episode — called, fittingly, “Axe Murderer” — aired an hour later on ABC. Ally McBeal‘s Calista Flockhart and Gil Bellows guest-starred, and we get to see the actual trial take place without the wackiness or the cheap CGI. It was a pretty run-of-the-mill plot for The Practice (which was famous for its melodramatic and lunatic murder cases). Donna Murphy’s character blacked out when she killed her husband, and her psychiatrist revealed that under hypnosis she experienced a past-life regression and may be the reincarnation of Lizzie Borden. (Basically, David E. Kelly is nuts.)

Long story short, it’s revealed that the psychiatrist had an affair with his patient, so The Practice‘s Eugene Young (Steve Harris) suggests in court that he murdered his girlfriend’s husband. Ally is floored by the move, and points to the somewhat unethical practices of the folks on The Practice. Then, during Bobby’s closing argument, the therapist stands up, pulls out a gun, and shoots himself.

So, who won? (Oh, did you not realize this was a competition?) It was a mismatched pairing for the shows, which had dramatically disparate tones. Bobby and Eugene played it straight when they ended up on Ally McBeal, and Ally was surprisingly poised and professional on The Practice. (No voiceovers or tripping.) It was mostly just a strange experience, as the two episodes didn’t fit together very smoothly. (Plus, the B-plots in both episodes had little to do with the crossover gimmick nor were they particularly interesting, so viewers who were unfamiliar with one of the shows probably wouldn’t have kept up with both.) But The Practice certainly benefitted from the crossover: it not only lasted for eight seasons, but it lasted longer than Ally McBeal, which was cancelled in 2002.

The real winner, of course, was David E. Kelly, who would later create another Boston-set legal series, the lighthearted Boston Legal, which was a spin-off of The Practice. So, finally, he was able to create the Ally McBeal / Practice mash-up he’d been dreaming of all along!

Ally McBeal is available for streaming on Netflix; The Practice is available for purchase on Amazon Instant Video.

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Photos: ABC, 20th Century Fox