The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
A ground-breaking prime-time television series, L. A. Law emerged in 1986 from the stable that had brought a new veracity to ensemble series drama with Hill Street Blues. Setting his new show in a high-powered law office, trend-setting producer Steven Bochco (and co-writer Terry Louise Fisher), while expanding on the concept of multiple storylines, rooted these firmly in character-driven scripts of intelligence, authenticity, and wit. Gone were the idealized television attorneys of yesteryear such as Perry Mason. This team, played by a large A-grade cast, presented a realistic cross-section of the likable, the insecure, the authoritative, and the downright smarmy. Many of the situations straddled several episodes, and involved a seamless blend of office politics, love affairs, or sexual misadventure, played out parallel with the firm's legal concerns, ethical dilemmas, and courtroom appearances. The fundamentally serious approach was leavened with doses of witty dialogue and occasionally outrageous absurdities.
Because the law firm dealt in multiple areas of the law, the cases were able to legitimately range from divorce to murder, and to engage a variety of complex contemporary issues from date rape and child abuse to capital punishment, outing of homosexuals, and voluntary euthanasia. L. A. Law ran between 1986 and 1994. It collected 20 Emmy Award nominations in its first season, and won four Best Drama Emmys, as well as Golden Globes, Television Critics Association Awards, and a Peabody Award. Most significantly, its approach and narrative style paved the way for the even more compelling relationships and finely honed characterizations of E.R. in the 1990s.
Marc, David, and Robert J. Thompson. Prime Time, Prime Movers: From I Love Lucy to L. A. Law—America's Greatest TV Shows and the People who Created Them. Boston, Little Brown and Company, 1992.
Thompson, Robert J. Television's Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER. New York, Continuum, 1996.