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Posted by (no name) on February 13, 2005, 3:08 am HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - - "The Practice" officially leaves the TV landscape Sunday (May 16), to be replaced in the fall by a spinoff that follows James Spader's character to a new law firm. "For all intents and purposes, 'The Practice' ended last year when Bobby [Dylan McDermott] sort of closed the lights," says Michael Badalucco, who played bulldog lawyer Jimmy Berluti on the series. "This was a transition year, as far as I can see, and it was an interesting transition. Having James come on board added a lot." His co-star, Camryn Manheim, agrees that the show changed direction this season. And while both are sad to give up the characters they've played since 1997 (although Manheim is in talks to star in a comedic spinoff), they have no hard feelings about the way the show is ending. What's made this final season interesting, Manheim and Badalucco say, is the contrast between Spader's ethically flexible character, Alan Shore, and the righteous -- occasionally self-righteous -- attorneys of Young, Frutt & Berluti. "I think what made [Shore] really work was his lack of moral integrity against seven years of defining these characters who had so much integrity and dignity," Manheim says. "It was a fascinating mix to put a character like that in with characters like us." Series creator David E. Kelley says Sunday's "Practice" finale will spend most of its time on the dissolution of Young, Frutt & Berluti, with Eugene Young (Steve Harris) assuming a judgeship, Jimmy opening his own firm in Boston's North End and Ellenor (Manheim) moving on with her life. McDermott, who left the show along with several other cast members at the end of last season, is guest starring in the last episode. Kelley says he would have liked to bring back some of the other actors who left when the show's license fee was cut last spring, but he doubts he could have come up with a plausible reason for having them all there. "Creatively it was going to be unwieldy, because you can't just have people pop in and not service them," he says. "If it was only about saying goodbye to 'The Practice,' I think I could have done it. But with these other worlds co-existing in the same 41 minutes, it was just too much." Kelley won't be as heavily involved with the new series, which doesn't have a title yet, as he's been with "The Practice," "Ally McBeal" and some of the other show's he's created. "Ally" veteran Bill D'Elia will be the showrunner, and Kelley, an executive producer, says he'll take on a supervisory role and write a few scripts "if I'm allowed." "I think for this series to be truly fresh and different, it has to have a new voice at the top," he says. The tone of the new show will be lighter than "The Practice" -- among shows Kelley has worked on, it's closest to "L.A. Law," he says. Rhona Mitra and William Shatner are set to continue their current roles; Kelley says other actors introduced in the final "Practice" episodes haven't completed deals yet. He realizes that "The Practice's" long-running characters may have been shortchanged a little in the show's final countdown, but Kelley credits the cast for doing strong work for the show's entire run. "I'm sure there had to be some underlying tension beneath that professionalism, but it's a tribute to them that it never surfaced or brought itself to a head in my office," Kelley says. "It would have been very easy for any of them to say 'My heart's not completely in it,' but it was, and I will always be grateful."
203.29.131.3
'Practice' Finale Balances Old and New
Friday, May 14 02:45 PM
By Rick Porter
For a couple of the show's long-serving actors, though, this season has been something like an extended pilot for that new series.
"It has been hard for me, on a personal level, to share the last few episodes with the new show," Manheim allows. "I certainly understand it from a business and a setup point of view ... and just to make the record straight, I have absolutely no resentment toward James Spader. I think he's a genius. I would watch him until the end of time."
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