List of Boston Legal Meta-References

The show has increasingly adopted the devices of breaking the fourth wall and meta-reference, but usually in a sly manner that can also be interpreted as the characters only jokingly pretending they're on a television show. Some examples are:

* In the episode "An Eye for an Eye", Alan is asked if there is "someplace he'd rather be" to which he quips that he'd like to be on cable as that is where all of the best work is being done.

*In "Gone", Denny, after shooting a homeless man in the face with a paintball gun, tells Alan, "They can't get rid of me, I'm the star of the show!"

** In the same episode, Denny tells Alan while on the balcony "I can act, I won an Emmy." William Shatner who plays Denny Crane has won two Emmys for the role. Alan Shore responded, "Just the same", as James Spader has also won two.

** Denny complained that he was "tired of Alzheimer's being a story point."

** Alan says to Denny, "Ah, there you are. I've hardly seen you this episode."

* Denny also says, in a late episode in Season Two, that everything he wants to express in life is bottled up inside of him like a "kidney stone", which is a possible reference to the kidney stone that William Shatner passed and later auctioned.

* In "Race Ipsa" (an episode originally written and shot during the first season, and then-after the first season was abruptly curtailed to make way for Grey's Anatomy-moved to late in the second season with new footage added), Alan sees his colleague Chelina, who had not been seen since she was introduced in the first season. Chelina says "God, the last time I saw you...", to which Alan continues, "I believe it was a Sunday, then I was taken off the air, you went off to do movies, I got switched to Tuesdays and..." and Chelina adds "Here we are... with old footage."

* Later in "Race Ipsa", Alan's secretary Melissa cautions Alan not to get involved with Chelina, noting "She's only a guest star."

* In the episode "Squid Pro Quo", Denny references a new character on the show, expressing that he can't wait to "see her next week."

* During BL: Los Angeles (the finale of the second season), Denny attempts to persuade Shirley to kiss him by stating: "Shirley, this is the sweeps episode." At the end of the episode, on the balcony, Alan makes toast to "To next season, my friend." Denny asks "Same night?" and Alan replies, "God, I hope."

* In a "A Whiff and a Prayer", shortly after the series moved from its original Sunday night schedule to its new Tuesday home, Denny and Alan are fishing in a rain sewer grate, during which Denny muses on various changes in his life he has had to endure. Among them, he states, "I always wanted to go out with my pride. Failing that, at least my old time slot."

* In the second season episode "Schadenfreude," Alan meets Denny on the balcony for the evening cigar session, a scene which usually ends each episode. This time the scene occurs halfway through the episode, prompting Denny to ask Alan, "Show over already?"

* In the season premiere of the third season, Alan is speaking of how his recent casual sexual relationship with Marlene Stanger (Parker Posey) allowed him to act more like his true self and says, "These past few years I've felt this inexplicable compulsion to be somewhat redeeming as if I were some series regular on a television show."

* In the second episode of the third season, "New Kids on the Block", a new male law partner and a law associate arrive at the firm and tell Denny they are the new guys, to which Denny responds, "If there were new guys they would have shown up in the season premiere." Then, Denny grabs the new girl's buttocks and says "Welcome to Boston Legal." After she complains, Denny looks at the camera and says, "Cue the music", at which point the opening credits begin. As the opening logo to the show slides on from off camera, Craig Bierko's character Jeffrey is seen to be looking back and forth as if 'seeing' the credits transition on screen.

* In the episode "Fine Young Cannibal", after winning a case involving a homeless man who ate his best friend while cremating him, Alan Shore asks Shirley Schmidt, as if asking the audience, "Do you think we win so much that we lose all suspense?"

** At the end of the same episode, the closing shot focuses on the smoke rising from Alan’s and Denny’s cigars. At a certain point, the vocalist singing the end theme begins coughing as if enveloped in this cloud of smoke.

* After a tirade against the modern implementation of the constitutional right granting freedom of religion, and openly insulting the plaintiff's manipulation of it to sue his client, Alan says, "Yes I know, I'll get letters."

* Denny's advice to Bethany in "Lincoln" is read off large cue cards held by Alan, which Bethany apparently does not notice. Alan does this again in "Dumping Bella", when Denny expresses his true feelings to Bethany; she again does not notice.

* Also in "Lincoln", when Lincoln kidnaps Shirley, he comments that if this were a movie, we'd hear a real ominous chord right about now. Immediately thereafter, the audience does hear such an ominous musical chord.

* When Denny and Alan are smoking cigars together at the end of the episode "Lincoln", Denny asks when Alan's trial is. Alan says it is Tuesday at 10. Although "Lincoln" was aired on a Sunday, Boston Legals regular timeslot on ABC is Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, and it was then that the episode featuring Alan's trial was aired.

* In "The Nutcrackers", when Shirley assigns Alan a new case, he asks her what his 'motivation' is so that he can get into 'character' for the case; this is a question typically asked by Method actors (re how to act in a given scene or role). Also, the case file that Shirley puts on Alan’s desk looks less like a folder or envelope and more like a script.

* In "Angel of Death", Denny plays the first few notes of the show's theme song on his 'trombone-kazoo', coinciding with the real song playing over the opening credits.

* In "Nuts", Claire asks Clarence-dressed as Oprah Winfrey-to bumper out to a commercial break, as is done on The Oprah Winfrey Show, immediately before an actual commercial break on Boston Legal.

* In "Dumping Bella", Shirley mentions during a trial that she had not received her March of the Penguins movie screener from the Academy yet. As a lawyer, she would not be eligible to receive such a screener. However, as the real-life Candice Bergen, who is a member of the Academy, she is eligible.

* At the end of "Dumping Bella", Denny (dressed as Dick Cheney) is dancing with Alan (dressed as Shirley Schmidt). Denny comments that the neighbors would be puzzled if they saw Dick Cheney dancing with Shirley Schmidt on their balcony. Alan replies, "Well, if they're regular viewers, they know by now anything goes."

* In "Fat Burner", after opposing counsel gives its closing statement, Denny responds by asking, "How come the other side always has short closings?"

* In "The Good Lawyer", Denny recoils at the idea that he "seem like a Jew": Shatner has made a living playing characters (such as Crane) who are "true-blue" Americans (although Shatner, in real life, is Canadian), Christian (although he’s Jewish), and conservative (Shatner’s actual views, however, are anybody’s guess).

* In "Witches of Mass Destruction", Denny shows up to the office costume party wearing the same pink flamingo costume that Alan is; Alan then tells him, "Denny, you look pretty in pink." This is an allusion to his role as Stef in Pretty in Pink and a nod to the scene where Molly Ringwald is joined at the prom by her friend Ducky at the last minute.

* In "Tea and Sympathy", Alan Shore asks a judge who else she has slept with (other than Shore) and asks, "Didn't Mitt ever ask you to become one of his wives?", speaking of the Mormon 2008 Republican presidential candidate. She responds, "Okay... that, you'll get letters for."

* In "Guantanamo by the Bay", Jerry Espenson tells Shirley Schmidt he hears a "happy song" in his head. When she asks him to sing it, he begins to sing the Boston Legal theme song as the credits begin. He can be heard and seen throughout the credits singing along. During Candice Bergen's intro shot on the opening credits, a startled Shirley Schmidt can be seen listening to Jerry Espenson rather than the stock footage of Schmidt.

* In "Trial of the Century", Denny Crane refers to what happened in the previous episode as happening "last week." This is a meta-reference to how new episodes of the show are aired once a week. It is also interesting to note that the previous episode was aired two weeks, instead of one week earlier.

* In the Season 3 finale, "Trial of the Century", Denny Crane toasts Alan, commenting "'Til next season." To which Alan replies, "I can't wait to see what we do next."

* In the Season 2 episode, "Word Salad," Denny Crane lists a litany of possible psychological issues that Alan may be facing. In response, Alan asks, "What does this have to do with this episode of word salad?"

* In the Season 3 episode "Attack of the Xenophobes", Carl Sack tells Clarence Bell that while out in the public, one should be aware because 'the cameras are watching', alluding to the fact that they are being watched by video cameras while filming for the shoot.

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