Ally McBeal: Difference between revisions
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[[File:AllyMcBeal.gif|frame]]
'''''Ally McBeal''''' was a [[Work Com]]-slash-[[Dramedy]] by [[David E. Kelley]] about a neurotic lawyer and the wacky people she works with. The series
The series went for 'nutty' in a very big way, with preposterous lawsuits (man is fired for having bad comb over and sues, dying boy sues God, etc.), dream and fantasy sequences all over the place, spontaneous dance numbers and the like. Probably best known in its early years for the CGI baby dancing to the "ooga-chaka" chorus from Blue Swede's "Hooked On A Feeling", and in its later seasons for a surfeit of "daring" [[Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss|"lesbian" kisses]] among various women in the cast. Achieved a kind of brilliance in the legal arguments made by the character John Cage. Achieved retch-inducing horror in its mundane romantic complications.
The show was the second-most popular program on [[FOX]] when it was around, and was such a huge part of pop culture that ''Time'' ran a cover story on it, accusing it of killing feminism. However, after its cancellation [[Deader Than Disco|it vanished off the public radar]], and now it's most known for being the subject of a ''[[Futurama]]'' episode.
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* [[Ascended Meme]]: The dancing baby
* [[Back for
* [[Bait and Switch Credits]] - The opening promised a smiling and happy women most of the time, downplaying the show's dramatic moments.
* [[Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults]] - The trope swirls around this series like a cgi-baby circles Ally. There was one time Ally looks under the door of the stalls before she starts, only to find later that Elaine put her legs up.
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* Hallucinations - Ally has a lot of these.
* [[Head Desk]] - At one point, Ally makes her head meet desk a few times, saying "I have my health" every time.
* [[Hello, Attorney!]] - Found in all of [[David E. Kelley]]'s legal shows, but probably reaches its apotheosis here.
** The female attorneys are dismayed to learn that this is actually a central part of the firm's business strategy... [[Sex Sells|as highlighted on their official PR material.]]
* [[Imagine Spot]]
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* [[Rich Bitch]] - Ling
* [[Softer and Slower Cover]] - The show regularly features various famous songs redone by Vonda Shephard in a slower, quieter style. For example, Bing Crosby's "Swing On A Star" was covered with a slower tempo and emphasis on the "Pig" part of the song.
* [[Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss]]: One of the [[Trope Codifier]]s. ''Ally McBeal'' made sure that ''everyone'' knew about the Sweeps Week Lesbian Kisses between Ally and her co-workers. It was, however, unusual in that nobody got [[Put on a Bus]] or [[Hide Your Lesbians|removed from the show without comment]] afterward.
* [[Theme Music Power-Up]] - Ally's therapist advises her to think of a song she can sing to make herself feel better. She knows "this one song" and starts to sing it. It happens to be the show's theme song. [[Subverted Trope|The therapist cuts her off before she even reaches the first chorus and tells her it's an absolutely terrible song]].
* [[Two First Names]] - Larry Paul, Ally's main love interest in Season 4
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[[Category:Dramedy]]
[[Category:Ally McBeal]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1990s]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 2000s]]
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