David E. Kelley Tackles Current Lack of Reality Programs, Lawyer Shows

Last night, as Bostonist and Mrs. Bostonist were enjoying an episode of "Law & Order: SVU" (we totally knew the dad's boss was the rapist!), we saw for the first time a hint of the David E. Kelley-created terrors that await us later in the month. Yes, just as we were fully immersed in the enjoyment of the perfect legal drama, a commercial break brought us crashing back to reality, as we learned that July 28 will see the debut of "The Law Firm," Kelley's Apprentice-esque foray into reality TV.

"The Law Firm" features twelve peppy, competetive young lawyers under the stern tutelage of seasoned trial attorney Roy Black, trying real cases as they vie for a $250,000 prize. Amazingly, actual people have agreed, á la People's Court, to let these televised pseudo-trials determine their fate - even with criminal trials! (We can't imagine how that's legal - maybe the whole thing is shot in Bermuda.) Even more impressive (and unrealistic in the legal world), the cases will somehow move along fast enough for a lawyer to be eliminated every week. This may be the sort of train-wreck television event that Bostonist can't help but watch.

Kelley, who attended Boston University School of Law, has singlehandedly kept the Hub on the TV map, creating "Ally McBeal," "The Practice," "Boston Public," and "Boston Legal." He's also had success with some non-Boston-based, ensemble-cast, hour-long dramas. Two years ago, when "Joe Millionaire" whooped the ass of "The Practice" in the ratings, Kelley derided reality television as "junk." Bostonist doesn't know what made him change his tune, but maybe creating a show as bad as "Boston Legal" - a show so awful that not even James Spader and Candace Bergen (and that guy from "Benson") could keep it from getting replaced mid-season by the uber-trite, Melrose-Place-meets-E.R.-but-it's-set-in-Seattle-so-it's-more-hip "Grey's Anatomy" - makes a person reexamine what the word "junk" really means.

In any event, Bostonist will stay tuned for more details about "The Law Firm" (the show's official homepage is woefully sparse right now, with contestant profiles and case files still listed as "Coming Soon") and look forward to the first episode, on July 28 at 9:00 p.m. on NBC. If it's worse than "Boston Legal," we can always switch over to an episode of "Law & Order," which is required by federal law to be broadcast somewhere on cable at all times.