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Ally McBeal (season 5)
Encyclopedia
The fifth and final season of the television series Ally McBeal commenced airing in the United States on October 29, 2001, concluded on May 20, 2002, and consisted of 22 episodes. The entire season originally aired Mondays at 9pm, just like the seasons before. Following the episode that aired March 4, 2002, the show went on a six-week hiatus and was replaced by The American Embassy
. The show returned on April 15, 2002, to air the final 7 episodes.
It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of Ally McBeal: Season Five on February 10, 2003.
The fifth season had an average rating
of 9.4 million viewers in the United States
and was ranked #65 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. This was the lowest rated season of Ally McBeal and the reason why the show was canceled. This was also the only season that didn't gain any Emmy
or Golden Globe awards.
and David E. Kelley Productions. The executive producers were Bill D'Elia
and the creator David E. Kelley
, who also wrote 21 out of 22 episodes. Episode Blowin' in the Wind was the first and only episode of the entire series that Kelley wasn't credited for. Staff writers this season included Constance M. Burge
, Roberto Benabib, Peter Blake
and Cindy Lichtman. Cast member Peter MacNicol
co-wrote the penultimate episodes with Kelley, while Greg Germann
made his directing debut in the episode Fear of Flirting. Alice West served as the co-executive producer of this season.
, the most out of all of the seasons. Calista Flockhart
as Ally McBeal, Greg Germann
as Richard Fish, Peter MacNicol
as John Cage, Jane Krakowski
as Elaine Vassal, Vonda Shepard
as herself, Portia de Rossi
as Nelle Porter and Lucy Liu
as Ling Woo
all returned to the main cast.
Cast members Peter MacNicol and Lucy Liu only signed on for a certain number of episodes and were subsequently written out. MacNicol agreed to return on recurring status and stayed until the show's finale, whereas Liu was unable to return during the final episodes of the season due to her conflicting filming commitments for the blockbuster sequel film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
. Former cast members Gil Bellows
, Courtney Thorne Smith and Lisa Nicole Carson
returned for the finale.
The new cast members introduced in the series premiere were Julianne Nicholson
as Jenny Shaw, Josh Hopkins
as Raymond Millbury and James Marsden
as Glenn Foy. Nicholson and Marsden proved unpopular with the fans and were written out mid-season, while new character named Maddie Harrington, played by Hayden Panettiere
was added to the regular cast. Regina Hall
was upgraded to contract status after recurring during the previous season.
Various supporting characters from the previous seasons returned to reprise their recurring roles, including Albert Hall
as Judge Seymore Walsh, John Michael Higgins
as Steven Milter, and Renee Elise Goldsberry
, Vatrena King and Sy Smith
as the backup singers for Vonda Shepard. Jon Bon Jovi
was added to the cast mid-season as Victor Morrison, Ally's new love interest, but was written out before the finale. Josh Groban
returned as guest star Malcolm Wyatt. Barry Humphries
, Matthew Perry
and Christina Ricci
all had recurring roles during the season. Elton John
, Mariah Carey
and Barry White
appeared as performers at the bar.
The American Embassy
The American Embassy is an American drama series that aired on Fox from March to April 2002. The series was created by James D. Parriott, and executive produced by Danny DeVito.-Synopsis:...
. The show returned on April 15, 2002, to air the final 7 episodes.
It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of Ally McBeal: Season Five on February 10, 2003.
The fifth season had an average rating
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
of 9.4 million viewers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was ranked #65 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. This was the lowest rated season of Ally McBeal and the reason why the show was canceled. This was also the only season that didn't gain any Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
or Golden Globe awards.
Crew
The season was produced by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
and David E. Kelley Productions. The executive producers were Bill D'Elia
Bill D'Elia
Bill D'Elia is an American television screenwriter, producer, and director. He was an executive producer of Boston Legal and Ally McBeal, and is the co-creator and a principal screenwriter for Judging Amy....
and the creator David E. Kelley
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
, who also wrote 21 out of 22 episodes. Episode Blowin' in the Wind was the first and only episode of the entire series that Kelley wasn't credited for. Staff writers this season included Constance M. Burge
Constance M. Burge
Constance M. Burge is the creator of the Charmed television series and short-lived Savannah series. Burge was also a writer for Judging Amy, Ally McBeal and Boston Public. She also worked as a producer for several shows. She left her executive producer position on Charmed because of disagreement...
, Roberto Benabib, Peter Blake
Peter Blake (writer)
Peter Blake is an award-winning American television writer and producer. He is currently an Executive Producer on the Fox TV series House.- Early Life and Education :Blake was raised in New York City and attended The Collegiate School...
and Cindy Lichtman. Cast member Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
co-wrote the penultimate episodes with Kelley, while Greg Germann
Greg Germann
Gregory Andrew "Greg" Germann is an American actor. He played the roles of Richard Fish in the television series Ally McBeal, businessman Mattson from Child's Play 2 and the vet Laurence from Quarantine...
made his directing debut in the episode Fear of Flirting. Alice West served as the co-executive producer of this season.
Cast
The fifth season had twelve major roles receive star billingBilling (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
, the most out of all of the seasons. Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
as Ally McBeal, Greg Germann
Greg Germann
Gregory Andrew "Greg" Germann is an American actor. He played the roles of Richard Fish in the television series Ally McBeal, businessman Mattson from Child's Play 2 and the vet Laurence from Quarantine...
as Richard Fish, Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
as John Cage, Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...
as Elaine Vassal, Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.-Biography:Vonda Shepard was born in New...
as herself, Portia de Rossi
Portia de Rossi
Portia Lee James DeGeneres , known professionally as Portia de Rossi , is an Australian-American actress, best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series Ally McBeal and Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the sitcom Arrested Development...
as Nelle Porter and Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
as Ling Woo
Ling Woo
Ling Woo is a fictional character in the US comedy-drama Ally McBeal, portrayed by American actress Lucy Liu. Ling was a cold and ferocious Chinese American lawyer who spoke Mandarin and was knowledgeable in the art of sexual pleasure unknown to the Western world...
all returned to the main cast.
Cast members Peter MacNicol and Lucy Liu only signed on for a certain number of episodes and were subsequently written out. MacNicol agreed to return on recurring status and stayed until the show's finale, whereas Liu was unable to return during the final episodes of the season due to her conflicting filming commitments for the blockbuster sequel film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 American action comedy film. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels. It opened in the United States on June 27, 2003, and was number one at the box office for that weekend and made a worldwide total of $259.2 million.The cast again includes Cameron...
. Former cast members Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows
Gil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
, Courtney Thorne Smith and Lisa Nicole Carson
Lisa Nicole Carson
Lisa Nicole Carson is an American actress. She is best known for her work on U.S. television, including supporting roles in NBC's ER and Fox's Ally McBeal...
returned for the finale.
The new cast members introduced in the series premiere were Julianne Nicholson
Julianne Nicholson
Julianne Nicholson is an American actress. She is known for having played Det. Megan Wheeler on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Early life:...
as Jenny Shaw, Josh Hopkins
Josh Hopkins
William Joshua Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins joined the fourth, and last season, of New York Undercover in 1998. In 1999 Hopkins starred in Alanis Morissette's "Unsent" music video...
as Raymond Millbury and James Marsden
James Marsden
James Paul Marsden is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the first three X-Men films and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Hop, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, The Box, and 27 Dresses.-Early life...
as Glenn Foy. Nicholson and Marsden proved unpopular with the fans and were written out mid-season, while new character named Maddie Harrington, played by Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
was added to the regular cast. Regina Hall
Regina Hall
Regina Hall is an American film and television actress known for her lead role of Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie films and as Corretta Lipp in the FOX comedy-drama Ally McBeal.-Personal life:...
was upgraded to contract status after recurring during the previous season.
Various supporting characters from the previous seasons returned to reprise their recurring roles, including Albert Hall
Albert Hall
Albert P. Hall is an American actor.Born in Brighton, Alabama, Hall graduated from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1971. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and on Broadway in the Melvin Van Peebles musical Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death...
as Judge Seymore Walsh, John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim....
as Steven Milter, and Renee Elise Goldsberry
Renee Elise Goldsberry
Renee Elise Goldsberry is an American actress, singer and songwriter.Goldsberry was born in San Jose, California and raised in both Houston, Texas and Detroit, Michigan. After graduating from Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills she went to Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated...
, Vatrena King and Sy Smith
Sy Smith
Sy Olivia Smith is an American Emmy nominated singer-songwriter. Born in New York, New York, Smith rose to fame in the late 1990s when she signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records. Smith released her first studio album Psykosoul in 2000, which spawned the singles "Gladly" and "Good N...
as the backup singers for Vonda Shepard. Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
was added to the cast mid-season as Victor Morrison, Ally's new love interest, but was written out before the finale. Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
returned as guest star Malcolm Wyatt. Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the...
, Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry is Canadian-American television and film actor.Matthew Perry or Matt Perry may also refer to:*Matthew C. Perry , American naval officer who forcibly opened Japan to trade with the West...
and Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci is an American actress. Ricci received initial recognition and praise as a child star for her performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values , and her role as Kat Harvey in Casper...
all had recurring roles during the season. Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
appeared as performers at the bar.
Episodes
| Series # | Season # | Title | Director | Writer(s) | Original air date | Ally McBeal Episode List at IMDb.com
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