List of Boston Public characters
Encyclopedia
This site includes the list of all cast members that appeared on FOX
drama
series
Boston Public
.
, is the tough and level-headed principal with a heart of gold who constantly struggles with the hang-ups and problems of his employees and students, from Harry Senate's firing off a gun
in his classroom to Milton Buttle's affair with a student in Season 1, and Danny Hanson and Marla Hendricks' bickering (and eventual fist-fighting) in Seasons 2 and 3. Throughout the series, Steven remained the most consistent character on the show, and its strongest presence and focal point. Considered one of the most important characters in the show, he was consistently the school's leader, handling teachers and students with problems; much of his character revolved around his pride in the teaching profession and his loyalty to the kids and the faculty.
Little is known about Steven's past, but there are suggestions that he was a rebellious youth during his teenage years. He mentions in one episode that he crashed a car into a tree while drunk, and reveals in another episode that, when he was 14, he and some friends robbed
a convenience store
, but when one of his teachers found out and didn't report him to the police, Steven began to turn his life around. This, years later, allowed Steven to admire, more or less, teachers who stopped at nothing to help their students. It is also mentioned that Steven played football
in high school.
Steven was married to a woman named Louanna, but they divorce
d. During Season 2, Brooke, Steven's rebellious, liberal activist teenage daughter, gets transferred to Winslow High after being expelled from her private school
when an animal rights
protest goes wrong. Steven manages to build a relationship with Brooke and his estranged ex-wife, who later goes on to date another man. By the end of Season 3, Brooke had been written out of the series, as she had graduated and was accepted to Harvard University
. Once the show's fourth and final season began, Steven embarked on a relationship with Marilyn Sudor, which caused some friction between him and Scott Guber, who had become attracted to Marylin.
Steven appeared in a 2005 episode of Boston Legal
titled "Let Sales Ring", when a student sued Winslow High for censor
ing a news network (that was clearly Fox News Channel
, though never explicitly identified as such). He also appeared on Boston Legal's parent show, The Practice
.
(Seasons 1-2), was one of the two social studies
teachers in Season 1. She earned the nickname "The Nun" because of her straight-laced ways. By Season 2, when the ostensibly hipper Ronnie Cooke appeared, Lauren's character changed, making her what her colleagues called a "prima donna
perfectionist." In Season 1, Steven felt that she was being racist
because she was tougher on her African-American students, an accusation she was willing to consider in order to save Harvey from being fired.
Lauren briefly dated Harry, but broke up with him, in what was Season 1's biggest romance. Later, she began dating Daniel Evans, a former student who turned out to be a stalker
. Her carrying a gun
to protect herself resulted in her getting a summertime suspension.
During Season 2, Lauren was shocked when some of her students were hospitalized because they were so stressed out about her work assignments. Scott had a crush on Lauren, a relationship that never seemed to go anywhere until right before Lauren was written out of the show.
When the third season premiered, Gilsig had left the show, and it was mentioned that Lauren had left Winslow High for a job at a private school
.
, was a social studies
teacher who suffered from severe bipolar manic depression
, the effects of which were mainly only seen in Season 1. She had to take pills to make it through a stressful day, which seemed to be just about every day.
Marla was occasionally depicted as a vocally religious woman, encouraging students to pray on school grounds
and running a gospel choir. She was also frequently the one to give lectures to other faculty members, parents or students about the financial and emotional challenges facing teachers, along with other topical issues such as bullying, multiculturalism
, and the usage of the word "nigger
/nigga
" by white people
.
On the other hand, on many occasions, Marla was depicted, like Danny and Harvey, as someone who did not think before she spoke. She was vocal and no-nonsense, and often insulted teachers, students and even Steven when they needed it, or sometimes just because she needed it. Scott once accused her of being too emotional on too many different issues to the point it diluted her potency as an advocate. Marla's bold personality kept her from advancing into administration when she insulted the concept of standardized testing during a job interview for vice principal. In Season 3, Marla had a brief relationship with a political advocate played by Vern Troyer.
In Season 4, Marla decided to have a baby, and asked Steven if he would consider donating his sperm
. When Steven refused, she continued to try to get pregnant but failed, suffering a miscarriage
, but later got the chance of experiencing motherhood when she took in a troubled student named Rainy.
Overall, Marla was considered an excellent and compassionate teacher, adept at reaching kids and parents. Like the other faculty members, her personal foibles sometimes got in her way, but she was, overall, there for the kids and her colleagues.
, is the vice principal who was forced to play the disciplinary "bad cop" to both the students and faculty. As someone who grew up bullied because his peers mistakenly thought he was gay
, Scott treated bigotry
and bullying as serious a crime as cutting class
or cheating
on an exam. On the other hand, some episodes had him seriously bullying teachers with a condescending, managerial tone that caused them to dislike him. In fact, the students saw him as so tough they labeled him "The Nazi" in spite of the fact that Scott is Jewish
. However, Scott's dedication to Winslow High and its students was eventually noted in the first season finale when the kids gave him a special award.
It is strongly indicated that Scott's father died several years ago; his single mother, Miriam, appears in Season 3 and goes out on a date with Harvey. Scott also has an older brother named George, who is a high-priced lawyer
; he became estranged from his brother when George set Scott up on a date with a masseuse who turned out to be a call girl
.
Scott's ongoing goal was to one day become a principal himself, a goal he pursued in Season 1, which was also devoted to his growing dislike for being the "bad guy" to Steven's "good guy." He was disappointed to receive an unfavorable recommendation from Steven, who said he wasn't ready and was too autocratic to be a principal. Over the next seasons, Scott and Steven would sometimes wrangle over the boundaries between their two jobs, but their friendship was key to the both of them and to the show.
Scott's love of classical music
, composing and conducting was a staple of the character's off-duty time and occasionally allowed for storylines. His romantic life, unlike Steven's, was often fodder for storylines on the show. In Season 1, Scott pursued Lauren to the point she called it harassment
, and later asked Marilyn Sudor out, leaving Lauren and Marilyn to conclude that he asked out any woman who was nice to him. This tendency came to a head in Season 2 when Scott began an ill-advised relationship with the duplicitous Meredith Peters who, in Season 1, locked her son Jeremy in the basement. Jeremy returned the favor, and she escaped only by chainsaw
, severing her hand in the process and gaining the nickname "Hook Lady." The relationship was filled with ups and downs. Scott's attempts to get on Jeremy's good side were occasionally chronicled, including his sensitivity to Jeremy's bisexuality
. Both characters basically disappeared after Scott separated from the erratic and pathological Meredith late in Season 2.
At the end of Season 2, Scott took up with Lauren, but as she didn't come back for Season 3, we never learned how that relationship ended. By the end of Season 3, however, Scott had increased his level of friendship with Marilyn through dancing lessons, and by Season 4, he was pursuing her. Marilyn rejected his advances, as she was seeing Steven. Weeks later, Scott found love in Violet Montgomery, a former adult film actress turned free spirit
who shared his taste in music and agreed to date him exclusively.
, was the music instructor and an English
teacher. One of the most attractive teachers in the school, Marilyn was often the listed as the teacher the "boys most wanted to sleep with" in a yearly student poll.
Student storylines had her involved with Tyronn Anderson (a gang member whom Harry was covering for), Jeremy Peters (who was being locked in the basement by his mother), and Aisha (a young talented singer who needed to break up with her abusive boyfriend). Marilyn admitted in Season 3 that she too had been in an abusive relationship with an ex-husband who showed up for an annulment
in Season 4.
Romantically, Marilyn joined with Scott to take some dancing lessons, but was quick to assert that they were going to just be friends. She dated a basketball
coach who turned out to be in coaching to advance his college coaching chances. In the final season, she began dating Steven, and their romance became public after a student faced suspension for kissing Marilyn at a scholarship awards ceremony threatened to go before the school board because he felt that he was suspended for kissing the principal's girlfriend; eventually, Steven agreed to reduce the student's punishment so that it would not cause him to lose his scholarship or hurt his college application process.
Marilyn was also involved in many of the musical numbers the show employed, singing at school concerts, doing a singing trio with Louisa and Marla, and working with young musicians. She was known for being by-the-book, compassionate, and straight-forward, but also rather enigmatic and sort of a utility player a lot of the time.
, was a somewhat stereotypical
elderly Jewish
man. He was not a fan of political correctness
, and his character seemed to switch from being a well-meaning old man that once met with the school's football
team to ask them not to discriminate
against a player who was rumored to be gay
, while other times he came off as an Archie Bunker
-type bigot or a simple comical buffoon of a bygone era.
As a young man, Harvey served in World War II
. On the night before he left to go to Europe
, he had a one-night stand
with an African-American "lady of the evening" who later gave birth to a son named Lester who, at the age of sixty, was able to track down Harvey and introduce him to his family, including Lester's children and grandchildren. After the war, Harvey came home and married a woman named Helen, and remained faithful to her until she died, although she did have an affair. He frequently reflected back on Helen, who died shortly before the series began. In Season 3, a stock dip erased Harvey's life savings.
Often threatening to retire and also threatened with being fired, Harvey was able to continue working after he agreed to attend racial sensitivity classes in Season 1, and in Season 3, was barely saved from retirement by some last-minute budget restructuring.
(Seasons 2-4), was a college friend of Harry's, a successful and wealthy corporate law
yer who decided that her true calling in life was to teach at a public high school. As a lawyer, Ronnie often acted as a legal advocate for students in what some argued were completely unrealistic and "off-topic" situations. She handled at least two murder
-related trials (one for Steven, one for some students). Other times, the stories fit the school: One of her first actions as a teacher was to help Danny organize his students to sue Harvey for emotional abuse, and also helped students get out of various legal jams.
Ronnie briefly dated Harry until he left the show early in Season 3. She then began an on-and-off relationship with Zach Fischer, and accepted a position from Dave Fields, the mayor's liaison, to be Winslow High's new assistant principal after she impressed the school board with her testing techniques. This made Marla, the other candidate for the job, jealous, and angered Scott, who saw Ronnie as a glory-hound putting her own political interests above the needs of the students. Zach became jealous of the mayor's liaison, who clearly liked Ronnie. Eventually, Ronnie and Scott came to an understanding, and were able to avoid budget cuts by cutting all funding on varsity sports. Marla moved on, and Zach became a Buddhist. By Season 4, Ronnie has stepped down from her position as vice principal and became the school guidance counselor.
(Seasons 2-4), was some kind of humanities
teacher who was introduced at the beginning of Season 2. He came from a working-class Irish
-Catholic
home, and had a populist
political philosophy and a certain ambivalence about religion
due to being sexually molested by his priest, Father Bill Egan, when he was a child. Danny also had a conservative
side when it came to race, and didn't like the "sacred cow
" status some racial issues were given. Later in Season 2, he began a debate about the word "nigger
" in Winslow High. Marla correctly suggested that Danny's main flaw wasn't being controversial, but raising questions that he didn't have any helpful solutions to. Danny and Marla fought a lot (including one fist-fight early in Season 3), but also admitted they had a lot in common.
Like Marla, Danny's hot-headed attitude got him into trouble in both his professional and personal life. To name a few examples, when he walked in on his fiancé having sex with another man, Danny threw a phone at the man. Later, he sent letters to the parents of overweight
students advising them to watch their children's junk food
intake over the summer; one of the students punched him for that.
On the upside, Danny helped students with various issues, including a kid who had been molested by the same priest who hurt Danny, and a 12 year-old genius
. He also had a special relationship with overachieving Debbie Nixon in Season 2, which came under scrutiny but turned out to be a healthy teacher/student mentorship.
In the series' third season, Danny began dating Claire Ellison, whom he eventually married, and gained custody of Allison, his 5-year-old niece, while Joanie, his sister, was in rehab
for drug addiction. By Season 4, the marriage was faltering, and Joanie came back for Allison (which is rather legally dubious as they had legally adopted her). The series left Danny and Claire willing to work on their marriage while Allison went to live with her mom.
(episodes 1-49), was perhaps the most popular of Boston Public
' s characters. A teacher who was assigned to teach in the infamous "Dungeon" after Marla walks out on the class in the pilot episode when dealing with the disruptive students there overwhelmed her, Harry specialized in using his own dark side to reach kids on the edge.
Possessed of a sarcastic sense of humor, Harry was infamous for deploying unusual (and often dangerous) methods to try and reach his students, such as firing a gun
off in the Dungeon in an effort to teach the unruly students there a lesson in respect, agreeing to become the faculty sponsor for a student branch of the National Rifle Association
only to later deliver a disparaging speech against the organization (which he linked to an American glorification of gun violence
), and starting up a "Suicide Club" to get kids to open up about their suicidal
feelings.
In an early Season 1 storyline, Harry was kissed by a student, Dana Poole, who later blackmail
ed him. He almost lost his job for this and his other radical antics, one being withholding knowledge that a student, Tyronn Anderson, had killed a rival gang member in self-defense
. However, Harry's great compassion
and ability to persuade his students to never give up and do the right thing ultimately saved his job, though he continued to come into conflict with Scott and Steven over his controversial methods.
Harry began a relationship with Lauren. The two initially seemed happy until Lauren began to feel that Harry wasn't really opening up to her; they subsequently broke up shortly after Harry confided in Lauren that he knew Tyronn killed someone. Harry's more serious relationship was with Ronnie Cooke in Seasons 2 and 3. Ronnie had initially been brought in by Harry to talk about her job as a big-time lawyer, but she was so impressed by Harry's handling of students that she signed up as a teacher.
In the second season finale, Harry was stabbed by a former student and almost died. It took the near-death of Harry Senate for the rest of the faculty to realize how much they had come to love Harry as more than a colleague, but also as a close friend. Initially, Harry was supposed to die from his wounds; this was David E. Kelley
's way of writing Nicky Katt out of the show so that he could pursue a movie career. When Katt became available again, but for only a part of the next season, Kelley and his writers allowed Harry to survive the attack, only to suffer from a slow mental breakdown
that would ultimately provide Katt with a very different exit from the show.
A combination of post-traumatic stress (as a result of the stabbing) and his inability to "save" some of his most troubled students prompted Harry's breakdown as he displayed increasingly unpredictable behavior, such as taking off for Florida
on an unapproved leave of absence, harboring a teenage prostitute and her young son, yelling at his students for not completing their homework, and getting rough with Ronnie while making love
with her. Given the choice of being fired or taking a sabbatical, Harry was dismayed, but realized that his current mental state was affecting his unique ability as a teacher. He chose to take a leave of absence to get himself together, promising that he would someday return. As he walked out of the building, Harry gave newly-arrived teacher Kimberly Woods some good advice.
Kelley admitted that Harry's choice to take a leave of absence was a way of allowing for his eventual return should Katt become available again; the show's premature cancellation prevented the possibility.
) and Colin Flynn (Joey McIntyre). Zach seemed to be a replacement for Harry, except with no mysterious personal demons. He didn't deal with the same on-edge kids, but was very well liked by students who dubbed him "Fish." He soon began to date Ronnie until they broke up and he became a Buddhist (despite being Jewish
). Colin had a brief affair with Patricia Emerson, the mother of Becky Emerson (who had a crush on him herself), but broke it off when a jealous Becky threatened to reveal the affair in a poem she was going to read in public.
The third character was Kimberly Woods (Michelle Monaghan
), a young and somewhat naive woman in a "Teach for America
" program whose class discussion on affirmative action
results in racial violence that ended up putting Steven on trial for murder
. Kimberly was later forced to leave Winslow High after an obsessed lesbian
student stalked and threatened to kill her. Zach and Colin disappeared from the show after the third season with no explanation as to what happened to them.
In the fourth and final season, three new characters came onto the show. The first was Carmen Torres (Natalia Baron
), a 21-year-old Spanish
-fluent physics
teacher who would clash with Steven over his insistence that she not speak and teach Spanish in the classroom. (Interestingly, the storyline never brought up the controversial reality that Massachusetts
schools have a state-mandated English
-only policy.) Carmen started a brief relationship with Jake (Milo Ventimiglia
), an undercover cop who was posing as a "bad boy" teenager in order to bring down a student who was selling drugs; Jake was murdered when the drug bust went wrong. In the meantime, she helped Jenn Cardell, a student who also liked Jake and had a drinking problem. Carmen revealed her own drinking problem, but little was made of it. She also revealed her mother committed suicide
. Carmen disappears in the middle of the final season with no explanation.
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Boston Public
Boston Public
Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
.
Steven Harper
Steven Harper, played by Chi McBrideChi McBride
Kenneth "Chi" McBride is an American actor. He starred as Steven Harper on the series Boston Public, as Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies, and recently appeared in Fox's drama Human Target.-Early life:...
, is the tough and level-headed principal with a heart of gold who constantly struggles with the hang-ups and problems of his employees and students, from Harry Senate's firing off a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
in his classroom to Milton Buttle's affair with a student in Season 1, and Danny Hanson and Marla Hendricks' bickering (and eventual fist-fighting) in Seasons 2 and 3. Throughout the series, Steven remained the most consistent character on the show, and its strongest presence and focal point. Considered one of the most important characters in the show, he was consistently the school's leader, handling teachers and students with problems; much of his character revolved around his pride in the teaching profession and his loyalty to the kids and the faculty.
Little is known about Steven's past, but there are suggestions that he was a rebellious youth during his teenage years. He mentions in one episode that he crashed a car into a tree while drunk, and reveals in another episode that, when he was 14, he and some friends robbed
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
, but when one of his teachers found out and didn't report him to the police, Steven began to turn his life around. This, years later, allowed Steven to admire, more or less, teachers who stopped at nothing to help their students. It is also mentioned that Steven played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in high school.
Steven was married to a woman named Louanna, but they divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d. During Season 2, Brooke, Steven's rebellious, liberal activist teenage daughter, gets transferred to Winslow High after being expelled from her private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
when an animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
protest goes wrong. Steven manages to build a relationship with Brooke and his estranged ex-wife, who later goes on to date another man. By the end of Season 3, Brooke had been written out of the series, as she had graduated and was accepted to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Once the show's fourth and final season began, Steven embarked on a relationship with Marilyn Sudor, which caused some friction between him and Scott Guber, who had become attracted to Marylin.
Steven appeared in a 2005 episode of Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
titled "Let Sales Ring", when a student sued Winslow High for censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
ing a news network (that was clearly Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, though never explicitly identified as such). He also appeared on Boston Legal's parent show, The Practice
The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
.
Lauren Davis
Lauren Davis, played by Jessalyn GilsigJessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's ex-wife Terri Schuester in Glee...
(Seasons 1-2), was one of the two social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
teachers in Season 1. She earned the nickname "The Nun" because of her straight-laced ways. By Season 2, when the ostensibly hipper Ronnie Cooke appeared, Lauren's character changed, making her what her colleagues called a "prima donna
Prima donna
Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
perfectionist." In Season 1, Steven felt that she was being racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
because she was tougher on her African-American students, an accusation she was willing to consider in order to save Harvey from being fired.
Lauren briefly dated Harry, but broke up with him, in what was Season 1's biggest romance. Later, she began dating Daniel Evans, a former student who turned out to be a stalker
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
. Her carrying a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
to protect herself resulted in her getting a summertime suspension.
During Season 2, Lauren was shocked when some of her students were hospitalized because they were so stressed out about her work assignments. Scott had a crush on Lauren, a relationship that never seemed to go anywhere until right before Lauren was written out of the show.
When the third season premiered, Gilsig had left the show, and it was mentioned that Lauren had left Winslow High for a job at a private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
.
Marla Hendricks
Marla Hendricks, played by Loretta DevineLoretta Devine
Loretta Devine is an American stage, film and television actress known for her roles on Boston Public, Grey's Anatomy, and Eli Stone. She also provided her voice for the stop motion animated television series The PJs. Devine is a NAACP Image Award and Emmy award winning actress.-Early life:Devine...
, was a social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
teacher who suffered from severe bipolar manic depression
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, the effects of which were mainly only seen in Season 1. She had to take pills to make it through a stressful day, which seemed to be just about every day.
Marla was occasionally depicted as a vocally religious woman, encouraging students to pray on school grounds
School prayer
School prayer in its common usage refers to state-approved prayer by students in state schools. Depending on the country and the type of school, organized prayer may be required, permitted, or prohibited...
and running a gospel choir. She was also frequently the one to give lectures to other faculty members, parents or students about the financial and emotional challenges facing teachers, along with other topical issues such as bullying, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, and the usage of the word "nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
/nigga
Nigga
Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger .- Use in language :In practice, its use and meaning are...
" by white people
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
.
On the other hand, on many occasions, Marla was depicted, like Danny and Harvey, as someone who did not think before she spoke. She was vocal and no-nonsense, and often insulted teachers, students and even Steven when they needed it, or sometimes just because she needed it. Scott once accused her of being too emotional on too many different issues to the point it diluted her potency as an advocate. Marla's bold personality kept her from advancing into administration when she insulted the concept of standardized testing during a job interview for vice principal. In Season 3, Marla had a brief relationship with a political advocate played by Vern Troyer.
In Season 4, Marla decided to have a baby, and asked Steven if he would consider donating his sperm
Sperm
The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...
. When Steven refused, she continued to try to get pregnant but failed, suffering a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
, but later got the chance of experiencing motherhood when she took in a troubled student named Rainy.
Overall, Marla was considered an excellent and compassionate teacher, adept at reaching kids and parents. Like the other faculty members, her personal foibles sometimes got in her way, but she was, overall, there for the kids and her colleagues.
Scott Guber
Scott Guber, played by Anthony HealdAnthony Heald
Philip Anthony Mair Heald, known professionally as Anthony Heald , is an American actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jail nemesis, Dr. Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, and for playing assistant principal Scott Guber in David E. Kelley's Boston Public...
, is the vice principal who was forced to play the disciplinary "bad cop" to both the students and faculty. As someone who grew up bullied because his peers mistakenly thought he was gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, Scott treated bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
and bullying as serious a crime as cutting class
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
or cheating
Cheating
Cheating refers to the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. Cheating can refer...
on an exam. On the other hand, some episodes had him seriously bullying teachers with a condescending, managerial tone that caused them to dislike him. In fact, the students saw him as so tough they labeled him "The Nazi" in spite of the fact that Scott is Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. However, Scott's dedication to Winslow High and its students was eventually noted in the first season finale when the kids gave him a special award.
It is strongly indicated that Scott's father died several years ago; his single mother, Miriam, appears in Season 3 and goes out on a date with Harvey. Scott also has an older brother named George, who is a high-priced lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
; he became estranged from his brother when George set Scott up on a date with a masseuse who turned out to be a call girl
Call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
.
Scott's ongoing goal was to one day become a principal himself, a goal he pursued in Season 1, which was also devoted to his growing dislike for being the "bad guy" to Steven's "good guy." He was disappointed to receive an unfavorable recommendation from Steven, who said he wasn't ready and was too autocratic to be a principal. Over the next seasons, Scott and Steven would sometimes wrangle over the boundaries between their two jobs, but their friendship was key to the both of them and to the show.
Scott's love of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, composing and conducting was a staple of the character's off-duty time and occasionally allowed for storylines. His romantic life, unlike Steven's, was often fodder for storylines on the show. In Season 1, Scott pursued Lauren to the point she called it harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
, and later asked Marilyn Sudor out, leaving Lauren and Marilyn to conclude that he asked out any woman who was nice to him. This tendency came to a head in Season 2 when Scott began an ill-advised relationship with the duplicitous Meredith Peters who, in Season 1, locked her son Jeremy in the basement. Jeremy returned the favor, and she escaped only by chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
, severing her hand in the process and gaining the nickname "Hook Lady." The relationship was filled with ups and downs. Scott's attempts to get on Jeremy's good side were occasionally chronicled, including his sensitivity to Jeremy's bisexuality
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
. Both characters basically disappeared after Scott separated from the erratic and pathological Meredith late in Season 2.
At the end of Season 2, Scott took up with Lauren, but as she didn't come back for Season 3, we never learned how that relationship ended. By the end of Season 3, however, Scott had increased his level of friendship with Marilyn through dancing lessons, and by Season 4, he was pursuing her. Marilyn rejected his advances, as she was seeing Steven. Weeks later, Scott found love in Violet Montgomery, a former adult film actress turned free spirit
Free Spirit
Free Spirit may refer to:*Free Spirit , 1995*Free Spirit , 2009*Free Spirit , an American television series*Free Spirit , a South African television series...
who shared his taste in music and agreed to date him exclusively.
Marilyn Sudor
Marilyn Sudor, played by Sharon LealSharon Leal
Sharon Leal is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in movies such as Dreamgirls, Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married Too? and the televisions series Hellcats.-Personal life:...
, was the music instructor and an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher. One of the most attractive teachers in the school, Marilyn was often the listed as the teacher the "boys most wanted to sleep with" in a yearly student poll.
Student storylines had her involved with Tyronn Anderson (a gang member whom Harry was covering for), Jeremy Peters (who was being locked in the basement by his mother), and Aisha (a young talented singer who needed to break up with her abusive boyfriend). Marilyn admitted in Season 3 that she too had been in an abusive relationship with an ex-husband who showed up for an annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
in Season 4.
Romantically, Marilyn joined with Scott to take some dancing lessons, but was quick to assert that they were going to just be friends. She dated a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach who turned out to be in coaching to advance his college coaching chances. In the final season, she began dating Steven, and their romance became public after a student faced suspension for kissing Marilyn at a scholarship awards ceremony threatened to go before the school board because he felt that he was suspended for kissing the principal's girlfriend; eventually, Steven agreed to reduce the student's punishment so that it would not cause him to lose his scholarship or hurt his college application process.
Marilyn was also involved in many of the musical numbers the show employed, singing at school concerts, doing a singing trio with Louisa and Marla, and working with young musicians. She was known for being by-the-book, compassionate, and straight-forward, but also rather enigmatic and sort of a utility player a lot of the time.
Harvey Lipschultz
Harvey Lipschultz, played by Fyvush FinkelFyvush Finkel
Philip “Fyvush” Finkel is an American actor best known as a star of Yiddish theater and for his role as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the television series Picket Fences, for which he earned an Emmy Award in 1994. He is also known for his portrayal of Harvey Lipschultz, a crotchety U.S...
, was a somewhat stereotypical
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
elderly Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
man. He was not a fan of political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, and his character seemed to switch from being a well-meaning old man that once met with the school's football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team to ask them not to discriminate
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
against a player who was rumored to be gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, while other times he came off as an Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
-type bigot or a simple comical buffoon of a bygone era.
As a young man, Harvey served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On the night before he left to go to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, he had a one-night stand
One-night stand
Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
with an African-American "lady of the evening" who later gave birth to a son named Lester who, at the age of sixty, was able to track down Harvey and introduce him to his family, including Lester's children and grandchildren. After the war, Harvey came home and married a woman named Helen, and remained faithful to her until she died, although she did have an affair. He frequently reflected back on Helen, who died shortly before the series began. In Season 3, a stock dip erased Harvey's life savings.
Often threatening to retire and also threatened with being fired, Harvey was able to continue working after he agreed to attend racial sensitivity classes in Season 1, and in Season 3, was barely saved from retirement by some last-minute budget restructuring.
Ronnie Cooke
Ronnie Cooke, played by Jeri RyanJeri Ryan
Jeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan is an American actress best known for her roles as the liberated Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager; Tara Cole on Leverage; and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public. She was also a regular on the science fiction show Dark Skies and the legal drama series...
(Seasons 2-4), was a college friend of Harry's, a successful and wealthy corporate law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
yer who decided that her true calling in life was to teach at a public high school. As a lawyer, Ronnie often acted as a legal advocate for students in what some argued were completely unrealistic and "off-topic" situations. She handled at least two murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
-related trials (one for Steven, one for some students). Other times, the stories fit the school: One of her first actions as a teacher was to help Danny organize his students to sue Harvey for emotional abuse, and also helped students get out of various legal jams.
Ronnie briefly dated Harry until he left the show early in Season 3. She then began an on-and-off relationship with Zach Fischer, and accepted a position from Dave Fields, the mayor's liaison, to be Winslow High's new assistant principal after she impressed the school board with her testing techniques. This made Marla, the other candidate for the job, jealous, and angered Scott, who saw Ronnie as a glory-hound putting her own political interests above the needs of the students. Zach became jealous of the mayor's liaison, who clearly liked Ronnie. Eventually, Ronnie and Scott came to an understanding, and were able to avoid budget cuts by cutting all funding on varsity sports. Marla moved on, and Zach became a Buddhist. By Season 4, Ronnie has stepped down from her position as vice principal and became the school guidance counselor.
Danny Hanson
Daniel 'Danny' Hanson, played by Michael RapaportMichael Rapaport
Michael David Rapaport is an American, actor, director and a comedian. He has acted in more than forty films since the early 1990s...
(Seasons 2-4), was some kind of humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
teacher who was introduced at the beginning of Season 2. He came from a working-class Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
home, and had a populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
political philosophy and a certain ambivalence about religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
due to being sexually molested by his priest, Father Bill Egan, when he was a child. Danny also had a conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
side when it came to race, and didn't like the "sacred cow
Sacred cow (idiom)
Sacred cow is an idiom, a figurative reference to sacred cows in some religions. This idiom is thought to originate in American English, although similar or even identical idioms occur in many other languages....
" status some racial issues were given. Later in Season 2, he began a debate about the word "nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
" in Winslow High. Marla correctly suggested that Danny's main flaw wasn't being controversial, but raising questions that he didn't have any helpful solutions to. Danny and Marla fought a lot (including one fist-fight early in Season 3), but also admitted they had a lot in common.
Like Marla, Danny's hot-headed attitude got him into trouble in both his professional and personal life. To name a few examples, when he walked in on his fiancé having sex with another man, Danny threw a phone at the man. Later, he sent letters to the parents of overweight
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
students advising them to watch their children's junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
intake over the summer; one of the students punched him for that.
On the upside, Danny helped students with various issues, including a kid who had been molested by the same priest who hurt Danny, and a 12 year-old genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
. He also had a special relationship with overachieving Debbie Nixon in Season 2, which came under scrutiny but turned out to be a healthy teacher/student mentorship.
In the series' third season, Danny began dating Claire Ellison, whom he eventually married, and gained custody of Allison, his 5-year-old niece, while Joanie, his sister, was in rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
for drug addiction. By Season 4, the marriage was faltering, and Joanie came back for Allison (which is rather legally dubious as they had legally adopted her). The series left Danny and Claire willing to work on their marriage while Allison went to live with her mom.
Harry Senate
Harry Senate, played by Nicky KattNicky Katt
Nicholas Lea "Nicky" Katt is an American actor known for his role as unorthodox teacher Harry Senate on David E. Kelley's Fox drama Boston Public.-Career:...
(episodes 1-49), was perhaps the most popular of Boston Public
Boston Public
Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
Possessed of a sarcastic sense of humor, Harry was infamous for deploying unusual (and often dangerous) methods to try and reach his students, such as firing a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
off in the Dungeon in an effort to teach the unruly students there a lesson in respect, agreeing to become the faculty sponsor for a student branch of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
only to later deliver a disparaging speech against the organization (which he linked to an American glorification of gun violence
Gun violence
Gun violence defined literally means the use of a firearm to threaten or inflict violence or harm. Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with the use of a firearm; it may or may not include actions ruled as self-defense, actions for law enforcement, or...
), and starting up a "Suicide Club" to get kids to open up about their suicidal
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
feelings.
In an early Season 1 storyline, Harry was kissed by a student, Dana Poole, who later blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed him. He almost lost his job for this and his other radical antics, one being withholding knowledge that a student, Tyronn Anderson, had killed a rival gang member in self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
. However, Harry's great compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
and ability to persuade his students to never give up and do the right thing ultimately saved his job, though he continued to come into conflict with Scott and Steven over his controversial methods.
Harry began a relationship with Lauren. The two initially seemed happy until Lauren began to feel that Harry wasn't really opening up to her; they subsequently broke up shortly after Harry confided in Lauren that he knew Tyronn killed someone. Harry's more serious relationship was with Ronnie Cooke in Seasons 2 and 3. Ronnie had initially been brought in by Harry to talk about her job as a big-time lawyer, but she was so impressed by Harry's handling of students that she signed up as a teacher.
In the second season finale, Harry was stabbed by a former student and almost died. It took the near-death of Harry Senate for the rest of the faculty to realize how much they had come to love Harry as more than a colleague, but also as a close friend. Initially, Harry was supposed to die from his wounds; this was 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...
's way of writing Nicky Katt out of the show so that he could pursue a movie career. When Katt became available again, but for only a part of the next season, Kelley and his writers allowed Harry to survive the attack, only to suffer from a slow mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
that would ultimately provide Katt with a very different exit from the show.
A combination of post-traumatic stress (as a result of the stabbing) and his inability to "save" some of his most troubled students prompted Harry's breakdown as he displayed increasingly unpredictable behavior, such as taking off for Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
on an unapproved leave of absence, harboring a teenage prostitute and her young son, yelling at his students for not completing their homework, and getting rough with Ronnie while making love
Making Love
Making Love is a 1982 American film. It tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality and the love triangle that develops around him, his wife and another man...
with her. Given the choice of being fired or taking a sabbatical, Harry was dismayed, but realized that his current mental state was affecting his unique ability as a teacher. He chose to take a leave of absence to get himself together, promising that he would someday return. As he walked out of the building, Harry gave newly-arrived teacher Kimberly Woods some good advice.
Kelley admitted that Harry's choice to take a leave of absence was a way of allowing for his eventual return should Katt become available again; the show's premature cancellation prevented the possibility.
Other teachers
In the third season, three new teachers were hired. The first two were Zach Fischer (Jon AbrahamsJon Abrahams
Jon Avery Abrahams is an American film and television actor.-Life and career:Abrahams attended Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn....
) and Colin Flynn (Joey McIntyre). Zach seemed to be a replacement for Harry, except with no mysterious personal demons. He didn't deal with the same on-edge kids, but was very well liked by students who dubbed him "Fish." He soon began to date Ronnie until they broke up and he became a Buddhist (despite being Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
). Colin had a brief affair with Patricia Emerson, the mother of Becky Emerson (who had a crush on him herself), but broke it off when a jealous Becky threatened to reveal the affair in a poem she was going to read in public.
The third character was Kimberly Woods (Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
), a young and somewhat naive woman in a "Teach for America
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
" program whose class discussion on affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
results in racial violence that ended up putting Steven on trial for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Kimberly was later forced to leave Winslow High after an obsessed lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
student stalked and threatened to kill her. Zach and Colin disappeared from the show after the third season with no explanation as to what happened to them.
In the fourth and final season, three new characters came onto the show. The first was Carmen Torres (Natalia Baron
Natalia Baron
Natalia Barón is an American actress.She went to Ransom Everglades High School in Miami along with Ilan Arboleda, Robin Paul, Marieh Delfino and Phil Lord and studied musical theatre at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.She is notable for her television role as Carmen Torres in Boston Public.She is...
), a 21-year-old Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-fluent physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
teacher who would clash with Steven over his insistence that she not speak and teach Spanish in the classroom. (Interestingly, the storyline never brought up the controversial reality that Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
schools have a state-mandated English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-only policy.) Carmen started a brief relationship with Jake (Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia is an American television actor best known for his role of Peter Petrelli on the TV series Heroes...
), an undercover cop who was posing as a "bad boy" teenager in order to bring down a student who was selling drugs; Jake was murdered when the drug bust went wrong. In the meantime, she helped Jenn Cardell, a student who also liked Jake and had a drinking problem. Carmen revealed her own drinking problem, but little was made of it. She also revealed her mother committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Carmen disappears in the middle of the final season with no explanation.
Other faculty members
There were some minor faculty members that served to comment on the current administration and teacher techniques and status.- Louisa Fenn (Rashida JonesRashida JonesRashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
) was the wisecracking and sassy high school secretary who briefly dated Milton Buttle until he broke up with her after meeting Lisa Grier. Louisa learned of Milton's affair with Lisa and pondered ratting on him, but didn't; however, she did exhibit a spiteful attitude towards Lisa. In the second season, she was discovered to be secretly writing "Dear Helen", a sex advice column for the school newspaper, which almost led to her dismissal. Louisa came from a bi-racial family (her father was African-American while her mother was CaucasianWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
). Before departing from the series, she started up an unofficial girl band with Marla and Marilyn.
- Milton Buttle (Joey SlotnickJoey SlotnickJoey Slotnick is an American film and television actor.-Biography:Slotnick was born in Chicago, Ill.His film roles include computer industry pioneer Steve Wozniak in the film Pirates of Silicon Valley, and a part in the 1996 blockbuster Twister...
) was the nerdy and mild-mannered English teacher who was often on the receiving end of Sheryl Holt's online parodies. He met Lisa Grier at a StarbucksStarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
one day and started a relationship with her, only to find that she was a student at Winslow High. Despite this, he reluctantly continued his relationship with Lisa but was discovered and fired, though he continued dating Lisa. Her parents actually approved of their relationship.
- Kevin Riley (Thomas McCarthyThomas McCarthy (actor)Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
) was the footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach who was fired when he told Scott that he knew that about the secret affair between Milton and Lisa in an attempt to get Scott and Steven to go easy on Milton. Kevin sued to get his job back in an episode that crossed over with The PracticeThe PracticeThe Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
, but he lost his case and angrily snubbed Steven when he attempted to make peace with Kevin. The coach that replaced Kevin was a minor character who was rarely seen.
- Dr. Benjamin Harris (Leslie JordanLeslie JordanLeslie Allen Jordan is an American actor and playwright.- Early life and career :Hailing from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and at a height of 4 ft 11 in , Jordan has made numerous appearances in both film and television...
) was an effeminate Southern chemistry teacher who originated in the Ally McBealAlly McBealAlly McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
episode "The Wedding." He first appeared when he helped Jeremy Peters dissect his mother's severed hand in the second season premiere, then got into trouble when he organized a school production of Susan MillerSusan Miller (playwright)Susan Miller, two time OBIE winner and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting, is perhaps best known as the author/performer of the critically acclaimed one woman play, My Left Breast and a producer and writer for the web series Anyone But Me.-Life:Miller served for three years as the...
's It's Our Town Too that centered around homosexualityHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Dr. Harris later resigned after he was discovered having had cybersexCybersexCybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex, mudsex, TinySex and, colloquially, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more persons connected remotely via computer network send each other sexually explicit messages describing a sexual experience...
with two 18-year-old female Winslow students who had posed as college students in an InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
chatroom.
- Marsha Shinn (Debbi MorganDebbi MorganDeborah "Debbi" Morgan is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Angie Hubbard on the ABC soap opera All My Children, and for her role as The Seer in the fourth and fifth seasons of Charmed.Morgan joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as...
) was the judgmental and overly critical superintendentSuperintendent (education)In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
who once visited the school to complain about the unorthodox teaching methods of the faculty in an attempt to get Steven fired after he physically assaulted a school bully in the pilot episode. Louisa called her "The Dragon Lady." She apparently quit her job since a new superintendent showed up at the school in later episodes.
- Bob 'Big Boy' Lick (Dwight "Heavy D" Myers) was the school's heavyset but compassionate counselor whom most students did not seem to like or trust, but both Steven and Scott often referred students over to him. He took a sabbatical during the final season without advising the administration and never returned.
- Elizabeth Vasquez (Elizabeth PenaElizabeth PeñaElizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
) (presumably) replaced Marsha Shinn as the superintendent of schools. Unlike Shinn, she was less judgmental, and was persuaded by Steven to not suspend or fire Scott for his role in the student riot in the third season premiere; she even half-jokingly told Steven to keep Scott from talking to the athletes. However, Vasquez was fired in the middle of the third season.
Minor characters and students
Minor characters in the series were primarily (but not always) students who were introduced to make a comment on society in general.- Dana Poole (Sarah Thompson) was a popular student who kissed Harry, then tried to blackmailBlackmailIn common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
him. Despite this, Harry reached out to her and tried to help her when she became a stripperStripperA stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
. As a college student, Dana returned to interview the high school faculty and staff about the low teacher salaries and began to date Harry, only to later break up with him at his birthday party because he lied to his co-workers about how long their relationship had been going on.
- Susan Potter (Joanna GarciaJoanna GarcíaJoanna Leanna García is an American television and film actress. She is known for her portrayal of Cheyenne Hart Montgomery on The CW sitcom Reba...
) was a popular student who was caught giving oral sexOral sexOral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
in the school hallway to sway a student election.
- Sheryl Holt (Lamya Jezek) was the editor of the student newspaper and webmaster of an online website, Holt 45. The website was a frequent problem for the faculty, as it often spoofed them and their private lives with graphic innuendos. Though usually a source of stress and conflict for the staff, Sheryl was sometimes sought out for information. The school eventually took her to court for the humiliating publishings on her website but lost the case. She was eventually set straight by Scott when he continually forced her to hire a lawyer for violating her rights of free speech, which was costing her family considerable amounts of money. Sheryl graduated along with the rest of her class in the Season 1 finale, and presented Scott with a special award.
- Christine Banks (Lindsay HollisterLindsay HollisterLindsay Hollister is an American actress.-Biography:Hollister was born in Columbus, Ohio. She graduated from Pickerington High School and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre Performance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio....
) was an unpopular and overweight girl who was often bullied and got into trouble when she responded to the harassment with violence. Kevin Riley persuaded her to earn respect from the students by being on the wrestling team, and it worked. However, Christine suffered a heart attack after playing a match, and later died.
- Brooke Harper (China ShaversChina ShaversChina Shavers is an American actress. She is also sometimes credited as China Jesushita Shavers usually for her larger roles. She's best known for her supporting roles as Brooke Harper on the high school drama Boston Public and as Dreama on the supernatural sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage...
) was Steven's headstrong daughter who was transferred to her father's high school after being kicked out of a private schoolPrivate schoolPrivate schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
for kidnapping the school's mascot as part of an animal rightsAnimal rightsAnimal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
protest. She continued her political activism, including organizing the students to stage a walkout over toxic chemicals and overcrowded classrooms in the school that ended up sparking a riot as the school athletes feared that these problems will be fixed by cutting the sports budget. Brooke once dated a 27-year-old man as well as Jeremy Peters, but neither relationship lasted long. She always hoped for her parents to get back together, but had accepted that it was not going to happen. At the end of the third season, Brooke had graduated and had been accepted to Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
- Meredith Peters (Kathy BakerKathy BakerKatherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker is an American stage, film and television actress.-Career:Baker began her career at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love opposite Ed Harris...
) was Scott's girlfriend in Season 2 who was given a teaching position at Winslow High. She was always a little questionable; David E. KelleyDavid E. KelleyDavid 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...
apparently wanted the fans to always wonder if she was lying or not. Meredith was originally a recurring character in the later part of Season 1, and was suspected by Marilyn of abusing her son, Jeremy. It was later discovered that Meredith would often lock Jeremy in the basement as punishment. She mysteriously disappeared for a few episodes, during which time Jeremy's behavior was noticeably different. It was eventually revealed that Jeremy had locked her in the basement as retaliation against her punishments. Meredith returned in the first episode of Season 2 but without her right hand, which she'd accidentally severed in an attempt to escape from her bonds in the basement. After helping around Winslow High, she was given a teaching position and began her relationship with Scott shortly thereafter. A hook eventually took her right hand's place, which earned her the nickname of "The Hook Lady." The hook was later replaced by a prosthetic given to her by Scott as a gift. She was eventually fired by Scott for hitting Marcie Kendall, which subsequently ended their increasingly shaky relationship. She makes her final appearance at Ronnie's disastrous surprise birthday party for Harry in "Chapter Forty-One."
- Jeremy Peters (Kaj-Erik EriksenKaj-Erik EriksenKaj-Erik Eriksen is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Danny Farrell in the television series The 4400, Jeremy Peters in the television series Boston Public, and as the son of the main character in the 1990s show The Commish.-Career:Eriksen began his acting career in Vancouver,...
) was Meredith's son. In Season 1, he was the student with the highest grades in his class and a student of Marilyn's. Marilyn consistently tried to help him when she suspected that his mother abused him; Jeremy eventually admitted to her that his mother would lock him in the basement as punishment. Near the end of Season 1, Jeremy's behavior significantly changed. He shifted from reserved and timid to sociable and rebellious. When Marilyn couldn't get in touch with Meredith, she suspected that Jeremy had done something to her. In the second season premiere, Jeremy brought a severed hand into school to dissect. When Marilyn found out that the hand had belonged to a middle-aged woman, she began to theorize that the hand belonged to Meredith. She soon learned that Meredith was alive and well, but was indeed missing her right hand. It was later revealed that during her mysterious disappearance and Jeremy's dramatic change in behavior, Jeremy had actually locked her in the basement out of retaliation. After she lost the missing hand in an attempt to escape, they patched up their relationship with the help of family therapy. When Scott and Meredith began their relationship, Jeremy was jealous of the love his mother gave to Scott but never gave to him as a child. Scott likened their mother-son relationship to that of Norman BatesNorman BatesNorman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
and his mother. At some point, Scott discovered Jeremy kissing another boy backstage during a theater rehearsal, and it was assumed that he was gayHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. It was revealed that Jeremy was actually bisexual when Scott later discovered him kissing Brooke Harper. Jeremy's relationship with Brooke was sabotaged by Meredith due to her unusually accepting attitude towards the couple. Jeremy's last appearance is in the school hallway, when he's blown off by Scott after Meredith's departure from the show. It's presumed that he graduated with the rest of his class since he did not return in Season 3.
- Marcie Kendall (Cara DeLiziaCara DeLiziaCara Elizabeth DeLizia is an American television actress most known for her portrayal as Fiona "Fi" Phillips alongside Mackenzie Phillips in the Disney Original Series So Weird.-Early career:...
) was a student whom Meredith slapped with her prosthesis during an argument, leading to Meredith being fired. In the third season, Marcie became Scott's assistant and was involved in the student walkout. Later on, she became pregnant by her boyfriend; overwhelmed by her impending responsibilities of being a mother, she decided to give up her baby for adoptionAdoptionAdoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
.
- Robin Chambers (L.B. Fisher) was a transgenderTransgenderTransgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
student who caused an uproar and some gay-bashing when he chose to become a candidate for prom queen. He won the contest and ended up winning a dance with the prom king, who subtly came out as being gay to Robin; the two danced the night away. Neither student is seen again.
- Patricia Emerson (Anne ArcherAnne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
) was the sultry and middle-aged mother of Becky Emerson who claimed to be the descendant of poet Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
and even kept her maiden name when she married her husband, an arms dealer. She complained to Colin Flynn about his grade on Becky's assignment and, unhappy with her marriage, flirted with him, leading to an affair with the young teacher. Ultimately, Patricia reconciled with her husband and ended the affair.
- Rebecca 'Becky' Emerson (Courtney PeldonCourtney PeldonCourtney Peldon is an American television and film actress.-Personal life:Peldon was born in New York City, New York. Her younger sister Ashley Peldon is also an actress...
) was the beautiful but nutty daughter of Patricia Emerson who developed a crush on Colin and was devastated when she learned that he was sleeping with her mother. As a result, she threatened to expose Colin's affair at a poetry reading until she saw her parents together again and decided not to. Later, she became the anchorwoman of the Student television stationStudent television stationA student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming....
and was about to air footage of a married teacher having sex with another woman in a classroom, but was persuaded from doing so by Danny. In the series' fourth and final season, Becky became Scott's assistant and once gave him surprisingly insightful advice.
- Devon Rick (Matt LutzMatt LutzMatt Lutz is an American film, television, and theatre actor, who played Phil Newberry on the Hallmark Channel's "McBride" murder-mystery series from 2004–2006, and has had significant roles in the feature films "A Walk to Remember", "Bringing Down the House", and "End of the Spear"...
) was a gay teenager on the swim team who watched as his boyfriend was beaten up by their homophobicHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
teammates. The incident prompted Scott to start up a Gay-Straight AllianceGay-straight allianceGay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
and lecture the school on the evils of homophobia. Eventually, Scott persuaded Devon to come out and identify the students who beat up his boyfriend.
- Dave Fields (David ConradDavid ConradDavid Crawford Conrad is an American actor. From 2005 to 2010, he starred in the television series Ghost Whisperer alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt.-Early life:...
) was liaison to the Mayor pushing for standardized testing and budget cuts. He persuaded Ronnie to act as his eyes and ears in the school, and even offered her a possible political career, but Ronnie eventually rejected his offer of romance and politics.
- Riley Ellis (Andrea BowenAndrea BowenAndrea Lauren Bowen is an American actress who is best known for playing Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives . She has won two SAG Awards.-Biography:...
) was a 12-year-old prodigyChild prodigyA child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
looking for a normal friendship while attending Winslow High. Steven persuaded Brooke to be her friend, but Riley rejected the friendship when she realized that Brooke was only doing it to try to get close to a male student that she had a crush on. Riley later became Becky's friend and worked with her in the student television station.
- Taylor Prentice (Verne TroyerVerne TroyerVerne J. Troyer is an American stand-up comedian, actor, stuntman and performer, best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series...
) was a little person (or dwarf) ex-professor who helped underachieving students ace exams and later dated Marla. They eventually broke up.
- Henry Preston (Phil BuckmanPhil BuckmanPhil Buckman is a musician, voiceover artist and actor. He is currently the bassist for the rock band Filter.-Early life:Originally from Queens, New York, Phil Buckman arrived in Los Angeles after living in Baltimore, Boston and San Diego.-Music career:...
) was an eccentric art teacher who came on towards the end of the series, and had to deal with the frustration of budget cuts. Later, he persuaded a student to focus his talents on mathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and use art as a secondary hobby. In the final episode of the series, which was left unaired in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until WE: Women's EntertainmentWE: Women's EntertainmentWE tv is an American cable television channel that is marketed towards women. It features some original programming, such as non-fiction talk shows, as well as made-for-TV movies, older feature films, and reruns of TV shows, it also shows art and fashion documentaries and reality series....
, showed Henry slept with Ronnie, who had previously been acting as a therapist of sorts to Henry, and was suspended from the school after hugging a sobbing female student. The suspension caused the students to stage a sit-in in his favor.
- Charlie Bixby (Dennis MillerDennis MillerDennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
) was a smart-alecky and arrogant investment banker who was forced to teach math at Winslow High as part of his community serviceCommunity serviceCommunity service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
for being convicted of securities fraudSecurities fraudSecurities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws....
. He was able to reach his students by devising math problems with references to illicit drugs and prostitutionProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, and volunteered at the school's suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
hotline where he befriended a teenager whom he persuaded to not kill himself. Charlie disappeared in the middle of the final season without explanation. Bixby had a habit of repeating his name for seemingly no reason, a characteristic shared by Denny Crane, another character later created by David E. Kelley.
- Peter Feldman (Miko HughesMiko HughesMiko John Hughes is an American actor best known for his film roles as a child actor as Gage Creed in Pet Sematary , as an autistic boy opposite Bruce Willis in Mercury Rising and as Dylan, Heather Langenkamp's son in Wes Craven's New Nightmare .-Career:Hughes started his acting career in a...
) was a student who, after being electrocuted in Danny's class, came to believe that he was Jesus Christ. As such, he began to come to school dressed in ceremonial robes, offering advice to Danny and even using student fees to help a homeless man. Eventually, it was discovered that the reason behind his assuming the identity of Jesus was that he witnessed a young boy get hit by a bus one afternoon.
- Julien (Thomas DekkerThomas Dekker (actor)Thomas Alexander Dekker is an American film and television actor and a musician. He is also a singer and has written and produced two albums. He is best known for his roles as John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Nick Szalinski on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, and Zach...
) was a student who came out to his father, who beat him and his mother. Julien ran away from home, prompting Danny and Claire to track him down and get him to live with his mother, who had finally left her bigoted and abusive husband.
- Ms. Parks (Cleo KingCleo KingCleo King is an American actress probably best known for her roles as Aunt Lou in the HBO drama series Deadwood and Helene Parks in Boston Public. She is also known for portraying police officers, most notably Officer Gardner in The Hangover, and as the abrasive yet helpful school liasion officer...
) was a parent who often complained to Steven about something at the school. In one example, after Harry Senate brought his class to a morgue to see a suicide victim, her son vomited on his shoes. She then put his shoe in the principal's face, complaining about their cost.