The WORST episodes of Boston Legal

Every episode of Boston Legal ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Boston Legal!

Boston Legal tells the professional and personal stories of a group of brilliant but often emotionally-challenged attorneys. James Spader and William Shatner play Alan Shore and Denny Crane, unlikely kindred spirits among the brigade of high-priced litigators at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. In addition, Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner of the firm, continues to help bring order to the chaotic office. She keeps a vigilant eye on all, particularly Denny Crane, with whom she shares a checkered past. Fast-paced and wildly comedic, the series confronts social and moral issues, while its characters continually stretch the boundaries of the law.

Last Updated: 11/5/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
Glow in the Dark
star
7.25
861 votes

#1 - Glow in the Dark

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/12/2008

Shirley is torn when her law school sweetheart comes back into her life as opposing council, bringing back old feelings and alienating Carl. Meanwhile, Alan and Denny flirt with the idea of swinging when they both have anonymous sexual encounters in the office, and Katie is threatened by Leigh who is jealous of her relationship with Jerry.

New Kids on the Block
star
7.32
1191 votes

#2 - New Kids on the Block

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/26/2006

New partner Jeffrey Coho takes on his first case at the Boston firm involving a murdered judge. Alan finds Claire's attitude towards people somewhat harsh as they both defend a transvestite who was fired for using the ladies' room. Meanwhile, Denny's blind date reveals his bigotry which comes back to haunt him.

Directors: Bill D'Elia
Watch Now:Amazon
Can't We All Get a Lung
star
7.34
1129 votes

#3 - Can't We All Get a Lung

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/2006

Denise shocks the firm by announcing her marriage to Daniel Post, who is subsequently arrested for attempting to illegally buy a lung from a fellow cancer patient.Alan once again defends Jerry Espenson when he assaults a police officer, and attempts to get him counseling to help with his sexual difficulties.Meanwhile, Shirley is freaked-out when she stumbles upon Denny and his "special doll."

Directors: Mike Listo
Watch Now:Amazon
Whose God is It Anyway?
star
7.35
1103 votes

#4 - Whose God is It Anyway?

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/17/2006

Alan Shore again defends Jerry Espenson, this time against an ex-employee who claims wrongful termination, but is taken aback when opposing council turns out to be Sally Heep.Meanwhile, the Judge Hooper trial begins with shocking revelations, forcing Jeffrey to rethink his strategy, and Denny's relationship with Bethany is tested.

Directors: Lou Antonio
Watch Now:Amazon
Attack of the Xenophobes
star
7.36
930 votes

#5 - Attack of the Xenophobes

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/2007

Whitney and Katie defend an ex-cop charged with murder, but are shocked to find that the main piece of evidence is an MRI of his brain that "proves" he is a racist. Alan defends Denny in court when he is charged with wrongful termination after firing an associate for being too fat. Meanwhile, Carl is furious when once again Clarence is caught on YouTube in drag, and Jerry is nervous about taking his new relationship with Leigh to the next level.

Directors: John Terlesky
Watch Now:Amazon
Do Tell
star
7.39
995 votes

#6 - Do Tell

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2007

Shirley is compelled to help an old friend of Denny who is discharged from the army for coming out publicly as being gay, but finds resistance from the judge for challenging America during war time. Meanwhile, Alan's "word salad" returns whenever Lorraine is around, and new associate Whitney Rome is thrown into a case involving a bullfighting child whose mother wants sole custody.

Directors: Steve Robin
Watch Now:Amazon
The Good Lawyer
star
7.39
1085 votes

#7 - The Good Lawyer

Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/20/2007

When Alan tries two separate cases, one includes the defense of a therapist who was fired for his belief in UFO's. In the meantime Clarence is obscured by Claire's dinner invitation; and Bethany attempts to bring out Denny's spirituality.

Directors: Michael Pressman
Watch Now:Amazon
Indecent Proposals
star
7.39
901 votes

#8 - Indecent Proposals

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/30/2008

Denny falls for a female cattle rancher who is pushing for the government to stop selling meat which has been cloned. Meanwhile, Shirley demands that Alan sues the Democratic Party after her nephew, a delegate, disagrees with his state's primary vote.

Directors: Mike Listo
Watch Now:Amazon
Rescue Me
star
7.41
897 votes

#9 - Rescue Me

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/5/2008

Carl Sack represents the sexually adventurous Andrea when she sues a company for losing her mother's ashes and giving her a cubic zirconium.

Directors: Mike Listo
Watch Now:Amazon
Mad Cows
star
7.41
873 votes

#10 - Mad Cows

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/2008

Alan Shore and Denny Crane sue the government when cattle rancher Carol Hober who accuses the USDA of not allowing her to test all of her cows for Mad Cow Disease, an affliction that's close to Denny's heart. Meanwhile, Jerry Espenson is up for partner at the firm, but his quirky social inadequacies could lead to his downfall with the firm's panel, which includes Paul Lewiston.

Directors: Steve Robin
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Desperately Seeking Shirley
star
7.42
1169 votes

#11 - Desperately Seeking Shirley

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/2006

Alan shocks the firm when he decides to represent Ivan Tiggs, as he sues Shirley for creating an iron-clad pre-nup in his marriage to Missy. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Coho continues his unethical practices, determined to discover the truth behind the murder of Judge Hooper, and Denny Crane comes to an agreement with Bethany.

Directors: James Bagdonas
Watch Now:Amazon
Thanksgiving
star
7.42
903 votes

#12 - Thanksgiving

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/24/2008

Shirley hosts an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner for Carl, Denny, Alan, Katie and Jerry, joined by alumna Edwin Poole and his foster son and, surprisingly, Melvin Palmer (he's a hoot!). As expected, the conversation is smart and lively, fights ensue and a few secrets are revealed.

Directors: Mike Listo
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Guise 'n Dolls
star
7.42
969 votes

#13 - Guise 'n Dolls

Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/17/2007

Alan once again takes on Jerry Espenson in a case involving a department store selling inappropriate dolls to children, but is hurt when Jerry's new persona begins making personal attacks. Meanwhile, Denny is in hot water after making a racist comment to a potential employee, and Shirley forces Denise to reconsider her feelings towards Brad after his proposal.

Directors: John Terlesky
Watch Now:Amazon
Selling Sickness
star
7.42
1013 votes

#14 - Selling Sickness

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/6/2007

Judge Brown turns to Denny when he sues a company for not curing his "same-sex attraction disorder," but Denny's homophobia forces him to ask Alan to help.Shirley takes on the case of a young girl who wants to take a pill to help her forget a traumatic molestation.Meanwhile, Denise finds out she is pregnant, and asks both Brad and Jeffrey for paternity tests, and Clarence takes his relationship with Claire to the next level.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
Watch Now:Amazon
Lincoln (1)
star
7.42
955 votes

#15 - Lincoln (1)

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/2006

Alan helps Jerry Espenson with a client who is a suspect in her girlfriend's hanging murder, but she herself isn't sure if she's guilty.Denny defends Lincoln Meyer who is accused of killing the judge in his trial, but beings to lose interest when Lincoln's behavior becomes more and more strange.Meanwhile, Bethany's mother fights to get Denny back, and Brad and Jeffrey fight each other.

Directors: Steve Robin
Watch Now:Amazon
On the Ledge (2)
star
7.42
1086 votes

#16 - On the Ledge (2)

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/28/2006

The firm rallies together to find and rescue Shirley who they believe has been taken captive by Lincoln Meyer.Meanwhile, Denny becomes jealous of Alan's relationship with Jerry, as their murder case comes to a climax.

Directors: Bill D'Elia
Watch Now:Amazon
Duck and Cover
star
7.42
894 votes

#17 - Duck and Cover

Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/15/2007

Brad and Denise's storybook wedding is interrupted by the FBI who arrest the priest for giving sanctuary to illegal immigrants. Alan takes the case, while Denise goes into labor, forcing Brad to find an immediate substitute priest.Meanwhile, Jerry Espenson takes his first case as an associate at Crane, Poole and Schmidt when he defends a woman who is evicted because of her pet duck.

Directors: Mike Listo
Watch Now:Amazon
Roe
star
7.43
896 votes

#18 - Roe

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/10/2008

Jerry Espenson insists on defending himself in court when he's accused of aggravated assault after a run-in with a bully. Meanwhile, Alan Shore and Shirley Schmidt try to help an underaged pregnant girl obtain a judicial by-pass for an abortion.

Directors: Bill D'Elia
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Angel of Death
star
7.46
955 votes

#19 - Angel of Death

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2007

Alan and Denny head to New Orleans with visiting attorney Vanessa Walker to defend a doctor who euthanized five patients during the Katrina hurricane.Meanwhile, Claire helps Clarence sue an all-female gym who refused to accept him unless he dressed as a woman, and Denise is overwhelmed by the sexual attention she is getting from the male attorneys.

Directors: Tom Verica
Watch Now:Amazon
Tortured Souls
star
7.46
1256 votes

#20 - Tortured Souls

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/20/2005

Shirley asks Alan Shore to use his odious lawyering to help her defend a police officer accused of torture. Donny Crane returns and is the opposing counsel in Denny's case, with Chelina Hall as second chair, where a woman wants to sue her former boyfriend for saying no to her at the alter. For Denny, this is an easy case, for Donny this is to settle a score with Denny for letting him believe for 25 years that he was his father. Meanwhile, Bernard Ferrion is befriended by Catherine and Alan finds variance with that.

Directors: Jeff Bleckner
Watch Now:Amazon
Juiced
star
7.47
867 votes

#21 - Juiced

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/1/2008

After Denny learns some disturbing news about the progression of his Alzheimer's disease and that an experimental drug might help, Alan tries to convince the Massachusetts Supreme Court to let his best friend have access to it. Meanwhile the murderous Catherine Piper returns, and Jerry and Katie take on the case of an ambitious student accused of cheating on her SATs.

Directors: Michael Lohmann
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Squid Pro Quo
star
7.47
975 votes

#22 - Squid Pro Quo

Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/9/2006

Denny once again goes head-to-head with his non-son, Donny, when he shows up in his new role as a Lawyers Without Borders representative, but Alan finds it difficult to support Denny's defense when Denny makes light of the case. Meanwhile, Marlene Stanger, known as "The Squid," is hired at the firm, and immediately attracts Alan and repels Denise.

Directors: Jim Bagdonas
Watch Now:Amazon
Schmidt Happens
star
7.47
1307 votes

#23 - Schmidt Happens

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2005

A Sudanese native wants to sue the U.S. government for the lack of action taken against the mayhem happening in his country and Paul looks to Lori to take the case. Founding partner Shirley Schmidt arrives with a mission to bring order to the firm. While making herself known, she has to deal with Denny who does not wanting her there, help with Lori's extremely high profile case, and learns that she has to keep her eye on Alan. Alan ends up defending a man who killed his mother in a fit of rage but by accident.

Watch Now:Amazon
No Brains Left Behind
star
7.48
965 votes

#24 - No Brains Left Behind

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/11/2007

Alan takes on one of his most outrageous lawsuits to date when he teams up with Denny to sue the National Guard for failing to show up when a flood wiped out a small business. Shirley is surprised when her granddaughter visits her at the office with the news that she was expelled from university for destroying government standards tests. Meanwhile, Carl has second thoughts about staying in Boston, and Lorraine comes clean to the firm about her true background.

Directors: Stephen Cragg
Watch Now:Amazon
Brotherly Love
star
7.48
1033 votes

#25 - Brotherly Love

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/10/2007

Alan recruits Denny to help him defend a man who is on trial for helping his brother kill his wife, but Denny is distracted by thoughts of Raquel Welch. Meanwhile, Brad is furious when the firm asks him to sign a "love contract", and Claire is shocked to find Clarence with another woman.

Directors: Robert Yannetti
Watch Now:Amazon