The WORST episodes of The Practice
Every episode of The Practice ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Practice!
The Practice focused on the law firm of Robert Donnell and Associates (later becoming Donnell, Young, Dole, & Frutt, and ultimately Young, Frutt, & Berluti). Plots typically featured the firm's involvement in various high-profile criminal and civil cases that often mirror current events. Conflict between legal ethics and personal morality was a recurring theme. Some episodes contained light comedy. Kelley claimed that he conceived the show as something of a rebuttal to L.A. Law (for which he wrote) and its romanticized treatment of the American legal system and legal proceedings.
#1 - Special Deliveries (2)
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/24/2003
Psychopaths plague Lindsay and Helen. The latter is sued by an acquitted killer for defaming his mother; the former is hounded by a deviant she once defended.
#2 - Neighboring Species
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/3/2002
Political, religious and moral issues surface in a trial involving medical research. Also, Lindsay, now on her own, defends a client whose singing gives a neighbor the blues.
#3 - Of Thee I Sing
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/13/2002
A resolution reached in Lindsay's murder conviction has emotional repercussions; and First Amendment issues figure oddly in Jamie's first trial, the defense of an accused flasher.
#4 - Convictions
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/6/2002
Lindsay's murder conviction tries Rebecca, who's handling the appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court; Jimmy's kidnapping case turns confrontational, in and out of court.
#5 - Lawyers, Reporters and Cockroaches
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/21/1999
Tensions boil over at the firm when Ellenor discovers Lindsay's salary is more than double hers. Ellenor demands justice and tries to recruit partners to her side. It eventually escalates into a knock-down drag-out brawl. Bobby and Lindsay represent a restaurateur forced out of business by a deceptive television reporter. The reporter, under the guise of doing a positive feature, aired an exposé on cockroaches in the kitchen. Helen prosecutes a teenager for killing his neighbor's cat.
#6 - Final Judgment (2)
Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/3/2003
Ellenor continues her desperate attempt to stop the execution of a mentally ill woman Denise Freeman on death row. The firm is torn over a controversial settlement in their case against an alcohol company.
#7 - Down The Hatch (1)
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/27/2003
Ellenor fights to save Denise Freeman, a rehabilitated death-row prisoner who has devoted her prison time to helping younger inmates. In a last-ditch effort to stay her execution, Ellenor bases an appeal on the medication the court ordered Denise to take at trial, which prevented the jury from observing her schizophrenia. Eugene argues a civil suit that blames a beer company for the death of a college-age youth.
#8 - Choirboys (1)
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/10/2003
Helen faces up against the firm in a case involving an accused killer whose protective mother provides alibis. A disturbed former client jarringly reenters Lindsay's life.
#9 - Burnout
Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/24/2003
The firm defends Kyle Healy, a wheelchair-bound man whose wife is charged with murdering his brother, the heir to a multimillion-dollar estate. Jimmy and Ellenor's defense is damaged by compelling circumstantial evidence; testimony about the defendant's stability — and the prosecution's playing of a shattering trump card. In other storylines, Jamie champions the cause of a lawyer who claims firms won't hire her because she's a rape victim; and Bobby, whose marriage is in trouble, links up with an old flame.
#10 - The Lonely People (2)
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/2003
Eugene and Jimmy's defense of the leader of a white supremacist group takes an unexpected turn when surprising new developments come to light. Meanwhile, Shore continues in his quest to free Roland Huff from prison, and Jamie and Eugene must come to terms with their differences.
#11 - Rape Shield
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/9/2003
A rape case rattles Jimmy, ill-prepared to defend a client who maintains his innocence despite overwhelming evidence against him. Also, ethics violations catch up to Shore, who has a showdown with Eugene.
#12 - The Heat of Passion (1)
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/26/2003
A complex murder case implicating a white supremacist embroils Eugene; malpractice fears haunt Jamie; the defense of accused killer Roland Huff embattles Shore, whose tactics astonish Tara and precipitate a run-in with a judge.
#13 - Cheers (a.k.a Adjourned: Series Finale)
Season 8 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/16/2004
How it all ends for the cast: The Firm Closes, Eugene becomes a Judge, Jimmy and Jaime become Neighbourhood Lawyers with their own firm, Ellanor takes a hiatus from practicing law to raise her daughter, Alan Shore hooks up with Sally and continues working for Denny Crane. The final shot is of old music playing as the camera moves through the firm's offices which are packed up and all the lights are still on. Bobby Donell is sitting at his old desk crying. Despite all he had said he was the only person not to move on
#14 - Going Home (1)
Season 8 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/15/2004
When his best friend from childhood is accused of murdering his mistress, Alan Shore returns home to defend him.
#15 - Friends and Ex-Lovers
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/17/2000
Despite a restraining order, William Hinks continues to harass Lindsay, as more questions arise as to whether or not he's the real serial killer. Meanwhile, Bobby blames himself for Scott Wallace's latest offense.
#16 - Free Dental
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/1999
Bobby and Jimmy defend a dentist accused of murdering a frequent patient... but eventually discover he's hiding a sordid secret. Ellenor dines with George Vogelman.
#17 - Axe Murderer (2)
Season 2 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/27/1998
Bobby works with the firm of Cage and Fish to help in the defense of Marie Hanson, an apparent axe murderer who may have been Lizzie Borden in a past life. Ellenor discovers that her new boyfriend, Fred Spivak, is the crooked chiropractor treating Rebecca, while Lindsay and Helen discuss Helen's future with the DA's office. This is part 2 of a 2 part episode. Part 1 aired as a crossover event on Ally McBeal - S01E20 - The Inmates (1).
#18 - Man and Superman
Season 6 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/24/2002
The wife of a schizophrenic who thinks he's Superman seeks Jimmy's legal counsel after her husband accidentally causes harm to an innocent victim while under hospital care. As it seems impossible to prove what was actually going through the man's head when he caused the accident, the jury must sort through the legal finger-pointing to determine who — the defendant, his wife or the hospital — is ultimately at fault.
#19 - New Hoods on the Block
Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/2/2004
Eugene considers an exciting new offer for his future... could this mean the end of the practice? Meanwhile, Jimmy is shaken by an ominous run-in with neighborhood lawyer Lenny Pescatore, as their turf war heats up, and Ellenor clashes with sexy and ruthless attorney Hannah Rose of Crane Poole & Schmidt.
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#20 - Les Is More
Season 7 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/7/2003
A crazed fame-seeker takes CBS CEO Les Moonves hostage in a ploy for TV time to be negotiated by Jimmy, also a hostage.
#21 - Death Penalties
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/9/2000
Bobby and Helen clash in an assisted suicide case. Bobby remembers his experiences of 'pulling the plug' on his mother and acts as though he were on trial. Meanwhile, Ellenor flies to Pennsylvania to try to exonerate a 31-year-old death row inmate who claims to be innocent of a double homicide.
#22 - Food Chains
Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/6/1998
The furor over Lindsay's demand for partnership continues. Bobby discovers that Lindsay's not the only associate looking for another job. Rebecca is involved in a car accident she believes is a scam. Rebecca and Jimmy go undercover to ferret out the guilty. Ellenor meets up with an old friend in the midst of a chimpanzee custody trial.
#23 - Race Ipsa Loquitor
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/20/2000
Jimmy is tempted to compromise his integrity to get convicted murder (and insect admirer) Henry Olson released. Eugene and Rebecca represent a woman who's suing a plastic surgeon when her husband dies during a liposuction procedure. They soon realize they're as much on trial as the surgeon when the opposing attorney makes several references to their race.
#24 - Ties that Bind
Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/2/1998
Lindsay and Ellenor defend a pornographic star accused of killing her co-star. Complications arise in the Moreno case when it appears Rebecca's ID of the suspect may have been tainted. Lindsay's fondness for having her elbows sucked works against Bobby when he sucks on Helen's elbows.
#25 - Passing Go
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/27/1998
Bobby is hit by a car while his mind is involved on other matters. Meanwhile, Ellenor becomes disillusioned with the law when she comes to the realization that underhanded behavior has become second nature to her. Eugene defends a young man on murder charges. Bobby visits his father. Rebecca shocks the firm when she announces she's passed the bar exam.