David E. Kelley abandoned his attorneys for a while and created a show about Winslow High School in Boston, a fictional inner-city school that was always short on cash but long on dedicated teachers. Kelley employed his usual mix of soapish drama, humor and the occasional touch of absurdity; it was fresh and interesting. The writers addressed many social issues and the problems teenagers were concerned with, but the show did lose steam after a while and was canceled before a proper finale could be taped. Always reliable were the performances by Chi McBride, Anthony Heald and Loretta Devine as complex, flawed but devoted educators.

2000-2004:U.S. Made for TV. 81 episodes. Color. Created by David E. Kelley. Theme: Thomas Newman. Cast: Chi McBride (Steven Harper), Anthony Heald (Scott Guber), Loretta Devine (Marla Hendricks), Sharon Leal, Fyvush Finkel, Jeri Ryan (01-04), Michael Rapaport (01-04), Jessalyn Gilsig (00-02), Nicky Katt (00-02), Jon Abrahams (02-04), Joey McIntyre (02-04), Thomas McCarthy (00-01), Joey Slotnick (00-01), Rashida Jones (00-02), China Shavers (01-03).

Quote: “Look at these idiots in Washington who think it’s wrong for teenagers to have assault rifles. And the stupid Democrats think we should have ten-day waiting periods. What happens if you need to kill somebody today? Next thing the government will try to crack down on incest and we won’t be able to breed future NRA members.” (Katt)

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Published 2007-02-25 10:45