Boston Legal: Season 5

2008 · 13 episodes · ★ 8.5

What Season 5 of Boston Legal

The season opens when Bethany Horowitz asks Alan Shore to help her in a lawsuit against a major tobacco company. Things get complicated when she learns that the defense attorney is Phoebe Prentice, Alan's former love, who is distracted and fears she won't perform well in court. The firm Crane, Poole & Schmidt, in Boston, handles civil and criminal cases, and Alan, willing to use questionable methods, clashes with ethics at every turn. Denny Crane, a partner in his seventies, eccentric and flamboyant, begins to show the first symptoms of Alzheimer's. Along with Shirley Schmidt, Carl Sack, Jerry Espenson and Katie Lloyd, the partnership of Alan and Denny carries the weight of the storylines.

13episodes

Sep 22, 2008premiered

Dec 8, 2008final episode

9.3 hrtotal runtime

Season 5 Episodes

5x01 Smoke Signals
Sep 22, 2008 · 43 min
Alan answers a call for help from Bethany Horowitz in a suit against a tobacco giant, but he suffers a crisis of confidence when the opposing counsel turns out to be an old girlfriend. Meanwhile, Denny is plagued by a case of performance anxiety.
Directing: Bill D'Elia · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: William Daniels, Takayo Fischer, Paul Collins, Ally Walker
5x02 Guardians and Gatekeepers
Sep 29, 2008 · 43 min
A close call for Denny involving prescription drugs inspires Alan to go after a pharmaceutical company for its unscrupulous advertising tactics. Meanwhile, Carl defends Shirley's 17-year-old granddaughter after she's caught voting illegally, and Jerry and Katie help a girl who was sexually assaulted in a private detention facility.
Directing: Mike Listo · Writing: David E. Kelley, Sanford Golden, Corinne Brinkerhoff · Starring: Allison Miller, James Rebhorn, Cas Anvar, Henry Gibson
5x03 Dances with Wolves
Oct 6, 2008 · 42 min
Denny is arrested on concealed-weapon charges after shooting a man who tried to rob him and Jerry. Meanwhile, a case gets personal for Alan when he tries to help a sex surrogate in a custody battle for her daughter.
Directing: James Bagdonas · Writing: David E. Kelley, Susan Dickes · Starring: Lainie Kazan, William Russ, Brian Howe, Pamela Adlon
5x04 True Love
Oct 13, 2008 · 43 min
After an old girlfriend hires Alan to help her husband beat a murder charge, he faces a moral and professional dilemma when his lingering feelings for her elicit a secret desire for a conviction.
Directing: Steve Robin · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: Caroline Aaron, Kyle Secor, Brenda Strong, Ally Walker
5x05 The Bad Seed
Oct 20, 2008 · 43 min
Alan and Shirley prepare for a fight with the military on behalf of a man whose brother died under suspicious circumstances. Meanwhile, Jerry helps his sister in her search for the identity of the father of her son, who was conceived through an anonymous donor.
Directing: Robert Yannetti · Writing: David E. Kelley, Lawrence Broch, Susan Dickes · Starring: Annie Potts, James Rebhorn, Nora Dunn, Chuck McCann
5x06 Happy Trails
Oct 27, 2008 · 42 min
Shirley defends the notorious Catherine Piper after she accidentally blows up her doctor. Meanwhile, Alan and Denny take a break from the office, but they are out of their element at a dude ranch in Utah.
Directed by: Mike Listo · Written by: David E. Kelley, Corinne Brinkerhoff · Starring: Michael Ensign, Jay Thomas, Currie Graham, Betty White
5x07 Mad Cows
Nov 3, 2008 · 42 min
Alan and Denny sue the USDA on behalf of a cattle rancher who wants to test her entire herd for mad cow disease; Jerry's consideration to make partner hinges on an up-or-down vote by the firm's panel, which includes Paul Lewiston.
Directing: Steve Robin · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: Julie Bowen, René Auberjonois, Valerie Bertinelli, Ned Vaughn
5x08 Roe
Nov 10, 2008 · 43 min
Alan and Shirley help a minor in a legal battle over her pregnancy, and Jerry takes up his own defense when he faces aggravated-assault charges after an encounter with a bully.
Directing: Bill D'Elia · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: Dov Davidoff, Ming-Na Wen, Mark Moses, Henry Gibson
5x09 Kill, Baby, Kill
Nov 17, 2008 · 43 min
Carl and Denny go to Virginia to defend a prison guard who shot a death-row inmate when a lethal-injection execution was botched. Meanwhile, Alan and Shirley help a woman who says she lost her job after voting for John McCain.
Directing: Robert Yannetti · Writing: David E. Kelley, Lawrence Broch · Starring: Alan Ruck, Cheri Oteri, Saul Rubinek, Bill Smitrovich
5x10 Thanksgiving
Nov 24, 2008 · 43 min
Shirley's quiet Thanksgiving with Carl becomes considerably louder when she opens her door to other members of the firm, including Alan, Denny, Jerry, Katie and emotionally unstable partner Edwin Poole, who brings his 6-year-old foster son.
Directing: Mike Listo · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: Larry Miller, Christopher Rich, Kwesi Boakye, Rene Napoli
5x11 Juiced
Dec 1, 2008 · 43 min
When Denny receives bad news about the state of his Alzheimer's, Alan goes before the Massachusetts Supreme Court to plead for access to an experimental drug that could help his condition. Meanwhile, Jerry and Katie try to help a girl get into Harvard after her SAT scores arouse suspicion, and Catherine Piper returns.
Directed by: Michael Lehmann, Michael Lohmann · Written by: David E. Kelley, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Susan Dickes · Starring: Margo Harshman, Tom Amandes, Betty White, Anne-Marie Johnson
5x12 Made in China (1)
Dec 8, 2008 · 43 min
Financial problems may force Crane, Poole & Schmidt to be put up for sale. Meanwhile, Alan petitions the Supreme Court for Denny's access to a non-FDA approved medicine; and Shirley and Carl plan their wedding.
Directing: Bill D'Elia · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: René Auberjonois, Bess Armstrong, Kevin Cooney, John Thaddeus
5x13 Last Call (2) Season Finale
Dec 8, 2008 · 42 min · ★ 8.3
Financial problems may force Crane Poole & Schmidt to be put up for sale in the series finale, which also finds Alan petitioning the Supreme Court for Denny's access to a non-FDA approved medicine, and Shirley and Carl planning their wedding.
Directing: Bill D'Elia · Writing: David E. Kelley · Starring: René Auberjonois, Jim Turner, Marianne Muellerleile, Kimberly Williams-Paisley