The Practice: The Final Season

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Season 8 of The Practice was controversial in that several series regulars, including Dylan McDermott, were abruptly fired from the show as a result of a drastic reduction in license fees from ABC. With that being said, I like every other Practice fan went into this season feeling pessimistic. If you can’t have Bobby Donnell, why continue the show at all? But something unexpected came along in the form of Alan Shore played by James Spader. I quickly became a fan of his character and found the show to actually be quite good, if not well rejuvenated for what would turn out to be its final season. In fact, my only beef with this season were the final episodes. I wanted to see what was left of my beloved Practice cast and yes, Alan Shore as well. Instead, they seemingly shoved much of the show off to the side for a forced introduction of law firm Crane, Poole, & Schmidt. I was so upset about this and opposed to everything Denny Crane that I approached Boston Legal with the same hesitation I went into this season of The Practice with. Ultimately, Boston Legal became one of my all time favorite TV shows and to this day I quote Denny Crane. The moral of the story is, have a little faith in David E. Kelley. He knows what he’s doing, he does it well, The Practice does go out on a high note, and you will thoroughly enjoy this season when you don’t go into it expecting to hate it.

-Eric Stone

Always been a big fan of The Practice but disappointed to watch the final season fall apart. The absence of its many previous cast (due to budgetary cuts) shouldn’t have affected the quality of stories. Unfortunately new bizarre characters and ridiculous cases turned the once awarding winning legal series into a tasteless comedy show, as if its producers meant to destroy The Practice legacy. It’s one thing the final season was also used to market for the Boston Legal spin-off, it’s another that The Practice ‘must be’ trashed for the purpose.

– LoneWolf

I got such a greater understanding of where the Alan Shore in Boston Legal was coming from, and it was fun to see Denny Crane at a time when he was almost still in charge (albeit for a mere four or five episodes). I also had my interest whetted to this other good show – The Practice. I almost wish they had occasionally brought some of these characters into Boston Legal. Betty White’s character of Katherine Piper also makes her first appearance in this season.

The Practice is indeed a very different show from Boston Legal, and the sets of Crane Poole and Schmidt bear little resemblance to the ones in Boston Legal. Still, I may go back now and watch this show for its own merits (which seem to be high).

– Jozef

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: James Spader, Steve Harris, Camryn Manheim, Michael Badalucco
Directors: Dennis Smith
Format: Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Number of discs: 6
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: April 15, 2014
Run Time: 960 minutes