Matthew Reine
Boston Public: David E. Kelley’s TV Show
Let’s face it: High school isn’t always the easiest thing for some people. Media has exploited this fact which is why certain high school centric dramas are so significant throughout television history. With the portrayal of teenagers that programs such as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place brought to the table, millions of people, whether it was teens relating to the dilemmas or adults remembering what it was like for them, bought into what high school life was exactly like. The thing is, these shows usually focused on the students’ perspective. Most of them don’t concentrate on the educators. What was it like in the eyes of the staff? Well, at the start of the millenium, a show came along and explored that world.
In 2000, Fox premiered a show by the name of Boston Public. Set in inner city Beantown, this drama centered around the trials and tribulations of the faculty of the fictional Winslow High School. The series was created by David E. Kelley, best known for the shows, Ally McBeal and The Practice, both of which also take place in Boston. There was even a brief crossover between Boston Public and The Practice that spanned both programs.
Numerous issues were explored throughout the show including drugs, statutory rape, murder, stalking, religion, and racism among others. There were even some storylines that tied into the 9/11 tragedy. It tried to go for a harsher, more realistic take on school life than the series’ before it and while sometimes they overshot and missed – often ending in hilarity – the majority of it was riveting. I still remember the commercials that would air promoting the newest episode that week. Fox made it seem like it was the most important presentation in the history of television and got you pumped. It was almost House levels of hype. To give you a feel, some of the earlier storylines included a socially awkward teacher maintaining a relationship with a student and an overweight female wrestler dying of a heart attack after a victory. There was a great recurring gag in which the mother of one of the students would often come to Winslow to complain to the faculty while holding a shoe and exclaiming “SMELL THAT SHOE!”.
Now let’s get to know the staff of Winslow High:
The school is led by Principal Steven Harper (Chi McBride), a tough but fair administrator who does everything he can to keep an orderly and functional facility where children learn and go on to bigger things. A single father, his politically active daughter is eventually transferred to Winslow forcing Harper to keep a close eye on her. He is aided by assistant principal, Scott Gruber, a lonely, middle-aged man who enforces Harper’s vision to keep trouble out of Winslow while seeking the attention of his colleagues. Both men pine for the attractive music teacher, Marilyn Sudor.
Star Trek veteran actor, Jeri Ryan, joined the cast in season two as Ronnie Cooke, a sexy, big shot lawyer who decides to take a huge cut and become a teacher in order to positively contribute to the lives of teenagers. She later becomes the school’s assistant principal before taking up the position of the guidance counselor.
My favorite character on the show was none other than Danny Hanson who was portrayed by Michael Rappaport. This was my first taste of Rappaport and I’ve been a big fan of his ever since (I even wrote about his later series, The War At Home). His comedic but tough attitude coupled with his ability to reach his students really left an impression on me. His problems at home outweigh his dealings at Winslow as seen throughout the series. In a short timespan, he catches his wife having an affair, his drug addicted sister leaves her young daughter with him unexpectedly, and we find out that he was sexually molested by a priest when he was younger. He also started a class discussion on the use of the “N” word but that needs to be seen to be believed. Don’t fret because he was involved in probably my favorite scene of the entire series: His rant against overweight people in season three where, and I quote, he says he’s disgusted by “jumbos with twinkies in their hands”. Can this show get any better? Danny constantly butts heads with the always talented Loretta Devine who portrays Marla Hendricks, a sassy social studies teacher, and they eventually physically assault each other.
The most controversial character on Boston Public was Harry Senate, a teacher who used unconventional methods to reach the students of “The Dungeon”, a class of unruly, lowlifes that were mostly given up on. He used tactics like firing a gun and taking his students to a morgue to look at dead bodies to teach the kids lessons in respect and doing the right thing. He constantly clashed with parents and even his peers over his ways of education, coming dangerously close to losing his job on several occasions. The character was written out of the show at the beginning of season three after being attacked by a former student.
The principal cast is rounded out by Harvey Lipschultz (portrayed by Fyvush Finkel of Picket Fences fame, another Kelley creation), a perverted, politically incorrect history teacher who later finds out he has an African-American son.
The show gave us our first real taste of Rashida Jones who played Principal Harper’s secretary for the first two seasons. Her role was then taken over by Cara DeLizia whom I recognized as one of the young kids from the first season of Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher. Different characters were added throughout the series such as Michelle Monaghan, who had her first mainstream exposure here but only appeared in the third season as a pretty and dedicated instructor. You know, there were quite a few attractive teachers on this show. In addition to Sudor and Cooke, there was social studies teacher, Lauren Davis, and sexy, young latina physics teacher, Ms. Carmen Torres.
Hell, even Joey McIntyre joined the cast for one season during that period between when his solo career didn’t quite take off and when New Kids On The Block reunited.
Speaking of music, a few popular acts did guest spots. While none of McIntyre’s NKOTB buddies showed up, Whitney Houston, R.E.M., and the Counting Crows all performed for the cast and viewers. Some pretty rare television appearances for those three!
But that’s not all. There were some students who were just as noteworthy as the teachers. Before he was Johnny Storm or Captain America, Chris Evans appeared as a troubled teen who threatens to shoot up Winslow. A pre-Heroes Milo Ventimiglia played an undercover cop posing as a student trying to stop the distribution of an illicit drug among the kids. New Girl’s Max Greenfield randomly shows up in a season two episode which is pretty funny looking back. Film director, Thomas McCarthy, who gave us The Station Agent and The Visitor, played a football coach years before anyone would remember his name.
Boston Public was actually very well received by critics and the viewers and it looked like it was to be a mainstay for the foreseeable future. After three seasons in the Monday night timeslot, it was moved to Fridays where it died in the ratings and ultimately cancelled after season four. There was no conclusive ending to the series with the one of the last episodes dealing with Harper’s guilt after learning that one of his favorite students (Matthew Lawrence) was killed in the Iraq War.
I only caught a few episodes of Boston Public on T.V. during its original run but it wasn’t until it ran in syndication on the T.V. One network that I really started getting into it. Every morning during my freshman year of college, I would wake up, get ready, and watch an episode of Boston Public before heading over to class. Sure, it was unrealistic at parts but I love every moment of it. Even though its lifespan wasn’t very long, I consider it to be one of my favorites television shows ever.
