Wow. Here's a little surprise that David E. Kelley threw in. Expect the unexpected on Boston Legal. The characters sometimes know they're characters, the plots are way crazy. In particular with the episode in question here I was busy being amused at the number of former Trek actors that kept popping up. Four to be exact. Not that they made a big deal out of it but still... in the middle of all the standard law drama and silliness, Tom Selleck's character Ivan Tiggs offers to settle a case he is involved with against Candice Bergen's Shirley Schmidt. Ivan was fighting a post-nuptial agreement Shirley had created for his wife. He was also trying to win back Shirley, his former love. In the end Ivan said he would agree to let the post-nup stand and in the process give up everything he owns IF Shirley would agree to go out to dinner with him at Melville's restaurant. Shirley agreed.

   The minute they said they were going to Melville's little bells went off in my head but I couldn't immediately figure out why. Then it hit me. Melville's was the restaurant upstairs from Cheers on... well... Cheers. But wait... Cheers was based on a real bar. I mean it wasn't named Cheers but still if Cheers was kinda real, maybe Melville's was in fact really real. If it's a real place then the mention would mean nothing. But if Melville's in fact only existed on Cheers? Well then this would be a crossover of sorts. Looking around online I could find no evidence of a real world Melville's restaurant in Boston. On top of that, when Shirley and Ivan actually went to Melville's it actually looked kinda like the Melville's we saw on Cheers.

   I'm sure the mention was intentional. Just a way small reference joke nobody would even notice. But, hey, I noticed and I'm counting it.

   Here's the extra weird on this one. Originally crossover Group 2 had a couple of David E. Kelley shows in it: Chicago Hope and Picket Fences. Then because Kelley enjoys the crossovers and spin offs there was a whole other crossover group consisting mostly of Kelley's Boston based shows. Oddly enough, by doing this teeny weenie crossover with Cheers, not even doing it with another one of his own shows, Kelley brings all his Boston shows into Group 2 as well. Because Tom Selleck and Candice Bergen ate at Melville's Boston Legal now officially coexists alongside Chicago Hope and Picket Fences. Odd.

   By the way, Mr. Kelley? If you're out there reading this (which is possible since you do love the crossovers) I dare you to put the word poobala into an episode. I have no good reason for you to do this other than the fact that if you did I would spit take all over my TV and have a heart attack.

Other Boston Legal Links
Boston Legal and Boston Public
Boston Legal and The Practice

Other Cheers Links
Cheers and Frasier
Cheers and St. Elsewhere
Cheers and The Tortellis
Cheers and Wings


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