'Legal' Still Trucking Despite Strike

[Brian Damage]

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 5) - When "Boston Legal" wraps production Dec. 14, ABC's acclaimed comedy-drama will be one of the last scripted shows to do so, with the Hollywood writers strike shuttering series as they run out of fresh scripts.

Only NBC's well-oiled "Law & Order" machine and ABC's veteran comedy "According to Jim," which received a late midseason order, are slated to do additional filming after returning from a two-week holiday break in early January.

The cast and crew "Boston" had been able to keep their jobs for so long because of a strong effort by series creator/executive producer David E. Kelley, who completed the scripts for three episodes days before the strike began on Nov. 5. He was unable to finished a fourth one on time. So for now, until there is a strike settlement, production on "Boston" will end with Episode 14, now in production.

Kelley wrote that episode with Corinne Brinkerhoff and Susan Dickes. He wrote Episode 13 with Lawrence Broch, and Episode 12 with Dickes.

Kelley, one of the most prolific TV writers working today, is known for penning scripts for his shows quickly.

His feat on "Boston" also is a throwback to the 1950s and '60s, when TV scribes were cranking scripts fast to fulfil the series' 39-episode orders.