Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “These Are The Days”

by David E. Kelley (53 pages)

Awards: None that I could find.

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: This story is a bit slow until Ally is made Judge in one of the cases. Her decision is a good curve ball.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal.

• Formatting: Standard except for a flashback at the end where there are 22 scenes (A-V) from previous episodes.

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV.

Note: Page 37 of the script was missing. This page revealed the ending of a major character’s speech.

Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “Theme of life”

by David E. Kelley (52 pages)

Awards: 1999 Banff Rockie Award - Best Comedy

1998 Nominated for an Emmy - Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: Steady through three story-lines.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal.

• Formatting: Standard.

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV. 43 Scenes.

Note: Episode with Janet Reno playing herself in a minor character role.

Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “The Promise”

by David E. Kelley (51 pages)

Awards: None that I could find.

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: Quick. Characters get to the main idea in one or two lines of dialogue.

• Screen Visibility: Description mainly in log line

• Formatting: Standard for Ally McBeal

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act II, Act IV.

38 Scenes

Note: Script basically tells three stories about sexual behavior between men and women. One in court, one in the office and one in both.

Script-of-the-week: Ally McBeal “The Affair”

by David E. Kelley (52 Pages)

Awards: None that I could find.

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: First two acts fly by with a great moment of suspense at the end of the second act.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal.

• Formatting: Standard formatting for this program.

• Structure: IV Acts & 38 Scenes.

Notes: For writers who want to focus on hour long comedy with dramatic flair.

Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “Ally McBeal” Pilot Episode

by David E. Kelley (46 pages)

Awards: None that I could find

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: Quick.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal, which is standard for a TV series.

• Formatting: Somewhat standard formatting with some action lines describing Ally’s thinking.

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV

Note: For a pilot episode, the initial character development is quite sparse demonstrating an effective lack of need for lengthy development.