Blind Justice: Great TV Legal Dramas Quiz

Answer: Raymond Burr

he character first appeared in the books of that now forgotten prolific writer Erle Stanley Gardner. Set in Los Angeles, Raymond Burr played Mason as a tough lawyer who took on the cases others would not defend.

In the original run on CBS television between 1957 and 1966, more than 200 episodes were made across eight seasons. A number of TV movies starring Burr were shown in the 1980s.

Burr was not the first choice to play Mason, some fifty actors were reportedly auditioned. Burr was, though, required to lose weight and was to appear as Mason across four decades.

In 2020 a new series tracing Mason's back story as a private investigator in the 1930s was broadcast. Matthew Rhys played Mason.

When the "American Bar Association Journal" asked a panel of legal experts to list the top 25 legal shows on TV. they placed "Perry Mason" at number two.

Answer: L. A. Law

"L.A. Law" was big, bright and classy: everything that Bochco's previous "Hill Street Blues" was not. Terry Louise Fisher, a lawyer and former assistant district attorney, was the co-creator.

"L. A. Law" was set in the private practice of a Los Angeles law firm. Much of the action took place away from the courtroom in the corporate offices of the law firm. The show was first broadcast in 1986, and 182 episodes were broadcast in eight seasons. The show and cast garnered a slew of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and awards.

The partners and associates were a diverse group and although Bochco was not afraid to use some of the usual stereotypes of hard-bitten lawyers, many of the character showed a more compassionate side.

When the "American Bar Association Journal" asked a panel of twelve legal experts - that would be a jury then? - to list the top 25 legal shows on TV they placed "L. A. Law" at number one.

Answer: Rumpole of the Bailey

Rumpole of the Bailey" was created by writer and real-life English barrister John Mortimore. Leo McKern, who was born in Australia, played the title character in forty-four shows over seven seasons from 1978 to 1992.

Horace Rumpole was portrayed as an aging barrister practicing in London courts. He always appeared for the defence. Rumpole was a somewhat world-weary person. He had seen everything that a courtroom could produce: apart from glamour, Rumpole's briefs contained few glamorous cases.

Rumpole was shown to relax over a glass or two in Pomerroy's Wine Bar after cases, though often concerned about getting home to his wife "she who must be obeyed.

In 2011, the "Guardian" newspaper selected "Rumple of the Bailey" as one of its pick of six great law shows on British television."

Answer: Dick Wolf

From 1990, 20 seasons of "Law & Order" were broadcast on television. That is 456 episodes showing how the police brought suspects to court and how the courts dealt with them.

Set and filmed in New York City, "Law & Order" trod ground that other law shows had not. It featured many moral and social issues. The cases were often not black and white, and the system did not always win.

Five spin offs of the show using the same basic premise were to be made in the USA, and one in the UK.

When the "American Bar Association Journal" in 2009 asked a panel of legal experts to list the top 25 legal shows on TV they placed "Law & Order" at number four.

Answer: Crown Court

Basically a panel of jurors was selected from the electoral list and brought into a courtroom. There, a case was played out in front of them by actors. The jurors got to bring whatever verdict they thought had been established.

Eleven series of "Crown Court" were broadcast between 1972 and 1984.

Answer: Petrocelli

Barry Newman played "Petrocelli" in two seasons from 1974 to 1976. Petrocelli was a Harvard-trained lawyer defending the unfortunate.

But, some critics said, the show was a mess. The lawyer seemed to lose his idealism some way into the second seasons and instead of railing against the system, seemed to pal up to it. A big problem for the show was its place in the Wednesday night schedules put it up against stiff competition on the other network channels and the ratings suffered.

And since I know you just want to ask: no, he never did finish that house.

When the "American Bar Association Journal" in 2009 asked a panel of legal experts to list the top 25 legal shows on TV they placed "Petrocelli" at number 24.

Answer: Murder One

In the face of notoriously fickle viewer attention, it was a brave choice of the creators to devote so much time to one case. Only a few would try it and, you might well have guessed, one of those was Steven Bochco, one of the three co-creators.

In Season One in 1995, Daniel Benzali starred as the lead lawyer defending a man against a murder charge. It took a lot for the viewers to keep up, and ratings dropped over the twenty-three episodes. That first season was later described as "unprecedented" and "groundbreaking".

For Season Two in 1996, Anthony LaPaglia was brought in and several cases were followed through, one of which bore something a a resemblance to the O.J. Simpson trial.

Answer: Glenn Close

Glenn Close led a cast that included Rose Byrne as a young lawyer with a conscience and Ted Danson in a remarkable performance as corporate shark. The show ran for fifty-nine episodes over five seasons from 2007.

If Patty Hewes was ruthless, so too were many of the big business types she worked for. In a review of top TV shows in 2016, the "Daily Telegraph" said Close had given "a terrifying central performance." Ted Danson was also a revelation. For an actor whose career had majored on charming but light comedy parts, in "Damages" he gave what the "New York Times" called a "dark, layered and vulnerable portrayal", that had come as a surprise to all.

When the American Bar Association Journal in 2009 asked a panel of legal experts to list the top 25 legal shows on TV. they placed " Damages" at number nine.

Answer: The Practice

David E. Kelley created "The Practice" that ran for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004 and was an Emmy winner. Dylan McDermott payed Bobby Donnell, the head of a practice often caught up in moral choices against difficult legal backgrounds..


In an "American Bar Association Journal" review of the the top 25 legal shows on TV. they placed "The Practice" at number five.

Answer: Martin Shaw

"Judge John Deed" was created by G. F. Newman, one of the best and most important writers of British legal and police procedurals from the 1960s onwards. Twenty-nine episodes in six series were shown between 2001 and 2007.

If you ask any lawyer what they think of a legal drama, they will point out the flaws and "Judge John Deed" had plenty. As a High Court judge Deeds got personally involved in cases and made comments and took decisions that were far out of a judge's remit. Some of the cases also depicted inaccurate scientific information, which I am not going to repeat since some was dangerously inaccurate: at least two episodes were removed from the DVD box sets.

One reviewer commented: "Judge John Deed is really entertaining, and occasionally moving, provided that you never for one moment imagine it's a realistic portrayal of the legal process. It's a fantasy..." [Rupert Smith in the "Guardian", December 2001.]

And now, to save you searching, here is the full countdown of those 25 legal dramas as judged by the "ABA Journal":

25: "Eli Stone" (2008-2009); 24: "Petrocelli" (1974-1976); 23: "Paper Chase" 1978-1979, 1983-1986); 22: "Judd For The Defence" (1967-1969); 21: "Law & Order Special Victims Unit" (1999 -): 20: "Reasonable Doubt" (1991-1993).

19: "Matlock" (1986-1995); 18: "Murder One" 1995-1997); 17: "Law & Order Criminal Intent" (2001- ); 16 "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law" (2000-2007); 15: "Civil Wars" (1991-1993); 14: "Shark" (2006-2008); 13: "JAG" (1995-2005); 12: "Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law"; (1971-1974); 11:"Judging Amy" (1999-2005).

10: "Night Court" (1984-1992); 9: "Damages" (2007- 2012); 8: "Boston Legal" (2004-2008); 7:"Rumpole of the Bailey" (1978-1992); 6: "Ally McBeal" (1997-2002); 5: "The Practice" (1997-2004); 4: "Law & Order" (1990-);
3: "The Defenders" (1961-1965); 2: "Perry Mason" (1957-1966); 1: "L.A. Law" (1986-1994).