Good but lengthy

Bobby Donnell is the head of a struggling Boston law firm that seems to constantly struggle with ethical themes while defending murderers, rapists, etc. Jimmy, Eugene, Ellenor and Lindsay are junior attorneys with the firm, the streetwise receptionist, and Helen the firm's frequent adversary with the D.A.'s office in this smart and clever weekly series.

Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) is fresh out of medical college, and fresh out of luck. Failing to read the fine print in his scholarship conditions, he finds he has no choice but to move to the remote and somewhat eccentric town of Cicely, Alaska. Once there, he is welcomed by the peculiar locals who are not keen to see him go, most especially Maurice J. Minnifield (Barry Corbin), the ex-N.A.S.A. astronaut. Despite Joel's adamant denials, one gets the impression that he enjoys life in Cicely more than he admits.

Lt. Theo Kojak is the main character in this popular television police drama. Kojak is a tough cop, but his trademark is a fondness for lollipops. Despite his difficult work, he tirelessly brings criminals to justice while staying upbeat and good-natured.

This popular television drama depicted life in a large Los Angeles law firm. The plots were strongly character-based and dealt with the personal lives and professional activities of the partners, associates, and staff. Scenes centered around the courtroom and the law offices. Often, an episode would open with a surprising twist, which would then be played out during the rest of the show.

Barney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. He is always sensible. He maintains order over a squad room of detectives who gamble for a hobby, get hit on by anything in skirts, go to renaissance philosophy conventions for fun, and would really prefer to be writing. Nearly all of the action takes place in the squad room where the citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.

The original "ensemble drama," this is the story of an overworked, under-staffed police precinct in an anonymous inner city patterned after Chicago. We follow the lives of many characters, from the lowly beat and traffic cops to the captain of the precinct himself. This is the show that blazed the trail followed later by such notable ensemble dramas as "St. Elsewhere" and "L.A. Law."

A pair of plainclothes homicide detectives, Lieutenant Mike Stone and Inspector Steve Keller, cruise the streets of San Francisco, California solving a variety of crimes, usually involving murder. Stone is the street-smart twenty-year veteran cop, and Keller is the college-educated rookie. Much of the series' success was due to the friendly by-play and relationship between the two leads.

Michael Crichton has created a medical drama that chronicles life and death in a Chicago hospital emergency room. Each episode tells the tale of another day in the ER, from the exciting to the mundane, and the joyous to the heart-rending. Frenetic pacing, interwoven plot lines, and emotional rollercoastering is used to attempt to accurately depict the stressful environment found there. This show even portrays the plight of medical students in their quest to become physicians.

When you first saw him, Lieutenant Columbo looked like a bum that just came off the street. He had a bumbling demeanor, was overly polite and seemed to chomp on the same short cigar on a daily basis. However, beneath all that comical exterior was probably the most dogged investigator in the Los Angeles Police Department. Columbo was often called on to investigate high profile murders that involved the rich and famous. The culprits were often amused by him, and just as they thought they were going to get away with murder, Columbo would find a way to trap them or find enough evidence to make them confess.

A one-hour drama inspired by David Simon's acclaimed non-fiction book "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets." It is at once a mundane yet compelling look in and around a Homicide unit of the Baltimore Police Department, a group of determined individuals who are committed to their grim job at hand.

Theodore Hoffman is a prominent defense attorney in a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. After successfully defending the wealthy but suspicious Richard Cross in a lurid murder trial, he is now involved in the defense of Neil Avedon. Neil is a famous young actor who has had severe drug and alcohol problems and was subsequently charged with the murder, after Cross was acquitted. This single case will run an entire television season (interspersed with bits from other cases that the firm is involved in).

The show is about doctors Marcus Welby, a general practitioner and Steven Kiley, Welby's young assistant. The two try to treat people as individuals in an age of specialized medicine and uncaring doctors.

Television police drama starring two female cops as partners. Their contrasting personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) strengthen them as a team, allowing each a different perspective on both personal and professional situations.

Bill Gillespie is a police chief in a small town in the American South, and later becomes sheriff of the county. As Bill tries to solve crimes and catch criminals, aided by his capable investigator Virgil Tibbs and police lieutenant Bubba Skinner, he must navigate tricky small-town politics. Racial tensions often run high in the South and this theme is frequently explored. Bill's personal life is often portrayed in this TV drama, as well.

After everyone on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" got fired, Lou Grant went to Los Angeles and became city editor of the L.A. Tribune, owned by Mrs. Pynchon, with whom Lou often has loud but sympathetic arguments. Lots of social causes and interpersonal relationships.

Television medical drama in soap-opera style. Surgeons Jeffrey Geiger and Aaron Shutte battle valiantly for their patients, often coming into conflict with the hospital administration, run by Dr. Phillip Watters. Their cases are usually ethically complex, highly sensationalistic, and very melodramatic. Meanwhile, Jeffrey and Aaron, who are best friends, commiserate about the shambles their tumultuous personal lives have become....

Picket Fences deals with life in a small town - in this case the town of Rome, Wisconsin; it centers around the Brock Family. Jimmy Brock is the Sheriff of the town and likes to think he's the center of attention. His wife Jill is the town doctor; they have three children: Kimberly, 18, Matthew, 13 and Zachary, 10. A lot happens in this small town from bizarre murders to rape, assault, drunk driving, kidnapping & spontaneous human combustion. It seems that all the crimes that have occurred in the whole of the United States have at one point or another happened in Rome and they have to deal with it in their own quirky way.

Filmed on location in New York, the drama showcases the sometimes-complex process of determining guilt or innocence, while lives hang in the balance. Often inspired by the latest headlines, the plots highlight legal, ethical or personal dilemmas to which people can relate.