Created by the brilliantly innovative David E. Kelley, (one time co-collaborator on some of Steven Bochco's greatest triumphs such as LA Law and Doogie Howser, MD), the series chronicles the complexly intertwined lives, loves, obsessions and working relationships of the lawyers working for the firm of Fish and Cage, and in particular, the titular heroine of the series, Ally McBeal herself.

Played to stunning perfection by the amazing and aptly named Callista Flockhart, Ally is a tangled mass of conflicting emotional traumas barely managing to keep afloat in a hurricane tossed sea of intermingling fantasy vs. reality, a wide-eyed designer dressed Alice who somehow took a wrong turn and found herself lost in a hyperactive Neverland, whose God had taken -but never completed- a crash course in world design from Tex Avery.

Creator/producer/writer Kelley's true masterstroke of brilliance in this series is in the perfect dovetailing of fantasy sequences, razor sharp dialogue and expertly chosen music to counterpoint and illuminate the inner conflicts and outer dilemmas of the characters. The acid laced icing on this particular cake is an ensemble cast of highly talented performers at the zenith of their craft, who obviously relish each new opportunity to shine that the consistently outstanding scripts for the series affords them. Special mention should go to the ever excellent Peter McNicol's inspired, seemingly effortless, and outright brilliant performance as the strange, endearingly weird, Barry White fixated, senior partner, John Cage. In any other show, Cage would worthy of being the central character; here he's merely an essential component in a slick and expertly designed machine.

The third season has seen Kelly and his team of writers bravely experiment with the successfully established format of the show by broadening the focus away from Ally's self-absorbsion, and delve deeper into the emotional lives of her co-workers. And with both Gil Bellows and Courtney Thorne-Smith's decision to leave the series, Kelly opted to examine in depth the slow, often painful, disintegration of their characters marriage and especially Billy's decent into rampant male chauvinism and increasingly bizarre behaviour.

Billy's character arc and exit from the series arrived in a brilliantly performed and executed episode, which revealed him to be suffering from a brain tumour, resulting in his totally unexpected death in a courtroom whilst summing up a case. Handled with the series customary flair and sensitivity, the aftermath of the tragedy will doubtless colour the on-going development of the remaining core characters story arcs for a considerable time to come.

Ally McBeal is that rarest of beasts, an instant television classic. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to 'take a moment'...