# List of Ally McBeal episodes

Ally McBeal is a comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley, premiered on September 8, 1997 on Fox network in the United States and ended on May 20, 2002. The show spans five seasons, consisting, in total, of 112 episodes. The episodes were approximately 45 minutes long, excluding commercials.
All seasons of Ally McBeal were released on DVD in the region 2 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Until fall 2009, only several episodes of the first season of Ally McBeal were available in the United States, due to music rights issues. On October 6, 2009, Fox released a 6-disc set of all 23 season-one episodes, with their original music.
Ally McBeal follows an eccentric lawyer, Allison Marie "Ally" McBeal, and her group of friends from work, focusing on their personal and romantic lives, as well as their business cases which would often contrast or reinforce a character's drama. The series starred Calista Flockhart as Ally, Greg Germann as Richard Fish, Jane Krakowski as Elaine Vassal, Peter MacNicol as John Cage, Lisa Nicole Carson as Renée Raddick, Portia de Rossi as Nelle Porter, Lucy Liu as Ling Woo, Gil Bellows as Billy Thomas, Courtney Thorne-Smith as Georgia Thomas, Vonda Shepard as herself, Robert Downey Jr. as Larry Paul, and many others.

## Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Rank | Rating |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Rank | Rating |
| 1 | 23 | 23 | September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08) | May 18, 1998 (1998-05-18) | 57 | 8.1 |
| 2 | 23 | 23 | September 14, 1998 (1998-09-14) | May 24, 1999 (1999-05-24) | 23 | 9.6 |
| 3 | 21 | 21 | October 25, 1999 (1999-10-25) | May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22) | 39 | 8.5 |
| 4 | 23 | 23 | October 23, 2000 (2000-10-23) | May 21, 2001 (2001-05-21) | — | — |
| 5 | 22 | 22 | October 29, 2001 (2001-10-29) | May 20, 2002 (2002-05-20) | — | — |

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1997–98)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | James Frawley | David E. Kelley | September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08) | AM00 | 9.90 |
| 2 | 2 | "Compromising Positions" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | September 15, 1997 (1997-09-15) | AM01 | 8.78 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Kiss" | Dennie Gordon | David E. Kelley | September 22, 1997 (1997-09-22) | AM02 | 8.35 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Affair" | Arlene Sanford | David E. Kelley | September 29, 1997 (1997-09-29) | AM03 | 8.93 |
| 5 | 5 | "One Hundred Tears Away" | Sandy Smolan | David E. Kelley | October 20, 1997 (1997-10-20) | AM04 | 9.13 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Promise" | Victoria Hochberg | David E. Kelley | October 27, 1997 (1997-10-27) | AM05 | 8.49 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Attitude" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | November 3, 1997 (1997-11-03) | AM06 | 9.77 |
| 8 | 8 | "Drawing the Lines" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | November 10, 1997 (1997-11-10) | AM07 | 10.36 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Dirty Joke" | Dan Attias | David E. Kelley | November 17, 1997 (1997-11-17) | AM08 | 10.59 |
| 10 | 10 | "Boy to the World" | Thomas Schlamme | David E. Kelley | December 1, 1997 (1997-12-01) | AM09 | 9.63 |
| 11 | 11 | "Silver Bells" | Joe Napolitano | David E. Kelley | December 15, 1997 (1997-12-15) | AM10 | 8.83 |
| 12 | 12 | "Cro-Magnon" | Allan Arkush | David E. Kelley | January 5, 1998 (1998-01-05) | AM11 | 13.47 |
| 13 | 13 | "The Blame Game" | Sandy Smolan | David E. Kelley | January 19, 1998 (1998-01-19) | AM12 | 14.26 |
| 14 | 14 | "Body Language" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley & Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich | February 2, 1998 (1998-02-02) | AM13 | 13.62 |
| 15 | 15 | "Once in a Lifetime" | Elodie Keene | Story by : David E. Kelley & Jeff Pinkner Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | February 23, 1998 (1998-02-23) | AM14 | 12.55 |
| 16 | 16 | "Forbidden Fruits" | Jeremy Kagan | David E. Kelley | March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02) | AM15 | 14.25 |
| 17 | 17 | "Theme of Life" | Dennie Gordon | David E. Kelley | March 9, 1998 (1998-03-09) | AM16 | 15.69 |
| 18 | 18 | "The Playing Field" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | March 16, 1998 (1998-03-16) | AM17 | 15.42 |
| 19 | 19 | "Happy Birthday Baby" | Thomas Schlamme | David E. Kelley | April 6, 1998 (1998-04-06) | AM18 | 13.67 |
| 20 | 20 | "The Inmates" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | April 27, 1998 (1998-04-27) | AM19 | 12.68 |
| 21 | 21 | "Being There" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | May 4, 1998 (1998-05-04) | AM20 | 14.86 |
| 22 | 22 | "Alone Again" | Dennis Dugan | David E. Kelley | May 11, 1998 (1998-05-11) | AM21 | 14.07 |
| 23 | 23 | "These Are the Days" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | May 18, 1998 (1998-05-18) | AM22 | 14.35 |

### Season 2 (1998–99)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) |
| 24 | 1 | "The Real World" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | September 14, 1998 (1998-09-14) | 2M01 | 14.82 |
| 25 | 2 | "They Eat Horses, Don't They?" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | September 21, 1998 (1998-09-21) | 2M02 | 13.25 |
| 26 | 3 | "Fool's Night Out" | Peter MacNicol | David E. Kelley | September 28, 1998 (1998-09-28) | 2M03 | 15.03 |
| 27 | 4 | "It's My Party" | Jace Alexander | David E. Kelley | October 19, 1998 (1998-10-19) | 2M04 | 14.49 |
| 28 | 5 | "The Story of Love" | Tom Moore | David E. Kelley | October 26, 1998 (1998-10-26) | 2M05 | 13.85 |
| 29 | 6 | "World's Without Love" | Arvin Brown | David E. Kelley | November 2, 1998 (1998-11-02) | 2M07 | 14.48 |
| 30 | 7 | "Happy Trails" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | November 9, 1998 (1998-11-09) | 2M08 | 14.85 |
| 31 | 8 | "Just Looking" | Vincent Misiano | David E. Kelley & Shelly Landau | November 16, 1998 (1998-11-16) | 2M09 | 14.57 |
| 32 | 9 | "You Never Can Tell" | Adam Nimoy | David E. Kelley | November 23, 1998 (1998-11-23) | 2M06 | 15.31 |
| 33 | 10 | "Making Spirits Bright" | Peter MacNicol | David E. Kelley | December 14, 1998 (1998-12-14) | 2M10 | 15.08 |
| 34 | 11 | "In Dreams" | Alex Graves | David E. Kelley | January 11, 1999 (1999-01-11) | 2M11 | 15.36 |
| 35 | 12 | "Love Unlimited" | Dennie Gordon | David E. Kelley | January 18, 1999 (1999-01-18) | 2M12 | 16.72 |
| 36 | 13 | "Angels and Blimps" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | February 8, 1999 (1999-02-08) | 2M13 | 14.75 |
| 37 | 14 | "Pyramids on the Nile" | Elodie Keene | David E. Kelley | February 15, 1999 (1999-02-15) | 2M14 | 15.13 |
| 38 | 15 | "Sideshow" | Alex Graves | David E. Kelley | February 22, 1999 (1999-02-22) | 2M15 | 16.94 |
| 39 | 16 | "Sex, Lies, and Politics" | Arlene Sanford | David E. Kelley | March 1, 1999 (1999-03-01) | 2M16 | 16.01 |
| 40 | 17 | "Civil Wars" | Billy Dickson | David E. Kelley | April 5, 1999 (1999-04-05) | 2M17 | 14.25 |
| 41 | 18 | "Those Lips, that Hand" | Arlene Sanford | David E. Kelley | April 19, 1999 (1999-04-19) | 2M18 | 15.19 |
| 42 | 19 | "Let's Dance" | Ben Lewin | David E. Kelley | April 26, 1999 (1999-04-26) | 2M19 | 15.96 |
| 43 | 20 | "Only the Lonely" | Vincent Misiano | David E. Kelley | May 3, 1999 (1999-05-03) | 2M20 | 13.26 |
| 44 | 21 | "The Green Monster" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | May 10, 1999 (1999-05-10) | 2M21 | 16.33 |
| 45 | 22 | "Love's Illusions" | Allan Arkush | David E. Kelley | May 17, 1999 (1999-05-17) | 2M22 | 16.09 |
| 46 | 23 | "I Know Him by Heart" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | May 24, 1999 (1999-05-24) | 2M23 | 14.94 |

### Season 3 (1999–2000)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) |
| 47 | 1 | "Car Wash" | Billy Dickson | David E. Kelley | October 25, 1999 (1999-10-25) | 3M01 | 16.02 |
| 48 | 2 | "Buried Pleasures" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | November 1, 1999 (1999-11-01) | 3M02 | 16.86 |
| 49 | 3 | "Seeing Green" | Peter MacNicol | David E. Kelley | November 8, 1999 (1999-11-08) | 3M03 | 13.65 |
| 50 | 4 | "Heat Wave" | Alex Graves | David E. Kelley | November 15, 1999 (1999-11-15) | 3M04 | 14.98 |
| 51 | 5 | "Troubled Water" | Joanna Kerns | David E. Kelley | November 22, 1999 (1999-11-22) | 3M05 | 14.52 |
| 52 | 6 | "Changes" | Arlene Sanford | David E. Kelley | November 29, 1999 (1999-11-29) | 3M06 | 14.65 |
| 53 | 7 | "Saving Santa" | Rachel Talalay | David E. Kelley | December 13, 1999 (1999-12-13) | 3M07 | 14.40 |
| 54 | 8 | "Blue Christmas" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | December 20, 1999 (1999-12-20) | 3M08 | 12.86 |
| 55 | 9 | "Out in the Cold" | Dennie Gordon | Story by : David E. Kelley & Josh Caplan Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | January 10, 2000 (2000-01-10) | 3M09 | 15.70 |
| 56 | 10 | "Just Friends" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | January 17, 2000 (2000-01-17) | 3M10 | 14.41 |
| 57 | 11 | "Over the Rainbow" | Alan Myerson | David E. Kelley | February 7, 2000 (2000-02-07) | 3M11 | 14.70 |
| 58 | 12 | "In Search of Pygmies" | Arvin Brown | Story by : David E. Kelley & Josh Caplan Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | February 14, 2000 (2000-02-14) | 3M12 | 13.98 |
| 59 | 13 | "Pursuit of Loneliness" | Jonathan Pontell | David E. Kelley | February 21, 2000 (2000-02-21) | 3M13 | 15.11 |
| 60 | 14 | "The Oddball Parade" | Bryan Gordon | David E. Kelley | February 28, 2000 (2000-02-28) | 3M14 | 15.23 |
| 61 | 15 | "Prime Suspect" | Rachel Talalay | David E. Kelley | March 20, 2000 (2000-03-20) | 3M15 | 14.41 |
| 62 | 16 | "Boy Next Door" | Jack Bender | David E. Kelley | March 27, 2000 (2000-03-27) | 3M16 | 14.55 |
| 63 | 17 | "I Will Survive" | Barnet Kellman | David E. Kelley | April 17, 2000 (2000-04-17) | 3M17 | 13.05 |
| 64 | 18 | "Turning Thirty" | Jeannot Szwarc | David E. Kelley & Jill Goldsmith | May 1, 2000 (2000-05-01) | 3M18 | 12.11 |
| 65 | 19 | "Do You Wanna Dance?" | Michael Lange | David E. Kelley | May 8, 2000 (2000-05-08) | 3M19 | 10.75 |
| 66 | 20 | "Hope and Glory" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | May 15, 2000 (2000-05-15) | 3M20 | 11.50 |
| 67 | 21 | "Ally McBeal: The Musical, Almost" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22) | 3M21 | 11.17 |

### Season 4 (2000–01)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) |
| 68 | 1 | "Sex, Lies and Second Thoughts" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | October 23, 2000 (2000-10-23) | 4M01 | 13.23 |
| 69 | 2 | "Girls' Night Out" | Jeannot Szwarc | David E. Kelley | October 30, 2000 (2000-10-30) | 4M02 | 13.38 |
| 70 | 3 | "Two's a Crowd" | Rachel Talalay | David E. Kelley | November 6, 2000 (2000-11-06) | 4M03 | 12.62 |
| 71 | 4 | "Without a Net" | Mel Damski | David E. Kelley | November 13, 2000 (2000-11-13) | 4M04 | 12.86 |
| 72 | 5 | "The Last Virgin" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | November 20, 2000 (2000-11-20) | 4M05 | 12.34 |
| 73 | 6 | "'Tis the Season" | Arlene Sanford | David E. Kelley | November 27, 2000 (2000-11-27) | 4M06 | 14.03 |
| 74 | 7 | "Love on Holiday" | Bethany Rooney | Story by : David E. Kelley & Alicia Martin & Barb Mackintosh Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | December 4, 2000 (2000-12-04) | 4M07 | 13.03 |
| 75 | 8 | "The Man with the Bag" | Billy Dickson | David E. Kelley | December 11, 2000 (2000-12-11) | 4M08 | 14.09 |
| 76 | 9 | "Reason to Believe" | Ron Lagomarsino | David E. Kelley | January 8, 2001 (2001-01-08) | 4M09 | 12.56 |
| 77 | 10 | "The Ex-Files" | Jack Bender | David E. Kelley | January 15, 2001 (2001-01-15) | 4M10 | 13.55 |
| 78 | 11 | "Mr. Bo" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | January 22, 2001 (2001-01-22) | 4M11 | 13.77 |
| 79 | 12 | "Hats Off to Larry" | Jeannot Szwarc | Story by : David E. Kelley & Melissa Rosenberg & Barb Mackintosh Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | February 5, 2001 (2001-02-05) | 4M12 | 13.75 |
| 80 | 13 | "Reach Out and Touch" | Kenny Ortega | David E. Kelley | February 12, 2001 (2001-02-12) | 4M13 | 12.32 |
| 81 | 14 | "Boys Town" | David Grossman | David E. Kelley | February 19, 2001 (2001-02-19) | 4M14 | 13.19 |
| 82 | 15 | "Falling Up" | Oz Scott | David E. Kelley | February 26, 2001 (2001-02-26) | 4M15 | 13.85 |
| 83 | 16 | "The Getaway" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | March 19, 2001 (2001-03-19) | 4M16 | 12.48 |
| 84 | 17 | "The Pursuit of Unhappiness" | Kenny Ortega | Story by : David E. Kelley & Kerry Lenhart & John J. Sakmar Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | March 26, 2001 (2001-03-26) | 4M17 | 12.39 |
| 85 | 18 | "The Obstacle Course" | Joanna Kerns | David E. Kelley & Kayla Alpert | April 16, 2001 (2001-04-16) | 4M18 | 11.96 |
| 86 | 19 | "In Search of Barry White" | Adam Arkin | David E. Kelley | April 23, 2001 (2001-04-23) | 4M19 | 11.76 |
| 87 | 20 | "Cloudy Skies, Chance of Parade" | Billy Dickson | David E. Kelley | April 30, 2001 (2001-04-30) | 4M20 | 12.63 |
| 88 | 21 | "Queen Bee" | Bethany Rooney | David E. Kelley | May 7, 2001 (2001-05-07) | 4M21 | 11.82 |
| 89 | 22 | "Home Again" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | May 14, 2001 (2001-05-14) | 4M22 | 12.65 |
| 90 | 23 | "The Wedding" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | May 21, 2001 (2001-05-21) | 4M23 | 11.02 |

### Season 5 (2001–02)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) |
| 91 | 1 | "Friends and Lovers" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | October 29, 2001 (2001-10-29) | 5M01 | 10.95 |
| 92 | 2 | "Judge Ling" | Oz Scott | David E. Kelley | November 5, 2001 (2001-11-05) | 5M02 | 10.20 |
| 93 | 3 | "Neutral Corners" | Arvin Brown | David E. Kelley | November 12, 2001 (2001-11-12) | 5M03 | 10.40 |
| 94 | 4 | "Fear of Flirting" | Greg Germann | David E. Kelley & Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib | November 19, 2001 (2001-11-19) | 5M04 | 9.84 |
| 95 | 5 | "I Want Love" | Michael Schultz | David E. Kelley | November 26, 2001 (2001-11-26) | 5M05 | 10.88 |
| 96 | 6 | "Lost and Found" | Mel Damski | Story by : David E. Kelley & Peter Blake Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | December 3, 2001 (2001-12-03) | 5M06 | 9.40 |
| 97 | 7 | "Nine One One" | Billy Dickson | David E. Kelley | December 10, 2001 (2001-12-10) | 5M07 | 9.27 |
| 98 | 8 | "Playing with Matches" | David Semel | Story by : David E. Kelley & Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | January 7, 2002 (2002-01-07) | 5M08 | 9.99 |
| 99 | 9 | "Blowin' in the Wind" | Rachel Talalay | Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib & Cindy Lichtman | January 14, 2002 (2002-01-14) | 5M09 | 10.32 |
| 100 | 10 | "One Hundred Tears" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | January 21, 2002 (2002-01-21) | 5M10 | 10.79 |
| 101 | 11 | "A Kick in the Head" | David Grossman & Jeannot Szwarc | David E. Kelley | February 4, 2002 (2002-02-04) | 5M11 | 11.82 |
| 102 | 12 | "The New Day" | Bethany Rooney | David E. Kelley | February 11, 2002 (2002-02-11) | 5M12 | 8.08 |
| 103 | 13 | "Woman" | Jeannot Szwarc | David E. Kelley | February 18, 2002 (2002-02-18) | 5M13 | 8.77 |
| 104 | 14 | "Homecoming" | Billy Dickson | Story by : David E. Kelley & Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | February 25, 2002 (2002-02-25) | 5M14 | 10.48 |
| 105 | 15 | "Heart and Soul" | Steve Gomer | David E. Kelley | March 4, 2002 (2002-03-04) | 5M15 | 9.10 |
| 106 | 16 | "Love Is All Around" | Arlene Sanford | Story by : David E. Kelley & Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib & Cindy Lichtman Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | April 15, 2002 (2002-04-15) | 5M16 | 8.12 |
| 107 | 17 | "Love Is All Around" | Arlene Sanford | Story by : David E. Kelley & Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib & Cindy Lichtman Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | April 15, 2002 (2002-04-15) | 5M17 | 8.12 |
| 108 | 18 | "Tom Dooley" | Sarah Pia Anderson | David E. Kelley | April 22, 2002 (2002-04-22) | 5M18 | 8.14 |
| 109 | 19 | "Another One Bites the Dust" | Kenny Ortega | Story by : David E. Kelley & Constance M. Burge & Roberto Benabib Teleplay by : David E. Kelley | April 29, 2002 (2002-04-29) | 5M19 | 7.71 |
| 110 | 20 | "What I'll Never Do for Love Again" "Reality Bites" | Billy Dickson | David E. Kelley | May 6, 2002 (2002-05-06) | 5M20 | 8.78 |
| 111 | 21 | "All of Me" | Bethany Rooney | David E. Kelley & Peter MacNicol | May 13, 2002 (2002-05-13) | 5M21 | 8.00 |
| 112 | 22 | "Bygones" | Bill D'Elia | David E. Kelley | May 20, 2002 (2002-05-20) | 5M22 | 11.51 |