Cancer Man

I don't think so, I actually thought Jeri Ryan was a good addition to the show, alongside Michael Rapaport at the begining of Season Two, although Boston Public was already going downhill by then. But what irkes me the most about Jeri's addition to show is how much undue flack she recieved upon arrival to the series; most of the hatred directed against Jeri Ryan was for the most part vindictive, irrational and absurd.

How was it her fault the show was going downhill?! I thought she was a competent, even talented actress that was unlucky enough to join Boston Public when it was starting to sail into dire straights (the Hook Lady?! Singing?! Hokey writing?!), I believe she did OK with the character given to her, even though her Ronnie Cooke character was a badly written, ill conceived character. You have to take into account that the characters that David E Kelly writes in the later seasons of his shows are more often than not weaker than the characters introduced in the first season, and very often it's not always the actors or actresses fault.

It was certainly not Jeri Ryan's fault how her Ronnie Cooke charcter turned out and bad direction Boston Public went, but bullies looking for a convenient and vunerable scapegoat, had to blame Jeri Ryan for the outcome of the Boston Public. I don't blame Jeri Ryan for the demise of Boston Public, I thought she was misused by the writers like poor Kathy Baker; David E. Kelly is good at misusing actresses on his shows...

Do you think Jeri Ryan ruined Boston Public?

Aphex Twin

Gizmo

Nope, I think she infact saved the show. I couldnt even remember the other main actress' name before, but she played Lauren Davis. Most of her stories revolved around her being racist...and after the 3rd time, the story got old. I enjoyed the addition of Jeri Ryan as well as Michael Rapaport to the cast of season 2.

Just a heads up incase some don't know, Jeri Ryan will be doing a 7-10 episode run on The O.C. starting this Thursday.

Gizmo

Nope, I think she infact saved the show. I couldnt even remember the other main actress' name before, but she played Lauren Davis. Most of her stories revolved around her being racist...and after the 3rd time, the story got old. I enjoyed the addition of Jeri Ryan as well as Michael Rapaport to the cast of season 2.

Just a heads up incase some don't know, Jeri Ryan will be doing a 7-10 episode run on The O.C. starting this Thursday.

Rogue588

She helped.

Original Desmond

Jeri Ryan was cool but the best characters were Lauren Davis and Harry Senate

BDLOU

DEK ruined the show. His over the top writing does not fit well into the high school backdrop. It works better in the law firm setting although I get sick of it there at times as well. I don't think he knows the meaning of the word subtle.

B.A.

I thought she was alright on the show, it was the storylines that killed son of a bitch - which must have been really bad because I quit watching the show before it was cancelled.

Michael Corvin

How can someone THAT hot ruin a show?

Patman

Milo Ventimiglia ruined BP. Heh.

Jadzia

I like Jeri Ryan as an actresss, but I thought her character was too similar to Lauren Davis, so the addition of her made that character rather superfluous. Lauren was left with little to do and I think it would have been better if they had just out and out replaced the character, rather than having them both in the ensemble, fighting for storylines.

Fielding Mellish

No, but she did ruin Star Trek.

Cancer Man

Don't be so daft, she was better than Kes (although I liked Jennifer Lien) and she was a popular addition to Voyager for the most part, how can a catsuited Borg character ruin an entire multi-decade franchise when Star Trek has always featured female eye candy since day one?!

Anyway, I always thought the addition of Jeri to any TV show is more positive than negative, even though her introduction to the shows she has been in so far were in dire straits of one form or another (ie. Dark Skies spiriling into early cancellation, Voyager ratings plummeting on UPN, Boston Public "Jumping the Shark" with that godamn Hook Lady).

Spanky BananaPants

As far as I'm concerned, BP started going downhill right before Harry Senate left. Jeri Ryan coming on-board was nice, but ultimately didn't save the show. I stopped watching during the last season and don't regret missing them.

Jonny2k1

She was one of my favorite characters on that show, and I miss watching it.

calhoun07

No, I don't think she ruined it. The song numbers ruined the show.

As for Lauren Davis...she wasn't racist, it was Marla Hendricks that was racist. Marla tried to pull that crap with Rappaport as well until Rappaport put her in her place.

sherm42

No, David E. Kelley ruined Boston Public, just as he did to Ally McBeal and almost every other show he created, then left to do another show.

Legolas

David E. Kelley ruined the show, just like how he ruins all his other shows when he either loses focus on what it's supposed to be about, turns it into a platform for his politics, or both.

apeyard

Guber's one handed girlfriend and her psycho son ruined BP

PacMan2006

It's a shame, too, because season 1 was very good and interesting to watch. It seems that at the start of season two, it just dramatically went down in quality.

David E Kelley and his staff of writers hands down ruined that show. It was fine, but the storylines just got dumb. I loved season 1 but about halfway through season two, I bailed. I don't do that often. I caught some of the last season before cancellation...it was decent enough, but that's just comparing it to season two and beyond.

Cancer Man

I always thought Boston Public was the same contrived crap it always was since day one, a guilty pleasure of mine, although it did get progressevly worse at the start of Season Two. But if you drown out all the singing and ignore the Hook Lady, Season Two of Boston Public was still entertaining for the most part, even though it was apparent that David E. Kelly was starting to sink the show with his silly ideas.

Boston Public had a flawed first season, but the characters were interesting and the premise quite promising, then there was Season Two and it was obvious that David E. Kelly had given into his own sillyness; Season Two was good, but it was quickly going downhill. By Season Three Boston Public had lost all credibility, the departure of the popular Nicky Katt left a irreplacable void and although I did not like Jessalyn Gilsig as much as Jeri Ryan, Gilsig's abrupt departure did not help things either.

So much went wrong with Boston Public after Season One, I do not think Jeri Ryan was really the problem, she was shortchanged alongside the rest of the cast and got dragged down with them. And what really bugs me about Boston Public is that it has a solid cast (Jeri included) and the premise was promising, but then David E. Kelly decides squander it all after just a couple of good seasons...

Nabalab

Of course it didn't help that they moved Boston Public to Friday night (from Monday). I always ended up forgetting it was on, and just said "screw it" after a few weeks of that.

saoirse

All the singing parts and no real storylines are what killed it for me.

Cancer Man

Only the most churlish and vindictive of critics would claim Jeri Ryan had sunk Boston Public, merely because she joined the series when it was more or less a so-so series to begin with and was already going down the toilet almost as soon as she arrived.

Roto

That's usually the case with his shows, though usually he ruins it by leaving (Picket Fences, Chicago Hope). In the case of Boston Public, I agree with you, it was just too over the top to be believable. For a while I just watched it to see what crazy thing would happen next.

The same goes for a law firm employing schizophrenic aneorexic Ally McBeal. She was almost normal in the first season until she started hallucinating.