Ally McBeal
Season 1
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The first season of the television series Ally McBeal began airing in the United States on September 8, 1997, concluded on May 18, 1998, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of Ally McBeal, a young lawyer who found herself without a job after being sexually harassed by her boss, only to end up employed by her friend from college, Richard Fish, to work in the firm he created with his friend John Cage, named "Cage & Fish."
Where to Watch Season 1
23 Episodes
- Pilot
E1PilotAlly McBeal, attractive recent graduate from Harvard Law School, is harassed at work by a senior associate. She complains to the powers that be but ends up losing her job. By chance, Ally bumps into former classmate Richard Fish, who invites her to join his new firm. Ally hesitantly accepts and receives the shock of her life on the first day: her childhood sweetheart Billy Thomas is an associate at the firm. - Compromising Positions
E2Compromising PositionsFish's partner, John Cage faces fines, jail, and public humiliation. To her dismay, Ally is assigned to be a litigator. Fish invites Ally along to dinner with a very wealthy potential client, Ronald Cheanie. Unbeknownst to Ally, the dinner is really a double date with Fish and his girlfriend, Whipper. Ally is furious, but Cheanie turns out to be handsome and intelligent. - The Kiss
E3The KissAlly senses Cheanie is withholding something when he neglects to kiss her goodnight after their first official date. Georgia asks Ally to assist her in trying an age discrimination case when the opposing litigator turns out to be Billings, the guy Ally tried to sue for sexual harassment at her old firm. Fish admonishes Ally for putting her emotional life above the firm's financial welfare while telling her to grow up. - The Affair
E4The AffairAlly is asked to be a pallbearer at the funeral of her ex-law professor who also happens to be her ex-lover. The widow, thinking her husband was a great mentor for Ally, asks her to give the eulogy. Ally's reluctance leads Billy to find out the truth about her reasons for avoiding the funeral. Billy offers his support to Ally, which unnerves both Georgia and Cheanie. - 100 Tears Away
E5100 Tears AwayAlly is arrested for aggravated assault and attempted shoplifting. Renee bails her out, but word spreads quickly, and Ally is brought before the State Bar Review Board. A litany of her recent travails is read aloud, and Ally must contend with her unconventional past catching up with her. - The Promise
E6The PromiseAlly has to defend a friend of Whipper brought up on solicitation charges. She is serving as second chair to Cage, whose idiosyncrasies become increasingly apparent and mystifying to Ally as well as the other attorneys. At the same time, on a different case, a severely rotund attorney passes out from a near heart attack just outside the courtroom and Ally has to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. - The Attitude
E7The AttitudeAlly represents a Jewish woman who needs her Rabbi to grant her a spiritual release from her marriage to her comatose husband. Ally goes personally to the Rabbi's office to find out why he is being so rigid. Meanwhile, Georgia is the target of a senior partner's wife's insecurities. - Drawing The Lines
E8Drawing The LinesBilly and Georgia are faced with a crisis of confidence in their marriage. Elaine threatens to sue the firm for sexual harassment if Fish and Cage don't meet her demands for improved working conditions. Ally, Georgia, and Cage take on a lucrative divorce case. Fish uses some tactics, which causes a debate between the two parties as to which side is the most amoral. - Boy To The World
E10Boy To The WorldAlly is forced to defend a young prostitute up on her third solicitation charge. Much to Ally's surprise, her client is a transgender woman named Stephanie. As Ally grows closer to Stephanie, she begins to realize the true dangers her client faces as a transgender prostitute. Fish, meanwhile, sues his uncle's church for discrimination because of their refusal to hold a service reflecting his uncle's prejudice against short people. - Silver Bells
E11Silver BellsThree successful, intelligent adults approach Judge Whipper Cone about legal representation in their quest to legally obtain a three-way marriage. Fish assigns Ally and Cage to the case, despite Ally's opposition. Holiday Blues permeate the office, causing several complications for the couples in the firm. - Cro-Magnon
E12Cro-MagnonAlly struggles to get her biological clock under control when she starts having strange libidinal impulses. She, Renée, and Georgia are enamored with a particularly well-endowed male model in their sculpting class. In the office, Ally has to defend the nineteen-year-old son of a senior partner accused of assault for slugging another guy who harassed his date. - The Blame Game
E13The Blame GameAlly has a chance encounter with Glenn, the well-endowed artists' model, at a local Starbucks, and makes it very clear that she is irritated with him. On the legal side, John Cage takes on a wrongful death case that Fish is convinced will reap big bucks for the firm. Two adult siblings are suing an airline after their father is killed in a plane crash. - Body Language
E14Body LanguageAlly and Renée are bridesmaids in a friend's wedding and become fed up with the absurd rituals and traditions. Richard asks Ally to flirt with a wealthy new client. To Ally's annoyance, Cage has no problem with it because of his new therapy regimen. Ally and Georgia try a case about overturning a warden's decision to refuse marriage for a prisoner serving a life term. - Once In A Lifetime
E15Once In A LifetimeThe firm takes on a case for a famous 80-year old artist who is battling his heirs for control of his estate. Ally and Billy co-council the case and find that the artist's relationship with his recently deceased wife mirrors their own. Fish intervenes in the relationship between Cage and Ally when she starts behaving in an obviously cold manner around the office. - Forbidden Fruits
E16Forbidden FruitsA high-profile case opens up for Cage and Fish when a jilted spouse plans to sue a U.S. Senator for "interfering with happy marital relations". The Senator's case perversely parallels the awkward love triangle between Georgia, Billy, and Ally. Uncomfortable with how close the case mirrors her own life, Georgia quits the case; Fish and Cage step in to try and keep the Senator from losing his job. - Theme Of Life
E17Theme Of LifeGeorgia, Ally, and Renée sign up for kickboxing classes to relieve stress. As luck would have it, Georgia and Ally end up having to face each other in the ring. After much awkward pretext, the fight begins and all civility is lost. Ally tries a case concerning an attractive surgeon who performed an unauthorized and controversial transplant procedure. - The Playing Field
E18The Playing FieldTracey tells Ally to fight the dancing baby. But Greg and Ally get in an accident, Ally is distracted by his dazzling smile, and she kicks the dancing baby, but turns out he might be real. Richard is ready to argue in court defending a woman accusing her boss of sexual harassment, and Billy and Georgia are worried that they might actually win the case. - Happy Birthday Baby
E19Happy Birthday BabyAlly is in denial about her birthday but her co-workers aren't. Elaine orchestrates a party at the bar and asks Dr. Greg Butters to sing a romantic ballad dedicated to Ally. He does, and knocks the socks off everyone in the room. Renee is especially moved, and jumps up on stage to join him in a seductive duet. Meanwhile, in the courtroom, Ally is forced to take the position for a new client that his foot fetish qualifies him as temporarily insane. Renee, as the opposing district attorney, maintains that sneaking into a would-be date's apartment uninvited to tickle her feet is breaking and entering. - The Inmates
E20The InmatesA rich client might have just killed her husband. Ally is scared of murderers, Billy wants to get into criminal law, but John and Richard want to outsource the case to another firm. Elaine is attracted to Bobby Donnell, the lawyer brought in for the case, but he is exasperated with the childishness of Cage & Fish. Meanwhile, Renee's overt sexuality could land in her a lot of trouble. - Being There
E21Being ThereJohn and Ally are defending Renee for her life and career. Renee is upset with John over his antics in court but, when Ally's former fling, Glenn, appears as a prosecutorial witness, John kicks her off the case. Georgia might be pregnant, but she and Billy are unsure about impending parenthood. If only Ally could find a theme song to help deal with Georgia's pregnancy. - Alone Again
E22Alone AgainA convicted felon tried to escape from jail, and John and Ally are defending him. However, the DA on the case is John's former love from college. Ally saw the love immediately, but John is worried that she won't return his feelings. A jilted bride is suing, but when the judge assigned to the case is Whipper, Elaine, Richard and Whipper all have to deal with their unresolved issues of loneliness. - These Are The Days
E23These Are The DaysJohn's second cousin assaults happy people. In court, his defense will be to baffle the witnesses and jury. Two men want a court order to switch their hearts, and Bobby Donnell wants Ally-to help with the case. But if Ally's imagination has any say in it, he will want her eventually.
