In one way, I'm glad I didn't find Philly until ten years after it was canceled. I knew it wouldn't last from the outset, so was saved from being disappointed when it was taken away.I think every one of the 22 episodes was a gem; the cast was wonderful and the stories intelligently and realistically presented.Kim Delaney was perfect as the idealistic but determined and smart defense attorney, making a difference in a seedy system.Tom Everett Scott played her less idealistic, but equally determined partner beautifully. Rick Hoffman played prosecutor Terry Loomis very well, but one wonders how he could remain on of the top lawyers in the DAs office when he lost so often to Delaney and Scott.Kyle Secor as the Asst. DA and ex to Delaney was a great foil.And Dena Detrich as the judge with a dog she brought into court supplied comic relief, but also realistic counsel to the attorneys. Much more successfully than did Robert Harper as the buffoonish Judge Haws.I imagine after 911, audiences weren't sympathetic to legal defense. I think this show was a victim of the time it came to air.I wanted more, that's high praise.

Philly was a great show. I was so disappointed ABC did not renew it for Season 3.Kim Delaney was great, Rick Hoffman was wonderful and he is even on other "legal shows" (like Boston Legal, he was great in that one guest episode there).There was a great support acting team, and production value was superb.This show was not dark, or overly dramatic. It was make you feel good show with a bit of spice in there.I really wish they kept this show, Kim Delaney deserves her own show. I was skeptical she could do it, even though I liked her in NYPD. But in this show, she really shined.She got a bum rap in CSI Miami.. but that's another story..

I did see a few episodes of Philly and you could see it right away what was the problem with the show. In shows like Law And Order S.V.U , you see a perfect cast. This shows lacks it totally. Actors like Tom Everett Scott are unconvincing and uninteresting. All in all its not surprising that this show got cancelled, the writing and the directing seemed ok but this show did not work at all. Want to watch a good Law show. The Practice is it.

I saw about the first five minutes of the first episode of "Philly" because I was checking to see if any actors I liked were guest starring. They weren't. Instead, I saw, much to my disgust, Joanna Cassidy flashing her breasts...on network TV. Ugh. What a turn-off.I forgot all about "Philly" until I discovered Nina Siemaszko was going to be a guest star, so I decided to watch that episode, hideously titled "Fork You Very Much." To give it credit, it was...better than I thought, but still offered nothing new and fresh to watch in the great slew of law-related shows. Basically, I guess Kim Delaney is supposed to be "Kathleen," a busy lawyer who works in a firm with Tom Everett Scott and some other folks. "Fork You Very Much" had Delaney and Scott in court just about the whole time. Delaney was so darned busy she had TWO cases--an evil rapist that she did not really want to defend and a kind, "troubled" alcoholic who neglected her kids, while Scott had to deal with some couple where the women did SOMETHING(to this second, I really don't know what) with a fork to her husband(hence the title, though why, since it was beyond the "B" plot.) He was also against some female prosecutor with a deep voice, whom I think he was supposed to be attracted to, and I guess he must love every women in the world, because he also had some chat with a judge(guest star Veronica Hamel) whom he had (trashily) slept with...Kathleen, on the other hand, basically spent all of her time being busy, but was vaguely set up with some detective. I did not care about Tom Everett Scott's character or anything involving his plot. Scott was okay in a role that really could have been played by any 30-something(and I would have prefered it to have been played by somebody MUCH more interesting). Delaney was also alright, but her role was also very, very generic and could have been played by any actress. I did not care about Kathleen's social life, and actually "forgot" about her involvment with the stupid detective until he suddenly came back toward the end. Kathleen at work was a LITTLE bit more interesting, but her two cases did not go together in the least. Did they not have some other character that could have represented kind, troubled Teresa the Alcoholic? I could see why a female attorney character would be faced against the evil demon rapist character(the rapist was annoying and had creepy tattoos, but actually had a couple of funny lines), but they really didn't *need* the other case...not that I am complaining, since the guest star who played Teresa(and did a good job) was the reason I watched. At least the conclusions of Delaney's cases turned out sort of interestingly, with the rapist getting a verdict(I will not say of what, because I think it was supposed to be "shocking"). I um, predicted what would become of Teresa(except I didn't know "why" she would do what she did), but at least the final between Delaney and Scott and her was probably the best scene in the show. Basically my viewing of an episode of "Philly" left me with the impression that it is a rather generic and run-of-the-mill show, that when featuring a good guest star makes a for PASSABLE viewing. I doubt I would watch it without any guest stars I like, however...