The Practice — 1997-2004 · 8 seasons · 167 eps

★ 7.7

The Practice poster

The Practice

1997-2004 8 seasons 167 episodes

★ 7.7 (11,396 votes) Top 41%

A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”

Episode Ratings Grid

Every episode at a glance, color-coded by rating. Rows are episode numbers within each season, columns are seasons.

Size: M

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

S8

E1

7.8

7.5

7.7

7.5

7.5

8.4

7.7

7.5

E2

7.8

8.2

7.9

8.0

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.6

E3

7.8

7.9

8.2

8.3

7.8

8.0

7.9

7.6

E4

8.5

8.0

8.0

7.5

7.7

7.6

7.1

7.2

E5

7.9

7.7

7.9

7.7

7.8

7.8

7.5

7.5

E6

8.0

7.6

8.2

7.5

7.6

8.3

7.4

7.6

E7

7.5

8.5

7.7

7.3

8.3

7.5

7.5

E8

6.8

7.5

7.8

8.9

6.8

7.2

8.2

E9

7.4

7.6

7.6

8.6

7.1

7.6

7.8

E10

7.7

8.0

7.9

8.1

7.7

7.8

7.8

E11

7.6

7.5

7.6

7.9

7.7

7.7

8.6

E12

7.4

7.0

8.1

8.0

8.0

8.0

7.7

E13

7.5

7.4

8.7

8.0

7.8

7.3

8.1

E14

7.6

7.2

8.2

7.5

7.3

7.7

8.0

E15

7.8

7.7

7.2

7.4

7.4

7.7

8.2

E16

8.1

8.6

7.3

7.5

7.5

7.3

7.7

E17

8.5

7.8

7.8

7.6

7.3

7.2

7.8

E18

7.5

7.6

7.8

7.8

7.7

7.0

8.3

E19

8.0

8.6

7.9

7.4

7.4

6.9

7.0

E20

8.3

8.0

8.8

8.9

7.6

7.2

7.3

E21

7.6

8.1

7.6

8.5

7.9

7.7

7.4

E22

7.8

7.7

8.1

8.4

7.9

7.5

7.6

E23

8.2

8.6

E24

7.6

E25

7.8

E26

7.9

E27

8.1

E28

7.6

Avg

8.0

7.8

7.9

7.8

7.9

7.7

7.5

7.7

Great

Good

Mid

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top Episodes

#1 8.9

S5E8 Mr. Hinks Goes to Town

#2

S5E20 8.9

The Case of Harland Bassett

#3

S4E20 8.8

Liberty Bells

4. S4E13 "Hammerhead Sharks" 8.7
5. S3E16 "End Games" 8.6
6. S3E19 "Closet Justice" 8.6
7. S3E23 "Happily Ever After" 8.6
8. S5E9 "The Deal" 8.6
9. S8E11 "Police State" 8.6
10. S1E4 "Part IV" 8.5

📉 Bottom Episodes

#167

S6E8 6.8

Dangerous Liaisons

166. S2E8 "The Means" 6.8
165. S7E19 "Les Is More" 6.9
164. S8E19 "The Firm" 7.0
163. S7E18 "Capitol Crimes" 7.0

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

Trend

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:

76 Standouts

9 Infamous

61 Hidden Gems

21 Forgettable

Top Standout: S5E8 Mr. Hinks Goes to Town

Most Infamous: S8E20 Comings and Goings

Best Hidden Gem: S6E6 Honor Code

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Series Trajectory

A simplified view: one point per season. This smooths out episode-to-episode noise to show the overall arc of the series.

Trend

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.