Hey guys,
I'm just done with my DVDs and I LOVED the show, it's wonderful and it's mainly to the absolutely class Daniel Benzali!! Oh dear God, is he amazing!! Anyway, I live in Ireland, and we didn't ever get season 2, which I know wouldn't have me as interested without Hoffman. What was the storylines reason for Ted's absence? Did he go away with his family, or did he just sort things out on his own? Was there a mention of a reconciliation with Annie?
Thnx :-)
I'm sure it was shown in Ireland, though maybe only on BBC/ITV/Sky not RTE?
shareI do not know where that splendid actor Daniel benzali wnet to after Murder One but you can get the entire 23 episoded with him from Bloakbuster on DVD...it is still riveting stuff in 2005 on 3rd viewing.Hoffman the epitome of a Howard Roark/John Galt is just immaculate as is Steven Tucci as Rcihard Cross..
They do not make TV like tihs any more do they....
Aw, 10 years on and it's still an amazing show!! But, yep while it did get viewing in Ireland, the second series did not.... 'Murder One' was shown on the Irish station 'RTE' and also on 'BBC'. I never even knew there was a second series 2 until I looked the show up on the 'net, but I'm so surprised to find that Daniel isn't in the second series....he made the show 4 me!! Anyway, whilst I've found out that Benzali was replaced for a younger-looking lead (or whatever), I was wonderin' how they wrote him out of the story - does the firm remain 'Hoffman and Associates'? What is mentioned of him in series 2?
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Heya Ruth!! :) My comp has been down for ages - I haven't had access to my own mailbox & I'm in libary now, so I've been meanin' to mail you!! NEway, I started this thread ages ago, b4 u mailed me, n' whilst ppl picked this question up wrong at first, I just said it the way I'd meant.... My comp should be fixed in about another week, so I'll be cathchin' up :-)
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Just finished watching the first season on dvd and I agree with you, Benzali was unbeatable as Hoffman. Whilst the second season was nowhere near as good, Anthony LaPaglia did a fine job as Jimmy Wyler, Hoffman's replacement. Doesn't match up to Benzali (who really nailed down the essence of a senior partner in a law firm) but I think a lot of people slam him unfairly. BTW, they change the name of the firm to "Wyler and Associates" partway through the second season.
Cheers.
Benzali played "Robert Quinn" in the CBS CIA drama
"The Agency," which aired for two seasons 2001-2003.
His character was brilliant, cunning, ruthless, and
power hungry. He played a former CIA director,
who was brought back as interim director, and then
liason with homeland security, then headed up an
Incident Response Team. I don't know where you live,
but this was in syndication in England, Western Europe,
and Asia over the past few years. If you liked Benzali
in Murder One, you would have liked him in The Agency.
i was a huge fan of the original airing 10 years ago and was disappointed with the changes made before the 2nd season. I remember vaguely at the time reading somewhere that Daniel Benzali (Ted Hoffman) was ousted for NOT BEING 'SEXY' ENOUGH to lure female viewers. I think that premise misses the point of the whole damn show, which in my opinion was/is the best tv drama ever made. 10 years on, it plays out just as powerfully and Ted Hoffman at the helm was MURDER ONE.
In the end, there can only be one...
I know this is a very old thread now, but just thought I'd add one other role Benzali had. He played The "Fat" in All The Little Animals.
shareThe original question was not where did the actor go, but how was the character of Teddy Hoffman expalined away, folks. However, it has been answered satisfactorily. It is interesting that the same thing happened to that other excellent show, "Profiler" around the same time. They lost the brilliant lead, Ally Walker, as Samantha, and the show quickly died in its third season. You would think that television networks would poll their audiences, instead of trying to second guess them. The public never would have approved, at the time, of either Benzali or Walker leaving their respective shows.
shareMrs. Finch:
I just watched Murder One Season 1 again. I decided to look it up on IMDb and I saw your post. Daniel Benzali and that one trial format was dream to watch ( 3rd time ). Season 2 was good for different reasons but Season 1 is a Classic ! "Teddy" was off with his family trying to reconcile. I hope you got to see Season 2 with Pruitt Taylor Vince and Missy Crider as defendants ( I won't give details ).
Another Murder One Devotee
The answer why Daniel Benzali (Hoffman) left the show is revealed in Steven Bochco's autobiography Truth is a total defense: My 50 years in Television.
Basically Benzali was costing the production $$$$$'s a week in delays due to personal habits (I could tell you what they were but you wouldn't believe me). Bochco tried to reason with Benzali who wouldn't compromise so Bochco fired him after season 1.
It's a shame because Benzali is a great actor and from what I've read the show suffered after he left but I completely agree with Bochco firing him. Bochco's autobiography is a great book, I highly recommend by the way.
As for how the character was written out I have no idea as I've not seen the second season yet. I thought you would find this interesting.