Can you believe it's been 20 years since Ally McBeal first hit our screens?
The legal comedy-drama set in Boston law firm Cage & Fish was an instant hit when it debuted in 1997 and made Calista Flockhart one of the biggest stars in television.
During the show's five season run, Flockhart was joined on screen by an impressive cast that included Jane Krakowski, Portia de Rossi, Robert Downey Jr., Lucy Liu, Gil Bellows, Dame Edna Everage and Jon Bon Jovi.
Fonda, who appeared in Jackie Brown and Lake Placid, doesn't regret her decision to pass on the offer though.
"I'm not kicking myself for having passed on Ally McBeal, even though it's a huge hit," she said.
"I've been acting long enough to know it could have been a complete dud with me in it. It may work as well as it does because of Calista."
LUCY LIU WAS GOING TO PASS ON ALLY MCBEAL
Lucy Liu originally auditioned to play Nelle but the part was given to Portia de Rossi instead.
David E. Kelley was so impressed by Liu though that he specifically wrote the character of Ling Woo for her to play.
But as the actress told Metro, she was initially going to pass on the role to do a play instead,
"They came back a few weeks later with this guest-star role and at the same time I was being offered a play," she said.
"The TV role was only eight days' work; the play was running for three months and I wanted to do the play because it was more artistic. But my manager insisted I take Ally McBeal - she told me I was going to pass on the play that time and I was going to do this show, and that was that. Then, of course, it became such a part of the Zeitgeist and changed my career."
WHEN ALLY MCBEAL MET THE PRACTICE
A few months before he launched Ally McBeal, creator and writer David E. Kelley launched The Practice. The shows aired on different TV networks but existed in the same universe.
Ally McBeal was wacky whereas The Practice was far more serious, but despite their differences, the two legal shows came together for a crossover episode.
Part one of the crossover episode aired on Fox with the second part of the episode airing an hour later on ABC.
Was it a success? Not really according to Tyler Coates from The Decider.
"It was a mismatched pairing for the shows, which had dramatically disparate tones. Bobby and Eugene played it straight when they ended up on Ally McBeal, and Ally was surprisingly poised and professional on The Practice. It was mostly just a strange experience, as the two episodes didn't fit together very smoothly."
THE REAL REASON LISA NICOLE CARSON LEFT THE SHOW
Lisa Nicole Carson had a main role on Ally McBeal playing Renée Raddick for the first four seasons. But then there was an incident.
"I was in New York City catching up with loved ones when I unexpectedly had a fit in my hotel - yelling, throwing things, crying and raising enough hell that the staff called an ambulance," the actress recalled.
"I ended up being hospitalised for a few weeks, and a psychiatrist gave a diagnosis: bipolar disorder."
When she was discharged from hospital, Carson returned to work on Ally McBeal but believes her breakdown cost her her job.
"Everybody on the show was wonderful to me, but my contract wasn't renewed for the final season," she said.
"Nobody gave me an explanation, but I assumed it had to do with what had happened. I was devastated."
THE WEDDING EPISODE THAT NEVER WAS
Robert Downey Jr. joined the cast of Ally McBeal just a week after he was released from a substance abuse treatment facility.
The show's ratings had declined in the third season but the numbers increased significantly in the fourth season thanks to the addition of Downey Jr. who played Ally McBeal's love interest, Larry Paul.
Although he was a hit on screen, the actor was still battling his addictions behind the scenes.
"I'm probably not the best person to ask about that period," he told The Guardian in 2003 about his time on Ally McBeal.
"It was my lowest point in terms of addictions. At that stage, I didn't give a f**k whether I ever acted again."
Larry Paul and Ally McBeal were meant to get married in the season four finale, but when Downey Jr. was arrested in 2001 for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs, the actor was fired from the show and the finale was rewritten with the two lovers ending their relationship.
