Mekeisha Madden Toby

Ground-breaking 'Ally McBeal' hits DVD

As far as sidekicks go, actress Lisa Nicole Carson was one of the best.

For five seasons, Carson played Renee Raddick, roommate and best friend to the title character on "Ally McBeal," a comedic, musical law drama that aired on Fox until 2002.

Twelve years after the Emmy-winning show this month made its initial splash, 20th Century Fox released "Ally McBeal: The Complete Series" ($199.98) and season one ($29.98) on DVD to remind us about the groundbreaking show and the nervy, hem-line challenged lawyer (Calista Flockhart) who stole our hearts.

"The timing could not be better," says Carson, 40, in a recent phone interview from her hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y.

In addition to launching the careers of Carson and Flockhart, the show managed to turn Lucy Liu, Jane Krakowski, Portia de Rossi and others into household names.

"I'm getting back into acting, and I'm working on my music, so yeah, the timing is interesting," she says. "The desire to perform never leaves you."

Carson walked away from acting in what she called a "self-imposed hiatus" seven years ago, a time she declines to elaborate on.

In addition to her role on "Ally McBeal," Carson moonlighted on "ER" in 2001 as the mother of Dr. Peter Benton's (Eriq La Salle) child. She also enjoyed parts in movies such as "Life" (1999), "Love Jones" (1997) and "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995).

"Acting will always be a part of my life," Carson says. "As long as the material is good, I'll consider the role. Everything starts on the page."

mmadden@detnews.com (313) 222-2501