Below the Din

I like quirky. Especially on network television, which is normally dominated by cookie-cutter crime procedurals and reality shows. Sadly, though, even quirky shows can become stagnant, and such is the case for ABC’s Boston Legal.

William Shatner’s Denny Crane character has devolved from eccentric to absurd.

Every singe case ends the same. All lawyers from Crane, Poole and Schmidt in court in a given week are up against long odds. In each case, they give a long, drawn out speech, finding a way to tie even the most mundane detail of the case to current events–more specifically, the many argued failures of the Bush administration–and every time, they win.

There’s way too much politics packed into each show. It is to the point where BL creator David Kelly is browbeating his audience with his stance on current events. It reaks of self-indulgence, especially in cases like this past episode, where Alan Shore (played by James Spader) went in front of the Supreme Court, spent most of his allotted time–you guessed it–yelling at the nine highest justices in the United States. After he collects himself, he gives the game-saving summation, and Kelly had three characters gush about how proud his speech made them.

Full disclosure: I actually, more often than not agree, with the broad strokes of their rants, however, don’t we get enough of that in cable news and the blogosphere?

I like John Laroquette. I’ve liked him in pretty much everything in which I’ve seen him. Which is why it pains me to ask: What is he doing on the show? He’s not the hardass, because he lets too many things slide. he’s not the guy who has his employees’ backs. He’s barely there as a straight man. Either he was brought on just for his name, or the writers have yet to figure out what do with him.

I could go on for a half-dozen more paragraphs, but the point I’m trying to make is that the show has run its course. Let it fade away without inflicting much more damage.