On Television

Speaking along this same suicidal theme, I watched Boston Legal tonight, a new network dramady horrorfest starring Murphy Brown (oops! I mean Candice Bergen) and Captain Kirk (oops! William Shatner). Is James Spader ALLOWED to play the same character he played in the movie Secretary? Does anyone take issue with this? Does anyone give a shit that when scolded for sexually harassing his secretary, who has confided her concerns to Murphy Brown, he plants a diatribe on her about how he can’t change, so he’ll just have to replace her with someone who doesn’t mind how he is? Because high-powered male lawyers in BOSTON of all shitty suburban minicities are too set in their ways to make adjustments to their hideous characters. As his paralegal sits there nodding as though she might drop dead from boredom in an instant, are we supposed to get that she accepts this as a reasonable response? And THEN to top it off, she’s on her way out of the office and he says “Oh, and Sarah? Next time someone is doing something you don’t like, be direct. I know you’re up to it.” She smiles as if to say “Thanks, Coach!” and off she goes! WOW!!!!! You’re going to sexually harrass me, refuse to apologize or compromise your behavior, and then condescend to me before you send me packing? Watching this scene made me want to chew on nails and spit rapidfire rustballs through cannons.