I smell another Emmy for William Shatner. In a piece of inspired casting, he's just gotten the father role for the upcoming CBS show 'Sh*t My Dad Says', based on the Twitter sensation of the same name. This is a very different character than James T. Kirk or Denny Crane (or even T.J. Hooker). If Shatner plays his cards right, it could be the Archie Bunker role of the 21st century.

Granted, the premise reminds me a little of the Fox show 'Titus'. Okay, Stacy Keach might have been a good choice too, but he's done that type of character already. With Shatner, it's kind of a new thing.

Shatner's co-stars, particularly from his 'Star Trek' days, have been calling him an a-hole for years. Now he gets a chance to play one on T.V. Perhaps they should change the name to 'Shat My Dad Says'. Can you smell what the Shat is cooking?

I have a problem. Well, I actually have many problems, but none of them pertaining to this site. What I am talking about is an issue I have with a rating given to Denny Crane in his duties as a lawyer. Okay, I see you're confused (don't ask me how I can see you. It's just one of my superpowers), so let me pontificate further.

Over at Avvo.com, which allows users to search for and rate real-life lawyers, there is a profile of Boston Legal's Denny Crane. Smack dab in the middle of this profile is the rating given to Denny for his experience and professional conduct. For experience he is given three points out of five. This seems weird, considering he's been an attorney since the late 1950s. Yet, it's reasonable given his most recent cases. What really bothers me is his professional conduct rating: five points out of five.

To many people, William Shatner is a beloved TV icon. To others, he's a shameless self-promoter, a commercial pitchman for everything from margarine to hotel rooms. Few feel neutral about Shatner, so this story may come as something of a surprise. William Shatner rarely watches himself on TV and film. Like a lot of actors, when he works, he's in the moment and doesn't go back and study what he did and why. It's been working for him. As Denny Crane on Boston Legal, he's won two Emmys in the last three years.

Unless you've been in a coma over the last week (and if you have, I'm glad you're back) you probably know a little something about the troubles former New York governor Eliot Spitzer has been having. Not to go into to much detail, but it has something to do with an illegal prostitution ring, taking said prostitutes across state lines, and a little bit of money laundering. Hence, the reason he isn't "current" New York governor Eliot Spitzer anymore (at least as of noon on Monday).

To defend himself against these charges, Spitzer has hired a set of pretty powerful lawyers to help him put together a strong defense. But, will these purveyors of truth and justice be the ones who keep Governor Spitzer out of the pokey? I'm thinking not. In fact, I think Spitzer is barking up the wrong tree when it comes to the people who will defend him in court. What he should really be doing is visiting some of the high-profile television law firms that have been able to make a jury bawl in their seats over a serial killer's second amendment rights.

Here are but a few of the TV law firms the former governor should consider.

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Considering how often ABC has opted to not air repeats of Boston Legal during its first four years, it should come as good news to fans of Denny & Alan's buddy dramedy that ION has picked up the series. It plans to re-air the series weeknights in the fall. Personally, I'm thrilled because I missed the first season altogether and various scattered episodes here and there since then. Oh, and Boston Legal isn't streamed at ABC.com.

Alan: "So what do you think of our show going to ION, Denny?"
Denny: "Well I knew technology was making things smaller and smaller, but an ion Alan? Really?"

So is it yet another Star Trek alumnus coming on-screen, or a reunion of former Murphy Brown costars Candace Bergen and her on-screen amore Scott Bakula, as TV Guide says. Looks like it's both, as Bakula has signed on to join Bergen and William Shatner for an upcoming episode of Boston Legal. In it he will play one of Shirley Schmidt's (Bergen) exes who runs into her at a bar. No word on if his will be a multi-episode arc or a one-time appearance.

Bakula has shown himself to have a bit of comedic chops recently on The New Adventures of Old Christine, and with BL being a dramedy, he might do very well there. Either way, it is good to see Bakula back on the small screen. Quantum Leap remains one of my all-time favorite shows and I'm still mad they haven't found a way to bring it back (despite periodic rumors that they may), while Knight Rider gets a revival. It'd be great if they can get Bakula's character and Denny Crane (Shatner) together in a scene and have them salute one another or slip some other Trek teaser for the audience in the know.

I missed Boston Legal this week. I hate that they don't have consistent weekly episodes--how Boston Legal just disappears for weeks to accommodate the U.S. Open or some national dog show. Because I was disappointed in missing the banter between Spader and Shatner or the rest of the absurd cast of characters, I decided to find out what's going to happen on December's episodes of Boston Legal.

Episodes will air on December 4th, 11th, and 18th (Christmas episode!) at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

I'm talking about Betty Suarez, not the actress (America Ferrera) who plays her on the hit ABC show. Every year one of the financial sites figures out how much money various TV characters make a year. Last year we discovered that Homer Simpson makes $67,422 at the power plant. This year's list comes from CareerBuilder.com.

I'm not surprised to find out that Boston Legal's Denny Crane makes $210,000, but I was rather shocked that Cold Case's Lilly Rush only makes $44,000 a year. She solves cold cases, for pete's sake! Hopefully the benefits are good.

The list also has the salaries for Arthur Branch on Law and Order, Jim on According To Jim, Pam on The Office, and many others.

Update: Betty Suarez makes $37, 810 a year. Now you don't even have to click on the link and all the world is at peace again.

Sure, I could have titled this post 'Why I'm Declaring a Mistrial on Boston Legal' or 'Case Adjourned on Boston Legal'. But, you're a smart bunch a people who aren't into the corny. So, let me be truthful for a moment and let you know why I'm no longer going to review Boston Legal.

I'm tired.

Well, that's only one reason, but a very important one. It's going to sound like a kvetch, I know, but it is a bit tiring to review a show week after week, particularly one that airs at the end of prime-time. You have to schedule for it, watch it in a different manner then you would if you were a normal viewer, and then cull the highlights of the show into a 10-15 paragraph review. When the show you're reviewing is getting a bit dull, writing a post on it can become a chore.

And, that's where I am with Boston Legal right now.

(S03E13) Shirley Schmidt: This is getting ugly.

Denny Crane: Denny Crane ugly.

The whole Denise-Brad-Jeffrey sex plot has got to go! At first I thought it was kind of amusing. But, after three weeks of it the whole storyline has reached the tiring stage, especially if you saw the scenes from next week's show. It's like watching an episode of The O.C., except with much older people. Frankly, I really don't care who Denise is sleeping with. Hell, she could be sleeping with Paul for all that matters (that would make a much better story). It's time to get past it and have these three focus on the Legal portion of Boston Legal.

Now, with that out of the way, let's press on with this week's fairly Alan Shore-free episode.

There are many fulfilling aspects to having and raising children. For example, you get to watch them grow from these tiny beings who need constant attention to boys and girls that can walk, and talk, and develop their own personalities. You share in their triumphs and their defeats and you work with them to learn from their mistakes in order to become better people. If you're lucky, they achieve greatness in one aspect or another and end up buying you that retirement home in Maui that you have always wanted.

Then there are the aspects to having and raising children that aren't as fulfilling, like scrubbing the carpet with OxyClean at 1:30 in the morning to get out the luscious aroma of your daughter's throw-up. This is what I've been doing for the last three nights. Not with just one daughter, but with all three of my daughters: the stomach virus that hit them was quick and nasty. Luckily, my son was spared a ride on the Vomit Express (so far), which is good, since he is having surgery to clear a blocked tear duct at the same time that you're probably reading this post.

(S3E10) So, after a few murders, missing body parts, incestuous love between a mother and her son, and the kidnapping of Shirley Schmidt, we get back to the normal absurdity that is Boston Legal. This week features a custody case involving two white supremacist singing sensations, a woman who wants to sue God because her husband was struck by lightning, a pro-anorexic girl who is seeking emancipation from her mother, and Shirley in a bunny suit. In other words, just a normal couple of days at the law firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt.

All that, plus appearances by Clarence, Bethany, Bethany's mom and Jerry (Aaaaarrrrgggghhh!) and yet another alum of Star Trek. So, let's get comfy and press ahead on the last new episode before the holiday break.

(S03E09) Suck . . . my . . . lobe. -- Shirley Schmidt

Back so soon? Gosh, it feels like I just wrote about Boston Legal two days ago.

Now that the second part of this Boston Legal 'event' (according to the network) has aired I can reveal what happened at the end of the first part. Lincoln Meyer attacked Gracie Jane in her hotel room after she ridiculed him on her television show. Then, he abducted Shirley Schmidt and took her to his 'safe-room', also known as a locked room in Lincoln's basement.

(S03E08) No, it's not Tuesday night. For some reason ABC preempted Brothers & Sisters to air the first of this two-part episode of Boston Legal. My guess for the preemption: sweeps. Though, when you come to think about it, this is the correct place to air a 'special episode' of BL. This is where the show started (in the old The Practice time slot) before it was booted to Tuesday nights by some small show named Blue's Anatomy, or Grey's Body Parts, or something like that. I wonder if that show went anywhere?

Anywhoswhatsit, in this episode we see the return of Lincoln Meyer, a fight between Jeffrey Coho and Brad Chase and the results of Denny Crane's paternity test. Oh, and we also have another appearance of a character that's beginning to get a bit tiresome. So, if the jury will be seated, we can begin the proceedings.

(S03E07) You're not getting in this dress. -- Alan Shore, dressed like one of the Lennon sisters, to Denny Crane, also dressed like a Lennon sister. Don't ask.

After last week's intense, and somewhat oogy, episode of Boston Legal, we get a palette cleanser of sorts this week as some storylines are closed and others are opened. It was also an extremely subdued episode. Even bombastic characters like Alan Shore and Denny Crane were unusually quiet this time around. It was so calm that I almost fell asleep halfway through the episode. Oh, that wasn't because the show was boring. It was more a result of traipsing out with the kiddies for a marathon trick-or-treating session.

Let's move along now, shall we?