Sad to say, we've come to expect seeing a gun brought into a TV high school classroom. But by the teacher?

        That's what happens in Boston Public (8 p.m. today, Channels 19, 45),a new Fox drama by prolific David E. Kelley (The Practice, Ally McBeal).

        Imagine the courageous, dedicated and out-manned lawyers of The Practice teaching in a run-down inner-city high school. That's Boston Public.

        “I really believe that teachers are the most powerful people in the world, if not the nation — and the least recognized. Also probably the least paid,” Mr. Kelley says.

        His new heroes aren't saints. Science teacher Harry Senate (Nicky Katt, Boiler Room) fires a handgun in class. He's also romantically involved with a student.

        Ancient history teacher Harvey Lipshultz (Fyvush Finkel, Picket Fences) demands that an opinionated African-American student listen to his “shriveled, white Jewish (rear end).”

        Special education teacher Marla Hendricks (Loretta Devine, Waiting to Exhale, The PJs) walks out on her class after writing on the blackboard: “Gone to kill myself. Hope you're happy.”

        “I've had it,” she screams. “They don't want to learn. I'm not a parole officer, I'm a teacher.”

        Principal Steven Harper (Chi McBride, John Larroquette Show; Gone in 60 Seconds) bangs a student up against the lockers in frustration.

        You think all these things could happen in high school?

        “Yeah, you don't?” Mr. Kelley says.

        “I've talked to principals. I've talked to teachers. This kind of stuff goes on all the time.

        “And maybe one of the reasons that they continue to happen is that there is an ignorance out there that (people) think that these kinds of things don't go on,” says the former Boston lawyer who moved to Hollywood to write for L.A. Law.

        The absence of a police response to the firearm discharge strains the show's credibility, but the repercussion from the shooting will be felt for two more episodes.
       

Cheering the teachers

               Another recurring thread is the conflict between pragmatic Principal Harper — the heart and soul of this show — and the visionary Boston school superintendent.

        The us-against-them mentality of Boston Public will make you cheer for the teachers — even if you're offended by the coarse language and crude humor on a student's Internet site that many viewers will deem inappropriate for 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central).

        “Teachers, in addition to their frustration of getting students wanting to learn, they're strait-jacketed by so many rules,” Mr. Kelley says.

        “Teachers really aren't allowed to go into a class and wing it. If they feel they have a method that might break through to a particular student or to a particular class, they've got to run it by superiors,” he says.

        Boston Public will be followed by the fourth season premiere of Ally McBeal, which slipped in quality after winning the Emmy for best comedy a year ago. Robert Downey Jr. is introduced today (9 p.m., Channels 19, 45) as a love interest for Ally (Calista Flockhart).

        “If a mistake was made with Ally, I think that we got away maybe from the emotional center of the show and tried to do bigger stories,” Mr. Kelley says. “Bigger stories” — like the lawyers dealing with the death of Billy (Gil Bellows) — “maybe were less successful,” he says.

        He won't admit that Ally suffered because he was spread too thin. This fall he has nine writers on The Practice, eight for Ally and six for Boston Public.

        “I have the strongest writing staffs that I've ever had,” he says. The networks' appetite for Survivor and other reality programs have made more writers available, he says.

        The spark in his eyes indicates that his new passion is Boston Public, particularly Principal Harper. He's the new voice for the creator of Bobby Donnell (The Practice) and Judge Henry Bone (Picket Fences).

        Harper tells teacher Lauren Davis (Jessalyn Gilsig, The Practice) late Friday evening in his office:

        “We made it through another week. Nobody OD-ed. Nobody got shot. None of us lost our minds.”

        It's so refreshing to see a TV high school show about the adults, not the kids. Give it a shot.

        E-mail: jkiesewetter@enquirer.com

Cats can be good PR
Pig Parade: Animal House
KIESEWETTER: Kelley's heroes are now teachers
Show misses OU's real scares
Ultimate Frisbee provides excellent aerobic workout
Fit Bits
Get to It
Healthy Eating
Personal Trainer