Denny Crane, the lovable right-wing loon lawyer played to perfection by William Shatner on "Boston Legal," will be charged with trying to consummate a bathroom hookup on the Nov. 13 episode, Slate's Bruce Reed notes: "Beyond the superficial similarity of the names Denny Crane and Larry Craig, it's easy to see why the show's writers couldn't resist the temptation to exploit the longest running joke of the fall season. Denny Crane is a classic Hollywood conservative, who joins Stephen Colbert, Thurston Howell III, Michael Keaton, and Krusty the Clown on Wikipedia's list of 'Fictional United States Republicans.' TV conservatives always play the part for laughs; Craig plays it straight, with the same result. ...

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