Larroquette shines in ‘McBride’

Sometimes it takes a dramatic role to make you appreciate a fine comic actor.

For the past decade or so, John Larroquette has been underutilized in a series of light romantic comedies of the made-for-cable variety. He seemed to stumble from one Family Channel “Father of the Bride” knockoff to the next.

Like Martin, Larroquette is at his best playing cerebral characters who seem to have little patience for those less intelligent than themselves, a group that seems to include just about everybody.

Larroquette brings these qualities to his role in “McBride” (9 p.m., Hallmark). He’s Mike McBride, a cop turned attorney whose gruff exterior does a poor job of hiding his soft spot for the underdog.

Speaking of underdog, the ever-bemused McBride spends a lot of onscreen time with a handsome white mutt named Jesse. He also hires a young assistant, Phil (Matt Lutz), who gets plenty of opportunities to astound and annoy the techno-phobic McBride with 21st-century gadgetry.

These high-tech gizmos get a real workout in tonight’s McBride movie, “Murder Past Midnight.” The cranky lawyer gets called for jury duty in a case involving an attractive young wife named Claire Harriman (Paula Trickey) who’s accused of putting her much older husband into a coma.

It’s not away giving too much here to reveal that McBride emerges as the skeptical holdout who deadlocks the proceedings. He becomes so obsessed with the case that he offers to represent Harriman at her retrial.

Bill O’Reilly strikes again. And this time it’s personal.

Earlier this week he used “The O’Reilly Factor” (5 and 8 p.m., Fox News) to attack Hamilton College for inviting a controversial speaker known for his unpopular, outrageous and even hurtful remarks regarding America, terrorism and Sept. 11. I happen to be a graduate of Hamilton College, and I happen to disagree with O’Reilly.

Colleges and universities have the right and the obligation to expose students to dissenting opinions and even discomforting ideas. O’Reilly would have us believe that Hamilton and other schools are suffering from the rather recent contagion of political correctness. That’s nonsense.

When I was a student at Hamilton in the 1970s, the campus was rocked by the appearance of former CIA Director William Colby. It’s an understatement to say that Colby and his agency were unpopular at the time.

During the 1960s, Hamilton invited George Lincoln Rockwell to speak. At the time, Rockwell was the head of the American Nazi Party, and his unpleasant opinions would later get him assassinated.

Past undergraduates survived those exposures to unpopular thought. And Hamilton’s students would have, had the speaker’s engagement not been canceled due to death threats.

In the past, O’Reilly has castigated liberals, including Michael Kinsley and Molly Ivins, as “bomb throwers.” But in this case it looks like O’Reilly may have inspired a few bomb throwers of his own. Shame on him.

Other highlights

Raven becomes a woman of many disguises to investigate discriminatory hiring practices on “That’s So Raven” (7:30 p.m., Disney).

Pat O’Brien and Vanessa Minnillo host “The Greatest Commercials: Super Bowl vs. the World” (8 p.m., CBS).

On back-to-back episodes of “Bernie Mac” (Fox), Vanessa succumbs to peer pressure (8 p.m.), and Marcus Allen guest-stars (8:30 p.m.).

The hunt for an AWOL Marine on “JAG” (9 p.m., CBS).

An airborne weapon of mass destruction threatens Los Angeles on “Numb3rs” (10 p.m., CBS).

Baltimore-based cops and robbers come down with similar symptoms on “Medical Investigation” (10 p.m., NBC).

Scheduled on “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC): how ever-present hidden cameras have changed behavior.

Series notes

Archer attempts to rally forces against the Romulans on “Star Trek: Enterprise” (8 p.m., UPN) … Holly’s good deed goes punished on “What I Like About You” (8 p.m., WB). On back-to-back episodes of “Reba” (WB), ladies night (8:30 p.m.), and hands-on therapy (9 p.m.).

A race to save a boy from his abusive dad on “Third Watch” (9 p.m., NBC) … Jonny sets out to make things right for the mother of a snatched baby on “Jonny Zero” (9 p.m., Fox),

A catering job becomes escapist fare on “Hope & Faith” (9 p.m., ABC).Missy Elliott hosts “The Road to Stardom” (9 p.m., UPN).

Envy on “Less Than Perfect” (9:30 p.m., ABC) … Gags about TV shows on “Blue Collar TV” (9:30 p.m., WB).