It doesn't get the press love that some of David E. Kelley's past series received (think: "Ally McBeal"), but ABC's "Boston Legal" has come into its own in its second season.

After a first year that felt tentative and bloodless, writer/executive producer Kelley and Co. have found the right tone, abandoning all sense of reality for what is often flat-out comedy, with an added pinch of political irreverence.

Kelley has chucked the sense of moral/legal balance he brought to his previous series, most notably "Picket Fences." On "Boston Legal," Kelley eagerly tilts in full favor of the liberal leanings of attorney Alan Shore (James Spader), who has recently tackled cases involving privacy rights, the morning-after pill and redistricting. Conservative Denny Crane (William Shatner) is presented as a buffoon, but he's such an exaggeration that even the most ardent conservatives should be able to laugh at him.

"You Democrats," Crane said in the Feb. 14 episode, "protesting wars, banning guns. If you Nancies had your way, nobody would ever shoot anyone, and then where would we be?"

When Shore — who it should be noted is Crane's best friend despite their political differences — comes to him with concern that he's about to lose a case, Crane advises, "If all else fails and you think you've lost, act like you've won. Works for our president."

Taking shots at the political establishment didn't used to be radical, but it's not something you see too often in today's mainstream TV. There's no denying most Hollywood writers have liberal leanings, but few are as free with their opinions as Kelley.

"I think smiling is overrated, as you can see," Shore said, holding up a newspaper with U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's smiling mug shot under the headline "DeLay Investigation Ongoing."

In another turn from contemporary network sensibility, "Boston Legal" has introduced young, demographic-bait characters only to abandon them. Twentysomething actors Justin Mentell and Ryan Michelle Bathe, added last fall, have vanished from the show, and a publicist confirmed that neither remains a series regular — in favor of stories involving the show's veteran performers, including Candice Bergen and Rene Auberjonois. Perhaps that's hurt the show's demographic ratings, but it's certainly preserved the integrity of Kelley's vision, which, "Ally McBeal" notwithstanding, has never been dependent on pretty young things.

"Boston Legal" has also been upping its quotient of meta self-references, including a recent episode in which Crane says he hasn't seen Shore "this episode."

Some of the interpersonal stories seem overly conventional, typical TV melodrama. But Kelley's willingness to write dialogue laced with social and political commentary makes "Boston Legal" appointment television.

"Boston Legal" airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC.