Commander in Chief returns for the beginning of its end tonight, and I don't care.

I don't care that ABC has sentenced the show to death by airing it opposite "Without a Trace" and "ER," because "Chief" deserves to die.

It isn't a good show.

When it debuted last September, I thought it looked like the best new drama of the season. So did a lot of viewers, who made it the most-watched new drama of the season.

But President Mackenzie Allen's (Geena Davis) approval ratings are now even lower than those of the nonfictional occupant of the White House.

There are a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which was creator/executive producer Rod Lurie's inability to get episodes out in a timely fashion, which led to his impeachment and removal from office. But he set up the seeds of the show's destruction by making the president the paragon of virtue and all her opponents — most notably Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland) — almost demonic.

Steven Bochco was brought in to try to right the ship, but he's responsible for tonight's episode, which is terrible. Not to give too much away, but the resolution of the first gentleman's (Kyle Secor) intern scandal is ridiculous. It's not a big surprise that Bochco was himself replaced.

With all the behind-the-scenes turmoil, it's not surprising that "Chief" has been so inconsistent. In the pilot, the president threatened to invade a country over one woman who had been sentenced to die. Eight episodes later, darned if she can't do anything about a mentally impaired man set for execution in Texas.

Templeton has swung from devil to good guy back to devil. His chief aide (Natasha Henstridge) is in, she's out, she's back in. The first gentleman's position has taken one wild swing already and will take another next week.

But what makes "Chief" unwatchable is that, with the exception of President Allen, every politician in America is unremittingly evil. It's a startling contrast to a great show like "The West Wing," where even bitter political foes are all infused with a certain nobility.

In "The West Wing's" recently concluded presidential election, both the winner, Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits), and the loser, Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda), were great guys, either of whom you'd be proud to have leading our nation.

On "Commander," the speaker of the House is a snake.

Maybe it's more accurate to portray our nation's capital as a nest of serpents. I'm in no position to make that judgment.

But I can tell you that building a show on that premise makes for some extremely disappointing TV.