Bergen, Shatner face off

You've go to give "Boston Legal" credit for going outside the demo.

While most TV series chase after the young viewers that advertisers prize by casting young, beautiful actors, "Legal" has a prominent place for 73-year-old William Shatner, who stars as somewhat insane lawyer Denny Crane. And, beginning Sunday (9 p.m., Ch. 4), 58-year-old Candice Bergen begins a six-episode (at least) run as another of the firm's senior partners, Shirley Schmidt.

If only their characters didn't act so childishly.

Turns out Shirley and Denny were once an item. And, now that Denny's dotty, Shirley comes back to the main office to clean house. Their interplay is somewhat amusing, but as has become the case with David E. Kelley productions — it seems forced and unoriginal.

Love Bergen. Love the idea of Began vs. Shatner. Wish it was done better.

WANNABE AN ACTOR? Maybe you won't after watching "Unscripted" (Sunday at 9 and 9:30 p.m., HBO).

It's sort of an unreal reality show — three young out-of-work actors are put in situations that range from bad jobs to bad auditions to humiliations of all kinds. They cross paths with real stars and, we're told, improvise all their dialogue.

It's occasionally humorous, but more often just depressing.

"CARNIVALE" RETURNS for its second season Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO. I've watched the first couple of episodes. I can't really tell you what's going on because . . . I don't really get it.

Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) is still the supernatural healer/good guy; Brother Justin (Clancy Brown) is still the evil minister/bad guy; we still assume they will someday have some sort of climactic meeting; it hasn't happened yet.

There's lots of beautiful weirdness in this Depression-era supernatural drama. There are some revelations that don't reveal much. "Carnivale" could be entrancing if it weren't incomprehensible.

PERHAPS VH1 SHOULD just stick to music videos. Tonight the cable network premieres three "reality" shows, all of which are real bad.

The latest season of "The Surreal Life" quickly grows tiresome when one of the housemates gets drunk and stupid. The cast of has-beens and never-weres includes wrestler Chyna, rapper Da Brat, Christopher Knight ("Brady Bunch"), Verne Troyer ("Austin Powers"), Jane Weidlin (the Go-Gos), models Adrianne Curry and Marcus Schenkenberg. Yuck.

Then it's "Strange Love," which features the oddest of odd couples, Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav, who met on last season's "Surreal Life" and are now supposedly in love. Ick.

Finally, it's "Celebrity Fit Club," in which overweight stars (including Daniel Baldwin, Kim Coles and Mia Taylor) try to shape up. Blech.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com