The irony is, the show was about free speech

You may have seen this elsewhere, but just in case, consider the bizarre tale of an ABC drama being censored from making fun of Fox News.

David E. Kelley — the Emmy Award-winning creator of such memorable series’ as Picket Fences, Doogie Howser M.D., Ally McBeal, Boston Public, The Practice, and its current spin-off, Boston Legal — is probably the most prolific and successful writer/producer now working in television. Coupled with the fact that he is married to film star Michelle Pfeiffer, Kelley’s talent makes him one of the most influential people in the entertainment world. But apparently even Kelley’s power pales before the might of Disney and the MausHaus.

Case in point: the next episode of Boston Legal, to be broadcast Sunday March 13 on the Disney-owned ABC network. AlterNet has acquired both the original and the revised script for this episode from a source who prefers to remain anonymous. The original penned by Kelley focused in large measure on Fox News and its loofah-loving star Bill O’Reilly. The script also featured substantial excerpts from the independent film Outfoxed, which documents how the allegedly “fair and balanced” cable channel acts as a propaganda arm for the Republican Party and other conservative interest groups.

But the final script — the one that was actually shot for the show that will appear on Sunday — has been thoroughly scrubbed on orders from top ABC network executives, and all mention of Fox News and O’Reilly has been sent down the Memory Hole.

I haven’t read the entire script, but it appears the show focused on a teacher, who hates Fox News, using “Fox Blockers” on TVs in the school. A student complains, decries the move as censorship, and starts looking for a lawyer to help launch a legal challenge to the policy. Given the circumstances, the script sounds vaguely sympathetic to Fox — a stereotypically-liberal teacher is trying to stifle speech from the right-wing network.

Regardless, ABC “scrubbed” the script. Were network officials afraid of appearing biased? Concerned about giving another network publicity? No one knows; they’re not talking.

Adding to the irony, my friend Tarek raised another good point: if this script had been prepared for a show on Fox, it probably would have been fine. Indeed, The Simpsons mocks Fox News’ ideological bent all the time.