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Hansen-Delkus lawyer up for WFAA8's localized Boston Legal

By ED BARK
Blowin' their usual smoke -- but this time from big cigars -- WFAA8's co-alpha males are going Boston Legal on us in a new 30- second promo.

So sue me. I think it's pretty clever, and certainly a natural extension of their egos -- plus sports anchor Dale Hansen's alter ego.

He openly worships William Shatner's vainglorious Denny Crane character. So that's who he's playing here. Weatherman Pete Delkus sits in as wingman Alan Shore, otherwise played in reel life by James Spader. Most episodes of Legal end with a few minutes of their back-and-forth sermonettes.

Delkus and Hansen already play-act on most newscast nights. Dale's old, fat, balding and a loud, lousy dresser. Pete, a former minor league pitcher, couldn't break an egg with his fastball, preens too much and has the forecasting skills of a wind chime. Or so they keep telling each other in so many words.

Some readers have made it crystal clear that they loathe every word of this. Others take it to the max, dismissing Hansen and Delkus as two clowns who overplay everything and basically know nothing.

Who's laughing last, though? WFAA8's newscasts remain a runaway No. 1 at 6 and 10 p.m., where Hansen and Delkus do most of their alleged "damage." That's the only court of public opinion that matters to any TV station. So grit your teeth or maybe grin appreciatively over this fake Crane-Shore exchange from WFAA8's Boston Legal playlet:

"We're like the two sides of a coin."

"And you're tails."

"So I've been told. Sleep over tonight?"

Here's the whole spot: