It’s going to be awfully tough for me to say goodbye to “Boston Legal” (10 p.m. Mondays, ABC).

I know, I know. It’s the fifth season for the legal comedy/drama. Many of the antics have become predictable, especially the various misbehaviors of William Shatner’s Denny Crane. And the series’ mood swings – between near-slapstick comedy and highfalutin’ preaching about various social ills – have gotten only more extreme; quick, somebody fetch these people a lithium!

I can’t help it. When it’s over, I’ll miss all of the “Boston Legal” miscreants.

Especially Denny Crane. Confession: I was a Trekkie. Trekker? Yes, that’s the more dignified term, isn’t it? In my very early teens, I watched rerun after rerun of the original “Star Trek.” I enjoyed the show’s spirit of adventure and its cerebral (for TV, anyhow) science fiction bent. At one point I thought I’d outgrown it, but later in life found myself enjoying some of the movies and television spinoffs.

One thing I was sure of, though: William Shatner would never get past the shadow of his “Trek” character, Capt. James T. Kirk.

I was wrong. “Boston Legal” provided him the vehicle to do just that. Denny Crane’s outrageous behavior – rampant sexism, endless claims that his “mad cow” disease absolves him of his reckless deeds, a penchant for shooting off firearms in inappropriate places – has allowed Shatner to indulge his love of broad comedy. When I’m watching an episode of “Boston Legal,” I never even think about Capt. Kirk.

But “Boston Legal” never has been a one-man band. Whatever the show’s persistent flaws (and it’s had many), the casting always has been superb. Anchored by James Spader, Candice Bergen and Shatner, the cast has at various times included John Larroquette, Monica Potter, Julie Bowen, Constance Zimmer, Taraji P. Henson and the terrifically funny/sinister (and yes, beautiful) Saffron Burrows. Oh, and Rene Auberjonois. What, you don’t know who Rene Auberjonois is? He played Odo on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” You know, the shape shifter! The guy who spent part of his life living in a bucket … OK, never mind.

Behind the comedy and oddball characters, “Boston Legal” often has been a serious show, and this season is no exception. I was impressed with “Smoke Signals,” the season premiere, which raised interesting questions about the tobacco industry’s liabilities vs. personal responsibility for polluting one’s lungs with toxins.

Mostly, though, I watched “Boston Legal” simply because it was such wicked fun. Nobody – not even well-to-do, obnoxious East Coast lawyers – gets to go around acting like this nowadays. Shatner’s Crane has been the worst (or best) of the lot, but Spader’s Alan Shore has been no slouch. Engaging, at times, in borderline-unethical lawyering while leching about in a great suit makes you a sleazebag, no matter how great your vocabulary or quick your wit.