Article: `Boston Public' deals with tension, problems plaguing real schools.(The Dallas Morning News)

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. _ There's joy on the set of "Boston Public," even more than usual.

As if working on a David E. Kelley show weren't reason enough, the previous evening's ratings have buoyed spirits. The freshman series not only drew its biggest audience yet, it also topped "Ally McBeal," the other Kelley hit on Fox's Monday-night schedule.

But there's one voice of reason.

"You know what they say in Hollywood," offers actor Chi McBride, who plays Winslow High's beleaguered principal, Steven Harper. "`Happy? It'll pass.'"

Can you blame him?

McBride is in the midst of shooting an intense scene, as if there's any other ...

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