I’m looking forward to the resumption of new episodes of TNT’s crime drama The Closer tonight.

That may come as a surprise to some readers, and even to the show’s producers. I raised a storm of anger a few weeks ago when I wrote a very pointed criticism of the show’s midseason cliffhanger episode, in which I argued that the motive given for the central character’s intended mass killing was both unconvincing and politically tendentious.

I’ll admit that I used incendiary phrasing in the piece, and unnecessarily. I wish I hadn’t. The use of vivid language is aesthetically pleasing and can convey ideas with great dramatic force, but it can also suggest an emotional reaction that is not intended. I wish I had kept the language more neutral and objective, as that was my real reaction to the episode: I had merely wished it to be better.

In using such tart language, I ended up distracting attention from two main points I wanted to make. One was that I am in general a great admirer of The Closer, and have been since the show’s inception. (Even though I stated this explicitly in the piece, my interlocutors here and elsewhere failed to see that.) The other was that the effect of the episode, “Executive Order,” was to suggest agreement with the common canard that non-leftist thought is inherently perverse and leads to violence.

Now, it’s important to recognize that the assertion that non-socialist political ideas are a form of mental disease is exceedingly common and has been so for more than a half-century, ever since the publication of Theodore Adorno’s The Authoritarian Personality. Such assertions remain common to this day, as one hardly even needs to point out.

Therefore, it is not at all implausible to suspect that a cultural object may be conveying this particular point of view.

In addition, I pointed out that I found the story to have aesthetic weaknesses, such as the hoary hostage-taking incident, the unconvincing motivation for the attempted murder, and the lack of Brenda’s usual cleverness in luring the criminal to his doom.

In response to my critique, Closer producer James Duff stated in no uncertain terms that the episode was never in any way intended to suggest a particular point of view regarding affirmative action, and certainly not intended to characterize right-of-center political beliefs as inherently perverse.

I accept James Duff’s explanation of his motivations and am glad to hear it. As I’ve noted repeatedly in various articles about The Closer (such as here, here, here, and here), it has been one of the most intellectually stimulating and smartly written series on all of television for the past several years. I have called The Closer “one of the most interesting, intelligent, and engaging series on television,” “realistic,” “rather refreshing,” “evocative,” “honest,” “courageous,” “recommended” (repeatedly), and “superb.”

Yet it is true that with great power comes great responsibility, and I remain convinced that the issues in “Executive Order” were not handled with the grace the showmakers usually display. But even if I’m right about that, it’s important to note that in general The Closer has not shown a tendency toward a political bias on either side of the equation. For whereas “Executive Order” depicted a madman enraged by affirmative action, the season 4 episode “Time Bomb” centered on a pair of killers driven by an intense devotion to Darwinism and radical environmentalism.

As I wrote at the time, the episode was chilling, brilliant, and truly daring. And it showed central modern-day leftist dogmas pushed to a perverse extreme.

In addition, other episodes of the series have depicted the evils of gang activities by blacks and Latinos, reckless behavior of homosexuals and the poor, a comically over-feminist police captain, the perverse influence of affirmative action, and many other characterizations and actions that fly in the face of contemporary political dogmas.

So, if I find one episode doesn’t work as well as I’d like, it’s important to recognize that it’s balanced by a long history of good intentions and superb quality. That’s why I’m looking forward to tonight’s new episode, and why those who like sophisticated, intelligent television may well do likewise.