Hollywood Toys With Its Last Bias: Christians : Prejudice: The debut of a devout character on ‘L.A. Law’ has believers on alert. Is this another snicker-smear?

Steven Bochco has had a revelation.

In the wake of sagging ratings for his once-proud “L.A. Law,” he has tried everything from lesbian lovers to interracial intrigue to get America watching again. The verdict: not interested.

So this season, Bochco & Co. introduced the most shocking new story line of all as the venerable firm is invaded by--gasp!--a born-again Christian from Bob Jones University.

Jane Halliday is definitely not your typical TV Christian. Those looks! The prospective associate is gorgeous enough to stop the slimy Arnie Becker in his tracks. That resume! Harvard Law School, clerkship for a federal judge, two years in the Oklahoma City district attorney’s office. Those convictions! When Becker propositions Halliday, she replies, “Please understand something--I don’t believe in recreational sex . . . I’m a virgin by choice and I will remain a virgin until the night of my wedding.”

Do not adjust your set. NBC insists that the Jane Halliday character is for real. A press release included with advance copies of the premiere episode stressed that the newest member of the firm would not be portrayed as a born-again Christian one week and a nymphomaniac the next.

Come again? Why would anyone expect a metamorphosis from born-again Christian to nymphomaniac?

If Hollywood were ever tried for anti-Christian bias in a court of law, that press release could well be entered as the prosecution’s Exhibit A. It’s practically a guilty plea, an admission that a realistic portrayal of Christians is a departure from the norm.

In the just-released paperback edition of his book “Hollywood vs. America,” veteran critic Michael Medved spends 370 pages documenting that twisted norm. From Scripture-spouting murderers to repressed rapists, identifiably “Christian” characters on network TV or the big screen are an overwhelmingly nasty lot.

It’s difficult to imagine the Sensitivity Police allowing such a consistently negative caricature of any other interest group in this country. Indeed, the creative community usually goes out of its way to soothe hurt feelings after any perceived slight. Witness Hollywood’s backpedaling on artistic freedom in the wake of the gay community’s protests over the negative portrayal of a bisexual character in the film “Basic Instinct.” Where, on the other hand, were the apologies for “The Last Temptation of Christ,” a mean-spirited mockery that offended millions of Christians around the world?

When Hollywood is not enthusiastically attacking religion, it’s usually doing its best to ignore it--a phenomenon Medved has termed the industry’s “overriding allergy to religious content.”

The very fact that a Christian character on “L.A. Law” could generate such media interest is proof that Medved has correctly diagnosed Hollywood’s allergies. Why should it be news that there’s a genuine believer on prime-time TV? After all, pollster George Gallup has dubbed the 1990s the “Decade of the People’s Religion,” and in a recent poll by U.S. News & World Report, 56% of Americans said that a closer relationship with God was their “greatest objective in life.”

The fact is, outside the Hollywood hothouse, America is still an outwardly Christian nation. Out in the hinterlands, more than 40% of us ordinary Americans attend services every week and 78% of us pray regularly. Compare that to the 93% of TV’s creative elite who have told pollsters that they “seldom or never attend religious services” and the 45% who have “no religious affiliation whatsoever.”

Like the Chinese emperors in the fairy-tale world of the Forbidden City, Hollywood’s creative royalty have grown inbred, aloof and completely out of touch with the peasant population.

Is the sudden appearance of Jane Halliday on “L.A. Law” the start of a religious revival in Hollywood? A cynical attempt to resuscitate a dying show? An elaborate setup for yet another attack on Christianity?

The jury, as they say, is still out. The premiere episode was surprisingly candid in its portrayal of the hostility born-again Christians face in the professional world. When partner Ann Kelsey is asked why she doesn’t want Halliday to join the firm, she replies flatly, “Because she’s a member of the religious right.”

“How would you feel if we were talking about a Jew?” Arnie Becker asks.

“Not the same thing,” replies Kelsey.

Which pretty well sums up Hollywood’s view of Christians: not the same as blacks, Latinos, Jews, Indians, foreigners, women, physically challenged, mentally retarded or sexually deviant. Not to be taken seriously. Not worthy of respect.

It’s high time someone in Hollywood had the courage to introduce a capable, intelligent, attractive character who is also a committed Christian. My question is, Where are the other Jane Hallidays on prime time? Where are the Jane Hallidays at the movie theater or the video store?

Shoot, where was Jane Halliday when I was in college?