Harry Senate (TV character)

Infobox character
name = Harry Senate
series = Boston Public
colour =


caption =
first = 1x01 "Chapter One"
last = 3x07 "Chapter Forty-Nine"
cause = Sabbatical
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
occupation = Teacher
religion =
title =
family = unnamed father
spouse =
children =
relatives =
episode = 49
portrayer = Nicky Katt
creator = David E. Kelley

Harry Senate is a fictional character on the FOX drama "Boston Public", played by Nicky Katt from Seasons One through Three.

Character history

Harry was perhaps the most popular of BP's characters. A teacher who was assigned by Scott Guber to teach in the infamous "Dungeon" classroom after Marla Hendricks walks out on the class in the pilot episode when dealing with the disruptive students there overwhelmed her, Harry specialized in using his own dark side to reach kids on the edge. Possessed of a sardonic and acerbic wit, he was infamous for deploying unusual (and often dangerous) methods to try and reach his students, such as firing a gun off in the classroom in a concerted effort to teach the unruly students in the Dungeon a lesson in respect, agreeing to become the faculty sponsor for a student branch of the National Rifle Association only to later deliver a disparaging speech against the organization (which he linked to an American glorification of gun violence), and starting up a "Suicide Club" to get kids to open up about their suicidal feelings.

In an early Season 1 storyline, Harry was kissed by a student, Dana Poole, who later blackmailed him. He almost lost his job for this and his other radical antics, one being his knowing that a student, Tyronn Anderson, had killed a rival gang member in self-defense. However, Harry's great compassion and ability to persuade his students to never give up and do the right thing ultimately saved his job, though he continued to come into conflict with Scott and Steven over his controversial methods.

Harry began a relationship with Lauren Davis, and the two initially seemed happy until Lauren began to feel that Harry wasn't really opening up to her. Harry and Lauren broke up shortly after Harry confided in her that he knew Tyronn killed someone; Lauren later briefly dated Daniel Evans. As for Harry, his more serious relationship was with Ronnie Cooke in Seasons 2 and 3. Ronnie had initially been brought in by Harry to talk about her job as a big-time lawyer, but she was so impressed by Harry's handling of students that she signed up as a teacher.

In the second season finale, Harry was stabbed by a former student and almost died. It took the near-death of Harry Senate for the rest of the faculty to realize how much they had come to love Harry as more than a colleague, but also as a close friend. Initially, Harry was supposed to die from his wounds; this was David E. Kelley's way of writing Nicky Katt out of the show so that he could pursue a movie career. When Katt became available again, but for only a part of the next season, Kelley and his writers allowed Harry to survive the attack, only to suffer from a slow mental breakdown that would ultimately provide Katt with a very different exit from the show.

A combination of post-traumatic stress (as a result of the stabbing) and his inability to "save" some of his most troubled students prompted Harry's breakdown as he displayed increasingly unpredictable behavior, such as taking off for Florida on an unapproved leave of absence, harboring a teenage prostitute and her young son, yelling at his students for not completing their homework, and getting rough with Ronnie while making love with her. Given the option of being fired or taking a sabbatical, Harry was dismayed, but realized that his current mental state was affecting his unique ability as a teacher; he chose to take a leave of absence to get himself together, promising that he would someday return. As he walked out of the building, Harry gave newly-arrived teacher Kimberly Woods some good advice. Kelley admitted that Harry's choice to take a leave of absence was a way of allowing for his eventual return should Katt become available again; the show's premature cancellation prevented the possibility.